An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Luke Patterson/Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms)
Characters: Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms)
Additional Tags: Praise Kink, Oral Sex, Masturbation
Series: Part 23 of Kinktober 2025
Summary:
Reggie has a praise kink. Luke gives him exactly what he wants.
Happy kinktober day 23! In which Reggie does not actually want to be pounded in the butt by mothman, Luke is very verbose, and Reggie is desperate.
if you’re still doing these - what about hcs for a model!reggie au? ship(s) of your choice!
-When Reggie gets scouted on the streets he is 1) confused and 2) a little offended because Luke is RIGHT THERE, have you SEEN his arms.
-The model scout dude is not interested in Luke and keeps going on about Reggie's nose and cheekbones and throwing around words like boyish and soft.
-Alex basically hustles them the hell away like: I am not allowing you to be serial-murdered/human trafficked, Reginald.
-He brings it up as a joke at Family Dinner. (Aka: dinner with the band at the Molinas, don't tell anyone he calls it Family Dinner in his head.)
-Ray takes a look at the card and says they're a legit agency, he's worked with them before, that's their number and everything.
-Julie pats Luke's head as he sulks dramatically that Reggie got scouted by a modeling agency for real. (Reggie: wait so you were fine when you thought I was the target of a weirdo serial killer?)
-They kind of laugh about it and forget it. But it keeps niggling in the back of Reggie's mind like: he really needs to make some cash and get a job that does not interfere with school or the band.
-He doesn't want his friends to know about it but he's also heard horror stories about young people being exploited even by Legit Agencies so he goes to the Adultiest adult he knows.
-Victoria comes with him and reads the contract so thoroughly and refuses to let him do anything he doesn't feel comfortable with and watches everyone like a hawk. Somehow he still gets the job.
-He tries to keep it a secret from everyone except from Victoria, who insists on going with him to the shoot. He's secretly very glad because he's scared as all hell. He shows up, gets sent to make-up, gets looked up and down, has a very uncomfortable run-in with some tweezers, someone messes with his hair, and then he's sent off to wardrobe. Victoria follows him around like a stage mom, but instead of creepy it's actually kind of reassuring.
-She only laughs at him a little when he comes out in the most un-Reggie outfit he's ever worn in his life. It makes him feel a little more at ease, and they're ushered to the set where the pictures are being taken.
-Where Ray is waiting for him, arms crossed in Dadly Disapproval until he sees Victoria. Then he just looks relieved. Reggie does apologise for not telling him and whispers that he thought Victoria would be scarier.
-It's remarkably easy, working with Ray. Mostly because he knows exactly what to say to make Reggie look a certain way. The other models at the shoot are like 'wtf why is this photographer talking about Star Wars fanfiction', but it totally got Reggie to make the exact right pensive face.
-Ray also fights dirty by mentioning Luke and it's the dreamy, shy expression that ends up being like, the picture the brand-lady likes best.
-Ray agrees to keep it a secret, though, and two months later, Reggie's face is on bus stops and in magazines.
-Luke is torn between sulking and laughing because OH MY GOD REGGIE WHAT ARE YOU WEARING.
-Reggie and Alex team up like: clearly you don't understand fashion. Pastels are in.
-In the end though, he had enough money to buy a new amp, so he could stop trying to fix his old one. (It never did work the same after he tried to fix it in the rain.) AND enough to ask Luke out on a proper date.
-Luke changed his tune really fast when he realised he could tell people he was dating a model.
Some jerk convinced the kid I’m a Big Brother/Big Sister for that Santa wasn’t real and they’re heartbroken so I need your help with an elaborate plan to make them believe again because they can’t deal with any more heartache this year for Reggie & Carlos obviously (but if you wanna throw in some side PeterPatterLina I wouldn't be mad)
I aged Carlos down, obviously, because 12 is perhaps a liiiittle old to believe in Santa.
Being a Big Brother was just about the best thing Reggie had ever done in his life. Like sure, he was part of a super awesome band, and sure, after three years of pining and Alex threatening to quit the band if they didn't get their shit together he finally asked Luke out. But that was all personal stuff. This was for like, the greater good.
