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Reggie was mostly used to sleeping over at one of the boys' places.
It was almost always like a huge sleepover, just, not for one night.
Ever since they had all decided to shift into the Wilson’s studio, a conversation the Wilsons themselves were not a huge part of, they had all grown accustomed to sleeping together on the same crammy pull out bed. And every night, despite a little snoring and blanket hogging, it all went together perfectly.
Until of course, the one night Reggie needs some extra comfort , the boys somehow make it extra hard for him to sleep.
When Reggie woke up at the wonderful hour of 5 a.m., Luke had somehow hogged not just the blankets but the entire bed, laying like an octopus on the mattress. Alex was halfway sprawled on top of Luke, and halfway hung off the bed.
Bobby was curled up on the beanbag.
He didn't usually sleep in the studio, considering his house was literally right outside. Yet somehow, everytime Reggie felt low, Bobby miraculously would figure it out, and end up sleeping in the studio.
It was one of the reasons Reggie fell for him in the first place.
So now it was 5 a.m., and sleep was obviously not anywhere on Reggie’s to-do. But , the one perk of waking up before the boys was that the bathroom would be empty and clean .
That thought led him to the bathroom, fully awake by now. He had around two hours till the boys woke up, so the obvious decision he made was to bathe instead of shower. As the water filled the tub, he decided to brush his teeth.
Once sat in the lukewarm water, he realised how much free time he had. But the second he formalised the thought, he regretted it. The spiral started, making him groan and rub his face. “Fuck,” he mumbled, sinking lower into the tub.
His brain flooded one gateway after the other. His family , they never wanted him, he was a horrible son. His friends , shit. They put up with him just because of the band. If not for that they would have left him long back. Was he even good at the bass? Was he still in the band because Bobby forced them to keep him in?
Bobby. Somehow everything came back to him.
Reggie was twelve when he first realised how much he liked Bobby. It was just them, two shy kids in the music class, who hadn’t been paired up yet. They had known each other but never really talked. For the project, Bobby had called Reggie over to his house.
That day, eating pretzels on the floor of Bobby's room, Reggie realised how much he liked bobby.
He was fifteen when he realised he was in love with Bobby. They were backstage at Maloraine’s Bar & Restaurant, the first gig Sunset Curve ever booked, when Bobby tripped over some wires and got a concussion. Bobby was up and okay in no time, but the way Reggie's heart pounded with the thought of living without Bobby changed everything he thought he knew about himself.
So, bathtub, 5 a.m., spiral.
Reggie groaned out in frustration, stepping out of the comfort of the water. He knew staying in there longer would only fuck him up. So getting ready for the day was the only option available.
He grabbed the closest clean towel and dried himself off, pulling out the clean clothes he picked out for the day (Bobby’s sweatpants and shirt, the latter being just a smidge tight on him). Just as he was about to put on a shirt, the door to the bathroom opened.
One thing about the boys? They never knocked.
Especially Luke. Everytime Reggie pointed out his right to privacy, Luke would reply with hey, nothing I haven't seen before.
Fully expecting his golden retriever best friend at the door, he yelled out, “Oh come on Luke!”
“Uh, I’m pretty sure if it was Luke, he wouldn’t even have knocked.”
Reggie’s eyes snapped up to meet Bobby's, who stood at the door with a tired, lazy grin stretched across his lips.
“Sorry,” Reggie mumbled, heat spreading to his cheeks, “didn't hear the knock.”
“Were you in your half-alive half-dead state of mind again?” Bobby asked, moving inside and closing the door, so as to not wake the other two up.
Look , now usually, Reggie was very good at hiding his unrequited love. But it’s a little hard when the man had tied his hair back into a bloody man-bun.
Reggie’s eyes didn’t budge from the hair.
Bobby seemed to notice this, chuckling as he walked towards the sink and turned the tap on, “hair’s gettin’ real long. A parlour visit is long due.”
“No!” Reggie blurted out, panicked. The hair looked hot as fuck, dammit.
Bobby turned to him, raising an eyebrow. “Alright, weirdo,” he chuckled, splashing some water on his face. Reggie barely registered Bobby grabbing the towel from his hands to wipe his face. Neither did he register the fact that Bobby was talking to him.
“What?” he asked, lost as hell.
“I said, your hair’s still wet. Dry it off before putting on a shirt.”
Reggie subconsciously reached to touch his hair, which were indeed still wet.
