alone together ー petekey

XI

Mikey is fairly certain that he's in love with Pete.

How could he not be in love with the way Pete smiles, the way the corners of his eyes crinkle up when he laughs, and how his eyes light up whenever Mikey laughs. He's beautiful.

On July 4th, Pete runs into Mikey's room and jumps on top of him, causing the mattress to shake violently.

"Surprise!" Pete says, tackling Mikey, who had been scrolling through Instagram.

"Jesus, you scared me!" Mikey sighs, turning off his phone.

"Hah!" Pete says, a grin on his face. "Anyways, hey." Pete presses a kiss to Mikey's lips and pulls back with a grin.

"What are you even doing here? I thought you'd be with your parents."

"Mom let me stay the night. Said I was 'old enough to make my own decisions.'"

"You're not."

"Am too!"

"Sure," Mikey sighs, pushing his glasses up and kissing Pete's cheek. "Hey, c'mere. lay down."

"Why?" Pete asks.

"You're sick, you look tired, and you need rest. Lay down." Mikey leans back and closes his eyes.

"Okay." Pete obliges, lying against Mikey and snuggling into his side. Mikey kisses the top of Pete's head.

"Gerard and his girlfriend are taking me to a fireworks show in an hour, so I guess you're coming with me."

"I'm down for that," Pete says, smiling up at Mikey and causing his heart to grow to be about five times bigger than it should be.

They stay like that until Gerard walks into Mikey's room and finds them cuddling, Pete's face buried in Mikey's chest and Mikey's chin resting on the top of Pete's head. Gerard picks up one of Mikey's shirts off the floor and throws it at Mikey, effectively waking him up.

"Mm, Pete, go back to sleep."

Pete stirs a little. "Mikeyway, you woke me up."

"Then who threw that at me?"

"I don't know. A ghost, maybe? Go back to sleep."

"I don't want to open my eyes."

"Yeah. Go back to sleep."

Mikey lets out a soft whine and wraps an arm around Pete, pulling him closer.

Gerard throws another shirt at Mikey. this time, he opens his eyes. "Come on!" He says groggily. "You ruined it."

"We need to leave. You can take your husband with you, if you'd like. Lindsey wants to meet him."

"Pete." Mikey nudges Pete, who doesn't respond. "Pete!" Mikey says, louder this time. Pete stirs a bit.

"Mm, Mikey, go the fuck to sleep."

"Pete, we've gotta go. Gerard and Lindsey are taking us to see the fireworks."

"But do I have to?"

"Yes, Pete." Mikey forgets that Gerard's in the doorway and laces his hand with Pete's.

"You're comfy, though. I don't want to get up."

"Pete, I can and will fucking piggyback your ass if you don't get up, so help me-"

"Do it."

"Damn it, Pete-"

"Please?"

"Fuckin' loser," Mikey murmurs, pushing Pete off the bed.

"Ow! I thought you said I was going to get a piggyback ride!"

"Fine. Here." Mikey sits on the bed, and Pete crawls on top of his shoulders, holding onto his neck. He stands with little effort, and Gerard looks at him strangely.

"This is normal," he says blankly, earning a 'hell yeah it is!' from Pete and a laugh from Gerard.

It's a beautiful firework display; dozens of different colors light up the night sky. Pete rests his head on Mikey's shoulder. Gerard and Lindsey are sitting in the car, but Mikey and Pete decide they need privacy and sit on the blacktop.

There are about a hundred thoughts racing through Mikey's head, nearly all of them screaming at him to just say it already. It's just a simple phrase, and it won't affect anything much, so why can't he just say it?

"The fireworks are spectacular," Pete says, and Mikey takes a deep breath.

"Yeah." He takes Pete's hand and intertwines their fingers. "I love you."

Pete beams at Mikey. "Mikey?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you, too," Pete says, launching forward to kiss Mikey.

Mikey's grin doesn't leave his face for the rest of the night.