#alex always times it so that hes the one who checks willie out
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From @theamd426 Falling asleep in class/work for teenage Reggie and Julie please!!!!
Reggie sighed as he clocked in, donning his vest. Overnight shifts were always the worst, but they paid more, so he took them on occasion. At least this way he didn't have to deal with customers, all he had to do was restock the shelves and take inventory.
"Hey Reggie!" Julie called as she clocked in. "Ready for an exciting night of work?"
He shrugged but offered her a smile. "It's better now that you're here. I was terrified I would be stuck with Brett."
Julie wrinkled her nose at that. "Ew, no one should suffer like that." Then she giggled, and Reggie joined her. Brett was a useless layabout who usually smelled of weed and made terrible racist jokes, so no one wanted to work with him.
"At least I get half the music choices with you," Reggie said, elbowing her. They had similar tastes, and had a playlist for whenever they worked together, a mix of the stuff they both liked, since no one else was working, no one else could argue about the music.
"Well crank it up and we'll get started," Julie said with a hip check.
With the music blaring, they got to work; first tossing out the spoiled produce, and taking out anything expired from the coolers. Rotating stock so the older stuff went in front as they put the new in the rear.
Reggie started on the inventory as Julie filled the shelves, then they switched the next aisle over, taking turns as they went to make the night go faster. Chatting as they went, about their upcoming senior year, their co-workers, their friends, and plans for university. The two of them had been friends for awhile, and had come to work here by coincidence, making their bond even deeper.
Being good friends also made it easier to get through the long night shifts together, even if they finished long before they were due thanks to how well they worked together.
"Wanna go chill in the patio furniture before we start on the cleaning?" Reggie suggested.
"Sounds good," Julie agreed, covering a yawn as they went. "Sorry, I should have napped this afternoon but Flynn was having relationship drama and best friend duties trumped my need for sleep."
"Ugh tell me about it, I have to listen to Alex whine about his ginormous crush on Willie more than I don't," Reggie replied. "However my nap plans got waylaid by Luke and his new bridge for Destination Nowhere."
"Think we'd get in trouble for sneaking in a snooze?" Julie asked as they lounged on the patio furniture.
"As long as we wake up in time to wipe the cameras," Reggie said. "Though you know Kenneth doesn't care as long as everything gets done."
"I'll set an alarm," Julie said, taking out her phone, yawning again. Reggie already had his eyes closed but murmured his consent.
This wasn't the first time they had done this-though they usually did so in the staff room where the cameras weren't, but like Reggie said, their manager wasn't a big harper for the rules given they had caught him napping amongst the holiday blow ups more than once.
They never napped long-half an hour at most, but it was a much needed refresher. Even if they were both a bit groggy when Julie's alarm blared.
"Alright, I'm up, I'm up," Reggie protested, rubbing his eyes.
"Five more minutes," Julie moaned.
"No way Molina, we gotta get the cleaning done then I propose we clock out early and go back to yours for a lengthy snooze," Reggie proposed.
"Why my house?" Julie asked as she stretched.
"You have a million couches and your family will let us sleep, unlike mine," Reggie replied.
"Fair enough," Julie said. "Let's get too, I can hear my bed calling my name."
Reggie nodded and they went back to work, leaving as soon as it was done and getting a quality amount of sleep once back at the Molina house.
Of course, they also forgot to wipe the cameras, and the next shift they were on, there was a screenshot of them snoozing printed out in the break room for them-surrounded by a big red heart and Kenneth's name signed underneath it. They both blushed, but decided that next time they caught him cuddling the stuffed animals, they were definitely getting proof as revenge.
Even if he was right about the heart by the end of the summer.
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also from your additions because they're fun: to protect an actual partner who doesn't want the attention for pairing of your choice! :D
Heheh yes of course! Thanks for the ask!!!!
"Alex, over here!"
"Luke, is it true your next single is due soon?"
"Julie, who are you wearing tonight?"
"Reggie, Alex, is it true you two are dating?"
Reggie blinks, still unused to all the flashing lights of the cameras on red carpets. But that last question at least needed to be answered, for all of their sakes.
"Yep," he says, grabbing Alex's hand and relaxing when his best friend squeezes his. "Two years last month."
"Why all the secrecy?" another reporter asks, pointing a mic at them.
"We weren't really in the market for attention," Alex answers, the lie flowing smoothly to anyone who didn't know him. "And potential backlash over us being in a queer relationship is always a concern."
Reggie lets go of Alex's hand to wrap his arm around his waist instead. Nothing he hasn't done a million times, it's just usually not like this. It feels easy though, because it's Alex. They're best friends and they both know what's going on, even if the public doesn't.
"Plus, I wanted to keep him to myself," he says, leaning over to peck Alex on the cheek.
"Shut up," Alex protests playfully.
"So why come out now?" someone else demands.
Geez, Reggie thinks, why do so many people seem to think their entitled to knowledge of their personal lives just because the band is famous?
"Eh we figured it was time," he offers, just like they planned. "Lots of people already knew, so it's not a big deal."
"Guys, band picture!" Julie calls from a few steps further down the carpet.
Reggie hides his sigh of relief with a wide grin and a wink for the cameras before he and Alex join her and Luke for more photos. Sure, being more openly affectionate with Alex is fun, but it's still lying to call him his boyfriend. He sends a mental sorry to his partner back at their apartment. It's not necessary of course, both his and Alex's partners are on board with this. But still.
Once they make it inside the movie theater, Luke manages to get them all away from the crowd and into a large, family restroom.
"Everyone okay?" Julie checks as soon as the door is locked behind them.
Reggie lets himself relax against Luke's side. Thank goodness for his qpps. "Yeah, I think so," he says. "I feel like I should send a million sorry texts though."
"Agreed," Alex responds, sitting down on the floor and tapping out a steady rhythm on the tiled floor. "I know it was Willie's idea and everything, but it still feels weird."
Luke shrugs. "Makes sense to me. Pretty sure it'd kill me to have to lie about my relationships in front of that many people. You guys are brave."
"Well it keeps him safe," Reggie says instinctively. "This is sort of the best we got for everybody at the moment."
"You guys are going to have so much fun defacing the gossip magazines tomorrow," Julie adds, grinning.
"I think they were talking about going on a shopping spree for glitter pens while we're here," Alex agrees.
Reggie laughs. That sure sounds like their partners. "Well I guess we better get some good stuff out to make fun of then," he decides, standing up and straightening his suit jacket.
"And, you know, hear our song in a movie," Alex snarks, taking the hand Julie offers him to stand up.
Luke cheers. "Let's go!"
Reggie grabs Alex's hand and they all sneak back out into the lobby. The crowd surrounds them and Reggie definitely spots a few phone cameras pointed at them. But hey, this is the goal, right? Keep everyone from asking questions about their love lives and protect their real significant others from all the publicity garbage. So they might as well have some fun with it.
"We should do that whole crossing arms and drinking champagne thing later," he whispers to Alex as they find their seats in the movie theater.
"You'd better not spill any one me then," Alex teases. "I kinda like this jacket."
"Awww, but it would look so much better on Willie's floor," Reggie retorts.
"Wow, that is truly an awful line," Alex groans, laughing. "And I actually hang up my suit jackets, unlike someone I know."
"Sue me for having other priorities when I get home." Reggie wiggles his eyebrows just as the flash of a camera goes off right behind them.
Alex rolls his eyes at the brightness, but then the director comes onstage to introduce the film and the theater erupts into cheers. Movie time!
-- --- -- --- -- ---
"Wow, have you read this one yet?"
Reggie looks up from where he's been drawing little mustaches on him and Alex in People. His partner is holding up another gossip magazine, folded open to an article apparently about their 'relationship'. Reggie has to admit he's a bit distracted by the way his boyfriend's dark hair falls around his face and the fact that he isn't wearing a shirt at the moment.
"Earth to Reggie?" Bobby says with a smirk, waving the papers at him. "You have got to read this one, it's a compilation of your guys' cutest moments."
"Oh no," Reggie laughs, wriggling across their bed to take it. "Ten bucks says they put that Instagram post from last summer in the top 3."
"I mean, it was a pretty cute picture," Bobby agrees, snagging some more glossy pages from the stack Willie left outside their room this morning. "Hard to top last night though."
"We are pretty cute," Reggie says, nodding in an attempt to look serious. "Not as cute as you though."
"Awww, you flatter me," Bobby responds, clapping a hand to his chest. He flops down onto his back and flips through the pages to find the next article about 'Ralex', as they have been dubbed.
"Hey, it's kinda hard to top a solid 10," Reggie continues, setting his magazine aside to roll on top of his partner. "Like come on, Alex and I are cute, but have you looked in a mirror lately?"
"Flirt," Bobby retorts, one hand finding the back of Reggie's neck to pull him down into a kiss.
Reggie grins into it, sliding his hands into Bobby's hair as he nips at his bottom lip. Fake dating Alex is great, but he'll take real dating Bobby over that any day. And if doing them together keeps everyone safe, then so be it. The gossip magazines are pretty entertaining at least.
#legolas tag#julie and the phantoms#jatp#jatp fanfic#reggie peters#alex mercer#fake dating#julie molina#luke patterson#the whole band is queer platonic partners#cause I said so#Reggie and Alex are besties#and their boyfriends totally get into mischief while they're out being 'boyfriends' in public#boggie
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What if you wrote something based on this? 👀
I have no idea how grindr works save for a quick wikipedia search so ignore any inaccuracies!
-
"Oh right," Willie murmured as his phone displayed that he had a new message on grindr. "I wanted to uninstall that thing."
He'd gotten the app on a whim a few months ago, had had a few good times because of it but ultimately, it just wasn't his thing and the constant messages were a little annoying. LA just had too many horny gay people wanting to hook up.
Well, he could at least check this latest guy's message before deleting the app. Only seemed polite.
Except the message wasn't quite what he had expected.
Willie laughed as he read through the texts and he had to admit that the guy's profile picture looked cute. He hadn't gone for any of the obvious choices (which all excluded shirts) though if Willie guessed right and it showed the guy sitting behind a set of drums, it was no less sexy in Willie's opinion. And maybe the way the guy held that microphone was just a little suggestive.
It was almost a shame the guy wasn't looking to fuck right now but, granted, a flooded bathroom would probably put a damper on anyone's mood.
