liar ー petekey [2017 bandfiction award winner]

FIVE

Mikey can't help but grin when the old pickup truck rumbles and starts. He can't help but grin even wider when they begin to pass through town.

Mikey feels a sharp pain in his arm and yelps, then turns to Pete. "What?"

"You didn't tell me about all the family businesses, babe," Pete says, nodding the street shops with his head.

"Oh."

They drive by the Paxton-Way Parcel & Post, then the Paxton General Store, then Way Photography, and then the forest. Mikey's forgotten that his family had basically built an empire from the ground up in Sitka.

"He was probably just being modest, dear," Elena says from the passenger seat.

"Ah," Pete says, giving Mikey a strange look. Mikey looks equally as confused and shrugs. "So you co-own a business with someone named 'Paxton'?"

"No, dear, my last name was originally Paxton. When I married Mikey's father, back when we co-owned them, I became Donna Lee Way instead of Donna Lee Paxton." 

"Oh," Pete says, "that's interesting. So you basically-"

"-Colonized Sitka in a modern fashion? Yeah," Mikey cuts Pete off. "Yeah, they did."

"Okay, everyone, out! Mikey, help Pete with his bags," Donna says once she parks by the dock. She gets out and helps Elena out as well.

"Shit, a boat?" Pete freezes, "I can't get on a boat again, shit!"

"What's wrong with boats?" Mikey asks, putting an arm around Pete.

"I haven't been on one since my parents died," Pete answers quietly.

"Hey, I'll be there, and you're gonna be alright. All three of us have driven that motorboat since we first got it, and that was almost a decade ago," Mikey says. "I've got you."

"Yeah. Yeah, okay. Guess I've got to, right?" Pete says, unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out of the car. Mikey does the same. 

"Here, I've got it," Mikey says when Pete tries to lift his suitcase from the bed of the truck. "It's fine."

"At least let me carry something! Short does not equal weak."

Mikey laughs and holds Pete's bag above his head to keep him from reaching it.

When they get onto the boat, Pete shivers and lets Mikey hold him tightly. 

Mikey makes sure the boat doesn't go too fast, and it ends up taking ten minutes to get there instead of five.

"Our house is right about..." Mikey says, pointing behind a line of trees, "there."

"It's huge," Pete notes, glancing at Mikey. Mikey stays silent.

"Off! Mikey, help Pete, please," Donna says, helping Elena off the boat. Mikey stands, dusts himself off, and steps over the side of the boat. He stands on the dock, his balance a bit off, and offers his hand to Pete, who grips it tightly as he crosses over to land.

"I'm gonna apologize in advance for my dad," Mikey says, looking at his feet. "He's got anger issues and he's really fucking temperamental, so he's probably going to shout at me the second he sees me."

Pete nods in what might be understanding just as Donna speaks.

"Have you heard from Gerard, Mikey?"

Mikey tenses visibly. "No."

"When did you last talk?"

"I don't remember."