Carlos was the coolest, funniest little dude, and Reggie loved him to death. His aunt had signed him up after his mother died, and he'd been paired with Reggie because they both liked music, pizza, and Ghost Files. Even if Reggie was a total Shaniac and Carlos was a Boogara.
He took Carlos out for ice cream, to the arcade, and helped with his homework (well, helped with his math homework, at least. Thank god Carlos' dad knew about the other stuff, but apparently math had Changed and Mister Molina was Big Mad about it). He dragged Carlos to band practice after getting permission from Mister Molina. He’d promised the other guys were all big giant nerds who happened to play music, not scary sex-drugs-rock-and-roll rock stars. Mister Molina had laughed at that. He seemed like a good dude.
They had long talks about all kinds of stuff, from the ridiculous (ghosts, not real. Bigfoot? Totally real!) to the serious (Chad Whitman is a racist little douchebag and you shouldn't listen to him, also please don't tell your dad or your aunt where you learned the word douchebag.) Carlos knew he could come to Reggie with anything, and he'd never ever laugh or blow him off.
So when he asked Reggie in tears if Santa was real, Reggie was a little flummoxed. They hadn't covered this in the Big Brother Handbook. He teased the story out of Carlos, about how Jaedynn McKenzie from the school bus had told him Santa wasn't real and that he probably wasn't going to get any presents this year anyway because his mom was dead and everyone knew moms did the presents.
He'd managed to calm Carlos down, saying of course Jaedynn McKenzie's mom had to buy his presents and pretend they were from Santa, because he was on the Naughty List for sure.
"She probably gets up suuuper early to hide all the coal he got, just so her spoiled precious baby aaaangel doesn't get hurt feeeeelings," he said, drawing out the words in a Karen™ voice, making Carlos laugh.
After he'd dropped Carlos off and gave Mister Molina a quick heads up, and Alex had talked him down from finding and punching a sixth grader, he sat down with Luke and concocted a Plan. Because this wasn't going to stand. Sure, Mister Molina was probably going to make sure Carlos got lots of cool presents from Santa, but that wouldn't take away the niggling doubt.
The plan was simple. They were going to go to Carlos' house on Christmas Eve, climb up on the roof, and give him something to believe in. Bobby helped them make something with broomsticks that would sound like reindeer hooves on the roof, and Alex swore he wouldn't help with their stupid plan but got them the Santa Costume from his attic anyway.
He and Luke met up at the studio at midnight, getting everything ready. They decided Luke would be the one to dangle from the roof in front of the window, since he had the Arm Muscles to do so. Reggie would hold on to the rope and make the reindeer noises.
Getting on the Molina roof was pretty easy. Of course, they both had a lot of experience with sneaking out. Reggie found what he was pretty sure was Carlos' window, and they got to work. Jingling some bells, clip-cloppy hooves on the roof, and big booted footsteps. Then, Reggie tied the rope to the chimney, and gently lowered Luke down.
"Ho ho OH MY GOD Reggie she has a knife!" Luke shrieked, which was not the line. Reggie dropped the rope in his fright, and Luke dropped down the extra foot and a half, rolling off the roof in front of the dormer and landing with an ‘oof!’ on the roof of the back porch.
"Luke!" Reggie whisper-shouted, leaning over the edge of the dormer window. Below him, Luke was thankfully getting up, and then a head popped out of the window which was decidedly not Carlos. Long curly black hair, a fierce glare and oh yep that was a knife.
"Reggie?" Julie, Carlos' older sister asked incredulously. "What the hell are you doing?"
"We were trying to give Carlos a visit from Santa," he said, thankful when she lowered the knife. "He's already been through so much this year, I wasn't going to let stupid Jaedynn McKenzie ruin this for him too."
