Tales of Camp Half Blood

18; Michael and Jake = Micake

Jake watched the horizon with a soft look on his face as he explained to Michael all the cool things he and the rest of cabin nine had planned for the fireworks show tonight. Jake kind of wished Finn hadn't run off and left them alone, he definitely didn't need to watch his little sister like he claimed, so why had he left so quickly once the three of them had got settled on the beach? Maybe he had a date or something, that was who most people went to the fireworks with after all.

He glanced over at Michael, seeing his friend looked a little angry about something. Maybe he was upset that Finn had to leave? The three of them had planned to go to the fireworks together for a couple weeks now, it wasn't until a minute ago that the plans suddenly changed out of nowhere when Finn had left the two of them alone.

"And Nyssa came up with the idea to add an olive vine wrapping around a trident to represent Percy and Annabeth's teamwork during their quest!" He was explaining, watching his friend's face fall farther for some reason.

"Fuck it," Michael whispered under his breath. Jake didn't have any time to wonder what he meant before Michael surged forward and pressed their lips together. The kiss was quick, so quick that Jake didn't even have time to process it before Michael was pulling away with a scowl on his face.

Oh. Ohhhh

Their friend had left the two of them alone on the most romantic night for a reason. Of course that's why Finn had left, him and Michael must have planned this ahead of time, and Jake hadn't even picked up on the signs.

He felt his face heat up as he stared at Michael with wide eyes, he had never thought his friend actually liked him back. He'd resigned himself to never having his feelings be requited, he'd buried them away expecting nothing to come from them but for him to lose his friend by attempting to make their relationship into something more than it was.

Jake rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, had Michael really liked him back this whole time?

"Say something please," Michael hissed in a quiet voice to him, worry clear on his face, "like anything, even if it's to tell me you don't like me. But the dead silence is killing me right now, I'd prefer to get this over with if you're going to reject me. If-"

He was ranting now, Jake was ruining his own chances here by sitting in shocked silence like an idiot. Michael thought he didn't like him back, and Jake couldn't have that after he had spent almost the entirety of their friendship pining after him.

Michael was hard to stop once he started ranting, usually you couldn't get a word in edgewise with him. If arguing was a talent then Michael would be the world champion. So Jake didn't use his words, instead he saw a chance where Michael paused his random splurge of words to breathe and he took it.

Jake leaned down, initiating the kiss himself this time. Unlike the nervous peck from Michael, Jake went slow, letting the kiss linger as Michael processed what was happening.

A few beats later, Michael seemed to recover from his shock because he shifted, slotting their lips together in an angle that deepened the kiss. Jake had never kissed someone before, though he had imagined this exact moment with Michael quite a bit. He would hazard a guess and say Michael hadn't kissed someone before either since they'd known each other since they were like nine. So the kiss was a little awkward at first, their noses bumped each other and they struggled to find the right way to move their lips against each other. But to Jake, it was perfect, he couldn't imagine a better first kiss.

Lost in their own little bubble, Jake had practically forgotten the two of them were on a crowded beach with the entire camp as possible witnesses. That was until a familiar voice cheered, "Go Michael!"