>Yeah, why not
>Gimme a sec and I'll come over
Willie didn't have anything else planned and getting out of the apartment was always a good idea. Plus microphone guy would probably appreciate being able to do damage control while waiting for the screwdriver delivery.
Judging from the flurry of relieved and grateful responses that followed, Willie was right about that.
---
A few minutes later, Willie arrived at the given address and discovered that the guy was even cuter in person, even dishevelled and 80% drenched. Or maybe because of that. He also blushed adorably as he opened his apartment door for Willie who held his screwdriver aloft with a wide grin.
"One flathead screwdriver, as requested."
"Oh thank God. You're a lifesaver!"
Willie shrugged and kept grinning. "No problem, man. Happy to help."
Cute wet guy waved him inside and closed the door behind him with a sigh, pushed the hair out of his face and then accepted the screwdriver Willie offered to him. Willie had to admit that it looked good in the guy's hand, mainly because the hand itself was just very nice.
Willie cleared his throat and followed nice hand guy towards the bathroom, waving away a couple more heartfelt 'thanks' on the way. He whistled as he stopped right in front of the little dam erected on the threshold to the bathroom.
"I can see why you were desperate enough to message some random guy on grindr for a screwdriver."
"Uh, yeah." Cute guy chuckled awkwardly and stepped over the assorted towels and something Willie supposed was a bed sheet before setting to work.
It didn't take long to stop the bathroom from further floods now Willie's handy screwdriver was on the job and afterwards, Willie offered to help with the clean up.
"I'm Willie by the way," he said as he tried to wring out drenched rolls of toilet paper over the newly repaired sink.
"Oh, yeah, sorry, I'm Alex?" Alex replied, smiling up from where he crouched in front of his washing machine, loading it with wet towels and a bed sheet.
"Nice to meet you, Alex." Willie stretched out his hand and Alex, after hastily shoving the last towel into the washing machine and closing the door, shook it with a smile.
"Likewise. Thanks for saving my ass."
"Well ...," Willie's gaze lingered on the still crouching Alex, who was now busy programming the washing machine, "it looks like an ass worth saving."
He was rewarded by another adorable blush as Alex looked up in surprise but then a grin stretched over his features as he got up and Willie suddenly realised that Alex was just that little bit taller than him and found he really liked that.
"Hmm ... I still need to thank you properly," Alex murmured, raking his eyes over Willie, whose heart sped up. "And I do need to get out of these wet clothes anyway ..."
Alex tilted his head a little as he looked at Willie, a question clear in his eyes.
Willie swallowed and then cleared his throat. "Well, you already had your hands on one of my tools today ..."
He grinned widely up at Alex, who managed to keep his composure for about three seconds before bursting into laughter.
"Oh my god, that was terrible."
Willie giggled. "Well how could I resist? It was right there!" He stepped closer and put his hands on Alex's hips. "Just like you are," he continued, brows wagging and with his voice full of suggestions as he began to push up Alex's wet shirt.
Now it was Alex's turn to swallow hard as he stared down at Willie. "What a lucky coincidence," he whispered with a faint smile, fingers grazing over Willie's cheek before pulling him in for a kiss.
--
Willie deleted grindr the next day. But he never regretted getting it because he got a boyfriend out of it after all. A boyfriend with very nice, very talented hands.
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Hello, five (or more, I wouldn't say no) spontaneous headcanons about a willex boarding school au? 👀 (sfw please)
-When Caleb gets a call that his sister left custody over her son to him, a nephew he never even knew he had, he is like: wtf. When he comes to meet with the social worker and sees the long hair, tie-dye crop top, and earring, he’s like: of course I am taking him in. (There’s a reason he hasn’t talked to his family for decades and he will not have them do the same to Willie as they did to him.)
Except being a full-time parent and running the HGC is not a great combination, especially with Willie’s flair for Chaos. So he makes him a deal: he can go to any boarding school in the country, or even the world, if he promises to behave enough not to get kicked out, and in return he can wreak whatever chaos he wants in the summers (within reason).
-Willie chooses the boarding school because they have a great art program, they’re queer-friendly (Caleb called to check), and it’s in the Woods and he 1) always liked the woods and 2) wants to see Bigfoot.
-Alex’ parents sent him to boarding school after he came out. Alex is not sure he understands their reasoning, given that it is an all-boy’s boarding school and that is like the opposite of ‘straightening him out’, but anything is better than the icy silence at home. Alex’ parents do not know the entire stack of Hot Gay Boarding School Romance Novels under his older sister’s bed that Alex may or may not have borrowed.
-Listen Alex likes his roommate Luke and he’s kind of open to the idea of starting a band with him but also he is SO ENERGETIC and he cannot sit still and he’s always humming and it drives Alex insane.
-So he goes to hide out in the library. Not the fancy new one with amazing computers and a 3D printer and shit, the dusty old one nobody uses because the wifi is shit and it‘s always cold and drafty but it looks great on pamphlets for the Old Money crowd. He bundles up in his hoodie and finds a comfy armchair and just gets to Be Still for a moment.
-Except his peace and quiet is interrupted at a gleeful shout and then a maniac on a skateboard comes into view, sliding his board on the fancy brass railings before landing hard and rolling right into Alex and his comfy armchair, sending both of them toppling backward.
-“Oh man you dinged my board” meetcute etc etc.
-Lots of cute sneaking around in the dark holding hands dates. Willie shows him how to get on the roof and it’s so peaceful and pretty there he loves it. They take up a blanket and watch the stars next time, and share their first kiss there.
-Maybe he sends his sister a postcard like: ‘Boarding school is great, I am learning so much, all this nature is so good for me, etc etc platitudes’ along with an abbreviated title of one of their favourite books with the chapter in which the main characters have their first kiss... on a rooftop.
- “I dunno what HGBSRNCH12 means, Mom, I think he was just trying to clean his pen or something, it’s just a random scribble. You know Alex hates when pens aren’t writing smoothly.”
-Soon they form a little group with Bobby (rich parents who travel a lot and don’t want to take him with them) and Reggie (the scholarship kid). Reggie is upset there are no secret societies at this school. He thought maybe none of them just wanted him, but he could still catch one in the act of secret society-ing. But Bobby (a legacy kid) told him there weren’t any.
-Obvs they start a secret society just for the fun of it. Since they can’t play music late at night without getting caught (then it’s not a Secret Society, Luke, you dumbass), their activities include Sneaking, Stealing Snacks, Trying To Find Bigfoot and/or Mothman in the woods, and picnics on the roof. But while wearing dramatic hoods and holding (fake, battery-powered, Alex does not trust these goofballs with fire) candles and stuff.
send me an au and i’ll give you 5+ headcanons about it
#willex#AUs are awesome#boarding school au#julie and the phantoms#alex mercer#willie throckmorton#weird but well-meaning foster dad caleb covington#luke patterson#bobby shaw#reggie peters#not!fic#I wrote a thing#there are totally other secret societies but they're all bad news and asshole rich kids#and Bobby doesn't want Reggie to get caught up in their bullshit#luke's parents sent him there as a compromise since it has a good music program#but it's also in the middle of the fucking woods in bumfuck nowhere so he can't go out and escape to rock concerts etc#JOKE'S ON YOU MOM he and his new friends held a rock concert for Bigfoot at 2am in the woods#Alex Does Not Believe In Bigfoot but he still gets spooked every time they go into the woods#Reggie and Willie are 100% serious about it#Bobby is a dickhead who will go 'WHAT WAS THAT' dramatically every now and then#Luke's just happy to come along and also they have snacks so...
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Colors blooming around us (this will go down in our history)
Merry Christmas Lea!!!!
I hope you had the best day, had good food, and enjoyed your presents! Ily!!!
You posted that drawing and I immediately knew I had to write a fic about it. I hope you enjoy it!!
(drawing in the middle by @lyxchen, used with permission)
Thanks @sunsetcurbed for beta reading <3
Taglist in the reblog, I'll post this on AO3 in a couple days <3
Alex lets his sticks hit the cymbal one last time before he allows the sound to ring out. Around him his friends have lifted their hands off their instruments, are leaning away from their mics, the last notes echoing through the gigantic hall in front of them.
Alex always says that that gig at the Orpheum has been the most important gig of their career. He’s right of course, it’s what got them the attention of labels, which eventually got them signed.
But this show feels important like that. It’s in the middle of their first Europe tour. They’re playing at their biggest venue yet. They have an entire camera crew filming every angle of them, so they can cut it into a movie of their concert. And they have special bits planned for this show that they’re not doing at others. One of them is going to happen during the next song.
Alex feels like his veins are vibrating. Both from the adrenaline of the show that is going the best it can, but also from nervousness and excitement about what he is about to do. When he looks around at his friends, he sees that they’re not feeling much different. Julie is breathing heavily from having sung her heart out, Luke’s chest is already bare, feeling too hot and constricted in his shirt, and Reggie and Bobby keep shaking and brushing their hair away from their foreheads. Alex is no longer wearing his hat, too scared that it will fall off.
He locks eyes with Luke. Luke is grinning at him, raising his eyebrows in a question. Alex doesn’t hesitate before he nods. Luke’s grin widens and he winks.
Alex lets out a slow breath and chances a look at the audience. He can’t see much further than the first few rows, stage lights are burning bright in his eyes, but he clearly sees how the masses of people—they really are masses tonight—are all cheering, shouting, crying. It’s overwhelming to see so many people being here just for you. Celebrating with you.
Alex manages to catch Willie’s eyes in the crowd. He’s standing at the front, in the very center. Alex wonders if they’ve told the people around them who they are. As soon as their gazes lock, Willie cheers loudly, and Alex likes to think he can hear their voice through the shouts of everyone else. He’s so excited that Willie is here tonight, coming all the way from the US to the UK to support him. Willie has no idea what’s about to happen, but Alex knows that he’s gonna love it.
Julie turns around to look at all of them. They all nod at her to let her know they’re ready. Smiling, she turns and sits down at the piano standing a bit to the side. The crowd goes wild, even though they don’t know what song they’re gonna be playing next.
“This next song is from our first album and it’s special in many ways,” Julie speaks into her mic. “Our beautiful drummer helped write it,” she lifts a hand to show off Alex while the crowd applauds for him, “and we filmed an amazing music video for it, that to this day, is the most clicked video on our channel.” The crowd cheers once again, now that people realize what song she is mentioning. “And for a good reason,” Julie continues, setting her hands on the key, “it’s our queer anthem.”
