#basically Ray and Caleb own the bar together and are in a QPR

[innytoes]

3 sentence prompt! Bullriding au reggie ship of your choice! (Saw that vid you RBed and couldn’t resist)

(Listen this video is inspired and we all deserve to see Reggie doing it. Special thanks to @anotherfantom who created this AU in their tags and then let me spitball about it for a few hours.)

Reggie's move to the Big City hadn't really been planned. The plan had been to stay in town and help Meemaw and Pops on the farm and save up for college. But well, after he and the Johnson boy were caught making out in the Johnson's hayloft, it had been strongly suggested to Meemaw that maybe Reggie get out of town.

(He'd heard later that Johnny Johnson had sworn up and down it had been a one-time, drunken mistake. He'd enrolled in the army the next day, disappearing almost as fast as Reggie had. He wasn't sure what stung more: the denial of all the sweet words whispered in the dead of night, or the fact that Johnny was throwing his life away in the exact way he'd admitted to Reggie he'd been afraid of. And for what?)

He'd been so lonely those first weeks. Getting a low-paying job (or several) hadn't been particularly hard. He made enough to rent out some nice old lady's attic. She thought his 'yes ma'ams' and country accent were charming. And every week, after her Sunday dinner with her family, Reggie would come home from his late shift at the gas station to find a bunch of leftovers in the fridge with his name on it.

He actually found the place through his second job as a delivery driver. When he drove onto the street with all the rainbow flags, it felt like something of a dream. He was already making plans to go back as soon as he had a night off, but then he stepped in the door.

It was like something out of Reggie's dreams: a country themed gay bar. Wood floors, wood paneling, a big wooden bar with leather-covered stools. And in the middle of the room, opposite of a beautiful dance floor, was a giant mechanical bull.

With an incredibly attractive man, well, riding it. Slowly, sensually, rocking his hips in time with the movements of the bull and the music. And all Reggie could do was stand and gape, clutching the package in his hands.

"Can I help you?" A voice from behind the bar called. "We don't actually open until six..."

"Oh!" Reggie flinched. "Um, package for a Caleb Covington?" He turned to the bartender, who was also unfairly handsome. He had kind eyes and he looked very... firm under that denim shirt, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and oh god, he was glad the bar didn't have many lights on, so maybe his blush wouldn't be so obvious.

The handsome bartender smiled and nodded over to the bull. "That's that show-off over there. Caleb! Package for you!" The man dismounted the bull in a fluent and mind-searingly hot move, and sauntered over. He looked Reggie up and down, and Reggie really wished the delivery uniform wasn't a pair of dorky shorts and a polo.

"I'll sign for that," Caleb said, and was Reggie just imagining it, or did it sound like he didn't mean the package?

So of course, after that, the second he had a night off, he went back. And again. And again, until he was recognised as a regular by all the other regulars. And of course, by Caleb and Ray.

His normal Wednesday night off was a pretty chill time at the bar. Which suited Reggie just fine, because when things were slow, Caleb wouldn't just do his scheduled show, he'd sometimes get on the bull just to show off.

And of course Reggie had to master the bull as well. He was pretty good at the fast settings they had, where the goal was to stay on as long as possible. He was actually number four on the board now, and he'd won a sparkly cowboy hat for making it into the top ten. But the slow setting... well, he was getting there. And it had lead to a lot of free drinks.

Except there were really only two people he really hoped would notice him. And they did. There were a lot of lingering looks and even some touches. Ray always let him in early, let him practice on the bull without paying, watched him with intense eyes from behind the bar. Caleb gave him all kinds of pointers, showing him how to move his body. That time Caleb joined him on the bull, Reggie nearly creamed his pants, it was so hot.

But neither of them made a move, and Reggie wasn't about to go wreck their marriage or anything. Flirting was one thing, but actually trying to kiss one of them? Ask them out? What if they got offended and said no? This place was the closest thing he had to home, to a community. He couldn't mess that up.

He was sulking his way through his third free coca-cola of the night (Ray was always very kind about telling people Reggie didn't drink, refusing to serve him anything he wasn't comfortable with. Instead of cocktails, he got a lot of free cokes, or sometimes even some bar nachos), watching Caleb on the mechanical bull, when another regular dropped a bombshell.

"What do you mean, wreck their marriage?" Fuego asked him. "Ray and Caleb aren't married. They dated like ten years ago, decided they'd be better off as friends, and that was that."

"But they-"

"Sound exactly like an old married couple?" Dante, Fuego's husband finished for him. Reggie nodded. Even when they bickered, there was an undercurrent of affection that reminded Reggie of his Meemaw and Pops. "Yeah, they actually sound more like a couple now than they did when they were actually dating."

"Sooo," Reggie said slowly. "You think I have a shot?"

"Kid, the only reason either of them haven't ravished you behind the bar is because you always leave before closing," Dante said, laughing when Fuego smacked his shoulder.

Oh. He did usually leave around midnight because he had an early shift the next day.

Maybe tomorrow he could call in sick.

He knocked back the last of his coke like it was a shot, squared his shoulder, and sauntered back up to the bull, waiting for it to turn the right way to hop on, wrapping his legs over Caleb's to keep hold. The man looked surprised, yeah, but his hands immediately settled on Reggie's hips, leaning forward to keep his balance.

"Hi," Reggie said, cheekily stealing Caleb's cowboy hat and putting it on. The answering smirk was enough to nearly make him fall off the bull.

"Hello," Caleb said, tugging him closer.

Oh, he was definitely staying until after closing tonight.