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He didn't at all realize what he was doing.
After all, if he had, he would've immediately stopped.
Or... Maybe not.
Staring open-mouthed, like a deer in the headlights, at your best friend in a too-small PE uniform is generally considered rude... Right?
But, well.
Said best friend looked... Really good.
I'd hit that.
Wide blue eyes blinked in surprise at the thought, their owner still not realizing that he was staring.
That's not a thought I've ever had before.
It was only when lightheadedness began to make his surroundings swim that Jeremy suddenly snapped back to awareness.
He took a gulp of air and tore his gaze away from Michael, relegating his vision privileges to the scuffed gym floor. He felt his face sting with heat. What the heck...
“Jere! The id— You okay?”
No...?
“Y-yeah, sorry, I j-just—” He broke off, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. “...uh. Yeah.”
Michael frowned, concerned, but shrugged and continued speaking.
“But yeah, so like, even though I told the school that I'm an XL, they still gave me a medium gym uniform?? I dunno, man, like, what the hell.”
Jeremy coughed feebly, feeling his face burning even hotter than ever.
“Y-yeah...”
“Hey, you sure you're alright, man?”
“Y-yeah, of c-course!! I-I'm just... T-tired...”
The taller boy frowned again, peering worriedly at his best friend.
“...okay. C’mon, they're about to start stretches.”
Jeremy and Michael made their way over to the center of the gym where the teachers led the warmups, with Jeremy internally freaking out. Having non-hetero thoughts is normal, right?? I mean, I know I'm bi— he actually paused mid-stride to banish the memory of that particular realization from his mind —but Michael is my best bro! Is it just because we're close? Or is it the clothes? His thoughts ran in circles as they started stretching.
Reaching towards the ground, Jeremy cursed his lack of flexibility. This shit hurt. But hey, that's kinda what sitting on beanbags for hours at a time and not being an athlete will get you. Michael was in slightly better shape, straining his arms towards the ground. He still wasn't completely there though, and groaned low with the effort. Jeremy's face flushed redder than Michael's hoodie.
“Jeremy, my buddy, we need to get better at this.” Michael laughed breathlessly. “I'm pretty sure both Mr. Kelly and Mr. Sweeney want us out of this class.”
“Th-they hate everyone who isn't an athlete, Mike. We're the definition of-of unathletic,” Jeremy said firmly.
Or not, a quiet voice whispered in the back of his head, pointing out Michael's strong-looking arms and legs, and the way his clothes left almost nothing to the imagination when he—
“Grab a partner, we're doing a workout today and it involves a relay.” Were they done with stretching already? “And no, you cannot do groups of three.” Mr. Kelly said, not even bothering to be exasperated anymore. The class erupted in chatter, with people grabbing their friends and trying to not be left alone. Jeremy and Michael stood together, not even having to ask.
At least, that's what Jeremy thought. A girl walked up to Michael and tapped him on the shoulder. What was her name… Nicole? Possibly-Nicole smiled at Michael as he turned around, cocking her head.
“Hi! Wanna be partners?”
Michael blinked.
“Sorry, no, I'm with Jeremy,” he replied, his tone clearly saying, what did you expect?
Possibly-Nicole’s smile faltered and she shrugged as Jeremy moved closer to the taller of the pair.
“Suit yourself.” And with that, she walked away to find someone else.
The two watched her retreat. Michael looked down at his player two and snorted at how close he was standing.
“You know you're my favorite person. C’mon, let's get started on this institutionalized torture!” he exclaimed with a sardonic grin as they looked at the whiteboard displaying the dreaded workout. It was pretty basic: one person runs a lap while the other does the designated exercise (sit-ups, squats, push-ups, wall sits, planking, etc.), then they switch.
This was torture. Jeremy felt like some external force was controlling him. He couldn't tear his eyes off of Michael. Had his best friend always been so muscular? Had he always looked so... Damn.
What was happening?!
Well, for one, the period was dragging on for eons.