She doesn’t actually say the name of the song, but she doesn’t have to, just plays the first chord. She holds it until the crowd calms down a little, giving the song the weight it deserves. Then she continues, playing the intro of the song.
Alex adjusts his sticks in his hand. He still has a couple of beats until he starts playing, so he checks his surroundings. Everything is where it’s supposed to be. Or rather nothing is where it’s not supposed to be. There are no stray wires, no boxes, and the little step at his riser is in the correct spot. He’s ready. Now he just has to wait for his turn.
“Hearts on fire, we're no liars, so we say what we wanna say,” Julie begins to sing. People are joining in, knowing the words by heart just like they do on stage.
Alex catches Willie grinning up at him again, and he grins back easily.
“I'm awakened, no more fakin', so we push all our fears away.”
In the studio version Julie does the first verse and the pre-chorus by herself, but to give it more wham on stage, Reggie and Bobby are already tuning in with their instruments once the first verse is over. Julie looks over at them when they join as she begins the pre-chorus, adding depth to her piano playing, and together they lead the band into the chorus.
With a bang, Alex and Luke join the party. Luke and Julie sing together, their voices forming the harmonies that makes their sound so beautiful, and Alex finally adds the rhythm he’s worked so hard on. But the best thing is what happens around them.
As soon as they start playing the chorus, colors bloom around them. Bright, rainbow lighting tints the stage into a giant pride flag and has the crowd screaming. They’ve likely seen photos of it, the Gay Times wrote an article about it when they started touring, but to experience it themselves must be ten times better.
As Julie continues into the second verse, the colors around them shift. First it turns blue, purple, and pink, the bi flag proudly shining around them. Then the colors shift to pink, turquoise, and yellow, the pan flag. Just as Luke joins Julie again for the pre-chorus, someone throws a trans flag on stage, and Luke leaves his mic for a second to grab it. He holds it high in the air as the lights change to match the colors, a powerful sign of trans pride. Alex’s chest glows with admiration.
More flags join the round—ace, nonbinary, lesbian, aro, agender, just to name a few. Alex remembers sitting in the studio, brainstorming for the show, and coming up with this idea. He’d been hesitant at first, unsure if it would be possible or too much effort, but as soon as he told the others about it and they’ve been strongly in favor of it, Flynn promised to insist on it happening. She immediately started talking to their light technician about what was possible, drafted a design and an order for the flags, and made notes to plaster light sensitivity warnings all over the walls and doors of the venue and have the band repeat it on stage too. It was worth it. It all turned out so beautifully.
Julie and Luke lead into the second chorus. Alex’s turn is inching closer, and he almost slips up his rhythm. Reggie shoots him a glance and Alex responds with a nod. Reggie turns to the crowd again, but now with a giddy smile on their face.
The stage lights turn to the classic rainbow again and the chorus ends. That’s Alex’s cue to go.
While Julie and Luke slide into the bridge, Alex stuffs his sticks into his pocket and slips out from behind the drums. Confused sounds, shouts of questions come from the crowd as Alex, who is usually so content with staying behind his drums, moves to the front of the stage. His heart rate has tripled in speed, at least, as he gets to the edge of it. Julie and Luke begin the lyrics of the bridge.
A bodyguard meets Alex as he sits at the edge, helping him hop down to the pit. Just six feet separate him from the crowd, safely behind the barricades, and he sees about a hundred phone cameras facing him, as well as at least two of their camera crew. Only one person is standing still and staring, right in the center of it. Willie.
“And you’re a part of me,” Luke responds to Julie on the stage.
Alex steps up to the barricades, the bodyguard holding a secure arm around his middle.
“What are you doing?” Willie shouts at him over the cheers of the people surrounding them.
“I’m going to kiss you!” Alex shouts back. It’s barely audible over the sound from the stage and the singing of everyone around them.
“Now till eternity,” Luke continues to mirror what Julie is singing.
“Okay!” Willie responds, and Alex’s heart soars. He quickly steps up to them, taking their face in his hands, and Willie grabs a hold of the front of his hoodie.
“Been so long and now we’re finally free,” Julie sings, and right as her voice goes high on the last word, Alex kisses Willie.
The crowd erupts into madness. Alex knows it’s visible on the screens left and right from the stage, they made sure of that. He imagines the phones being pushed right into his face as everyone tries to get a good video. But all he chooses to focus on is Willie in front of him, holding him, kissing him back with as much enthusiasm as Alex is giving. Being surrounded by people screaming and shouting, his friend’s voice ringing from the speakers, all while being kissed by his favorite person, has Alex’s head spinning in the best way possible. He’s kissed Willie many times before, but he knows that this kiss, even though it’s not much more than their lips slotted together, will go down in the history of their relationship.
Alex pulls away when Julie’s note ends. They added a short guitar solo for Bobby to bridge the time for Alex to get back, but he only has a good 30 seconds until he has to sit behind his drums again.
“I love you!” he shouts at Willie before he books it, blindly using the bodyguard as leverage to get up the stage again. He’s not even able to wait for Willie’s response, but he knows that it’s probably a shouted “I love you too!”
He twists around Julie and Luke, ducks around the neck of Reggie’s bass, and slides the last couple feet to his setup. He takes a little more care as he climbs behind his drums, too anxious to kick something over. Grabbing his sticks and pretentiously spinning one, he locks eyes with Julie, and on the correct beat, she and him jump back into the song.
Their last chorus is a party. Bobby and Reggie join him on the riser, nodding their heads to his rhythm, before Reggie will take a leap off it as the song ends. The crowd is dancing with them, shouting the lyrics back at them.
Alex feels like they’re all experiencing the same shift in energy, going from Moment, to Movement. A bisexual Latina and a trans man sharing the center of a huge stage, masses of people coming to see and celebrate with them. A nonbinary person and their queerplatonic partner sharing that stage and actively taking space. A gay man jumping off that stage to go and kiss his boyfriend on camera, screaming “I love you” at them, getting everyone to look at them. That’s the world Alex strives to live in.
And when Julie closes off the song with her gentle words, Luke, Reggie, and Bobby lift the hands off their strings, Alex stands up, raising his sticks into the air, and the crowd doesn’t get a hold of itself for almost five minutes, then he knows that they’ll get there. And their little movement is just one step into that direction.
#this drawing my absolute beloved#thanks for sharing it with the world#i hope the fic matches what you imagined when drawing it <33#merry christmas!!#linden writes stuff#lea tag#julie and the phantoms#willex#alex mercer#willie jatp#pushing the aroace!bobby agenda#and also nonbinary Reggie in this one#beloveds
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1-01: Welcome To The Club
Part 1 out of ??
Hello! And welcome to the first chapter of this wonderful series full of action, suspense, and drama. I’m pretty new to tumblr so bare with me here lmfao, but this fanfic is also on my Wattpad so feel free to check that out as well!
Pairings: Reggie x Reader, Luke x Julie, Alex x Willie
Summary: (Y/n) (L/n) has been able to see and feel ghosts ever since she was little, which made it hard to tell the ghosts from the humans. Everyone has always thought she was a bit crazy, even her best friends, Julie and Flynn. But when three ghosts with a love for music appear in Julie's garage, suddenly (Y/n) doesn't seem so crazy anymore.
Song: Welcome To The Club (Manian)
Season 1 Masterlist
Series Masterlist
Main Masterlist
♬♩♪♩♬♩♪♩♬♩👻 ♪♩♬♩♪♩♬♩♪♩
I've been able to see ghosts ever since I can remember. The first time I saw a ghost was when I was around six. My dog had recently died, so when I start giggling and playing around with air, my parents thought I was using my imagination and was trying to get through his death.
When in reality I wasn't mourning his death at all, I was playing with my dog who, to me, was still real. I didn't even realize that he was a ghost, considering the fact that my hand didn't go through him.
A couple years later when I was eight I met Willie while on a walk through the zoo with my parents. I somehow managed to get lost, when I saw a boy with long hair sitting on a bench by the Otters. The boy held a skate board in hand and looked a lot older than me, but he also seemed lost.
A determined look crossed my face as I made my way over to him, sitting down next to the sad skater boy I asked "Are you okay?" The boy didn't answer for a few seconds before looking over and down at me, only to see me staring back at him. The boy looked behind himself, wondering if I was talking to someone else behind him.
When he noticed no one there he looked back at me with wide eyes "You can see me?" He asked in confusion. I nodded my head "Yes I can. Am I not supposed too?" I tilted my head a little as the question left my lips. The boy smiled down at me "No, No, umm, well, people don't normally see me." I smiled up at him.
"Well, I can see you. What's your name?"
The boy in front of me seemed to still be processing everything, but quickly responded "My names Willie." I stuck out my hand while saying "Nice to meet you Willie. I'm (Y/n)!" I smiled up at the boy and waited for him to take my hand to shake it. When he didn't make any sort of action and just stared at my hand I was quick to question it.
"What's wrong Willie?"
Willie shook his head a little, sending me a sad smile "My hand will go through yours if I tried to touch you." Again I tilted my head in confusion "Why?" He let out a sad chuckle before leaning back on the bench and looking up at the sky above. "Because I'm a ghost." I was about to respond when my name was suddenly being called.
"(Y/n)! There you are!"
Me and Willie both looked over to the right of us, only to see my parents weaving through the crowd. Once my parents made it over they looked furious, but I didn't pay attention as I beamed while jumping off the bench "Mom, dad! I made a friend, his name is Willie and is a ghost!" My father sucked in a breath of air and let it out slowly to calm himself down. Kneeling down to my height he sent me a smile, figuring that I just had an imaginary friend. "That's great hunny, but I think it's time for us all to go home. You gave your mother and I a scare."
I nodded my head "Okay, just let me say bye to Willie first." My father nodded his head and I turned around, only to see Willie already looking at me. Marching over to him I was quick to engulf him in a hug, catching him by surprise. "Goodbye Willie, I hope to see you again soon." Willie let out a small gasp as he realized I was actually touching him. He slowly wrapped his arms around me to hug me back tighter.
"Goodbye (Y/n). I'll make sure to see you again."