Bobby frowned, a smile still on his face, “you okay, Reg?”
Oh . he wasn’t supposed to ask that.
That question is not something Reggie could answer.
He couldn't lie to Bobby, but he couldn't tell him the truth either. Both would drive him away, and Reggie couldn't live if Bobby drove away. So rather than answering, Reggie simply looked away.
When Reggie didn’t answer, Bobby didn't push it. Instead, Reggie felt a soft pressure on his head. Bobby was towel-drying Reggie's wet hair.
Reggie closed his eyes, turning back towards bobby.
“You little baby,” he heard Bobby mumble as he softly dried Reggie's hair, “God, what do I do with you?”
Reggie chuckled, shaking his head like a dog to dry off once Bobby put the towel away.
“Go brush them,” Bobby said, shoving a hair-brush into Reggie's hands, “your matted hair takes years to untangle.”
Reggie sighed dramatically, walking towards the mirror, “okay mom ,” he mumbled, earning an elbow smack into the ribs from Bobby, who was now brushing his teeth.
“Asshole,” Bobby said, which sounded more like ‘Afshole’ due to the paste in his mouth.
They both laughed as they worked in sync, Bobby finishing up brushing his teeth, and Reggie brushing his hair.
“Whaddya think?” Reggie asked, doing a ‘ ta-da ’ motion to the mullet he had shaped his hair to look like.
Bobby made a disgusted face, moving to sit on top of the empty part of the sink, pulling Reggie in by the belt-loop. “You really are a baby,” he said, grabbing the brush and pushing Reggie’s hair back, who whined in protest.
Bobby rolled his eyes, then moved to softly grab at Reggie's chin.
Now that swiftly shut him up.
Bobby moved Reggie's head with the brush strokes. Reggie prayed Bobby couldn't hear how fast his heart was beating, or how his limbs were trembling.
He’d been in love with Bobby for two years. How much longer could he handle hiding it?
When he opened his eyes, which had involuntarily closed, he noticed Bobby staring at him with a look he couldn't decipher immediately.
“Bobby?” Reggie whispered.
“Hm.”
“You done with the brush there?”
“Hm.”
“You gonna let go of my face?”
“Only if you want me to.”
Reggie looked right back into Bobby's eyes, his own darting towards the other’s lips a few times.
“Bobby?” Reggie spoke again.
“Hm.”
“I love you.”
Reggie would like to say the world stopped, or that time felt endless, or some other cliche shit from a stupid rom-com.
But the only thing he could focus on was Bobby's huge grin, and the chuckle he let out, saying, “good,” before pulling at Reggie's waist and smashing their lips together.
Reggie could cry.
He knew Bobby was a good kisser. That’s what everyone who Bobby kissed said. It was common knowledge at this point.
But being kissed by Bobby himself? He knew he’d never get enough of him. Not in any lifetime.
Honestly, it wouldn't have mattered even if Bobby was a bad kisser. Reggie loved him. He loved how Bobby stayed up on nights Reggie couldn't sleep. He loved how he was always at Reggie's baking competitions, even though his own parents never were. He loved how Bobby always made sure he ate enough. And not just him, Bobby always checked up on Alex's anxiety, helped Luke concentrate while studying, looked after Julie and Flynn in school, making sure they didn’t get into trouble, and how he always stuck around when Willie was skateboarding to make sure he wouldn’t drive in front of a running car or something. He loved how good of a brother Bobby was to Carrie, how he drove her to school everyday, how he helped her with her homework, and how he helped her during breakdowns.
Reggie just loved Bobby.
He wrapped his arms around the latter’s neck as they moved their lips together. Bobby pulled him closer, if it was possible, biting his lower lip lightly. Reggie nearly let out a moan, moving however Bobby guided him.
“Okay,” a monotonous voice broke them apart. They both jolted apart, turning to the door, where a half asleep Luke stood.
He yawned as he stepped in, “no, don’t let me interrupt,” he mumbled, moving to the toilet, “continue sucking each other's faces off.”
Bobby groaned as Reggie let out a giggle, “seriously? The one day we wish you wake up late, you wake up before your alarm?” He gave him a death stare, “I mean, we could play drums literally two feet from you and you would keep sleeping. Trust me, Alex has tried.”
Luke whined, “I know I said you could stay, but I really have to pee so could you like, get lost?”