Julie's face crumpled, and her eyes filled with tears. Oh no. He and Luke shared a look of panic. "That's so stupid," she said wetly, laughing through her tears. "And sweet." She pushed the window open a little further, leaning out as Reggie slid down to the edge next to it. He helped Luke clamber back up, and he pulled his itchy beard down to give her a sheepish smile.
"Um, Julie, this is my boyfriend, Luke," Reggie said. They'd only really talked once, at one of Carlos' baseball games. She seemed really cool, even though she was also obviously struggling with her mom's death. She was also very pretty when she wasn’t threatening people with a knife. "Luke, this is Carlos' sister, Julie."
"Um, hi. Thanks for not stabbing Santa," Luke said awkwardly.
Julie snorted. "Carlos' room is over there," she said, pointing to another set of windows. Also, he sleeps like the dead," she said. "Give me five minutes, I'll go wake him up and tell him I heard something."
She gave Reggie a firm but cute glare. "Don't drop Santa this time."
"Yes boss," they both said.
In the end, Carlos got The Magic Of Christmas back, and Luke and Reggie got to hang out on the roof and eat the cookies they'd left out for Santa, talking to Julie until the night sky started to lighten.
He’d been hoping to get to the studio before anyone else, really. He’d been hoping to pop in, go to the bathroom, and use that concealer Julie had gotten him last month. She’d used it to expertly cover up the not-hickeys on his neck before a show. Because trying to explain that no, these weren’t hickeys, Alex had tried to suck up the cookie crumbs from your napping self by running a roomba over you was embarrassing. Especially with their ever-growing Instagram following being obsessed with who in the band was dating who.
They’d agreed not to get into it. Firstly because they wanted the focus to be about the music. And also because Alex wasn’t ready to have the entire internet know about Willie yet, so Luke and Reggie were staying quiet in solidarity. And also because they secretly thought it was extremely funny to pit the Juke-fans against the Rulie-fans when Julie was pretty openly dating Flynn and had been for almost as long as the band had been together. They’d all agreed to give it until Pride month before Julie was dragging Flynn on stage and kissing her.
This was even worse than not-hickeys. He didn’t want anyone to know about this. They’d all have opinions, and he just couldn’t deal with that right now. So he snuck into the studio instead of barging into the Molina’s house to bother Ray before practice. He could cover up the bruising on his cheek, and use the setting spray (he’d been paying attention when Julie talked!) and then rock out without any awkward questions.
Except Luke was already in the studio, messing around on his six string. He looked up and beamed, but his face darkened the second he saw the mark on Reggie’s face. Reggie ducked his head, but it was too late, Luke was jumping up. “What happened?” he asked.
“I’m fine, honest,” he said, but Luke was already grabbing his chin, gently tilting his head up to the light.
“Let me see,” he said, and his breath ghosted over Reggie’s cheekbone. Reggie shivered. “I’ll fucking kill him.”
“Who?” Reggie asked, confused.
“Your dad,” Luke said.
“Dude,” Reggie said, grabbing his wrist before he could storm out and do something they would both regret. Okay, so maybe he had been spending more and more time with the Molinas. Maybe he and Luke snuck into Julie’s garage to stay over a lot more than either of them were comfortable admitting to Ray. Maybe the fights at home had reached a fever pitch where Reggie was this close to just begging his parents to just divorce already. But... “My dad didn’t hit me.”
“Then who did?” Luke asked, huffing and puffing, and it shouldn’t be this adorable, that he was so ready to defend Reggie’s honour. He was a strong independent bassist who didn’t need no man defending him, and all. “Was it that lacrosse jock from your chemistry class? I’ll fucking slash his tires. I’ll... I’ll get Flynn to start a rumour about him that’s so bad he transfers schools.”
Reggie bit his lip, trying not to laugh. “If I tell you who’s responsible, do you promise not to fight them?” Luke frowned, like he wasn’t sure he wanted to. “Luke.” He gave Luke his best Julie Glare. He settled down a little.
“Fine, I won’t fight them,” Luke sulked. “I’m not making any promises otherwise.” Reggie kissed the pout of his lips, nipping at his bottom lip. Luke sighed into the kiss, before pulling back. “You can’t distract me.”