I broke the hug, only to see joyful tears falling down Willies cheeks, sending him a bright smile and wave. He let out a small chuckle, before whipping his eyes with the back of his hand and waving back. After the long haired boy waved back to me, I turned around on my heels and walked back off toward my parents.
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When I got older, things got worse, the only person who would believe me was my grandmother, because she could see and touch them too. She told me that our family was descendants from a certain kind of witch, the reason we can see and touch the ghosts is because we are supposed to help them cross over.
I eventually met Julie, Carrie and Flynn, who of course thought I was crazy, but thought it was cool. Well, Julie and Flynn thought it was cool. Carrie still thought I was crazy.
My grandmother helped me tell the difference between a ghost and a person, by sensing their aura's. Willie and I stayed good friends through out the years, as I grew older he stayed the same.
Eventually, my grandmother passed, which hurt me more than anything. Julie and Flynn both tried to help me through it, hell, even Willie tried but I couldn't crawl out of the depressed hole I was stuck in.
"(Y/n)."
I squinted my eyes in the darkness of my room, only to see an outline of a figure. The person turned on my side lamp, causing me to let out a groan in annoyance before rolling over and shoving my head under my pillow. "Go away Willie." He was quick to take the pillow off my head and toss it somewhere across the room.
"Hey! Wha-"
He suddenly pulled the covers off me and drag me over to him. "Me and you are going out." I scoffed and shook my head "You're hilarious. It's eleven at night. I'm not going anywhere." Willie shook his head a bit before walking over to my closet, which was mostly full of sweatshirts and t-shirts of bands from the 80's and 90's.
He opened my closet and started to go through it "Do you have anything nice? Like a dress?" This earned a small snort in amusement from me as I asked "Who the hell do you think I am?" He turned around rubbing his chin anxiously "Right. You don't wear dresses. Do you have your guitar?" I started to sit up on the bed and looked over at him.
"Yeah. Why?"
He slowly sat down in front of me while saying "Listen, this guy I know, needs a Rhythm guitarist and I-" I cut him off by saying "No." He groaned in aggravation "Oh come on (Y/n)! You can't stay in this room forever. I got you a gig you gotta go! Please? If not for me, than do it for your grandmother. What would she want you to do?" I sent him a glare as he sent me a look full of desperation and hope.
'Damn it. I hate this boy sometimes.'
"Fine. You win. I'll go."
"Yes!"
He fist bumped the air, only for me to stop the celebration short "But! I'm only going tonight. After that I'm done." Willie nodded his head in agreement "Understood. Now come on! We got a party to go to!" I let out a small laugh as Willie tried to drag me off in my pajamas. "Dude, I have to get changed" Willie stopped and turned around to look at my clothes, nodding his head "Right. right." Phasing out through the door.
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I managed to find a black dress somewhere in my closet from my grandmothers funeral. Walking through the doors, I noticed the sign for the Hollywood Ghost Club, walking over to the railing I noticed the giant stage, and the huge crowd of people.
Fear coursed through me, as my grip tightened a little on my guitar, my stage fright got worse. "Willie. I can't do this. I hate preforming." Willie stood leaning over the railing next to me, sending me a concerned look he swung an arm over me to reassure me. "I know that preforming is scary. But you have an amazing voice and you play a guitar like a beast. I'm sure you will do fine." I let out a nervous sigh.
"I hope so..."
It was silent for a few seconds before Willie shook my shoulder "Hey." I looked over at him as he said "At least meet the guy who runs the place. I only just met him last night but he honestly seems like a good guy." I nodded my head a little "Okay." Willie took his arm off my shoulder and lent his hand out for me to take. I slowly slid my hand in his, he gripped my hand tightly "Come on" tugging on my hand he dragged me down the steps.
We walked around for a few minutes before running into the owner. He was a little on the older side, but not to old, he wore a purple suit with a black neckerchief and a jeweled pin on it. "You must be the talented (Y/n), I've heard so much about." He lent out his hand to shake, and I cautiously took his hand in mine, shaking it firmly. "Yes, I am her." He sent me a warm smile.
"Excellent."
He looked over at Willie asking for his permission "Do you mind if I borrow her? The show is about to start and a rhythm guitarist would be really helpful." I quickly shook my head 'no' but Willie of course didn't even look in my direction as he nodded his head a smile on his face "Of course" The man in front of us let go of my hand while saying "Just follow me and I'll show you where you'll be playing." He turned around and walked a few feet.
I looked over at Willie, still unsure but Willie had a smile on his face and gestured for me to follow the man. I let out a sigh before following after him 'Lets hope he isn't taking me somewhere to kill me.' Once I caught up to the guy I was quick to say "Hey, you never gave me your name." It was as if a lightbulb went off in his head before he abruptly stopped right at the steps turning around to face me.
"Oh how silly of me, I'm Caleb Covington"
He stuck out his hand for me to shake, putting my hand in his, he firmly gripped mine and shook it a little before letting go and quickly guiding me up the steps to my spot. "Wait, wait, wait. I don't have any sheets, do I get to practice first? What are we even playing?" He smiled at me and shook his head "Just feel the music and play. You'll do fine." Before I had a chance to protest he already disappeared. Only to reappear at the top of the stage, causing me to jump a bit and grip my guitar.
'Damn it. Willie. Just what did you get me into?'
After the introduction, the music started playing, I had no clue what to play, I only ever really played rock, and this was so much different. As the music went on he look expectantly at me, I sucked in a breath and let it out as I closed my eyes and started to strum the guitar, trying to follow the lead of the music around me.
Slowly but surely I also started singing, as I opened my eyes only to see the cheering of the audience as I played the guitar and sang with Caleb. I could feel a smile appearing on my face for the first time in months. Feeling more alive than ever before.
My eyes watched as Willie had the time of his life dancing with the other dancers on the dance floor, causing me to let out a small laugh before singing again. Looking over at Caleb, he sent me a giant smile before turning his attention back to the audience in front of him.
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After the performance I sat at a table with Willie, my guitar resting against the table as we ate and talked about anything and everything. I felt happy here, a feeling I haven't felt in a long while. Caleb eventually came to sit with the two of us to talk.
"How are things?"
Willie nodded before swallowing his bite of pizza and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "It's so good" I let out a small laugh before nodding my head, a smile on my face "We love it here." A giant smile sat on Caleb's face. "What would you say if I told you that you both could come here as much as you want?" My eyes widened as I looked over at Willie, who was already looking at me with joy and hope in his eyes.
The two of us looked back at Caleb as I asked "Are you serious?" Another smile making its way to my face. Caleb nodded his head as Willie ran a hand through his hair letting out a small laugh in joy, a smile taking over his face.
"But..."
My smile faltered a little when I heard those words, Willie's smile instantly went away as the two of us looked over at Caleb. "I want you two to be my eyes and ears out there in the world, and when you come back maybe bring a ghost or two with you if you see one." He paused before waving his hands out in front of him. "That's all I ask." Willie raised a brow a little.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
I looked at Willie uneasily before looking back at Caleb "And what happens to the ghosts we bring here?" Caleb waved a hand around as if to say 'that doesn't matter' he spoke "Oh, nothing bad, they party, and adds onto my revenue for my club. Don't worry." I still didn't trust the man as he stuck out his hand to shake.
Willie shrugged a bit before going to take Caleb's hand in his, only for Caleb to move his hand down to Willie's wrist at the last minute, burning a stamp into his skin. I noticed Willie wince a bit in pain, as the tattoo faded away, Caleb moved his hand over to me expecting me to grab it but instead I asked "What the hell was that?" He sent me a smile while saying "It's just so I know who is a member, and who is not. Helps me keep track of uninvited guests." He grinned towards the end.
Something felt wrong about this, but I tried not to focus on it. I was happy here, and I needed to feel something even if it was just for a couple hours, it's better than nothing at all. I slowly went to put my hand in his, only for him to grab my arm, but the stamp didn't fade away on me like it did with Willie. Mine was also a much darker shade of purple, I stared down at it for a couple of seconds before Caleb grabbed both of our attentions. "Well, my friends..." He stood up from the chair he was in, and bowed at the two of us.
"Welcome to the club"
Prev // Next
#caleb covington#willie jatp#x reader#reggie peters#reggie peters x reader#alex mercer#luke patterson#julie molina#flynn taylor#julie and the fat ones#julie and the phantoms#willex#jatp juke#fem reader#fanfic
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📓📓📓
damn THREE books...
1 tattoo artist/reference desk librarian
what if a tattoo artist and a reference desk librarian fell in love...
reggie: a tattoo artist with a passion for reading dense academic textbooks and their bibliographies and a crush on the reference desk librarian who always seems to be on shift when he goes in
alex: a reference desk librarian with a hobby for gossipping about frequent patrons and a massive crush on his favorite grad student - though for what field he's not yet certain
the plot: reggie is a frequent visitor of alex's library in search of literally just random shit he's interested in learning about. alex is utterly convinced he's a student at the university (don't worry about what the relationship is between the library, the university, and the public) and is determined to figure out what his field of study is without asking, through the power of gossipping about it with his friends
reggie and willie have a tattoo shop together. the tattoo shop is called Sparkwheel's Tattoos and Piercings. it is named after ur nicknames for reggie and willie for each other being sparky and wheels <3 it's also named after the fact that in this fic their last names are both sparkwheel. also they have matching sparkwheels tattooed on their heels <33
"Oh, we're not married," Reggie said. "We just have the same last name for way weirder reasons."
2 the soulmate goose of enforcement
my discord avatar is dex from check please. read this
the world: what if instead of any one soulmate au, it was all of them? luke lives in a world where your 16th birthday coincides with the reveal of how, exactly, you're going to find your soulmate, as anticlimactic or exciting as it may turn out to be. he was like 100% certain he was gonna get something music-related. instead he got a goose.
luckily, he meets his soulmate pretty soon after that! unluckily, the goose does not go away as planned. weird.
and thus begins the ever-expanding quasi-platonic polycule of luke's soulmates, their soulmates, their friends, and etcetera. he does eventually find a romantic soulmate too. unfortunately by that point he's too used to everyone ending up being platonic soulmates to realize
oh yeah also it's a royalty au bc it was inspired by a round of troped. remember troped? man.
