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Michael wasn't going to lie; he had been waiting for this day all week.
Roughly a week ago, he had received a text from Jeremy asking if they could hang in his basement. Michael was quick to agree as he had barely heard from him since the whole Squip incident and was really hoping to catch up. Plus, he was looking forward to not having to try and play both controllers at once for the weekend.
As soon as he heard the knock on the door, Michael was on his feet and headed to it. He opened the door with gusto and put on his biggest smile. "Jeremy! How's it hangin', man? You ready for level 10? I tried doing it myself, but the boss for that one is a be-...ast." His face faltered a bit when he really took in Jeremy's appearance.
He couldn't tell exactly what was up, but something was definitely wrong. Jeremy's hair looked a bit more disheveled than usual and his eyes barely held any excitement in them. Michael would've commented, but Jeremy spoke first.
"Heh- Yeah, I'm practically shaking with excitement." He wasn't. "Can't wait to see what he's like." It seemed like he couldn't care less. Again, Michael would've spoken, but Jeremy went ahead and just walked past him to the basement. (Not that he really minded- That's what Jeremy usually does when he comes over anyways. No need for "Oh, do come in"'s when you've been here enough, right?)
Michael followed after him and they were greeted by a familiar sight. Two bean bag chairs were set up next to each other in front of the TV, controllers ready to go. There were some snacks littered around the seats for convenience and Michael had even snuck a bit of Mountain Dew Red in there (just in case).
Jeremy had paused, taking it all in, while Michael walked over to go flop down on his beanbag. After grabbing his respective controller, he turned his gaze back to his friend and, more specifically, to his face.
Michael's heart skipped a beat.
Goddammit, not now gay thoughts.
Jeremy had this... look... now. His eyes were almost filled to the brim with some sort of nostalgia and his lips had the softest smile on them. Michael had seen him in a wide range of emotions before, but this felt... much different. In a good way. He took as long as he could to stare at him before the other refound his focus and finally went to sit down.
"So, uh, you ready?" Michael asked after a moment of silence.
"Mhm", came Jeremy's lackluster reply as he grabbed his own controller.
"Awesome."
Michael started the game and the level music began playing. It was the only sound that filled the room other than their characters' grunting and the occasional gun shot. He couldn't bear the silence, so after a few minutes passed he figured he'd try breaking it. He didn't think bringing up something of his would bring out a very big response, so he instead decided to ask Jeremy something.
The first thing that came to his mind was, "How are you and Christine doing? Is it all you were hoping it would be?" It pained him a little to ask about it. He was always supportive of Jeremy in it, but he couldn't always help the jealousy that brewed a bit inside of him.
He waited for a reply, but all that came was Jeremy's character stopping on screen and suddenly the 'GAME OVER' screen was flashing. "Jeremy, wha-"
Jeremy had dropped the controller and his face looked almost unreadable. He swallowed thickly and all Michael could think was, Bad move, bad move, bad move-
"We, uh" Jeremy spoke up, finally. "We broke up... Turns out we didn't really... have much to talk about, you know? Other than the whole Squip thing, we don't really have a lot in common..."
Michael felt his heart skip a beat, but he suppressed that. He has to be the sympathetic friend right now, dammit! "Shit- I'm sorry man." He placed a supportive hand on Jeremy's shoulder. "You need to talk about it or...?"
"No, no, I'm... it's fine. I actually broke up with her." Jeremy looked over to a rather surprised Michael. "Yeah, I know, I know. Shocker, right?" He let out a soft, but sad laugh.
"What... happened?" Michael asked, raising a brow.
Jeremy paused a moment before answering. "Well, we were... on a date and it was just... so quiet. Completely unbearable. She tried making a reference to the play they're doing next year; I didn't get it. I told her how excited I was for Apocalypse of the Damned 2: The Return and she tried to nod along, but it just didn't... click, you know?"
Michael nodded along as Jeremy spoke. His face was drawn in in concern and the hand he had put on Jeremy's shoulder had shifted to the shoulder farther away from himself so he could pull the other into a half hug. Jeremy's head tilted so that it rested against Michael's.
"So, I just... I couldn't take it anymore. Don't get me wrong- She's really cute and funny, but... we just aren't compatible... I can't see her like I used to." As he finished speaking, small tears began to prick at Jeremy's eyes and god fucking dammit Michael's heart just shattered for him.
"Fuck, man, I'm-I'm sure you'll find another girl. One who's all over video games! You-You've just gotta put yourself out the-" Michael was cut short by Jeremy.
"No!"
Michael looked to him confused. "Huh?"
"I-" Jeremy sighed. "I don't want to put myself out there!"
"Then... How else are you supposed to meet other-?"
"I don't want to meet other girls. I-" The brunette seemed to get choked up in a sob as tears finally started to trickle down his cheeks.