Reggie rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He grabbed his phone, swiping it open and going to his most recent pictures. “Please don’t slash Mister Mittens’ tires,” he said, showing Luke the picture of the cat he’d rescued out of the tree. “I mean, technically it was the tree’s fault, I hit like two branches on the way down. Don’t cut down the oak on the corner by the diner, either.”
“You fell out of a tree,” Luke said. “Rescuing a cat.”
“The cat was fine!” Reggie defended himself. “And I’m pretty sure he was judging me, actually. Even though he was the one to get stuck.”
Luke took a deep breath, resting his forehead against Reggie’s. “You scared me, you dork,” he said.
“Promise me another thing?” Reggie asked. Luke nodded, wrapping his arms around Reggie’s waist. “Help me sit on Alex so I have a chance to explain before we have to have this entire conversation again?”
“Sure,” Luke agreed. In the end, they didn’t have to sit on Alex, but Luke did have to throw Julie over his shoulder and bring her back into the studio before she stormed off to get Nick to give her the Lacrosse Jock’s address so she could egg his house.
It was nice, really, to have so many people who loved him, Reggie thought, even as he watched Luke throw Julie onto the couch and sit on her.
Peterpatterlina + Everyone Is Enamored By The Mysterious Lady Knight At The Renaissance Fair
"Okay, so maybe you were right and we would have stood out if we came in our normal clothes," Alex admitted to Reggie and Willie, before immediately being dragged away by his boyfriend to go see the blacksmith making cool stuff.
"At least Alex wore his costume that we painstakingly put together," Reggie sulked. "You're just wearing the leather vest that's supposed to go over your blouse."
"Baby, I love you, but you know I cannot do sleeves," Luke said, pressing a kiss to his cheek. The sleeves had been so frilly and heavy, he’s hated it. Besides, these pants Reggie picked made his ass look amazing, he wasn’t about to cover that up with a frilly blouse. Reggie pouted for all of two seconds before perking right back up again as he spotted one of the stalls.
“Oh, there’s Liz and TJ’s stall! They always have the best gossip about this year’s faire.” He pulled Luke over, before making a deep bow, the lute on his back shifting. “Well met, fair maiden!” Reggie said. “My friend and I have travelled from afar to come enjoy your amazing festival, and wish to hear all about who may be participating in this year’s tournament.”
“Oh, I get it, you love coming to the renaissance faire to flirt with all the ladies,” Luke said. Reggie shot him a pout.
“Well met, noble bard,” the lady, Liz, said. “This year has quite the crop of candidates. It is said that the White Knight, Sir Nicholas, is trying to win to curry the favour of King Wilson, to win the hand of the princess.” She went through the backstory of a few more characters, each with their own colour. She leaned over the table conspiringly. “However, it is said there is a new knight on the scene, who bears the flag of the Purple Dahlia who also fights for the fair princess’ hand, and for her freedom to marry whomever she pleases.”
“Ooooh,” Reggie said, gasping. “Do they stand a chance against Sir Nicholas?”
“The Lady Julie is one of the fiercest fighters on the field,” Liz said. “And my personal favourite.” She winked, showing off the little dahlia pin on her dress.
They went over to what was essentially a merch tent, and Reggie picked out a little Purple Dahlia pin to put on his vest to show his support. Luke rolled his eyes but followed Reggie to the tournament field, buying them both some snacks while Reggie vibrated in his seat on the bleachers in excitement. Up on the podium on the other side of the field, there was a dude in a beard with a crown and a girl in a pink princess dress who was doing her best to look Dramatically Bored while also waving secretly at all the excited little girls who screeched her name.
Luke had to admit the tournament was pretty cool. Reggie leaned over and whispered into his ear about how some parts were scripted, but the ending usually depended on the mood of the crowd. Luke shivered at the feeling of Reggie’s lips against his ear, and promised to cheer very loudly for Reggie’s favourites. He was pretty sure he’d have said yes to pretty much anything Reggie asked at that moment.