3 the pirate willexie one where i steal a country name from fete for a king even though i'm only on chapter 6
reggie, fleeing a shitty homelife and following in the footsteps of his best friend, fakes his death for the life insurance payout and becomes a thief. an indeterminate amount of time later, he finally returns to his hometown to retrieve what was left to him in the finally-unsealed will of his missing-presumed-dead best friend. unfortunately, he's super recognizable to like, everyone in the house at the time. and robbing it. time to flee! oh no he's been cornered at the docks! time to jump on a boat as it leaves!
willie is the captain of a transgender pirate ship weilding a leverage-ass understanding of what an EMP cannon is or how it functions. his crew includes:
- julie, the first mate/medic/musician
-flynn, the tech guy/navigator
-luke, the munitions guy/musician
-bobby, the head cook
-nick, who's just kind of there
it's a very exciting time when reggie jumps aboard fleeing the cops. willie loves fleeing the cops and he loves cute boys and he loves having an extra hand on the boat so this whole situation is a win-win-win
alex ran away to sea, is now missing presumed dead. sad!
this fic features: transgenderism! flynn and luke being aro besties! my anger at the concept of a child star! small european countries! a lot of research into what the letters before boat names mean!
#tattoo artist/reference desk librarian#soulmate goose of enforcement#a classic where are they now#reggie's genderverse#s.s. stands for a very specific thing which is not what a lot of fictional s.s. boats are. and it's not Sailing Ship#sailing ships are actually denoted by s.v. for sailing vessel#km#asks#jatp
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"I love that I can be myself around you." for any part of the Greater Polyphantoms Polycule
Julie giggles as Reggie rushes by, leaving a trail of paper hearts in his wake. In addition to the porch, aka the area he's supposed to be decorating, he's managed to stick one to Alex's fanny pack, Flynn’s jacket, and yup—the strap of Julie's overalls. He's a regular cupid, dashing around with flushed cheeks and overflowing with hearts. The only thing he's missing is a bow. Maybe a skirt.
There's a muffled yelp that sounds suspiciously like Luke as Reggie leaps off of the porch and rounds the corner. Julie shares a dubious look and a smile with Flynn, shaking her head, and Alex just lets out a little, inexplicably fond okay, righting the banner that's been knocked out of place for the millionth time.
Scratch that. Reggie puts the sweet in sweetheart, but he also puts the A-H in lethal. No bow and arrows for him.
The skirt, though—
Alex touches her shoulder, yanking her out of her rapidly derailing train of thought.
"Could you make sure that the backyard isn't on fire? I'm going to keep watch while Flynn checks on the cookies."
"I have the fire department on speed dial," she says semi-jokingly. She could easily cue them up in her contacts. "Sure thing."
He pulls her in for a quick hug, resting his chin on top of her head. "Thanks, Julie. I don't know what we'd do without you."
"Without us!" Flynn calls through the screen door, having already slipped inside. "And the answer is arson, probably!"
"Alright, nope, no more of that," Alex mutters as he releases her, "we are not manifesting this on Carrie's favorite holiday, she will literally murder us. Go team."
Julie's still giggling when she enters the backyard, only to gasp as she looks up.
Willie outdid himself with the lights. It's as if fairies float from every tree, bobbing in the breeze in pink and white pairs, perfectly spaced and utterly mesmerizing.
He swings down right in front of her, dangling upside down from the nearest tree, and she nearly screams. He grins delightedly.
"Jellybean! What do you think?"
She softens at the nickname, though she crosses her arms all the same. A small smile tugs at her lips.
"I think that it's Valentine's Day, not Halloween. When it comes to decor, Carrie's going to love it, though. Maybe just don't try that on her. She'll judo flip you before she recognizes you, and Reggie will cry if you break another bone."
"We can't have that," he agrees jovially, but she knows he's serious about it. He's just such a happy person. His eyes shine, and her heart warms with love for him.
"Wills!" Reggie comes barreling over, abandoning Luke by the half-covered tables and the mound of tablecloths. "We should totally do the Spiderman kiss! I've always wanted to do that!"
Willie quirks an eyebrow at him, which makes him laugh even when Willie's right-side up. This time doesn't disappoint.
"Well? What are you waiting for, Cherry?"
They always kiss with so much boundless energy. It's like watching cars crash into each other willingly at a demo derby, reckless and wild and vaguely hypnotic.
Reggie pins a little heart that will be flipped when Willie rights himself to Willie's chest in the process, snickering as he pulls away, though he also takes the time to press a smiling kiss to Julie's lips when she tilts her face towards his. He then runs back to Luke, who's pouting, although he's most likely received more than his fair share of kisses today.
Willie wiggles his eyebrows at her. She has no idea how he's still hanging like that.
"Where's my kiss from you, Jellybean?"
She huffs a laugh. "You're all terrible flirts."
"Isn't it justified today?"
"Maybe," she allows. She cups his face and kisses his hot cheek. "I wouldn't change anything about you, though. You can flirt with me terribly any day."
His grin widens, pulling his cheeks taut under her hands. "I love that I can be myself around you."
"Ditto." She presses another kiss to the slope of his chin, which makes him giggle. "Now get down from there before Alex really makes me call the fire department."
Thankfully, they all make it through the evening unscathed, save for more hearts, some mussed clothes, and a few lipstick prints.
#the greater polyphantoms polycule#julie & willie#probably qpr julie & willie#one hundred compliments#ficlets with ash#my shorthand for this just said willie to julie while upside down in tree lol#julie and the phantoms
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Where I Belong - Pt 3
This was supposed to be a one shot but it got a little lengthy. So I broke it into 3 (much shorter) parts. I am so bad with titles.
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Summary: The boys try to figure out what it means to haunt something.
Pt 1, Pt 2, Pt 3
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“Can a ghost’s haunt be a lifer?” It wasn’t exactly how he intended on greeting his boyfriend. However, after yesterday and comparing notes with the guys it seemed the most likely scenario. Alex just needed to double check, despite how sure Reggie and Luke seemed to be. Willie the godsend that he is, just went with the flow of conversation like this was how they always greeted each other.
“You think your haunt is a,” Willie stopped. His head subtly shifted in a nod as he looked like he had an epiphany, “Julie.”
“What? How did you get that so quickly?” Alex realized his voice had gone up in pitch. He just couldn’t do anything about it. “It took us weeks.”
“Alex,” Willie’s voice went softer and he had forgone the nickname. Probably in an effort to help ease Alex’s anxiety. His voice was nice like that, and Alex loved when Willie uses his actual name, on the rare occasions that he does. Willie continued on, his voice now shifted to a long suffering tone. “The first conversation you and I ever had was 70% you talking about Julie. That night I took you guys to the club, before you all got distracted, it was like every 5 minutes one of you had to remind me of your gig with Julie. Over the past few months, if you weren't talking about the band, you were talking about Julie”
“Well when you lay it all out like that it seems obvious.” Alex mumbles, his own brain remembering back to the first night the guys had literally dropped into Julie’s life. How, no matter how hard she kept trying to push them away, they just couldn’t seem to stop bothering her. Then all his questions and concerns began to flood back, “Ok, but what does this mean?”
Willie shushed Alex as he brought him into a side hug, “Having a lifer haunt isn’t unheard of. Rare but not unheard of.”
Alex nodded, he was tired of being on the special end of ghostdom. Sure it meant he apparently was capable of doing amazing things other ghosts could only dream of. It also meant no one ever had answers for him. He hated not knowing things. The unknown was terrifying and filled with too many scenarios that his brain loved to torment him with. So it was a mild relief to hear that in this instance he wasn’t alone.
“So, when a ghost's haunt is a lifer there are usually limited reasons why.” Willie continued, of course he could tell Alex had more questions, angel that he was. “One, they were closely tied to the lifer when still alive. Or two, the lifer is somehow connected to their unfinished business.”
Alex frowned. Julie had often thought somehow her mom had connected her to the guys. It would also make sense that if their unfinished business was music related they would need a lifer who could make that happen. However, as he thought each option over they didn’t sound or rather feel quite right. “There isn’t a third option.”
“Not that anyone has heard of, hotdog.” Willie grimaced slightly but kept his tone neutral. His hand made comforting circles on Alex’s back.
“Of course not.” Alex sighed. He leaned into Willie. “I think I'd like to worry about that more tomorrow and just enjoy some time with you. If that’s ok?”
“That’s more than ok, hotdog” Willie’s head came to rest on Alex’s shoulder. Alex then understood some of what Willie had been explaining before. Some of the anxiety he didn’t even realize that he was holding onto died a little. Sure they had their haunts that would always feel like home, but that also didn’t make this any less special. It didn’t make this feel any less right.
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OVERALL STORY AN: JATP Fanfic Masterlist; I had read a “know that it’s probably magic” on AO3 by thessaonlike(starblessed). I guess this is my brain's way of playing with the same idea but from the guy's perspective. Also this story came out backwards. Like that last part was the first thing I wrote, so I kinda backwards engineered the story into existence.
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willex spinoff chapter of my spirit halloween au where willie works at the coastal edge (skate/surf clothes store) and comes in to buy halloween stuff but when he sees that the (very stressed) assistant manager alex is very cute he keeps coming in to “look around” and buy small stuff he doesn’t need and every time he comes in alex gets nervous because “fuck that cute guy who keeps buying keychains is here again”
#lukes friend works at coastal edge also#so alex is like dude pls set me up but dont make it sound like i want u to set me up#alex always times it so that hes the one who checks willie out#willie now has a keychain for every single classic horror movie#he hasnt even seen half of them#this is all very based on the location of both of my previous stores#i wanted to put willie in and then i realized that having him work at coastal edge was PERFECT#julie and the phantoms#jatp au#julie and the phantoms fic#jatp fic#willex
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Town's Got Mail
@floopthecooper brought up the fact that lots of jobs have to be done to help Pelican town run, but who does them exactly? Even the farmer can only do so much *coughLewisisworstmayorinthe valleycough*
Honestly, this took me an embarrassingly long time to come up with an idea, but better late than never right? ^-^'
Summary: A morning run is pretty good cardio for the town's Gridball fanatic.
Word Count: 887
Officially speaking, Pelican Town’s mail courier was Mr. Jones from the town over. It was just that... it seemed rather silly to make the trip down every day just to fill people’s mailboxes with junk mail, so… normally two trips a week sufficed, with a third if someone really needed something sent out immediately.
