#they totally stop at the mothman museum and send some stuff to him

[innytoes]

Road Trip AU / bonus points if it involves the GPP

-Ever since he was like eight, Willie has had this idea in his head that when he was 18, he was going to go on a Road Trip Across The States To Find Himself. Even though he's pretty confident in who he is now, he doesn't want to let down Tiny Willie.

-Except he's kind of maybe sort of part of this great big Polycule. And if he invites Alex, who honestly looks like he could use a Coming Of Age roadtrip, he has to invite his other boyfriend. And his boyfriends' girlfriends and girlfriends. And their girlfriends... and boyfriends. It's complicated.

-So clearly his idea to steal one of Caleb's cars... ahem find a car and hit the road isn't going to work. But doesn't want to give up on his dream, and he also doesn't want to leave everyone behind. What if they figure out they don't really miss him?

-Reggie finally teases it out of him, but Luke's the one who is most enthusiastic about it. For a hot second, Willie is worried his big adventure is going to be co-opted by some kind of music tour, but it turns out Luke just thinks it would be really inspiring.

-"And it'll be one last summer all together before everyone does their own thing," he adds shyly. Because yeah. Julie and the Phantoms is pretty much set to explode onto the music scene, but Flynn is going to head off to college. So, shockingly, is Carrie, after Dirty Candi crashed and burned their senior year.

-Carrie is the one who comes up with the solution. By which she means 'throws her dad's money at the problem' and suddenly they have a converted bus which is... like a tour bus-camper van-tiny house combined.

-She admits she knows it's not exactly the rugged living Willie envisioned, but she shows him that inside the storage, there's room for a bunch of tents so they can still go camping and stuff, too.

"You're going camping?" he asked.

"Obviously not, but you guys can and I'll make sure nobody steals the bus," she rolls her eyes.

-They set out and it's different than Willie imagined it, but also better. Like, he never expected that him and four of his friends would have to get their special Driving A Giant Ass Tourbus licenses beforehand, but it's better than Carrie's idea of bringing a driver. That's not very coming of age at all.

-There's people to bicker about the music with. He doesn't have to do all the driving, so sometimes he can just sit and watch the scenery. There's always someone to snuggle with, at any hour.

-They do a lot of things and go a lot of places that Willie never really thought about. Kayla and Flynn seem determined to hit up the weirdest tourist traps. Luke knows all the best music-y places to go. Julie keeps them updates about every region's cryptids, because her brother keeps sending her links. (Of course their giant fortress has perfect wifi.)

-Reggie really flourishes when they get to 'yeehaw country' and he makes them all go horseback riding with him. And line dancing. And there may be a mechanical bull that gets a lot of use while they're there. Even if Alex is worried they're going to break something until Reggie coaxes him on with him.

-Watching his two boyfriends on a mechanical bull together Does Things To Willie, okay.

-Okay, so maybe watching Luke on the mechanical bull also Did Things To Him, but he tried to avoid thinking of that.

-Between the mechanical bull, swimming in the lake at the park they stopped by, the campfire sing alongs, and seeing Luke in something other than IT'S ABOUT THE MUSIC mode, Willie is like: oh no I have a crush on my boyfriend's boyfriend.

-Of course Luke is still wrote songs, scribbling away in his song book, plucking at his guitar at rest stops (no guitars or skateboarding in the enclosed space with no escape while we're hurtling down the highway, they'd established.) But he also made time for all of them, and indulged every group photo in front of World's Biggest Bowling Pin or Ball Of String or what not, listened attentively to Reggie geeking out over a comic book exhibition they stumbled upon, and agreed to stay with Kayla while the others went on the Big Scary Roller Coaster so she wouldn't have to sit alone.

-And maybe there's more to Luke than meets the eye. They end up driving through the night together and talk, really talk, and yeah.

-Alex is the first to notice and just gives Willie a fake judgemental look. He and Luke never worked out romantically after they dated when they were fifteen, but he still knows the appeal.

-Reggie is over the MOON when Willie maybe kind of confesses it on one of their private walks. They all make sure to spend time together one on one, either splitting up to do different stuff when they hit a big city, or just going to different places to get food.

-Of course his stupid boyfriends do everything in their power to get him and Luke alone together over the next week.

-By the end of their big coming of age road trip, Willie may not have found some mythical version of himself, but he did find a new boyfriend.