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In most aspects of his life, Mitch was forward. Anyone who looked at him would know that he wasn't afraid of the little things like opinions and judgements, not on the outside at least. He didn't care when people heard him loudly make his opinion known about homophobic dickbags or when people would glare half-heartedly at his crude (but awesome) T-shirts, he had other shit to worry about.
When Jonas stepped right into his world, however, shy and a little scared and more beautiful than anything Mitch could ever have imagined? He had no control over how he felt.
He spent a week reciting to himself all the reasons why asking Joey to be with him was a bad idea. He thought for hours on end until the things running through his head were bordering on manic, like "what if he gets so flustered his lights attack me?"�, then "what if he gets so flustered his lights attack him?"
He wasn't going to do it.
So Joey did it for him, and who can say no to that face.
Their first date had to take place midday on a Saturday just so that Jonas could worm his way free from Dean's noose around his social life. He and Sidney, who was reluctant to be supportive but mostly just wanted to see her brother happy, conspired to trick Dean into thinking there was a vitally important study group that Jonas needed to attend at the local library. Sidney may not have liked Mitch very much, but she loved her brother, something Mitch himself could understand.
They went to the cove, both claiming it was for the privacy it provided; neither admitting the sentimentality that truly laid behind the decision. Mitch could still remember how Joey had smiled at him, with the same raw honestly he'd only ever before seen directed at the clone or his other friends, he could practically feel how he'd felt; enlightened.
At that point in the day, the sun was high above the water, spilling florescent light down into Joey's hair and face; Mitch thought it was sappy and cute but Jonas thought it was blinding and a little irritating, so Mitch moved them into the shade. It was worth the loss of that glowing light, because Jonas could open his eyes wider without the assault of the light, and like that they almost shone with happiness. They talked about anything they could think of, but when their mouths were shut the space that filled the silence wasn't stunted, rather it was warm, like Jonas' lights were there, stretching between them, winding carefully around Jonas' left wrist, then finding their way to Mitch's right, linking them. When Mitch looked down, he saw that it was. The pink light holding them together was very close in shade to that of Joey's face, gazing out over the water and refusing to acknowledge how his emotions were making themselves visible. Mitch had never loved him more than in that moment, it gave him strength.
The few centimetres between them were easy to cross, barely the sound of shifting sand to alert that Mitch had moved at all, then that warmth, that comfortable warmth that had radiated within Mitch sparked into a beautiful, pink blaze, highlighting the surprise that registered on Jonas' face, accented with fondness and love.
Behind Mitch, rocks started floating.
They were small, but still large enough for Joey to see them over his shoulder and have to muffle a giggle with his free hand. Mitch turned to see what he was laughing at, noticing the rocks and immediately causing them to hit the sand with a soft but resounding thud. Then Joey sighed contentedly, his head landing between Mitch's shoulder blades and the rocks smashed again the stone wall, startling them both.
They looked at each other and laughed, Mitch turning back around to face Joey and all the tension drained out of the air in the cove. Joey slid himself under Mitch's arm, taking the hand that was slung over his shoulder in his own and taking in the beauty of everything around him. Everything and everyone.
"We should do this again sometime," he muttered, voice low to avoid disrupting the peace.
"Yeah," Mitch agreed.