Unofficially speaking though, Alex would jog up to the eastern facing side of Pierre’s, key in hand and bag at his side most mornings before the sun had fully even risen. It was a surprisingly apt fit for him, he needed to make sure his endurance was as good as his throw, so a lap around town most mornings was perfect.
Pierre’s served as a post office for both mailmen, Caroline did a good job making sure all the letters were in the order of Alex’s normal route, while Abigail, well... Alex could tell Abby had been in charge of sorting last night. He jogged in place for a minute, mumbling through the alphabet as he checked for anything being sent to the doc next door. Doc rarely got much more than a couple of magazines for the clinic, but occasionally he’d get a package from out of town. The return said Grampleton Hobbies, maybe the Doc played Solice Kronikles too, or whatever? Alex left the mystery package on the landing of Harvey’s apartment, before doubling back, ready to really start his warm-up with the climb up the mountain.
Thankfully, there didn't seem to be much more food today. Cool.
Alex rearranged his deliveries into his bag. A log of goat cheese from Marnie and probably the formal request to hire Robin on to build the next festival stalls from Lewis ready on top. He “stopped” at their mailbox, feeling his body really starting to warm up. Alex made a little loop, spotting the weird tent dude up already, and handed him a postcard from Willy thanking him for the bait. Heading west, Alex picked up the pace, careful not to trip over random roots or burn himself out too quickly. He turned south, a little disappointed there was nothing for the new farmer. They always got the weirdest mail, frozen pizzas from the guys who worked at Joja, notes, batteries, coveted family recipes, whole fishes?... Maybe the fishes were less fun, but they were normally the most interesting stop on Alex’s route.
Breezing past the farmhouse, Alex followed the partly paved path through the farmland, until he only had a well-used dirt path marking his way into the treeline. Reaching Cinder Sap proper, Alex veered west, dropping off a couple of letters from Jodi and Caroline, along with one of two nearly identical Joja envelopes into the Ranch’s letterbox. Wandering down to Leah’s, he dropped off a pouch of seashells and sea glass from Elliot before heading into the town proper. Alex took a hearty swig from his water bottle, the most treacherous part of his run nearly completed. He found the sister’s mail, rolling his eyes as he spotted a letter from Gran to Haley. He could always just message Hale’s for Gran instead, But Alex placed the invite for tea atop the package of fabric from Em’s friend in the desert. He left letters for Jodi from Caroline and Robin. More gossip between the Moms in town he bet. Alex tossed them through the mail slot with another “official” letter from Joja for Sam.
Crossing the bridge, Alex’s speed dropped a tick in the sand, a book left at Elliot’s from Leah before making his way to the dock. It was a nice break from the sand’s resistance, practically sprinting across the wooden planks. Alex popped a message from Gus under Willy's door before retracing his steps back to town, kicking up sand on his second go around.
He crossed the eastern river, the guild guys sending a request into Clint’s, and a letter from the school teach, Penny to Gunther. Book requests? Looping around the library and blacksmith, Alex didn’t bother heading north up to the Joja. That was Mr. Jone’s job, no one in town ever sent things up there, even if Morris used Pelican town’s unofficial system themselves. Alex was sure Morris just liked having an excuse to annoy Pierre every week, cause Pierre kept letting him drop off the guys paychecks there.
Crossing the final bridge for the morning, Alex hit the Saloon with a couple of postcards of requests. One from Demitius about a cake and some sashimi for Sebastian’s birthday and an ask from Leah if he could order a couple extra bottles of her favorite wine. Pretty standard stuff. A letter from Marnie to the Mayor, reeking of some flowery perfume, subtle and standard.
Chugging the last of his water, Alex started to ease his pace before dropping off two letters in the trailer’s mailbox, clearly from the kids in town for Penny, before double-checking his pack. Two nearly identical tupperwares, one with stuffing the other fried mushroom from Gus. Alex grinned, at the cook’s thoughtfulness, giving Dusty a good pet behind the ears before heading inside. Putting the food away first, Alex gave his gran a kiss on the cheek on his way to the shower, giving her his thanks as she started preparing breakfast for the house, his morning run complete.
#stardew valley#sdv#stardew#stardew alex#sdv alex#stardew fanfic#my writing#stardew valley fanfic#stardew fanfiction
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"You're family." for RAY AND ANY OF THE PHANTOMS because you said I could so I will
Ray groaned as his alarm went off, glaring at it with bleary eyes. Even more so when he saw the date. It's not like he used to mind his birthday-he loved all the gifts the kids made him, treasured every popsicle stick picture frame, lumpy vase, and burned pancake.
And it wasn't like he feared getting older-hell, he'd been going grey since his thirties. Rose had always teased him about being a silver fox-but luckily she was into that.
He supposed it was the Rose of it all that he hated. This wasn't his first birthday without her, not in the slightest. But whenever he pictured turning fifty, he pictured Rose right next to him. Maybe with a few streaks of silver in her curly hair, laugh lines prominent as she sang to him and gave him her traditional gift of a new watch, given his tendency to lose or break his.
He's amazed he's managed to hang onto the last one she gave him for so long. Sure he's had to have it fixed more than once, probably spending more on repairs than the watch itself cost, but he couldn't let it go.
Ray took his time getting out of bed, even debated staying there for the day. But Julie and her band were visiting on a rare break from touring. They had come home specifically to help him celebrate, so he needed to at least put on a smile and try for them. Plus this would be his last birthday before Carlos went off to college, and who knew if he'd come home for future ones, so Ray sucked it up and left his room.
The kitchen was bustling already, but with a house full of kids in their early twenties, that was hardly surprising. Sure they usually slept in, but they were also likely to wake with the sun; Julie, Reggie, and Alex going on a run while Willie did yoga and Luke did some free weights.
"Papi!" Julie exclaimed, "what are you doing up?"
"My alarm went off, figured it was time," Ray replied with a shrug.
"Don't you make your own schedule? What's the point of a schedule?" Willie asked.
"Stuck in my ways I guess," Ray replied. "Plus I had to get Carlos up every day to go to work or school. Goodness knows if he'll ever get out of bed when he's off to college."
"Hey!" Carlos shouted from his spot on the couch, the sound of his video game beeping and bopping in the background. "I resemble that remark!"
"I'm sure the little man will do what we all did; set a million alarms," Reggie said with a grin, hip checking Alex as the drummer poured coffee into mugs.
"We wanted to bring you breakfast in bed," Luke said, looking sheepish as he took toast from the toaster, placing triangles on each plate, with Willie coming behind him to butter them as needed.
"You guys don't have to go to all that trouble," Ray said, though he was touched. He hadn't had breakfast in bed since long before Rose passed, after the kids got too big to squeeze into the bed with them. "Plus I'd rather eat down here with you guys."
Breakfast was lovely, but simple, though Ray was fine with that. Reggie and Julie were decent cooks, Alex moderate, but the other two boys were not to be trusted with more than toast, so Ray should thank whatever forces were watching out for him that he wasn't eating Luke's eggs right now.
But what really surprised him was the small packages that took the place of his dishes once they were all done eating.
"What's all this?"
"It's your birthday," Julie supplied. "We had to get you presents."
"You and Carlos sure, but the guys..."
"No arguments," Reggie said. "Birthdays mean presents."
"You're family," Willie added. "I always get family presents for their birthdays."
Ray sniffled at that. He knew none of the guys had great family lives, and had more than once come to him for fatherly advice or a dad hug. He just didn't realize they saw it the same way though.
"Well you're all family too," Ray said, swiping the tears from his eyes. "Molinas one and all."
"I always wanted to be a Molina," Reggie said, though his eyes were on Julie who nuzzled their noses together.
"One day cariño." She kissed him sweetly, and Ray watched with surprise, his eyes flying to Luke, who was smiling at the couple with sincerity. Well then, he would have to grab Julie for an explanation for all of that.
Ray coughed and bit back a grin when Julie and Reggie jumped apart, blushing a little. "Well, let's do presents!"
The gifts were sweet, and lovely. A nice new wallet embossed with his name from Alex and Willie, filled with gift cards for some of his favourite spots. A few vintage records from Luke, all bands the two of them had bonded over, and ones he was missing from his collection. A cookbook from Carlos, with a bookmark for the page for spaghetti, something that caused everyone to laugh.
Reggie was almost shy as he gave Ray his gift. "It's nothing special..."
"I'm sure no matter how fancy it is, I'll love it, because it's from you mijo," Ray assured him. And he did, as inside was a picture in a simple silver frame; a shot of last Christmas, the band and the family all sitting around the tree in their matching jammies, paper strewn on the ground, mugs of cocoa in hands, and smiles all around. A true family portrait.
"I was right, I love it," Ray said, his voice faltering due to the emotion he was feeling. Pulling a blushing Reggie in for a hug, and not letting go for an extra beat, knowing how much they both needed it.
"My turn," Julie said, sliding a small box over to him. "This... mami gave me this to give to you. I hope you like it."
Ray knew what it was before he even ripped the paper. The box gave it away, and with trembling hands, he opened it, seeing the watch sitting there. Picking it up, he marvelled at the old fashioned design, the leather strap, and on the back, he let out a small sob at the words engraved there.
Here's to the next 50 mi amor,
Te Amo
Rose
Ray very gently took off the watch he had worn for the past seven years, and slid on the new, unable to stop crying as it settled over his wrist. Smiling weakly at Julie for giving him the thing he most wanted today, even if he wished Rose was here to give it.
But she was, he realized. She was here in Julie and Carlos, living on through them. She was there in the boys, her music helping them launch their careers. She was here in him, her unending love the force that kept him going, and allowing him to open his home, and his heart to so many.
"Thank you all," Ray said, his voice rough and shaky. "This has been the best birthday I could have asked for."
"Well don't say that, we haven't even had cake!" Willie joked, but Ray could see they were all in states of tears.
"Maybe let's keep that for after dinner," Ray replied. "For now...how about a family hug and then you guys can get started on the dishes while I read the paper?"
They all groaned, but none of them hesitated to embrace him, and Ray had never been so glad to have gotten out of bed.
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fluffy dialog prompts!! 13 for willex?
Hello anon!!! You probably have no memory of sending this but I hope it reaches you! Sorry for the wait!!!!
Alex has mixed feelings about his graveyard shifts.