So they cheered for the Green Archer and the Brown Knight. The emcee, or town crier, or whatever they called the person who talked in between the joust-y bits, Flynn, was really funny and good. And then it was time for the main event. Sir Nicholas versus Lady Julie. Reggie sat up straight in his seat, clutching Luke’s arm and cheering for Lady Julie as loudly as he could.
The fight was amazing, and well-choreographed, like a dance, but a lot more violent. Sir Nicholas tripped over his own feet, and the crowd gasped. His helmet fell off. Luke wondered if that was for dramatic effect or if it really just fell off. That trip hadn’t seemed very planned either. Still, it made things exciting.
And then, the Purple Dahlia ripped her helmet off as well, a cascade of curls falling out. She held the sword under Sir Nicholas’ chin, tipping his head up dramatically until he admitted defeat. Luke could hear Reggie gulp beside him and yeah, yeah that definitely awoke something in both of them.
In the end, Princess Carrie swooned in Lady Julie’s arms, and she made an unsubtle but don’t-piss-off-the-parents speech about the Princess being free to marry or not marry whoever she wanted. Reggie and Luke cheered as loud as they could, and they could see both knight and princess trying to keep a straight face when someone from the audience (quite possibly Willie) cheered ‘let’s go lesbians, let’s go!’
They walked across the fairgrounds after the tournament. Luke let himself enjoy it, especially when a gaggle of small children surrounded Reggie and begged for him to play a song on his lute. Turned out his boyfriend not only wrote country songs, he also wrote silly little improv songs about dragons and princesses and brave lady-knights. When the kids finally dispersed back to their parents, Reggie’s eyes were sparkling and he looked so happy, Luke just wanted to kiss him.
“What a lovely song, noble bard,” someone behind him said. Reggie looked up and gasped.
“Lady Julie!” He took off his ridiculous pouf-y hat with the feather, bowing dramatically. Luke whirled around. She was even more beautiful up close. She was out of her armour now, but still wearing chain mail, and Luke nearly swallowed his tongue. “Of course your amazing feats on today’s battlefield deserve a thousand more songs and a hundred more sonnets.”
Lady Julie smiled, and Luke could see the way Reggie’s cheeks flushed even as they made semi-flirty, old-timey conversation. For a moment, the knight’s eyes flicked over Luke’s person, but when she didn’t see a Dahlia pin, she focused back on Reggie, who looked both gleeful at being indulged and absolutely smitten.
When Lady Julie finally moved on, complimenting a little girl on her plastic sword, Reggie watched her go, heart eyes evident until he saw Luke pouting.
“C’mon,” Luke said, grabbing his hand.
“Luke?” Reggie asked, letting himself be dragged. “Look, I’m sorry if the flirting was too much, it was just for fun, you know I...”
“What? No!” Luke stopped, pressing a kiss to his lips to make him stop doubting himself. He liked that Reggie is a flirt. He liked being the one that got to take him home at the end of the night. And also... he really, really couldn’t blame him for shooting his shot with the hot knight. “I’m not mad! We need to go back to the tent so I can buy a dahlia pin as well so the pretty lady knight notices me, too, you dork.”
For the 3 sentence prompts! JatP wild west AU, dealer's choice
He hadn't found Willie yet, not even after visiting the blacksmith and talking to Alex, who had the decency to look vaguely guilty even as he obstructed justice and said he had no idea where his boyfriend was. Reggie had tried most of the usual spots already, which just left one.
"Hey, Sheriff Handsome," Luke greeted him with a wink. "What can I get you? Beer? Whiskey? A kiss?" Reggie rolled his eyes, but accepted the kiss to the cheek anyway. He may be working, but he was only human.
"How about the location of my fugitive?" he asked, and grinned when Luke's eyes flicked towards the back room.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Luke said, like he wasn't the world's most terrible liar. Reggie gave him a proper kiss, ignoring Julie's little wolf whistle from the piano and the laughter of the regulars.
