Backdoor Boy

Epilogue

Mikey turned his head back to Ray's house. He determined that they were far enough away and slid his hand into Ray's, stepping closer to his boyfriend. "Let me know if it starts to hurt, okay?" Mikey said.

Ray kissed the top of his head. "I will."

Mikey grinned to himself. It had been almost a month since he and Ray had decided to start a real relationship, and so far, things were going great. Sophia was still Ray's beard, and she and Mikey were quickly becoming close friends.

"Have you talked to Louise recently?" Ray asked.

"Oh, yeah," Mikey said. "A few days ago, actually. They finally got the results back."

"What is it?"

"Sickle cell."

Ray furrowed his brow. "Sickle cell?" he said. "That's weird. I feel like you don't hear that one all that often."

"I said the same thing," Mikey said. "But on the bright side, she said that there are a bunch of treatments for it, so they're gonna start Ben on a few different things. He has a blood transfusion on Thursday. But if all goes well with that, she said they'll be able to have him home for his fifteenth birthday."

"That's great! I know Louise was worried. I'm happy for them."

"Me, too."

Mikey and Ray followed the sidewalk until they reached the end of the street. In front of them, on the other side of the road, were some woods, and it looked as though there was a path leading down into the trees. "Have you ever been back there?" Mikey asked.

Ray shook his head. "Do you want to go?" he asked.

"Do you feel okay to?"

Ray shrugged. "Yeah, I think so," he said. "I told you, if it starts to hurt, I'll let you know."

Mikey lifted their hands and kissed Ray's knuckles. They crossed the street and started carefully down the trail. It turned out to be far more safe than they had anticipated; It seemed as if this was a commonly taken path.

"Hey, did Gerard tell your parents yet?" Ray asked.

"Yeah, actually," Mikey said. "Last night. He asked me for a pep talk, then we all sat down in the living room and he told them. He told them about Frank, too, and they want to meet him."

"Well, that's nice. I'm glad they took it well."

"What were they gonna do? If they're cool with one gay son, they gotta be cool with two."

Ray laughed, then winced. "Honey, are you okay?" Mikey asked, darting over to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ray said. "Just the laughing. I'm okay." Mikey watched him walk a little further before fully believing him.

The path didn't go very deep into the woods. It led to a small pond, sheltered by trees that allowed stripes of sunlight to shine down and create sparkles that danced atop the water.

"Oh, this place is so cute!" Mikey said.

Ray smiled and wrapped his arms around Mikey's waist. "Yeah," he said. "It is."

Mikey bit his lip and looked up at Ray, placing his hands on his shoulders. "Ray?"

"Hm?"

Mikey pressed his lips against Ray's and held him close. "I love you," Mikey whispered.

Ray kissed Mikey's lips, then his forehead. "I love you, too, Mikey Way."