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They were fucked. Completely and utterly fucked.
The music box had never failed before, it wasn’t even something either of them could possibly imagine , so how , and why did it suddenly break the one time they truly needed it?
Everything happened in a flash. The warning sign, the sickly sweet uptempo music twinkling ever closer, the box being uncannily empty and wide, the grabbing of Jeremy’s body, the sprinting desperately to the only place he knew could lock, the spare room slamming shut, the fumbling of keys to jam into the lock by Mike’s large hands with uncharacteristic shakes; it had all happened faster than either could think of the reality of their outcome.
That led them to the first glimpse of some form of quiet as they stood, chests heaving from breath and Jeremy’s tears finally being noticed by the both of them. So, there they were. Completely and utterly terrified of the real possibility they would both die in a pizzeria at the hands of a puppet doll, knowing they would be swept under the rug just as the other horrors within the walls had been.
Jeremy’s fingers shook as they rose to his cheeks to feel the hot tears on his face, realizing he had started to cry without recognizing it. The shakes began to grow until they were uncontrollable, hiccups starting to wrack his small frame. Despite his dark stare, Mike’s stomach churned at the tears pasting the brunette’s face, feeling the deepest seed of hopeless dread settle in his chest.
Bang. Bang. Chime. Bang.
Mike couldn’t think. He couldn’t feel. The well he was falling down only grew deeper and darker with each sob that wracked his world’s body in front of him. His only coherent thought was to reach out and pull his Doll closer, arms almost yanking the boy protectively into his chest. His body covered almost all of the surface area of Jeremy’s, and a part of him wanted to swallow him whole and give himself up as he’d been prepared to do for what seemed like lifetimes now.
All the pair felt was the thick aching in the air, and the somber dust that settled beneath their skin.
“ Fuck! There-There was-was so much I-I,”
Jeremy pulled his head away from Mike’s chest attempting to say something in the macabre air, only to be shut up by the loud clunk of metal and horrific screams outside of their safe haven.
It felt like the entire restaurant was shaking. The pounding in their ears grew louder as the thumps through the halls got closer and the music got louder, so much louder.
Jeremy couldn’t breathe. He took in lungfuls of the man’s smell as his face pressed against his chest trying to breathe, and failing to make any sort of progress. Trying to clear the water slowly filling up his body attempting to drown him, yet being pulled so far under water he didn’t think he’d see the surface again.
Jeremy pulled away finally, hands still shaking erratically on Mike’s shoulders and sobs still taking over his body, as words tumbled out of his mouth. Mike hated the way his entire being responded to the movement of the shorter, heart and muscles weakening at the separation of their bodies. He couldn’t help the deep need to keep the love of his life close, even if that life wouldn’t be left for much longer.
“I-I never thought it would end like-” He cut himself off, rubbing his eyes ferociously while he aggressively ripped away from Mike. The distance that had grown between them physically led Mike to follow forward, unintentionally reaching out to bring Jeremy to him again.
I can’t die without you right here.
“I always thought that- I thought we-,”
Jeremy’s eyes were darting between the two, pushing his bangs up from his face, while Mike tried to make sense of his frantic words. A horrible realization fell over him, as his heart weakly protested at the sentiment he assumed the brunette was implying.
“I thought you’d always save me”
Unspoken words that banged against the walls of Mike’s head, as it sunk in that he really had failed. He vowed that he would never let Jeremy get hurt, not since he was let into the most precious and gentle parts of the boy and given the privilege of protecting that sacred core. And here he was, watching an angel fall apart in front of him because of his own mistakes and failures to protect and aid.
His own tears became evident to himself as he felt a shine cover his eyes.
“This can’t be it- I can’t- We-”
“I’m so sorry, Doll.”
He couldn’t help but interrupt the hopeless stuttering. Shame continued to fall over him in waves as Jeremy finally took a turn to look at Mike deep in his eyes. Mike hadn’t felt more exposed and fragile in his entire life.
“For- For what?”
Jeremy looked entirely confused, another shake wracking his body as metal pounding became more intense. Mike’s mind halted his shame to continue on.
“This. All of this, I-”
For once, he couldn’t find more to say. Emerald blinding all of his brain and taking over everything. God , he wanted to reach out and hold the boy in front of him, touch him, bring him close.
Jeremy let out a breath, shaky and meek, but still there, as hot tears continued down in droves.
“Mike,” he said, breathlessly.
Mike physically caved in at the mention of his name coming from such pained and fragile lips.