When he made his way to the back room, there was a flurry of movement, and a squeak, and Reggie laughed at Willie's attempt to hide behind one of the working girls in his lap, shrinking behind ruffles and curls and petticoats. "This is your worst hiding place yet, Willie."
"Who says I'm hiding?" Willie pouted. "Maybe Josephine and I are having a good time." Josephine, on his lap, stifled her laughter, rolling her eyes and taking Reggie's hand when he offered it to her like a gentleman. She made her way back towards the front, wishing Willie good luck over her shoulder.
"I very much doubt it," Reggie said, putting his hands on either side of Willie's shoulders on the wooden bench behind him, looming just a little. It made his badge gleam in the light. "Because if you do anything to break Alex' heart, I’m making sure you get far worse than a night in the county jail." Willie swallowed, eyes flitting from Reggie's face to his badge.
Reggie sighed, before dropping into Willie's lap himself. "Now come on, man, what did we talk about, scaring the prospectors into thinking there's a Bigfoot out there?" He pouted. "You're making my job really hard, sweetheart. I keep having to chase down fake monsters in the mountains instead of doing any actual sheriffing."
"But it's so funny!" Willie said, wrapping his arms around Reggie and stifling a giggle into his neck. "You should have seen their faces!" Reggie rolled his eyes, but when Willie pulled him down for a kiss, he didn’t resist.
Send me a pairing and an AU and I will write (at least) 3 paragraphs for it.
Forgotten First Meeting + Stranded Due to Inclement Weather
So imagine, Luke and Reggie don't know each other. Luke's run away from home and is living in the garage where Sunset Curve rehearses.
Reggie isn't in the band, and is home a lot more often, which means he's around his parents' fighting way more, which means he starts to become their target more often than not. Or maybe he tries to get between them when he’s worried they’re escalating again, because he doesn’t want the cops to be called, again. Either way, he gets punched in the face for his trouble by his father, and his mother kicks him out of the house screaming to mind his own business.
So he scrams, and he walks around, and he stops at this street musician busking on the pier. He's very pretty and he has Impressive Arms and his voice is beautiful, and he's singing with so much passion that Reggie stops to listen to a song. And then another. And another. And the guy starts to notice, and gives him this cute, scrunchy-nosed smile, and he awkwardly grabs the few crumpled dollar bills he keeps in his flannel for emergencies and throws them in the guitar case, just so the guy doesn’t think he’s a useless creeper.
And maybe he stays too long, but every third or so song, the guy comes out with something Reggie’s never heard before. And he listens to a lot of music, okay, so he’s pretty sure it’s original. This guy is like, super talented. (And extremely hot, which is just unfair.)
So he stays, and then all of a sudden this guy sings what he is pretty sure is a song ripped straight from Reggie’s very soul, about broken homes. And he looks at him with those beautiful, sincere eyes, and croons at him that it’s okay to ask for help, and that he’s so strong and he can make it through anything. And Reggie suddenly realizes his cheeks are wet and before he can think about it, he makes a break for it, pushing through the crowd of people.
But he does ask for help. And things get better, even if it means he doesn’t live with his parents anymore. His new foster parents, the Ortegas, have this big and happy family that just accepts him as one of their own right off the bat. And while it can get loud, it’s never scary. He shares a room with Willie, who is just the coolest, nicest, most chill dude ever, and everything is pretty great.
Instead of trying to scrape by with shitty after-school jobs so he can pay for stuff like food and clothes and the power bill when his parents forget again, he gets to do stuff like study, and play music, and just hang out and be a teenager. And nobody ever hits him, or throws glassware at his head, or screams at him, or even tells him to shut the hell up because he’s annoying.
So when Willie says his boyfriend’s new band is looking for a bass player, he is all over that. Willie’s boyfriend is super cool. Even though he can be kind of snarky and sarcastic, he will make time to play Princess Tea Party with Willie’s younger sister, and it’s pretty hard to be intimidated by a dude when you’ve seen him in a hot pink feather boa and a plastic tiara.
