#Yes Reggie spams the group chat with Ray and Caleb with cute pictures of Pockets and Bucket

[innytoes]

Hi! Just wanted to let you know I am entirely sold on your caleb/ray/reggie abo au and am thriving on these snippets in it, I absolutely adore them all! It’s a niche I didn’t know I needed, but omega reggie has my heart and he deserves all the love ❤️ If you’re still open to it, I would love this prompt for them? ❛ hold still. this might sting a little. ❜

(Aaah anon I am so happy. Omega Reggie deserves all the love, indeed, and Ray and Caleb are Very Determined to give it to him. So just for you more of the Caleb/Ray/Reggie ABO AU.)

It took Reggie a while to get used to his newfound freedom. After Caleb and Ray sat him down and told him the Rules, he‘d had to fight disbelief. Because stuff like ‘don’t believe the cat and feed her again, she gets fed by Ray at the same time every morning, she’s not starving’ and ‘please leave a note and bring your phone if you’re going out’ were... well, after years with Paul slowly chipping away at his freedom and pushing him in a smaller and smaller box, and the strict schedule and regulations of the Shelter, they were kind of a joke.

But Ray and Caleb had been adamant that the short list of five rules were the only things they cared about. It took him a while to figure out that Ray and Caleb probably only made them up in the first place because Reggie asked for them. Still, something about knowing there weren’t any secret expectations or obligations, no landmines for him to step on, it eased something in his chest.

The first time he realised they were out of milk and that he could just go to the store and get some felt like both the best thing in the world and the most terrifying thing ever. Caleb had giving him a wallet with his own card and some cash, saying he could buy anything he wanted with it and giving him an obscene budget (rule five) per month.

His first time at the store without express permission in over seven years, he bought a jug of milk and a roll of Oreo cookies and never felt more free. He’d held his breath when he swiped the card, waiting for the little beep, before walking out of there with the biggest smile on his face.

It got easier after that. He still liked to do household chores when both Ray and Caleb were working, just to feel like he was contributing. But if there wasn’t anything pressing, sometimes he just sat in the garden with a book, enjoying the fact that there was no hour time limit of Outside Time. He’d play his guitar, serenading Pockets with little songs about her. He even made friends with the old lady across the street, who liked to pinch his cheek and call him a Charming Lad when he helped her carry heavy stuff or clean her gutters.

It became even more natural to leave the house without feeling like he needed permission, or a solid reason when they got Bucket. Of course the dog needed to go walkies. And Bucket didn’t care if they went to the beach, or the dog park, or to get ice cream, as long as he got to sniff stuff and do his business and harass Reggie for scritches every time they had to stop to cross the street.

Except it looked like he finally went to far. Literally. It had seemed like a great idea to take the bus and go to a nice hiking spot. Caleb was working all day in preparation for tomorrow night’s show, and Ray had a long shoot day.

He felt less great about his idea by the second as he tumbled down the steep hill. Especially when he finally managed to stop and realised his phone broke on the way down. Thankfully Bucket seemed okay, and yeah, Reggie was never going to live down that his three-legged dog was more nimble at making his way down than Reggie was.

By the time he got back on the bus, he had twigs in his hair, he was exhausted, and sore, and everything ached. Bucket had had the time of his life, though, and Reggie spent the ride back home bent over, snuggling the pup and avoiding eye-contact.

The second he came through the door, he was pulled into a hug by Ray. “Oh thank god,” he said, pulling Reggie close. Reggie winced, the sudden move hurting like hell, but before Ray could let him go, he wrapped his arms around him. Ray smelled upset, his scent spiky and anxious, but he still smelled like home.

“Where the hell were you, Reginald?” Caleb asked. His scent was sharp, rolling off him in waves, and Reggie whimpered. “We tried calling you several times and you didn’t pick up.”

If Caleb was home, he was definitely late. Like, super late. Stupid LA summers and their stupid late sunsets that made it impossible to tell what time it was. “Phone broke, sorry,” he mumbled into Ray’s shoulder. Then he pulled back, horrified. “Oh god I broke my phone.”

The fancy phone Caleb had gotten him, because it was red and it had a great camera to take fun pictures and so he could call home and be called when he was out. That was definitely in the Rules. He broke the Rules. “I’m sorry...” They’d only given him five and he’d broken one of the most important ones, oh god. “Caleb, I’m so sorry.” His eyes welled up with tears, and immediately, Caleb seemed to calm down, stepping back, his entire posture softening.

“We don’t care about the broken phone, pet,” Caleb said, cupping his cheek. “We were just worried about you. What happened?”

He let Ray guide him to the couch, trying not to wince when he sat down. He knew he looked a mess, dirt on his face and a hole in one of the few pairs of jeans that had been hole-less before, scrapes on his palms and knees. “I um...” he wasn’t quite sure how to say this without making his alphas anxiety worse. Just be cool. Casual. “I kind of fell down a mountain?”

The sudden spike in their scents was very noticeable, and he really should have done a better job thinking about what he was going to say on the way home. Instead, his mind had been swirling with ‘ouch ouch ouch’ and ‘don’t look at me please’ and ‘Bucket is such a good soft boy’ and ‘gotta get home, gotta get home’ and not much else. “We went to a nice hiking trail and I wanted to get a pretty picture of the view to send you... and then Bucket saw a bunny, and he yanked the leash, and I kind of... fell.”

“Oh pobrecito,” Ray said. “Let’s get you cleaned up, okay?” Reggie nodded, because now that he was home, all he wanted was his alphas to take care of him. And thankfully, even though he broke his phone and broke the Rules and made them worry, they seemed to want to do it.

He let Ray and Caleb peel off his clothes, Caleb wrinkling his nose a little and muttering something about maybe finally getting Reggie some Decent Clothes. Ray rolled his eyes, winking at Reggie as he eased his jeans down. Reggie tried to smile back, but it turned into a hiss of pain when the jeans caught over his scraped up knee.

“We need to clean out those wounds,” Ray said, inspecting his knees. “Hold still, this might sting a little.” He pouted but nodded, letting Ray dab at them with a wet cloth. It hurt, and he pressed his face against Caleb’s neck, whining softly. Caleb stroked his hair, muttering reassurances. His scent was slowly going back to normal, less blizzard and more first snow. When Ray moved away to get the first aid kit, he pulled Reggie in his lap.

“I’m sorry I made you worry,” Reggie said, curling into him. “I’m sorry I broke my phone, and I’m sorry I broke the Rules.”

“Oh kitten,” Caleb said. “It was an accident. We’re not going to be upset with you because of an accident. I’m sorry I snapped at you. It’s not an excuse, but I was scared something had happened to you.”

“It’s okay,” Reggie said, snuggling closer. Yeah, Mad Caleb had been kind of scary, but when he thought about it, Reggie realised that he hadn’t actually been that afraid. Not like with Paul. He’d mostly been upset that he broke his phone and made Ray and Caleb worry.

“We’re getting you a better, less breakable phone, though,” Caleb said, smirking and pulling Reggie into a kiss. He went eagerly, deepening the kiss, moaning happily when Caleb slipped his tongue into Reggie’s mouth...

Before gasping and jerking his knee back. “Hey, ow!” he told Ray, who pulled back with the antiseptic wipe looking kind of guilty. He glared back at Caleb. “You did that on purpose to distract me.”

“Perhaps,” Caleb said, looking way too smug about it. “Did it help?”

“Yes,” Reggie huffed. “Do it again.”