The brief moments of peace quickly faded as there was a spontaneous burst of sound coming from outside the doors, sparking deeper frantic movements between the two. The brunette began pacing back and forth in short bursts, almost hyperventilating as Mike fought himself to try and think of a fucking way out .
“I ca-can’t- I can’t die and- and not-” Jeremy continued, holding out his hands and staring holes into them.
Can’t not what? Can’t not what? Tell me and it’s yours.
“Anything,” he wanted to scream. He’d give him anything, he’d do anything.
Jeremy paused, the chaos of the outside not yet breaching their safe haven. He took his first deep breath of the past ten minutes, as he shut his eyes tight. Mike hated not being able to see the beautiful gems he fell in love with so irrevocably.
With every last ounce of strength from Jeremy’s bones, Mike watched him march up to him and with furrowed brows and gave one (assumed to be final) command.
“Kiss me,”
Mike’s brain froze, mind becoming static and ears filling with fuzz despite the screeches from behind the door only became more deafening. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, the determination in the shorter’s eyes not yet waning.
“ What? ” Mike sputtered, hands gesturing out over the boy’s body thinking this had to have been some completely sick and twisted joke. Where was Fritz? How much was Jeremy paid for this Emmy worthy acting job to lead up to his complete and utter embarrassment.
“Are yo- You want me to kiss you?” Mike finally got out, eyes darting to the door, still partially waiting for Jeremy to start laughing and tell him how great of a prank this whole situation was.
“I can’t die no-not knowing what it’s like to- to kiss you,”
There it was, plain, clear, and hanging in the balance for all to see. As Jeremy spoke his confidence in his previous command had faded and the delicate boy Mike was used to had reappeared, tears falling over beautiful green eyes as a thin hand shakily made its way to his face.
Mike couldn’t breathe.
How could he think? How could his lungs intake any sort of breath when the beautiful boy right in front of him said the words he’d ached to hear day after day, settling for just stealing glimpses of his dreams and late night thoughts? He stood there silent, pulled from his thoughts only by the new quakes rocking Jeremy with each passing second. The thought that his lack of speech was causing more distress only cemented a deeper pit in his stomach, but just as he took in air to speak, he was cut off by a sad, pleading, heart breaking beg.
“ Please ,”
He stepped forward, the words tearing from his throat with all he had.
“Mike. Please -”
Jeremy couldn’t get another syllable in, as Mike’s hands reached for and clenched at his waist to pull the shorter up to his mouth and kiss him with every ounce of his want, love, and need for him.
Mike lived on the edge, took risks, all that jazz, but never with love. He was a closed door, long shut since he had been told his stone exterior was too hard for anyone to even attempt to care for. But when his heart was thumping louder than the metal clanging against the door, he decided if he was going to die, it would only be after he finally kissed the one person he wanted to spend his forever with.
Even if that forever ended in a supply room at the hands of haunted metal.
Mike put all that he could into pressing his lips against Jeremy’s, all of the romance he had ever wanted to give, all of the realities he’d ever wanted to lead, everything . Kissing Jeremy was like heaven had finally graced its hands down onto Earth in one fell swoop. Everything in his life finally coming together to give him one moment of sweet, sweet bliss as his mouth moved with the brunette’s. He tasted like sugar and warmth, the only bite being the salt in their tears now mingling as they moved more desperately against each other.
Jeremy’s hands clung to Mike’s neck, effectively pulling his body ever closer as the taller couldn’t help his hands wandering uncontrollably up and down his waist, hips, and thighs. He wanted to make up for the tense hours in his apartment where they both were just out of reach, the burning heat between them as they laid in Jeremy’s bed talking for hours about subjects friends just don’t talk like that about, the moments in public being mistaken for a couple and having to do the soul crushing denial- he wanted to take it all and burn it in a pile because fuck you , he’s kissing him now.
Oh dear god, he’s kissing him.
The fraction of a second Mike let himself falter to recognize that yes he was in fact kissing the boy he was helplessly in love with yet convinced himself was unattainable, Jeremy seized with reckless abandon, pushing himself further on his tip toes and grabbing the back of Mike’s black waves to pull him further into his mouth, graciously allowing his tongue into his mouth.
He couldn’t dwell on the past anymore, he was going to die if he didn’t take advantage of what he’d just been delivered on a silver platter.