On the plus side, he can work on his own and not have to deal with customers while stocking the shelves and cleaning up the bookstore. Apart from when he's chatting with a coworker or checking in with his manager, he usually keeps his earbuds in for the whole shift. Audiobooks are wonderful things. It's calmer at night.
But the downside is that he doesn't get home until 5 or 6 am on the nights he works. So even though he and Willie are finally living together, they only get a couple of full nights together each week. It's not hurting their relationship, and they both make an effort to make lots of time for cuddling and talking during the day. But it is a bit sad that they don't get that basic couple-living-together thing of being able to fall asleep side by side each night.
Well, there is one other positive, Alex thinks as he parks his car outside of their apartment building. Working graveyard shifts usually gets people off his back about how little he sleeps. At least people who don't know him well. People who don't need to know the whole story.
Sure, Alex is working with a therapist now to try and get a handle on the nightmares that began just after he moved out. It's not as bad as it was that first year or two. But he still struggles to stay asleep for more than a few hours at a time.
Alex pushes the thoughts away as he climbs the stairs to his and Willie's apartment. No energy for that right now. All he needs right now is to get inside, change into something comfy, and climb into bed.
The blankets will be comfy and the pillows will be cool and Willie will be there, sound asleep. They'd texted Alex to tell him they were crashing in his bed a couple of hours into Alex's shift. Even though that's what they usually do, it still makes Alex's chest feel a bit looser to know that Willie will be in his bed when he gets home.
Alex fixes that fantasy firmly in his mind as he fumbles with his keys. Just a few more minutes before it becomes a reality. He repeats that over and over as he passes through the dark kitchen, hanging up his keys and kicking off his shoes. He imagines the smell of Willie's freshly washed hair as he brushes his teeth. It's some kind of mix of citrus and coconut that Alex has never been able to figure out but adores. He can barely wait to smell it again. To rest beside his partner and just be together.
The nightmares are always a bit easier when Willie is there.
Finally, he turns off the lamp Willie leaves on for him and slips into his room. Sure enough, there's his partner, snoring softly with his hair splayed out over Alex's pillows. He's a work of art, too stunning to ever truly be captured in words or photos.
Alex chuckles at his own cheesiness. Oh well, he's probably earned a bit of cheesy after so many years of hiding in the closet. He intends to love Willie as well as he can for as long as they want him to.
He quickly swaps out his work clothes for a pair of shorts and a light grey hoodie. Which might have started its life in Willie's closet, but who's counting. He slides off his rings and unclips the necklace he always wears, placing them on the dresser before carefully sliding into bed.
The first signs of sunrise become visible between the window blinds as Alex settles against Willie's back. He tries not to wake them, but even just their body heat is comforting against his skin after a long shift.
Alex takes a deep breath of the clean air of their home and feels his heart begin to slow down. He's safe now. He's in bed with the love of his life. They're together and they're good. Alex's life is good. His home is good, the band is good, all of his friends are good. He doesn't have to worry about it. He can relax.
Willie's snoring stops. Alex freezes, not wanting to wake him. But after a minute, Willie lets out a little hum and rolls over partway to look at Alex.
"You're home," they mumble, smiling.
"Mhm," Alex agrees, wrapping his arms around his waist. "Sorry for waking you."
"'s okay," Willie responds. He leans over a bit to plant a clumsy peck on Alex's nose. "Glad you're back."
"Me too," Alex murmurs, cuddling closer as his eyelids start to droop.
Willie starts to giggle, rolling over so their bare chest is flush against Alex's. "You're unbelievably cute when you're tired," they slur, already starting to drift back to sleep.
Alex knows his cheeks are warm but who cares. "Love you," he mumbles, slowly losing himself to unconsciousness.
He doesn't remain conscious for long enough to hear Willie say it back, but he knows they do. They always do.
#wrote this instead of sleeping#I am an insomniac#but they're so cuteeee!!!#in my head it's around 5:30 am in this fic#Willie doesn't have to be up till like 9 and Alex has a hard time sleeping for more than a few hours at a time#so Willie just stays in bed till he wakes up so they can cuddle#they're in love your honor#no beta we die like sunset curve#legolas tag#julie and the phantoms#jatp#jatp fanfic#willex#alex mercer#willie jatp#Legolas filled prompts
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Ok but imagine the boys being so free with touching each other that Alex doesn't even realize what effect he has on Willie when he plays with Willie's hair or brushes their pinkies together or hooks their ankles together under the table or drapes his arm around Willie's shoulder or or or
i’ve been crying over this ask ever since you sent it to me so have this. touch-starved willie but not the i can’t stop asking verse. just something very adjacent. whatever. no one told monet not to paint more water lillies.
--
Look, maybe Alex used to overthink touching the boys, when he was younger, when he was still trying to figure out what him being gay meant for that friendship - but Luke didn’t let those nerves last long, cuddled Alex every single damn day after he came out, like he was proving a point, stubborn and bull-headed as ever, until Reggie and Bobby followed his lead.
And when Alex’s anxiety skyrockets, his first red flag is that his skin feels wrong because he doesn’t want his boys to touch him.
But usually, when things are good, it’s so natural, for Alex, maybe the only thing he doesn’t overthink. To touch the boys, to have them touch him, is easy as breathing, flows like water.
So he doesn’t think, usually. He just reaches out, and they meet him in the middle - an arm around a waist, a hand against a shoulder, fingers running through each other’s hair or linking together or brushing a cheek. Reggie always flushes a little pinker, Luke grins a little wider, Bobby used to duck his head and grumble but push back against Alex, betraying himself.
Willie’s not that different. Like, obviously, he’s different, Alex feels little sparks along his arms every time he touches Willie, and a warmth that settles in his non-existent ghost-sensation bones that’s all totally different. It’s just that when Willie’s around more, after Caleb’s gone, Alex can’t help treating him like he treats the other people he lo--cares about. It’s almost absent-minded, almost muscle memory, the way he reaches out to push Willie’s hair out of his face, or link their pinkies when they’re walking, or to generally want Willie closer to him when they all crash Julie and Flynn’s after-school diner date (much to Julie’s irritation and Flynn’s amusement).
He feels like an idiot, when he links his ankle with Willie’s, and Willie’s eyes widen, he tenses, where he’s sitting pressed into the corner of the booth, Flynn on his other side. Alex feels his stomach drop. Quickly pulls his foot back.
Willie’s expression goes through a range of things, and he looks away, chews his lip. Alex has seen that expression before. Embarrassment. No - shame.
Luke is trying to bite through a chip. He can pick it up, but every time he tries to split it in half with his teeth, he just phases through. Flynn is muffling her laughter into her hand, Reggie’s laughing outright, and Julie’s trying to half-shield Luke with her body so passers-by don’t see a floating chip. And Willie won’t look at Alex.
It’s cool, Alex tells himself. He gets it. It was too much in front of their friends, or too much in general, he’s been totally desensitised by the boys (especially Luke, man, this is all Luke’s fault), and he somehow hadn’t noticed Willie reacting, and maybe Willie hates being touched but had done it because Alex obviously, blatantly needed it, or because -
Willie kicks him, very gently, with the toe of his shoe. When Alex looks up, Willie shoots him a grin, somewhere between rueful and affectionate and amused. Stop thinking so hard, he mouths.
Alex takes a breath. Willie doesn’t look mad. Or like he thinks Alex is desperate and pathetic, or whatever other mean words his anxiety had conjured out of the ether in the five seconds he left it unsupervised. Willie mimics the breath, and then takes a deeper one, and Alex follows along. Tries to put it out of his head for the rest of their time in the diner, tries to focus on the boys being idiots and Julie and Flynn chatting about kids from school. Willie pitches in terrible advice, seems for all intents and purposes to be his usual self, so Alex focuses on his breathing until the cold dread is sorta gone from his stomach again.
--
“What was that about earlier?” he asks Willie, finally, later that night when he can catch him alone. They’re outside the studio - the others have already filed inside, and Alex can’t tell if Julie hurried the others to give them some space, but he has his suspicions. “If something I’m doing has been bothering you, why wouldn’t you tell me?”
Willie’s face screws up, like he really doesn’t want to have this conversation, but Alex knows how that’s played out for them in the past. “It’s not that I don’t like it,” he says, and adds defensively, “really!” when Alex raises an eyebrow at him. Willie’s arms cross over his torso and he takes a step back from Alex, which hurts Alex way, way worse than Alex would like it to. “I just... I’m not used to it, okay? It’s not bad, it’s just so new for me.”
Well. Now Alex feels like an enormous idiot. “Oh. Yeah. Okay.” Swallows, tries to think. “I can back off?” he adds, in a much higher-pitched voice than he meant to.
“No, no,” Willie says, and moves forward again. Alex almost reaches for his arm, and then stops himself. Then does it anwyay, because Willie just told him not to back off. Willie shudders a little when Alex runs a hand up his arm. “See? It just makes me act weird, and I thought the others might see-”
“They wouldn’t care,” Alex promises, and he doesn’t have to overthink that, either. “I know they wouldn’t. Especially not Luke and Reg. They’re like me.”
Not Luke, who is ready to bolt the moment someone’s mad at him and needs to be touched every five minutes or he starts to panic that no one loves him, or Reggie, who cowers at any loud noise and needs to be touched to even feel like he exists. Not Julie, even, who had barely been able to take her hands off them for a moment when they finally became tangible, like she was scared the second she let go they would disappear.
Least of all Alex, who hid things until he was choking on them. Can’t hide how much he loves touch, when he’s feeling safe and calm.
“It just feels like so much,” Willie manages. “It’s not bad. It’s just so much. Maybe I just need more exposure.”
Alex looks at him for a long moment, takes in the uncertainty plain on his face, the way he’s still got his arms crossed tight, his thumb digging into his inner elbow, the way he had flinched at the restaurant. Tries to remember how it felt to hold himself away from the boys for the few months before he came out. How it felt when Luke was all over him, right after, the jittery oversensitivity coupled with waterfalls of relief. How it only got better with time, and touch, and love, and the boys’ patience.
He can give those things to Willie, he thinks.
“Can I hug you?” he asks, and his voice has a raw edge. Willie nods, lips pressed tight together like he’s scared of what will come out if he opens them. So Alex gives him the tightest hug he can muster. Willie shudders, a full-body release, and then holds him back.
For a moment they just stand like that, warm in each other’s arms. Alex rests his chin on the top of Willie’s head and runs one hand down his back, and up again.