Jeremy stared wide-eyed at Michael, who was energetically executing the push-ups they had just been assigned. His body was perfectly straight, and his arms were working with fibrous strength. If he used his imagination, Jeremy could pretend that the grunting and panting was part of a much more... Intimate activity. His face lit up again, as it seemed to do every thirty seconds that period.
This is the most bi I have ever felt. So then, what now? Hmm...
The lanky teen suddenly blushed.
He had an idea.
Jeremy was unusually quiet in the car. Michael was concerned, of course, but he decided it would be best to wait until they got back home to discuss it.
When they arrived back at his house, Michael noticed his friend following him a bit more closely than usual.
Why did the kid have to make it so difficult for him?! He was so cute, it was already hard for Michael to control the urge to just kiss him every time he saw him.
They reached the bottom of the stairs and tossed their backpacks aside as usual. However, Jeremy didn't move to sit down, instead staring at him yet again.
So Michael stared back, smiling uncertainly.
A tiny crease formed between Jeremy's eyebrows, and he slowly walked forward until they were inches apart.
“Are you really alright, Miah?” His voice came out soft and worried.
“Wh-wh— Micah, why’re you s-so...”
Why is he so... What? What're you gonna say, Heere?
He didn't know. He just... He wanted... Michael . He just wanted him. He didn't even know how he wanted him, let alone why.
But he definitely knew that he wanted him.
So he wrapped his arms around his best friend, stood up on tiptoes, and kissed him, hard.
Michael was understandably surprised, but quickly leaned into it. A wave of strong tingling energy passed through his body as utterly familiar hands crept under his shirt and Jeremy's tongue slipped into his mouth. He felt lightheaded.
Jeremy unconsciously leaned into him enough to make him stumble backwards into the couch. Thrown off, he reflexively grabbed at the back of Jeremy’s thigh, drawing a sharp intake of breath from the smaller boy.
“I— Sorry!” He quickly wrapped his arms securely around Jeremy’s torso. “S-sorry, it was just a reflex...”
“It’s ok-kay, it w-was me th-that...”
They both fell silent.
Eventually, Jeremy spoke, when the urge to repeat what had just happened grew overwhelming.
“C-can we... Do that ag-again?”
Michael smiled despite himself. He moved his hands up to comb his fingers into the familiar curls, closed his eyes, and gently kissed his long-time crush.
And boy, did his crush kiss him back. If Michael was going for a soft, polite approach, Jeremy was shamelessly aggressive. The moment the slighter boy began to pull away, Michael broke away, moving his hands to cup the freckled cheeks. He smiled up at the lovely blue eyes.
“I love you, y’know. More than friends.”
“I... L-love you too. I-in the same w-way. Y-you’re so...”
“...so what?”
“Sexy? C-caring? Polite? I d-don’t even know what's my f-favorite thing a-about you. You're my b-best friend in the w-world, m-my number one f-favorite human b-being, you’re f-freaking ripped...”
He continued ranting. Michael's stomach had a warm feeling in it that had him smiling softly, gazing up at the passionately speaking boy who he had known for most of his life. He subconsciously bit his lips, watching Jeremy's as they moved.
“Jere,” he eventually interrupted, “shut up.”
Jeremy paused, looking startled and apologetic, but before he could speak further, his lips became quite preoccupied once more.
After a few seconds, Michael broke away, much to Jeremy's chagrin. The latter whined unhappily, but Michael’s finger on his lips and his patient smile silenced any further complaints as the taller of the two sat up and shed his sweatshirt and headphones.
“There we go, love,” he said quietly, the bulky items cast aside. Jeremy pouted silently and Michael smiled affectionately. “Alright, alright, I’m coming back, now. C’mere, lemme hold you.”
Jeremy scooted over into Michael's lap and quickly met his lips again.
“Can I get you to slow down a little, lovely?” Michael smiled; the heat radiating from Jeremy’s cheeks was tangible even as he nodded. “Sweet.”
Jeremy was swooning on the spot. There was such a different air about Michael as he said the word “lovely.” It was warm, and caring, in an unrestrained way. Loving seemed the right word for it, but the blushing boy wasn't sure if it was an apt description because he'd never had cause to use the word in such a way.