He has no idea what he does to me
The hands on Jeremy’s hips lowered as Mike hastily moved the pair to the wall, hoisting Jeremy up by his thighs in one fell swoop. The noise that fell from the smaller’s lips at the manhandling made Mike weak in the knees, and desperate to recreate the sound over and over again until he’d gone completely deaf.
The usual calculated and thoughtful person Mike had pride himself on had seemingly disintegrated, because without being too conscious about what he was doing, he practically ripped the top two buttons off Jeremy’s security uniform.
Perhaps it was the adrenaline. Maybe the fear of imminent death? Or the giving into his guttural urges to do as much of what he’d been desperate to since he saw beautiful green eyes?
Probably all three in some sick twisted mixture.
He latched himself onto Jeremy’s neck, who let out a loud gasp at the sudden increase in intensity. His hand shot to his mouth, seemingly from embarrassment at the magnitude of sound he created, and Mike just wouldn’t have that.
With one hard motion, a much larger hand ripped a thin wrist from his mouth, and he could practically feel Jeremy melt into the intense, dominating touch. His last logical brain cell firing through his head pointed out he was holding the boy up with just one of his hands under his ass, while the other had his hand pinned against the wall he was behind. He also noticed the extra squeeze in Jeremy’s thighs hooked around his hips at the display of strength. Heat ran powerfully through Mike’s stomach in his quick pause.
He’s going to kill me. He’s going to kill me before the stupid fucking puppet does.
With a deep groan, Mike surged forward back to the matter at hand, and bit hard on Jeremy’s neck, sucking each newly formed bruise to furhter cement that even in their last moments Jeremy was his - he always was and he always would be Mike’s .
He must’ve noticed the way Mike did not take kindly to an attempt to silence himself, because Jeremy let his mouth run free with whines and cries as his free hand raked its way through black waves.
“Mmph! Mi-Mike- Oh ! Oh Mike -”
Words he had quite literally heard in his dreams now flooded his hearing, and all he could think was a constant stream of Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy. He’d spent too many nights waking up in a pool of sweat with a fire in his gut and images of brunette bangs and pure bliss flashing through his mind.
He finally pulled away from Jeremy’s neck, practically falling over from the lust-filled, blissed out, half-lidded, beautiful expression on his face, small chest heaving with effort. Something right out of his deepest fantasies, how did something this amazing happen to him? How was this all real? Leaning in to kiss the beautiful boy again, he just couldn’t wait to finally-
The metallic screams from the other side of the door had quieted just enough to wake Mike up from the haze of white noise they had been before.
He’s only doing this because he’s about to die.
Completely halting his actions just above Jeremy’s lips, the world seemed to end.
“Wait!” Mike said, eyes shutting tight.
If this were Chris, or Fritz, or anyone else he’d do the same thing. This is just a death thing, this is just a death thing, this is just a death thing, this-
“I-I can’t-” He started, swallowing the lump in his throat, words getting drowned out by the freshly loud bangs on the wall outside. Deep-seeded insecurity swarmed his body as he realized how stupid and humiliated he felt at how pathetic the situation was. Here he was, pouring his heart and soul into his final moments with the love of his life, who had sparked the situation because of a near-death circumstance.
What part of that indicated Mike was special in all of this?
“Can’t what ?” Jeremy mustered out, the tears streaming down his face finally continuing to flow.
Mike paused, trying to keep his own eyes from failing him, as he choked out his next sentence. Their eyes met, despite all of his best efforts. He regretted it immediately, feeling his voice crack at how fragile and meek Jeremy looked now. Such a stark difference from the sweet moments from before.
“You- You have to tell me this isn’t a death thing,”
There were the words; somehow they found a way out of his throat.
Jeremy’s eyes darted to the features on Mike’s face, eyebrows furrowed and searching for something . What? Mike had no idea.
What more could he need? He thought he was pretty explicit. Mike hated the tears now clinging to his eyes. It felt so foreign to him, the wetness almost spilling over. He’d never felt so small.
“Just-” Mike started again, doing everything he could to suck in the overflowing love he’d tried to keep locked away for so long.
“Just say the word, and-and I’m yours,”
Jeremy’s eyes jumped up to Mike’s, watching the first tears slip by his blue eyes in defeat. It was cruel for it to take mortal danger for Mike’s deepest piece of his heart to finally bubble to the surface and slide down hardened cheeks for all the world to see. His world, anyways.
On bated breath he stood, two hands now basically hovering above Jeremy’s hips, as small hands shook up from their place on his shoulders.
