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As with all people, there were multiple sides of Jeremy. But, in Mike’s professional opinion, Jeremy Fitzgerald could be broken down into four people.
The first, was younger Jeremy or, how Jeremy was around people he barely knew. He had struggled with severe anxiety his entire life, and as he got older his anxiety had got better through therapy and, of course, having Mike as his biggest supporter. This Jeremy didn't like talking to people. In public he’d curl in on himself and shake, his stutter and anxiety prevented him from getting complete sentences out and all in all, was like a leaf that could be blown around in the wind willy nilly. This Jeremy came out less often compared to when he was fifteen or sixteen (hence the name, “younger Jeremy”), but still showed up every once in a while.
His breathing picked up as he grasped Mike’s hand desperate for something to ground him.
“Jere, I promise you’re okay,” He said, squeezing the boy’s hand and glancing down at his face. His eyes were flashing everywhere on the busy streets of New York, and his face paled completely.
“Look, the hotel is just past that street sign. Can you get to that street sign for me, Doll?”
He hesitantly nodded, pressing himself closer to Mike and trying to block out the many passerbyers. Jeremy’s breathing was erratic, but he leaned his head up to try and match Mike’s heartbeat to his breathing. Once they made it to the sign, Mike found another landmark that meant they were almost at the hotel and another, and by the time they reached the hotel, Jeremy finally let out a breath.
“See? Told you you could do it, Doll,”
Jeremy smiled at the nickname and slightly loosened his grip on the taller man’s arm as they waited for the elevator. Once inside, Jeremy pulled Mike down for a soft kiss as a non-verbal thank you.
The second, was Jeremy around Mike or his friends. The shyness doesn’t just leave , but it significantly lowers around the people he loosely trusts. This Jeremy is the one to shove Mike’s face and tell him to shut up if he does something stupid, or will throw his legs over Mike’s on their couch innately, or will tug on whatever article of Mike’s clothing is closest to him to signify he wants to be held. This Jeremy was funny and sweet, and a goofball, who was still self-conscious, but felt safe enough to let down his walls while he was with someone he loved.
The door opened with a loud creak, and a disheveled brunette in a Freddy Fazbear’s Security button-down shirt tumbled through the doorway. Mike frowned as he saw how drained the boy looked. He trudged to meet Mike on the couch and flopped over his legs.
“Rough day?”
“You’re so-so lucky you ha-had the day off,”
His face was against the seat cushions as the rest of him laid sprawled out across Mike.
“ One fuck-fucking kid threw u-up three times!” He exclaimed, rolling over and meeting Mike’s eyes.
“I told you I should go in today, but you insisted that I-”
“Shut up! You alw-always take care of me-me, you deserved a re-rest day,”
Mike scooped the boy up so he was sitting sideways in his lap curled inwards. Jeremy swung his legs as he reached in to lazily kiss the nightguard.
“You smell gross,”
“So-So do you, and you did-didn’t even do anything,”
Jeremy thwacked the side of Mike’s face leading the guard to pinch his waist.
“Fuck you,”
“Shower first,”
The brunette let out a groan before sinking into his boyfriend’s embrace.
Mike liked this Jeremy. The one that was open, and honest, and just plain funny. This was also the Jeremy to roll over in his sleep and kiss him, or lay on top of him and fall asleep while watching movies. Mike loved this Jeremy because it was how he acted eighty percent of the time. Although, Mike did thoroughly enjoy the other parts of Jeremy too.
The third Jeremy was one that Mike didn’t know was possible to exist. This Jeremy was the one to roll over and straddle Mike while they were binging Netflix and cause them both to thoroughly forget about whatever they were watching seconds before. This Jeremy was the kinkiest bitch Mike had ever met in his life, not to say he didn’t like it (he thoroughly did), it was just not what he had expected from the sex life between the two (Jeremy’s shy nature didn’t exactly lend itself to wanting to be called a whore and a cumslut, but it’s not like Mike was complaining).
He also didn’t realize how vocal Jeremy was. Most of the time, Mike loved it, but it did lead to some interesting scenarios (“Jere, I love you and I love how you sound, but unless you want your mom to find out why I’ve been sneaking in at two am, I’m covering your mouth,”).
This Jeremy was also the one to Snapchat suggestive (but not explicit) pictures or texts when the two were separate. The first one technically happened by accident, with the brunette meaning to format it nice and then delete it before sending it. Mike saw the string of apologies before he opened it, but once he did he couldn’t find the words to respond until they met up for work after Jeremy got out of school (“Why did-didn’t you res-respond to me if you weren’t ma-mad?” “Did you see what you sent me? I couldn’t string two fucking words together until I got here!”). This Jeremy was whiny, in the best ways, and so fucking submissive, and would come out most often when Mike least expected it.