Michael paused, smiling again as he looked into the familiar blue eyes.
“I think you’re adorable,” he said frankly. “And... I dunno, there’s a thing that happens, when you love someone enough, for long enough, that you don't even know what you love about them anymore. That’s... How I feel. About you.”
A smile slowly pushed its way through Jeremy's lips.
“I... S-same. I don’t even kn-know why anymore, y-you’re just my best friend. And... I th-think... I l-like you romantically, t-too. Like... As well as p-platonically.”
“'Course. I'm sure as hell not sacrificing my best friendship for you being my boyfriend.”
Jeremy was quiet for a moment, smiling to himself and moving his lips slightly. Michael brushed a stray curl off of the other boy’s pale forehead and tucked it back into place. He smiled when Jeremy looked up at him.
“Everything alright?”
“Mhm. Just th-thinking... I like the s-sound of that. 'Boyfriend’...”
He gave a quiet, breathy laugh.
“That's good, cause I sure hope that's what we are now. Boyf... Riends?”
Jeremy's smile grew crooked and amused at the reference.
“Sure. I-I mean, yeah. Heck yes. I-I... D-d’you wanna, like—” Have a night in, playing video games and stuff...? But that's what we're gonna do anyways. So, we can just... Keep going like we are. Except... More. Maybe making out a little when the light starts to fade. Maybe playing with each others’ hair as we fall asleep. Maybe sleeping together... Not, like, sex—I mean, not necessarily not sex, but—just, like... Falling asleep in each others’ arms. Being warm.
“Yeah...?” Michael prompted, gently playing with a curl of Jeremy’s hair.
“...n-nevermind. Let’s, just... D-do like we usually do. J-just... Without the di-distracting sexual tension.”
“Yeah, hah—” he choked slightly mid-chuckle, going brick red as he realized what Jeremy had said. “P-pardon?!”
Jeremy, also scarlet, looked determinedly in the opposite direction.
“W-well, you c-can’t d-deny it...” he mumbled. He shot the other boy a sidelong glance. They were still less than a foot apart; it would be so easy to just lean forward and...
His train of thought was cut off when warm, calloused fingers laced between his own clammy, spindly ones. A smile forced its way back onto his lips as Michael leaned forward, and he soon felt a small kiss being placed on his nose. He giggled.
“Are w-we gonna be th-this cutesy of a c-couple?”
Michael’s smile grew affectionate. However, just before he opened his mouth to speak, his smile suddenly became a smirk and he suppressed a snort.
“I mean, we could get a little hotter. I certainly wouldn't mind.”
Jeremy laughed, but didn't break eye contact.
“N-neither would I.”
There was an intense moment where they stared into each other’s eyes. Michael seemed to be searching for something in the pools of shadowed blue.
He leaned back in, and Jeremy met him halfway.
Jeremy woke up and immediately squinted in the sunlight from the tiny window near the ceiling.
Michael was a warm presence beside him, behind him, around him. The taller boy was gently twirling his fingers through Jeremy’s hair. He glanced down when Jeremy stirred.
“You sleep okay?”
“Y-y-y-yeah,” Jeremy replied, stifling a yawn.
“Cool.”
They sat there for several minutes, listening to each other breathe and drifting in and out of wakefulness.
“...it’s really important,” Michael eventually murmured to himself.
“Hm?”
“It— The words, they’re...” He shook his head slightly and backed up. “‘I love you.’ It’s... I don't say it lightly. I... I really, really care about you. I love you. I guess... I just wanna know you appreciate how much it means.”
Jeremy leaned against his riend.
“I th-think I do.” He wrapped his arms around Michael and hugged him properly. “It d-does mean a lot. It-it's— The w-word ‘love’ is ov-overused, but wh-when I say that I l-love you, I mean it.”
Michael smiled and ruffled the milk-chocolate curls.
“...thanks. That's what I needed to hear.”
“Mhm. I... We’ll always be b-best bros, though, right?”
“Course! Life’s a two-player game, and I couldn't play with anyone else.”
“Same!”