So he follows Alex to the garage where they’re rehearsing now, and it’s super cool, and he shakes hands with the lead singer, Julie, and then in walks... the guy from the pier. And Reggie nearly drops his bass, because that’s the guy that changed his life, and he’s still super hot, and have his arms gotten even more toned in the year since Reggie saw him?
And he smiles and introduces himself as Luke, and they get right into the audition, and then they jam together a little and it’s pretty awesome. And Alex looks super smug when Luke and Julie tell him he’s got the job, and Willie gives him a high-five, and the Ortegas order pizza to celebrate him getting into the band.
So Reggie gets right to work learning all the new songs for Julie and the Phantoms (which is an awesome, awesome name). Sometimes Luke even asks him to stay late to see if they can improve the bass line for some of the songs, or work together to make one for the songs he and Julie are working on. Julie usually bounces after a while, saying she has homework, so he and Luke spend a lot of time alone together.
Reggie finds he really, really doesn’t mind. Sometimes he even calls the Ortegas and asks if it’s alright if he stays late. They usually don’t mind, because they’re cool like that, just making sure he let them know if he wants a ride home. Reggie learns that Luke doesn’t have to call anyone anymore, because he pretty much lives in the garage. He says he likes it that way, that Julie’s dad had offered to let him crash at theirs, but that he likes the freedom. Still, there’s a loneliness in his eyes when he says it, and Reggie starts to make it his mission in life to keep that look from ever crossing Luke’s face again.
So he starts inviting Luke over for dinner (again, the Ortegas are so freaking awesome), and sometimes they all go out to get pizza together after rehearsal, Willie tagging along as their unofficial fifth member. Sometimes they go out just the two of them, grabbing some street dogs and walking around or going to catch a movie and sharing a popcorn. It’s super cool, especially when they realize they both like holding hands so they don’t get separated when one of them is distracted by something cool. It takes a couple of months for Alex to get fed up and spell out that they’re dating each other, Willie and Julie muffling their laughter behind him. Then it’s even cooler, because Reggie and Luke get to hang out and kiss sometimes, too.
This time, it isn’t so much a planned hang-out, as it is a ‘no Mister Ortega, really, you don’t need to come get me, it’s pitch-black and storming outside. I’ll just stay over at Luke’s tonight if that’s okay’. He knows Mrs Ortega hates the idea of Mister Ortega driving in this weather, and to be perfectly honest, the idea of an impromptu sleepover with Luke seems pretty exciting.
So they make sure the garage door is safely shut, and when the power cuts out, they curl up on the pull-out together with only the light of the battery powered fairy lights hanging on the wall. Luke tells him about how he used to hide under the covers during storms like this, his face wistful and sad. Reggie tells him a bit about his own home-life, before the Ortegas, and Luke finds his hand, squeezing it tight.
“How come you never play that song?” he asks Luke. They play a lot of Julie-and-Luke songs, and a few just written by Julie (one of which was stolen directly from her dream box and almost earned Luke a concussion, apparently), and some written by Luke. Even the one they never perform in public, the one about Luke’s mom, Emily. But they never play the one he sang to Reggie that day on the pier.
“What song?” Luke asks, sitting up and leaning on his elbow. Reggie tries not to think of how pretty he looks, eyebrows knit together in confusion, lips parted slightly in the most beautiful pout.
“You know,” he says, sitting up as well and singing the chorus of the song from the pier, the one seared into his brain. The one that finally gave him the strength to go to the guidance counselor at school when a thrown glass came a little too close to taking his eye out, the bruises on his ribs still healing.
He isn’t expecting Luke to react the way he did. “Where did you get that?” Luke hisses, pushing away from him. “Have you been going through my songbook?” Luke’s songbook was sacred, he always carried it with him. He was super protective of it. Alex had told him once that something had happened with their old band, that a friend of theirs had stolen several of Luke’s songs and passed them off as his own, and he’d been very protective of his songbook ever since. Nobody was allowed to look in it except for Julie.