1:37
Pick me up, I'm in the bathroom heading to the gate.
1:37
wut?
1:38
Pick me up, I’m ditching.
Mike was typing his response to tell Jeremy he couldn’t just skip school when he received a snap from the boy.
Why can’t he just text me-
New Snap
Mike rolled his eyes, expecting the usual Jeremy begging face with a random sticker, but opened to the boy in the low lit school bathroom, flash on, Mike’s oversized black hoodie falling off his shoulder to expose his bruised collarbone, with the accompanying text “ please?<3”.
And that was how Mike found himself driving towards the back of Jeremy’s high school as the brunette ran in.
“You’re so fucking lucky I didn’t have dayshift today,”
“Yeah, Yeah, let’s go”
Once the pair arrived at Mike’s rundown apartment, Mike slouched into the couch expecting them to do nothing interesting before night shift. That thought flew out of his head when he saw Jeremy’s white backpack fall to the floor and felt his thighs straddling his own legs before aggressively pulling him in for a kiss. Jeremy ground down against the other and emitted a small whine. Mike’s hands rested against the shorter’s hips and eagerly kissed back before pulling away.
“Did you really have me help you ditch just-”
“-So yo-you could fuck me? Hell yea-yeah,”
The brunette clashed their lips together again, and the older was not making any complaints, tightening his grip on Jeremy’s hips as he ground down again.
“Mmm, something a slut like you’d do anyway,” He purred into the shorter’s ear as he pushed the two together again wanting some sort of friction. A throaty moan spilled from his mouth before resting his chin on Mike’s shoulder, as his hands slipped under his shirt. Mike nudged his sweatshirt off of Jeremy’s opposite shoulder from his bruised one, biting and sucking until he had sufficiently bruised the area. His hands slid under the huge hoodie and grazed over his bare waist and hips.
“You’re so fucking pretty,”
Another whine.
That always works, doesn’t it?
When Mike pulled away he saw Jeremy’s eyes blown wide with arousal, hair tousled, and jeans looking slightly tighter than normal, and if he was standing he most definitely would’ve fallen to the ground.
“We’re only doing this if you keep the hoodie on,”
“Was-Wasn’t planning on taking it off-off,” He responded, lightly bouncing on Mike’s lap and leaning forward to play with the collar of Mike’s shirt. The hands-on Jeremy’s hips tightened as he was pushed downwards again, hips rolling naturally with Mike’s hands. Jeremy’s mouth fell open slightly and let out another cry, before biting his lip. Mike’s eyes glazed over the boy and threw his head back a bit at the sight.
“ Fuck -”
The fourth side of Jeremy was one that Mike hoped and prayed he would never see after the first time. Jeremy was not one to be angry, and that was when this Jeremy came into play. This Jeremy contained all of his extreme emotions, be it sad, angry, or really anything. Most of the time, he could keep it under control, but in Mike’s asshole nature, he’d usually say something he’d regret the second it came out and set Jeremy off. Mike was lucky to only have seen this side of him three times, but every time he did he felt an awful ache in his stomach.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Mike said, placing his bottle down onto the coffee table.
“What do you-you mean ‘what the hell is-is wrong with yo-you’? You’re not-not fucking list-listening,”
“ Yes , I am, you’re just not saying anything,”
“Are you hearing your-yourself right no-now? You so-sound stupid I’m-”
“- I’m literally listening to you! But you haven’t said anything important!”
“You do-do stupid fucking thi-things when you’re-you’re drunk! You’re gonna ge-get yourself kil-killed!”
“That’s not true-”
“You’ve gotten in-into four fi-fights in the past two mon-months!”
“And?”
“And the thin-things you’ve said to-to people it’s-”
“Like what? You’re so overprotective-”
“-Fucking lis-listen to me an-and you’ll under-underst-”
“It’s kinda hard to listen to you when you trip over every other fucking word -”
The words tumbled out before Mike could really think about them, and he felt his blood run cold as the room when silent. The tears already present behind Jeremy’s eyes started to seep over, as Mike tried to take a step towards him.
“Jere, I-”
“ Fuck you! ” The brunette screamed, shoving him away and crossing his arms in to hug himself.
“ I-I have giv-given you eve-everything and done everything all-all for you!”
