art by graysneakers on tumblr
for those who don't know, pins and patches is the ship between michael and jake.
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CRACK!
Thunder boomed throughout the large house that Jake Dillinger lived in, causing the house to shake with it. Jake jumped; but hoped that the boy next to him, Michael Mell, in fact, didn’t see that.
I mean, how can a jock like Jake be afraid of some measly thunder? That’d be stupid.
Except, even while they were playing video games, Michael did happen to see Jake jump. Quickly, he paused the game and looked over, and Jake’s face went beet red. Seriously, he wanted to crawl into bed and never come out.
But then, Michael asked, “What’s wrong, Jake?”
Jake shook his head, answering, “Let’s just… keep playing Mario Kart, okay?” He offered a sweet smile until lightning flashed through the window, and Jake jumped once again.
“Jesus Christ… I’m literally a fucking baby.” Jake muttered, letting the remote fall out of his hands and sighing. Michael put his remote down and shook his head.
“You aren’t a baby. Storms are scary shit, dude. Like, I mean it.” Michael sat closer to Jake, watching as he shook his head once again.
“No. I’m literally supposed to be like, fucking tough, man. This shit is stupid. Let’s just keep--”
Jake was interrupted by the lights flickering a bit before totally shutting off. This shit couldn’t get any worse, really. Jake’s arms flew around Michael’s torso, ashamed of how baby-ish this felt. But now, it was pitch black in his room, and so was the rest of the room.
Michael grabbed his phone, turned the flashlight on, and stood, Jake letting go of him.
“Hey, it’s okay. Do you know where the candles are, Jake? I can light a few if you want.” He smiled softly, though with how dark it was, it was impossible to see.
“Oh, um, yeah. Downstairs in the closet in the living room… Can I come with you, Michael?” Jake asked, standing up even though his shaky limbs protested against it.
“Of course, Jake. I have my flashlight. It’ll be okay.” Michael smiled once more, letting Jake take his hand as they navigated the gigantic house with nothing more than a flashlight.
They each got a few candles, heading back upstairs. Every little noise seemed to scare Jake, whether it was a little bit of thunder or the tree branches and leaves hitting the windows in his house. Michael was there, though, going as slow as Jake needed. They soon got up to Jake’s bedroom again, and Michael took his lighter out to light the candles. He spread them out everywhere, putting them in places him or Jake wouldn’t knock them over.
Jake laid back down, hugging Michael once more as they sat in his bed again.
“Sorry, I’m such a baby,” Jake muttered, Michael disagreeing once more.
“Hey, shh. It’s okay. Come here.” He pulled Jake a little closer, smiling softly at the boy. Now you could actually see his smile, and that seemed to calm Jake, who smiled nervously back. Michael was gentle in a way Jake couldn’t describe, and he loved how soothing it was for him just for Michael to be there with him.
Even as the thunder roared and the thunder cracked, Jake grew calmer and calmer, and Michael was more than happy to have been able to provide that.
After a few hours of the storm letting on, the last raindrop fell and it was quiet again. The lights still weren’t on, but both boys were fine with that. After all, they were curled up beside each other, saying not a word, listening to the radio silence that rang through the house.
After a few minutes of the continual silence, Jake found himself drifting to sleep in Michael’s arms. He didn’t even protest, because truly, if anything, this was the happiest he’s felt after (and during) a storm in a long time.
Everything was silent once again.