Reggie laughed, grabbing Bobby's elbow and pulling him out. He rushed up the stairs of the loft, pulling Bobby along. They had set up the loft like a camping tent, with rollout duvets on the floor and fairy lights hanging from the ceiling and railings.
Reggie collapsed on the duvet, pulling Bobby down on top of him by his collar. “We have more than enough time before school,” he whispered, close to Bobby's lips. Bobby smirked, leaning in to close the distance between them a second time. The kiss lasted for a shorter time than the first one, Bobby pulling away with a question on his lips.
“You know I've loved you for years, right?”
Reggie’s eyebrows shot up, into the most dishevelled, deadpan look. “Bro, what ?”
Bobby frowned, laughing, “why? You didn't know?”
“No?!” Reggie almost yelled, “if I did, I wouldn't have waited two years to do something about it! I thought you were, like, not into boys!”
Bobby gasped and groaned, dropping his head into Reggie's shoulder. “Dude!” he pulled up to stare reggie dead in the eyes, “I literally talk about how hot zac efron is every time we watch high school musical”
“Hey, I thought you were just admiring his beauty! You don't have to be gay to admire a man’s beauty-”
Bobby’s laugh drowned out the rest of his sentence. It was so contagious that Reggie started laughing too.
“Hey! Lovebirds!” Alex's head poked up from the staircase, “you better not be naked, i'm coming up.”
Reggie laughed harder realising he was still shirtless. Bobby laughed too when realisation dawned on him.
Alex rolled his eyes, moving to the box in which he kept his clothes. “Where is Willie when you need him,” he grumbled, looking through his outfits.
“Wait a second,” Bobby wiped the tears off his eyes as their laughter died down, “why are you and Luke not surprised seeing us kiss and like, be romantic?”
Alex frowned, looking at Bobby like he grew a second head. “Bobby,” he said, as if he was explaining it to a two year old, “that’s what people do when they’re dating.”
“Well, yeah,” Reggie added, “but we just got together like, ten minutes ago. So how did you even know?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Alex asked, standing up straight now, confusion spread across his face, “you shittin’ me right now?”
Bobby and Reggie looked at each other, frowns on their faces as well.
“Oh my god,” Alex’ frown deepened, “wait, if you’re dating now , then what were the last two years?”
Reggie rolled his eyes, “you mean the two years we pined after each other thinking the other doesn’t love him back?”
“What?” Alex asked, monotone. “Wait, hang on.”
Alex walked over to look down the loft, “Hey, Luke?” he shouted. Luke looked up from where he was drying his hair after showering. “How long have Reggie and Bobby been dating?”
“Uh,” he frowned in thought, “two years, give or take.”
“Uh, wrong!” Reggie leaned over the loft, “the correct answer is,” he frowned himself, turning to Bobby, “are we dating?”
Bobby bit his lip, then grabbed Reggie's chin, placing a soft and loving kiss on his lips. Reggie gawked, staring into Bobby's lovesick eyes. He gulped, “okay.”
He leaned over the railing again, “the correct answer is about three seconds!”
“Then what the fuck were the last two years?!” Luke yelled, frowning, as he rushed up the stairs. “Wait, you were literally spooning yesterday. That was-”
“Platonic. Yep," Bobby answered with a firm nod.
“Well, I was dying inside though,” Reggie mumbled, blushing lightly. Bobby only laughed, replying with a same and leaning in to press another kiss on Reggie's lips.
Alex and Luke had their jaws dropped to the ground.
“Okay. I'm leaving Flynn and Willie to deal with this," Alex shook his head as he walked down. Luke stood there, still shocked, “wha-” “oh come on, Patterson. Let’s get some breakfast," Alex yelled from down below.
Luke jumped up at the mention of breakfast, and followed Alex down.
“So,” Reggie started after an awkward silence. “We should probably go-”
The last working braincell stopped trying to be reasonable when Bobby straddled him and pulled him into a deep kiss, kissing him as if it was oxygen. Reggie gasped into the kiss, holding Bobby tight by his waist. He stared up at Bobby, dumbstruck when they pulled away.
“Or we could just, you know. Kiss,'' Bobby laughed as Reggie pulled him down into another kiss, which definitely lasted way longer than the ones before.
At that point, nothing mattered. Reggie had bobby. And no, everything wasn’t suddenly okay. But life was definitely easier with Bobby by his side.