Saturday // Peterick Oneshots

9. Homesick (But Not at Space Camp)

Okay so I remember this interview recently where Pete had said the last time he cried was because he was homesick and so first of all, oof ouch my heart, and second of all here's my word vomit of Patrick comforting him. Mania era, obviously. Pretty much all fluff.

It's never an odd occurrence for Patrick to be awoken in the middle of the night by a restless Pete, but it's always directly. A light nudge on his shoulder, or a whispered "hey, Patrick," or even the sound of the bunk curtains being ripped open in frustration are the usual culprits.

Soft sobs and sniffles? Very unusual, and big red flags as far as Patrick's concerned.

He rolls over in his bunk and listens closely. Yeah, that's definitely crying, and it's definitely coming from Pete's bunk. He stares at the ceiling for a brief moment, gathering his bearings, before slipping out from under his sheets and standing next to Pete's bunk.

"Pete?" he whispers into the darkness. "Are you okay?"

Just like that, the noises stop. "I'm fine. Go...go back to bed, Trick. I don't want to keep you up."

Patrick rolls his eyes. "Bullshit, I'm coming in." He pulls back the curtain as quietly as possible so he doesn't wake Joe and Andy and crawls in beside Pete. The bunk is warm, and Patrick's tempted to simply try to get Pete to sleep so he can do the same, but crying in the middle of the night isn't a common event these days. In their earlier years, maybe, but not now.

"Seriously, I'm okay," Pete says with a small smile. His voice is soft and a little rough, and when Patrick looks closer he can see tear tracks on Pete's face.

"No you're not," Patrick whispers, wrapping his arms around Pete. Pete falls into the embrace and buries his face in Patrick's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Pete takes a long breath and exhales with a shudder before saying, "Homesick, that's all. Meagan sent pictures of the kids this morning, and during the day it was fine cause we were running around doing things to prepare for the show but now I just...I miss them."

"Yeah, I get that," Patrick says. He starts running a hand through Pete's hair to help soothe him. "Elisa sent pictures the other day and I almost lost it myself."

Pete pulls away. "What? Seriously?" Patrick nods. "You could've told me. I would've helped you feel better."

"That's not the point, dumbass. The point is, I get what you're saying."

"Still."

They sit in silence for a few minutes, and Pete calms down completely. He remains in Patrick's arms and enjoys the feeling of his hair being played with.

"Think you can sleep now?" Patrick asks him.

Pete nods, and Patrick shifts them around until they're laying down facing each other. Pete scoots forward and tucks himself into Patrick's side.

"Thank you."

"Anytime, Pete." Patrick starts singing softly into Pete's ear on instinct, and as usual he falls asleep within minutes. Patrick finishes the song he was in the middle of, then basks in the warmth of the man next to him as he drifts off once again.