“What?” Reggie asks, terrified. His mind was racing, trying not to think of how Luke’s balled fists look like he’s about to throw a punch.
“Nobody knows that song, how did you get it?” Luke looks really angry, and Reggie flinches and tries to cover his face.
“You sang it to me,” he blurts out. “You sang it to me on the pier!”
And just as sudden as the anger appeared, it’s gone. Luke sits back, shocked, mouth hanging open. And Reggie realizes that Luke had no idea who he was, had no idea that he’d changed Reggie’s entire life. Reggie had just thought Luke was being a cool dude, never bringing up the time Reggie had been some weirdo staring at him busking before crying and running away. But he just hadn’t made the connection.
“Oh.” His hand comes up to Reggie’s eye, where the bruise had been. Reggie flinches, and Luke pulls his hand back, guiltily.
“That song changed my life,” he tells Luke, curling in on himself. “You changed my life. I thought... I thought you knew.”
“That’s the only time I ever performed that song,” Luke whispers. “I just... that guy, I mean, you... you looked like you needed it. Like you’d understand.”
And when Reggie inches his hand across the sheets to take hold of Luke’s hand, Luke gladly takes it, linking their fingers together. “I’m sorry I scared you,” he says, miserably. “I didn’t mean to yell. It’s just... Bobby...” He shakes his head. “It wasn’t cool of me. I’m really sorry.”
Reggie nods, before leaning in, his lips nearly brushing against Luke’s. “I know how you can make it up to me,” he says. Luke smiles against his lips.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Reggie grins. “You have to add that song to our set list the next time we play.”
Luke blinks. “Are you sure?” he asks, eyebrows knitting together in a worried frown. “It’s kind of a downer.”
“It’s a good song,” Reggie says, stubbornly. “It can help people.”
Luke was quiet for a moment, but then smiled. “Okay. I guess it did bring me you, in the end.”
Send me two tropes from this list and a pairing and I’ll tell you the fic to go with it.
So Luke and Reggie used to date in the 90s. They broke up for the 'good of the band', but really they broke up because Luke knew he was a mess after he ran away and he didn't want to burden Reggie with it, and Reggie was heartbroken and thought he just wasn't good enough for Luke but agreed because he was scared if he pushed back he'd lose Luke's friendship too.
And then the events of season 1 happen and Luke and Julie are clearly a thing and Reggie is trying so very hard to be happy for them, but it takes a lot of long walks alone on the beach and maybe crying in the back of the shitty bike-rental where his house used to be. He loves Luke, he tells himself, and he wants Luke to be happy. And maybe he also loves Julie, more than just 'you gave us a second shot at music and we're best bros who are catching up on every Disney movie since the 90s'. But he sets aside that ache in his heart, locking it up in a little box next to his feelings for Luke, and tries to ignore it.
And Luke loves Julie, it is so clear, she is his kindred spirit, they make the most amazing music together, she makes him a better writer and a better person and they're literally standing on the edge of great...
But he misses Reggie so much. And maybe sometimes his eyes wander, and he just stares at Reggie's beautiful laugh as he's messing around trying to play catch with Carlos (even though the ball phases through his hand half the time). And maybe sometimes when they share a mike he lingers a little too long and looks at his mouth and wishes he could just kiss Reggie again. And he thinks maybe Julie has caught on, but she doesn't say anything.
And Julie is just like: clearly these boys are madly in love and it’s driving me crazy. I can’t take the sad looks they throw each other. And also I think I love them both. And I think maybe Reggie also likes me.
And Flynn is like: there is a very obvious solution to your problems and it’s called polyamory.
And Julie is like: well yeah, but I’m waiting until our next gig so they’re extremely corporeal so I can threaten them with actual violence if they don’t talk to each other. Alex promised me he’d help sit on them if necessary.
And Flynn high-fives her, because attagirl, and then Julie does just that and they talk and they all confess their feelings and now Julie has TWO ghost boyfriends who are no longer pining for one another, go Julie.
Send me two tropes from this list and a pairing and I’ll tell you the fic to go with it.