If Michael's heart had been shattered before, please now consider it obliterated. He used his free hand to try and wipe some tears away. "Hey- Jere, what're you trying to get at, man?"
Jeremy sniffled and gulped. "I'm trying t-to get at the fact that I- I already have found... s-someone else..."
Michael felt an odd pang in his chest. It didn't feel nice. "Well, shit! That's good then, isn't it? Tell me about her!" He tried his best to try and pick up the mood. Maybe getting Jeremy to talk about this new mystery girl wo-
"Him."
What?
Micheal decided to voice this.
"What?"
"Him. I'm- It's... a guy. And I'm frustrated." Jeremy attempted to clarify and Michael's head went whirling a moment.
"Then, uh- Talk about him!" Michael tried to say just as exuberantly.
Jeremy shook his head. "I-I can't... You're gonna friend-disown me if I talk about it."
Michael looked quizzically at him. "Friend-disown you? Bro, I literally couldn't have a single homophobic bone in my body-"
"That's not what I-"
"And I'm always here to listen, so it's not like you're gonna be annoying-"
"That isn't the-"
"Besides, I wanna see if I can help out, you know? Gotta be the best wingman possible, y-"
"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD MICHAEL!"
That shut him up.
Jeremy had now shaken off Michael's arm and was staring him face on. "I can't talk about it because it'll just ruin everything! Because I am so deeply truly fucked here! Because every time I hung out with Christine, you know what I kept thinking?!"
Michael had absolutely no idea what the other had been thinking, but he had a feeling he was about to find out.
"'Gosh, this would be so much better if Michael was here!', 'Michael would've gotten that!', 'Michael would've know what to do!', 'Micheal could probably cheer me up!', just- Michael, Michael, Michael!" At this point, Jeremy had placed his hands on both sides of the other's face. "I can't! Stop! Thinking! About... You.... And I..." He swallowed. "I realized I don't want to..."
Michael's heart already felt like it was going to explode, but Jeremy wasn't finished just yet.
"You're just... You're always there for me, even when I was complete fucking asshole! You tried to stay by my side." Jeremy looked so distraught, like someone on trial pleading guilty. His eyes held so much regret and the tears were pouring harder now. "You're the best at video games, you always know what to say, you never care about what people think of you, you tell the best jokes, you're... you're..."
By now, their faces had gotten really close.
Really close.
And Michael had now had tears of his own falling down his cheeks. His weren't from distress, but he was so overcome by emotion that it's all he could do. They both took a moment to stare at each other, but before they each knew it they were both closing the distance between each other.
The kiss was soft, as they were both unsure, and their tears made it salty, but neither seemed to care. Michael moved his arms so that they could wrap around Jeremy's neck as his heart beat a hundred miles per hour. One of Jeremy's arms dropped to Michael's waist while the other moved up so he could run his fingers through Michael's hair.
They pulled each other closer and stayed like that awhile, lips moving against each other's. When they finally pulled back, Michael felt his heart swell at the sight of Jeremy's relaxed features. They were both still crying, but they were happy tears now.
"Hey, Mike?"
"Yeah?"
"Is it too soon to say I love you?"
Michael smiled. "Nah, but it's a lil' gay, though."
Jeremy's nose crinkled before an unceremonious snort came from him and he started laughing. Michael's smile widened and he couldn't overcome the urge to lean forward again and start peppering little kisses all over the brunette's face. This caused him to laugh even more.
"And you say I'm gay?"
"Listen, I never said I wasn't." Michael snorted. "In fact, if this was a competition, I'd win in being the absolute gayest."
"No way."
"You willing to bet?"
"What are we betting?"
Michael moved a hand to tap at his chin. "How about if I win, you go out with me and if you win, I go out with you."
Jeremy rolled his eyes, but let out another chuckle. "I see no downside here."
"So, you're up to the challenge?" Michael waggled his eyebrows.
"Yeah, sure, you absolute nerd." Jeremy teased before kissing the other's cheek.
"Good, good." Michael paused. "Shall I start and end this with I've been smitten by your smile since ninth grade?"
Jeremy's eyes widened. "Bullshit."
"I assure you, it's no shit of bull." Michael grinned cheekily. "I could prove it with my journal." He did a bit of a head nod towards his computer. "But, I don't think I'm giving away all of that just yet."
"Holy shit."
"Yup."
"You win, gosh." Jeremy almost felt a bit bad now. "How on earth did you... deal with me?"
Michael shrugged. "Well, you'd already been my player two for three years at that point and I guess I just... loved you too much to potentially ruin things between us." His gaze fell downwards and he murmured out the last bit, but that didn't stop Jeremy from hearing it.
Next thing Michael knew, he was falling backwards onto his beanbag chair and Jeremy's lips were on his again. They laughed and made small comments as they ran their hands along each other, but they only really broke away long enough for Jeremy to say:
"Yeah, this is super fucking gay."
Michael shut him up again.