The brunette gingerly slid them up to rest on his cheeks, as he thumbed away one of the tears that had slipped down onto them. Mike had to swallow a whimper at the tenderness of the gesture.
Jeremy finally spoke, whispering as Mike’s final walls fell.
“ I love you ,”
There it was. And he was whole.
This time, Jeremy pulled him forward to kiss, with a loud sob wracking both of their bodies, tears intertwining against one another.
They were desperate, in every sense of the word. Mike’s hands squeezed at the shorter’s hips and thighs trying to get as close as he possibly could to the small body in front of him, while Jeremy gripped onto broad shoulders, strong biceps, and slinking through black hair with all of his might.
There was now a sense of inevitable mortality in each move, making every piece count until their untimely end.
It wasn’t fucking fair.
Mike’s anger at the thought fueled him to turn back to marking the younger’s neck more from Jeremy than it had before.
“I-I’m so- Fuck! Mm -Fucking in-in love with you-you,” Jeremy cried out, the words overtaking Mike, and pulling him from the thoroughly marked neck to truly look at the boy who was in love with him .
Jeremy somehow looked more angelic now, tears staining his cheeks a deeper pink, and more than just clouded lust lay across all his features. Mike shook his head and glanced away, realizing what he’d lost out on most. Living through everything he’d missed out on.
“Fuck!” He yelled angrily looking away from the angelic sight. Jeremy’s expression faltered, becoming slightly self conscious, not knowing what was wrong, or if he had caused it.
“What now ?”
“I-I just,”
An extra large bang shook the wall as Mike realized he had to make whatever he was going to say quick. He pressed himself even closer against Jeremy, making the air between them warmer, and both of their breathing quicker.
“I have been so desperately in love with you for so, so long, and-and I just should've done something about it while I had the damn time.”
Jeremy whimpered . Mike couldn’t fixate on that or he wouldn’t get through what he was saying.
“I just- I never got to see you like, like this , or out to dinner for a real date, or living in my- our apartment, and- and it’s just not fucking fair! ”
Jeremy’s own tear clouded eyes attempted to speak over the noise drowning out the entire room and the shaky walls around them. One of his hands slid onto his cheek and the other around his neck as more crystals fell inches from Mike’s own face.
“Mi-Mike,” He breathed out, “what I would’ve given for you to kiss me.”
The taller pressed himself more into the wall, pushing his thighs further apart to make room for his large body to connect as close as he physically could (right now, at least). The confessions fell like gold over his ears, heart soaring with each word.
How is this real? How is he real?
“I’ve dreamed abo-about it for so fu-fucking long now, and it’s-it’s better than anything I cou-could’ve imagined, and I-”
Jeremy sucked in a breath, taking in Mike’s intense stare, the new position of his body over him, the desperate eyes taking in each and every syllable he was saying. Mike couldn’t help it. He was spilling every secret he’d wanted to rip from the brunet’s heart months ago. After a pause, Jeremy finally let his final confession slip through.
“What- What’s it like to- to make love with you?”
God fucking damnit.
Mike had to gasp for breath as he molded his lips to the shorter with every ounce of heat, passion, love, and desperation he had in him, hands shamelessly gripping onto Jeremy’s ass with possession written in each movement.
Jeremy attempted to pull away between kisses to get more desires in, and Mike drank them in just as he drank in Jeremy’s body.
“ I-I ne-need you to take me, I’ve needed it sin-since I first sa-saw you-”
Mike would be a liar if he tried to claim he wasn’t rocking his hips up into him as he spoke.
Jeremy would also be a liar if he said he wasn’t grinding back down on the taller’s movements.
“Ju-Just make me yours ,”
He groaned loudly at that, reconnecting their lips in a sloppy, uncalculated kiss of pure intimacy.
“I’d give you all of that- All of it, just- just let me and I will.”
“Promise?”
He paused. His eyes burned into the green ones under him, fingers digging into the underside of Jeremy’s thighs subconsciously.
The shakes of the walls and screams were louder than they had been the entire night.
“Promise what, Doll?”
“That you’ll give me-me all of tha-that?”
The sadness that seeped from Jeremy’s face made Mike break .
For once, he embraced his own acceptance spilling over his cheeks, taking his final look into the doe-eyes and angelic face of his Doll.
“Promise,”
They both couldn’t bring themselves to move much through the overwhelming fear catching up to them.
With shaky hands, Jeremy graciously pulled Mike in by his cheeks for the most precious moment either had ever shared.
He promised.
The vague sound of a door finally slamming opening and deafening screams reaching their ears shattered their cocoon of love they’d built.