There was a pause as the two kept eye contact. Mike couldn’t tell if he was shaking because he was mad or because his boyfriend had just mocked his biggest insecurity.
“ I-I’m- ” Jeremy tried to start again, taking a step closer and glaring at Mike behind his glassy eyes.
“I’m so-so fucking in-in love with you an-and you just- ”
His voice didn’t lower, as the words flowed out, and Mike felt his brain shut down. The two had a very deep meaning to the phrase ‘I love you’ in the beginning of their relationship, and so for him to have said it at a time like this broke them both. Every part of Mike’s mind and body ached as he watched the boy break down in front of him, still screaming, with hot tears falling off his shaking body. He would’ve given anything to hold Jeremy and apologize until his voice was hoarse
“You’re such a fucking asshole,” Walking towards the front door of the apartment, Jeremy grabbed one of his jackets and turned back towards Mike.
“Did I no-not trip over my words eno-enough there?”
“Doll, please-”
“Don’t pull that shit!” He yelled again, turning the doorknob and almost leaving. Before he did he said one last thing.
“Did I sup-suppress my stutter enough there-there? Or could you sti-still not under-understand?” His voice remained a yell, and slamming the door behind him shut. Mike could hear the sobs, even outside his apartment, hold for a good ten minutes after the door closed. His own tears fell as his body started shaking and curling in on itself.
I can’t lose him, I can’t lose him, I can’t lose him, I can’t lose him
The mantra continued over and over again as he stood up looking for something to harm or hurt. His eyes locked on the wall that led to the bedroom as he rammed his fist against it, seeing the slight dent he created. Mike didn’t care, he needed to feel something besides the unending guilt and pain consuming him again. From outside the apartment, Jeremy was sitting against the wall curled in a ball, listening to the destruction on the other side. He was choking out loud angry sobs into his arms as he thought about everything he could do. Every possibility ran through his mind from, getting drunk, to doing something he’d regret, to straight-up leaving Mike, but all of them left him in a world where he would be without the one thing he cared about.
At one a.m. that morning, Mike woke up to the sound of keys unlocking a door. Through his groggy eyes, he could make out the figure of the boy in the doorway.
“I was at-” His breathing hitched as he felt the usual throat clenching feeling to let him know he would stutter, but combined with the visual of Mike, the smell of the apartment he basically called home at that point, the room a complete mess, he just couldn’t formulate the words.
“Fr-Fri-Fr-”
More tears spilled over as his mind flashed back to every single speech therapy lesson that had gotten him to the point where he was with his stutter. All of it washed away as he stood there in the dark doorway trying to say the word ‘Fritz’s’. Jeremy’s world spiraled attempting to just say the damn word .
“Fri-Fr-Frit-”
Mike stood up, eyes still red, as he watched the brunette break down for the second time that day.
“Fr-Fri- Fritz’s! ” Jeremy finally yelled out, not trusting his voice to say anything more as Mike caught the boy in his arms. Mike began pleading with him to no end to forgive him.
“Doll, please , I never meant what I said I-I was such a douchebag, I should’ve never said that. You know I love your voice, and your stutter and everything about you I’m so so fucking sorry-”
Mike continued to mumble apologies as fast as he could, to the point where he had no clue what he was even saying at that point, and Jeremy continued to frustratedly cry.
There were four sides of Jeremy, and Mike found appreciation in all four. Even his fourth side had some good in it, as he used it when he needed to be assertive for something, or someone. Mike liked it the most when Jeremy would use it to stand up for himself against other people, he loved seeing him have the confidence to finally do that. Mike just loved Jeremy, and that was enough.
--
“I am not whiney-”
“ Yes you are and holy fuck is it hot-”
The brunette’s face burned as he sunk further into the break room couch next to Fritz and Chris. Mike smugly turned back to the projector screen with his presentation on the four sides of Jeremy.
“Did you-you have to tell them about wh-when I-”
“-When you ditched school to-”
“ Why? ” Jeremy groaned, setting the other two into hysterics next to him. Fritz elbowed him trying to make him feel slightly better.
“It’s okay, he could’ve said worse-”
Jeremy leaped off the couch and hit the back arrow on Mike’s laptop twice.
“ He dec-decorated the slide with ‘whore’ and ‘cumslut’ -”
Mike joined the other two in laughter before glancing at the shorter boy next to him pouting.
“Hey, Doll, it’s okay-”
“ Fuck off,”
“Now this , gentlemen, is a perfect example of Jeremy two-”
“It’ll be-be Jeremy four if you ke-keep this shit up-”