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Andy comes home from the studio one afternoon, expecting to find his boyfriend actually hanging around the living room or kitchen areas of their home, but he only comes to find that everything seems to be left untouched. However, he can't just go right off and say that Joe didn't come home at all, for his house keys are laying haphazardly in the bowl in the front hallway.
"Joe? You around?" Andy calls out, trying not to let the concern in his voice come out as he sheds his jacket and shoes and continues down the front hall.
He's met with no answer, and Andy tries once more to find out where Joe is. A small sense of fear starts to clutch at him as he makes his way through the living room into the other hallway. Andy can almost tell that Joe is home, but the quiet makes his stomach churn nonetheless.
Andy looks in every room in the hall, and even checks the closets in their bedroom and bathroom. But Joe's not there, so he calls out again, and maybe his voice is trembling a bit against the tiles in the bathroom.
That's when he starts to remember. The interview from earlier that day.
It was one of those interviews where it wasn't just Pete and Patrick, but all four of them. Of course the interviewer still asked Pete and Patrick most of the questions, Joe joined in, and Andy nodded in agreement like he always did or even added his own occasional comment.
Those were the interviews that Joe seemed to hate the most, whether it is because they never seemed to ask him or Andy questions, or be it because they would cut them off or out of said interviews if they answered questions.
Andy nearly dashes out of the bathroom, and makes his way to the last room in the hall, which was the guest bedroom. As he suspected since remembering, he found Joe curled up on the guest bed, wrapped clumsily up in a Mickey Mouse blanket and clutching a orange stuffed panda bear in hand. Joe had regressed into his little headspace.
This wasn't new for the either of them, and had occurred from time to time ever since Fall Out Boy's hiatus had begun. It was a therapy for Joe, and Andy felt good taking care of his younger bandmate like such. It didn't mean that it could sometimes start out on a sad note. As it did now.
"Oh, angel-face," Andy coos softly, crawling into the bed behind Joe, wrapping his arms around the younger boy's middle and pressing his face into his hair. "What's got you down today?"
It takes a time for Joe to even respond, but he doesn't turn to look at Andy like he usually does when he talks. "'obody wants me, Papa." he mumbles, then resorting to burying his face into his panda.
"Now that's not true, baby. I want you; even Pete and Patrick want you. The fans want you, lovely."
Joe roughly shook his head, letting out a small whimper which reverberated through their bodies. Andy was now rubbing circles into Joe's side with his thumb and keeping Joe close.
Andy knew that he couldn't really drill words into Joe's head and expect the bad feelings to go away, though he tried most times for good measure. But he knew that when he started to lightly drum his fingers on Joe's arms and sides, it always seemed to make him feel more relieved. So that was what he did.
It seemed like hours of them in the guest bedroom together, Andy drumming and humming against Joe, and Joe staying relatively quiet before anything seemed to occur between the two of them.
Joe finally turned around in the bed, abet slowly, but he at least did, and he buried his head into Andy's chest with a small smile on his face which Andy barely caught. "You feeling like a movie, Joe?" he whispers, careful to keep his voice neutral if Joe was still feeling down.
"Can we watch Talladega Nights again, Papa?" Joe replies just as quiet, his breath pleasantly warm against Andy.
"Course we can, baby. We can even have some snacks if you want."
Joe quickly sits up in the bed, a grin on his face. He really liked it when he got to eat snacks and cuddle with his Papa on the sofa, watching movies together until Papa decided it was time for the both of them to go to bed. Then again, he rather enjoyed doing most things with his Papa, which was just the way things were.
end.