There was all, then there was black, and then there was nothing.
-
Jeremy’s eyes blinked open, head throbbing and eyes stinging from the white of the room surrounding him. His whole body protested at even the slightest movement of his eyelids but something in him pushed to keep going.
Was this heaven?
“Jeremy!” A voice who couldn’t really match to a face called out, as he slowly came too. With a few more blinks and the suppression of a whimper at the horrible feelings spreading all throughout his body, his vision finally cleared.
Glancing around through squinted eyes he could make out the ginger hair, large frame, and big glasses he recognized quickly.
Definitely not heaven.
“You’ve been out for so long, we- we were starting to get kinda worried,”
What? Jeremy couldn’t seem to remember anything recent. Not even really why he was in a hospital (something he just recognized in that moment), or why people would be worried. His heart started to beat faster at the overwhelming sensation of not being able to recall anything .
After a few moments of tugging at the stiff hospital bed sheets, he seemed to remember getting to the nightshift with-
Oh my god. Oh my fucking god.
The music box, the sobbing, the screams, the anxiety, the kiss -
Jeremy’s breath hitched as the deep realization set in as to exactly where he was and why he was here. Everything from the day before came flooding back to him in a tidal wave of cataclysmic horror at the severity of all that had happened. He couldn’t seem to settle between his face flushing red as he recalled everything he had revealed from the deepest pit of his heart or white from the horror of facing death in the eye and somehow surviving. It was as if he was back in that room facing the juxtaposition of the terror laced in his stomach and the insurmountable joy from the way that Mike-
Mike. Mike, oh my god, Mike!
Was he okay? Where was he? Why wasn’t he in the room with him? Did he regret everything? Did he sacrifice-
“Mi-Mike, I-” was all that Jeremy could manage to get out.
“Mike has been awake for most of today,” Fritz answered hurriedly. Almost as if he was expecting the implied question, “ He’s been worried about you ,”
The brunette slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands.Of course Mike was worried about him, he always was. But something had to have happened so that they both still were here. What if he put himself in harm’s way to save him? Why couldn’t Jeremy worry about and save him ?
He had to see Mike, he had to find him he-
“Jere? Hello?”
With a snap Jeremy blinked drowsily back at Fritz.
“Hm, what?” He sputtered in response, trying to make the world stop being so damn foggy .
“I said, they need to check a few things and then you’ll get discharged,” Fritz continued.
Jeremy kept looking, anticipating news from Mike. The silence seemed to confused the ginger before he caught on the desperate stare.
“Oh! Neither of you had like- super lasting damage. Lots of uh, cuts and bruises, and Mike’s knuckles are pretty fucked up, but that’s all.”
He paused again, eyes falling to the newly exposed skin on the brunette’s neck as his face burned before ripping his gaze away towards the wall.
“Yeah, uh, lots of bruises.”
It took Jeremy a moment before his own cheeks reddened at the memory of everything that happened the previous night became more crystalline clear.
We’ll talk later.
Fritz and Jeremy weren’t all that close, and it was odd that Chris wasn’t the one at the brunette’s side. God , he hoped he hadn’t worried anyone too badly. Despite his rampant thoughts, the redhead gave him a smile of what seemed to be relief before explaining he’d call the nurse over to get him set to go.
Everyone was concerned. His mom hugged him tighter than she’d had since he broke up with Elijah, Fritz stood closer to him more than he usually would, and Chris had sent tens of texts reassuring him and profusely apologizing for not being able to stay (“thank fucking af-dick for that”). Him and Mike were the only two who actually had an excuse in the eyes of management- and Fritz was lucky enough to have had the day off.
He found out quickly Mike was sent to go get food because if he sat rotting away outside Jeremy’s door for a second longer Fritz was going to go insane.
He took care of the release forms while his mom graciously paid for the copay while also giving insurance info Jeremy was not in the state to give. During that time he slunk over to the bathroom to change into the more comfortable clothes his mom had brought him.
As his hands slid over his frame, he saw faint marks from where Mike had gripped his waist and hips the night before. In the moment, he hadn’t noticed how rough they had been, but thinking back it gave him chills. Blushed face practically embedded at this point, he finally was given the okay to leave just as Fritz heard his phone buzz.
“It’s Mike,” he said, answering with the ghost of a smirk in his features, as he put him on speaker.
Jeremy’s chest thundered at the prospect of him being near, of actually facing everything that happened.
