Tell Me You Love Me

Cheese Fest

Neither of them knew how long they had been sitting there in complete silence, but they both knew they would sit there for the rest of forever if they could. 

Prince didn't want to say or do anything because Michael was sitting there resting comfortably and peacefully on his shoulder, but he could feel his stomach begin to rumble with hunger. He tried to ignore it; he was enjoying the closeness with Michael too much to ruin it now. He disregarded the hunger for as long as he could until the gurgling in him turned to pain and his stomach started making audible growling sounds.

Prince's bodily noises caught Michael's attention. He listened carefully, waiting for the next signal to sound off. After a few moments of silence, he heard the noise again. He lifted his head and turned towards Prince. "You're hungry," he said with a soft smile. He knew he didn't have to point it out; surely it was obvious to Prince considering it was his body after all, but he had a feeling Prince would just sit there a like a stone statue if he didn't say something.

Prince rolled his eyes. "You're hungry," he retorted. He didn't realize his stomach was making that much noise, and it embarrassed him a little. He didn't like feeling human around someone like Michael who appeared to be a member of a more graceful, perfect species native to a distant planet of pristine beauty. It made him feel as though he didn't deserve to be in the presence of someone so special.

Michael chuckled. "Well, of course, dummy," he said as he nudged him with his shoulder, "but so are you. We've been awake for God knows how long and haven't had anything to eat. We've probably already skipped the most important meal of the day."

Prince's stomach growled once more. "Yeah, you're probably right," he hesitantly agreed. He turned towards Michael, and he found himself staring into his big doe eyes. He allowed his eyes to move to his smile. He felt the unrelenting urge to kiss him, but he held himself back. Michael agreed to be friends and only friends, and he had to respect that. He pulled his eyes away from Michael's face to keep himself from doing something he would regret. "We should probably go get some food or something." He got out of the tub and offered a hand to Michael to help him out. 

Michael accepted and pulled himself up. It was usually Prince that prolonged the physical contact of their hands, but this time, he was the one that didn't want to let go. He felt strange. He made such a big fuss about wanting to be nothing more than just friends, yet a huge part of him craved more. As he rubbed the top of Prince's hand with his thumb feeling his soft skin, he thought of a loophole. "Friends hold hands, right?" He bit his bottom lip. "I mean, I'm sure it's not exactly normal for two adult males to do it, but it can be a friendly gesture. It doesn't have to be weird, right? We can make it normal, can't we?"

Prince was slightly confused by Michael's sudden change in attitude towards what he deemed uncomfortable just the night before, but he was willing to roll with anything that would allow him to be closer to the angel standing before him. He smiled and nodded his head. "Of course, Michael. Friends hold hands, and we are friends. It would make sense for us to do it."

Michael smiled wide and interlocked his fingers with Prince's. It wasn't unusual for him to have platonic friendships, so why should he hold out on Prince? He loved the way Prince's hand felt against his; they fit perfectly together. He gave his hand a light squeeze. "To the kitchen?"

Prince squeezed Michael's hand back. "To the kitchen." He led him out of the bathroom and through the house. As they walked, Michael stayed close to Prince's side, keeping very little distance between the two of them.