“Exposure?” he checks, after who knows how long. “Is it working?”
“I don’t know,” Willie answers. He sounds a little better. “Think I’ll need a little longer to be sure. Maybe the next 48 business hours.” Yeah, much better.
“That can be arranged,” Alex agrees, even though it absolutely can’t, and is rewarded by Willie’s giggle, still a little wet, but so much more like himself. “Let’s at least arrange it on the couch, okay?”
Willie glances inside the studio, and Alex feels him hesitate. “They don’t care,” he promises Willie again. “They get it.”
This time Willie nods. Alex takes his hand, and they go inside together.
jatp taglist (lmk if you wanna be added/removed!): @queenmolina @nickalicious @bi-reginald @malecacidd @jughead-is-canonically-aroace @joyandthephantoms @cinnamonstickrayofsunlight @chickwiththepurpleguitar @burntchromas
--
see more prompt fills here
#willex#jatp#julie and the phantoms#alex mercer#willie#my fic#not touch starved willie... my kryptonite....#queenofthequillandink
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Sleepy prompts 👀 10 for Reggie/Carrie?
Set in the Nuclear Apocalypse Bunker AU.
After Reggie got better, things with Carrie got better too. Tía Victoria kept him under observation for another week, but she visited every day, bringing him food and talking to him. When it was just the two of them, she was different. Less tightly wound.
Reggie came back to the rest of the bunker and immediately got pulled into a Molina family group hug, and then another one with Luke and Alex (his parents frowning in the background). Even Trevor gave him a part on the back, smiling. Things were kind of weird between them, seeing as how Trevor kind of saved his life but also kind of broke the rules to do so.
So things settled down again. Reggie returned to his chores, returned to cracking jokes with Willie over the comms, returned to doing whatever he could to make himself useful around the bunker. But now, he got to joke and hang out with Carrie as well. And maybe even, you know, hold hands. They were taking things slow, since they literally had all the time in what was left in the world, but it was pretty awesome.
Which was why he was the one who was pulled aside by Julie. "Hey, have you noticed something off about Carrie?" she asked. For a second, he was offended, like 'she's suddenly likes you now' was something weird and off. But now that he thought about it, she had been more and more tired lately. And snappy, but not like before, not just to him. More like she was having trouble keeping it together with everyone.
"She's been kind of tired," he agreed.
"I'm worried about her," Julie said. "And I think someone should talk to her. Someone like her boyfriend."
He flushed. "Oh we... we haven't... it's not... We haven't labeled it yet." Julie gave him a knowing look. She was like the sister he always wanted, he loved her so much. "But yeah, I'll talk to her."
So, after dinner, that's what he did. Trevor was out... schmoozing, or something. He was usually over at the Mercers or the Pattersons or even the Molinas, or holed up in the comms room talking to people in other bunkers. So he could manage to slip into their pod pretty easily without anyone noticing.
Carrie was in her room. He'd never actually been in Carrie's room yet, and he smiled at how she made the sterile place her own, just like she'd made the pretty standard uniform her own. There were sparkly stars made from food packaging stuck to the walls and ceiling, and little paper origami flowers strung up, and all the sad metal railings had been draped with fabric.
Carrie herself was hunched over her desk in a posture Reggie was very familiar with. It was the same one she used to get in math class, before he started tutoring her. Frustrated but trying not to show it.
"Hey babe," he said quietly, and she whirled around, clutching... a science book to her chest? "Whatcha doing?"
"What are you doing here?" she snapped. But Reggie knew better than to be intimidated by that now.
"Just wanted to check in with you," he said, flopping on her bed. She looked like she wanted to say something about him messing up her bedding, but he just smiled at her. "Missed you. You've been holed up in your room after dinner these past few..." Now that he thought about it, almost as long as he'd been better. "Weeks."
"I've been busy," she said.
"Doing science homework?" he asked. They did get lessons, sometimes. A lot of it was improvised, between the adults here and adults from other bunkers when they had time. Music class from The Trevor Wilson kind of was the coolest thing ever. Ray taught them Spanish, Mr and Mrs Patterson taught them all kinds of stuff about history, modern history, politics... basically what lead up to them being stuck here. Like if the understood, they weren't doomed to repeat it.
The Mercers, when they could be torn away from their Top Secret Whatever in the Bunker taught them science-y stuff like chemistry and physics, and Tía Victoria taught them biology and medicine. But this book was way beyond what Victoria was teaching them. "You aiming for an internship with the Mercers?" he asked. If anyone could talk her way into that top secret lab, it was Carrie.
"Oh very funny, Reginald," Carrie snapped, throwing the book at his head. He dodged, flinching. "We both know I'm not fucking smart enough for that." Part of him wanted to run, but then he saw the unshed tears in Carrie's eyes.
"Babe, you're plenty smart," he soothed.
"No I'm not!" Carrie shouted. "When you got sick I didn't understand a word of Victoria's explanation, and I can't do math, and I heard Mrs Mercer tell Mr Mercer that it was a good thing I was pretty and healthy, so I could be a good wife to Alex and have plenty of babies to keep civilization going, because I was never going to be a scientist." She burst into tears, and Reggie gathered her up in a hug.
"I'm just so tired," she sobbed as he stroked her back. "I don't understand it and I keep rereading the same things and I'm just so tired."
"Okay first of all, fuck what the Mercers think," he said. "They've been stuck in here for years and they still haven't realised their son is gay as fuck." Okay maybe they'd all been helping cover up Alex' conversations with Willie, but it wasn't like he was that subtle. "Also, just like, ew. To all of that." Carrie sniffled her face buried against his chest.
"And second of all, who cares if you're not gonna be a scientist? There's more to rebuilding civilization than scientists." Carrie opened her mouth, probably to say something about being a... a broodmare or whatever creepy philosophy the Mercers had. "You know how to talk to any of the adults here, like an equal. You're literally the only one who understands Mr Patterson when he forgets he's not giving a university Philosophy class, or when figuring out what Mrs Patterson means when we're dissecting what went wrong with the world and politics and stuff."
"But that stuff is easy," she said.
"Yeah, to you!" Reggie hugged her close. "Babe, you're not a future scientist. You're like, the future President. You know how to talk to people, and get them to like you, and you know how they tick." He didn't mention that when she used her powers for evil, like when she'd been mad at him, she was pretty devastating as well. He was pretty sure she knew that. "The world doesn't just need scientists. We also need leaders."
Carrie swallowed hard, rubbing at her eyes. "You mean it?"
"Of course," he said. He leaned down and nuzzled his nose against hers. "Besides, I have my hopes set on being First Husband." She laughed, before looking at him. He flushed when he realised the implications of what he just said.
"I think I can work with that," Carrie said, smiling at him. She sat up. "I should... I should make a list. Talk to Emily. See about connecting with all the other bunkers, start forming relationships with..."
"Okay, POTUS," he said, reeling her in and pulling her back onto the bed. "First, you are going to take a nap. You look exhausted, Carebear. The world, or what's left of it, will still be there for you to conquer tomorrow."
For a moment, he thought Carrie was going to argue with him. "Will you stay?" she asked instead.
"For as long as you want me too," he agreed.
#julie and the phantoms#nuclear apocalpse au#carriexreggie#this got so long and I nearly forgot to include the actual prompt lol#fanfic#I wrote a thing#post apocalypse#yes Carrie does talk with Emily and is newly focused and determined#Julie is like: wtf did you say to her#and Reggie is like: um so just in case this turns out badly and Carrie takes over the world this is all your fault#Reggie 100% thinks about his own future and is like: yeah I'm fine being the bunker's official child care and manual labour and stuff#no science or politics for me thank
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One Line, Any Fic
Rules: Pick any 10 of your fics, scroll somewhere to the midpoint, pick a line, and share it! Then tag 10 people
I was tagged by @sunsetcurbed (like a month ago, I'm sorry rip) (here is her post, definitely take a look!) and it looks like so much fun, so here we go!
I don't have 10 people to tag, so I'm just gonna do a couple (no pressure of course!): @legolasghosty @wr0temyway0ut @willexmagic @willexxmercer @kybee1497 @curvesomesunsets @fireflyingaway @caswellseyes and anyone else who want to!
Caress my cheek and leave traces of glitter (and hold me like I'm something precious)
If he weren’t so busy regretting his life choice, he probably would’ve fallen asleep again right here on the table.
2. Pretend-Fiancée and literal Partner-In-Crime (don't try to steal my watch again)
Alex is just about to give in to the tug, catching Willie’s eyes dropping down to his own lips, when the cardboard box the ring was stored in gives in to gravity and tumbles over the edge of the table to the ground with a dull thud
3. Between Chaos and Contentment (and a little Creativity)
Alex decides that five minutes under cold water is too long so he gets an ice cube wrapped in a paper towel instead, dripping water everywhere.
4. Whore /Affectionate
Then, because he feels kinda stupid, he hesitantly places his hands at the sides of Willie’s thighs, careful to not go too far towards butt-territory.
5. When I got to touch you, I touched the sun (just like I always wanted)
It wasn’t a conscious decision for Willie to look at Alex—Willie couldn’t look away anymore.
5. You think I'm cool? (Unfortunately, I do)
When Bobby tells Reggie to open his eyes again, he runs his thumbs underneath them one more time, checking if they’re even, and adding a little more on the left.
6. All the other People who tried (it had to be You)
“He looks murderous! He was looking at me like I was his breakfast!”
7. And I would kiss you if you wanted to (with my hand on your cheek)
Do not get attached to Willie.
8. Please tell me what you need (being sad is okay)
Bobby presses a quick kiss to Reggie’s lips, they are both calling their ‘good bye’s to Luke and Julie before Bobby pushes him out the door.
9. Don't come into a man's house and insult his shampoo (unless it's your boyfriend's)
“I-,“ Alex starts, calming down again, “yes, I will help you wash your hair.”
10. Rambo the Hamster (don't give Reggie a Cat)
“Oh, no, nothing, it’s just that this little guy here,” Alex pointed to the cat on his lap, “doesn’t really give off Rambo-vibes.”
#any guesses who my favourite character/ship is?#i don't think it's obvious at all /j#it's so fun to see the vibes of so many fic on one page#can definitely recommend doing this!!#linden writes stuff#linden answers asks
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