“I got the fuckin- the shit you wanted me to.” Mike grumbled. Jeremy’s heart flip-flopepd at the sound. “I’m back, is- is Jere-”
“Just get over here me and Suze are hungry, dude,”
Fritz covered the microphone as him and Jeremy’s mom started laughing to themselves. The brunette couldn’t help but smile at the pair, before turning to look outside the glass doors and seeing a disgruntled dark figure approaching with two bags of fast food in his arms and a phone against his ear.
“‘Suze’? Literally what is wrong with you since when did she give you permission to ‘Suze’ her?”
“Oh, I dunno, since her son woke up.”
At that moment, Mike’s vision darted up towards the inside of the hospital waiting room and Jeremy felt his whole world seem to glow as he watched brown bags fall to the floor. He couldn’t feel his feet as he ran through the glass doors towards his protector.
“ Doll ,” Mike croaked out, feet being locked in place as the brunette barreled towards him with tear-soaked eyes. Jeremy’s eyes thrust around the taller’s neck as large, strong arms pulled him tightly by the waist to bring him as close as they possibly could be.
“ Oh my god, Doll -”
He pressed his ear closer to the frantic beating heart inside Mike’s chest, trying to mull over the fact that this was real, that he was real. They stood there, rocking gently side to side as their nerves and fears calmed just enough. The joy hadn’t subsided, but the anxious pangs returned with each passing second on what exactly Mike had done to get them to this point.
“How- How did we-” Jeremy started, pulling away to take a good look at the man’s face, before cutting himself off from the sight of bruises and gashes littering Mike’s upper body.
Mike winced at the stare, hands gripping tighter the brunette’s waist as he avoided the intense gaze.
“The uh, the puppet had help. I guess all the noise by Mangle’s room set her off. I- I think you passed out before they had started? And…”
He trailed off. The brunette felt his face harden at the realization that yes Mike did something incredibly stupid (and heroic, but he’d keep that to himself) to save them both.
Begrudgingly, he took his hands off the waist of the smaller revealing the bandages across his knuckles and hands, and Jeremy felt his heart crack at the sight. He reached for the large hands, fingers delicately running over where cracked and bloody skin lay just under a porous white.
Green eyes softened as he thought about how lucky he was to know someone so brave . Mike was willing to quite literally give everything to protect him. It was his favorite piece of him, even if it did cause him severe anxiety.
Small hands still gingerly holding to rough ones, Jeremy lifted his gaze to see oceans of passion pouring out of firm irises. God , his heart skipped under the gaze.
“How did-did we sur-survive?”
Blinks brought Mike out of his lovestruck haze, before he grimaced again, recalling the memory.
“They- Well, I did what I could. But at one point it was just too much and I just remember it going dark,”
Jeremy let a hand slide to his upper arm without really realizing. It hurt to even hear glimpses of the nightmare they’d endured, and he knew it was more painful to actually retell.
“We were just really lucky. It must’ve been close to six, because the cleaning crew found us and- well, followed, uhm, protocol.”
A pause fell across the thick air between them, and the unthinking grasps and touches seemed to set off alarms to the both of them.
Where were they supposed to start?
Jeremy didn’t think he could really explain what had compelled him to take that leap of faith. To him, their death was inevitable, and he couldn’t imagine not doing something in their last moments. But it wasn’t just that.
It went a little further than just admitting a coworker crush.
The hand on Mike’s bicep instinctively pulled away, moving to rest on his mark ridden neck as physical proof of that “little bit further” moment. The brunette almost felt like crying again, as the magnitude of it all came down on him. He’d said and revealed so much, so much that he’d been determined to keep hidden until- well, until his deathbed, he supposed.
It felt like too much. Sure, Mike may have held some sort of feelings after the months of desperate pining and uncuttable tension, but the magnitude of everything that Jeremy had confessed? It sent heat across his whole body in mortification.
How was he supposed to do this? To fix this situation with his so-called best friend? Where could he-
“Have I ever broken a promise?”
Jeremy looked up, blue eyes this time with a cloud of what seemed like doubt. He let out a slight laugh at the sheer thought. Mike was huge on promises, and keeping things private when needed. Promises to always protect, or to be there in a heartbeat if Jeremy had asked. It seemed to go on forever in his head, the list of promises the man had righteously kept throughout it all.
It was a ridiculous question, really, the brunet thought as he shook his head.
There was another pause, as the taller opened his mouth and closed it, formulating his thoughts before finally speaking.
“So can- can I, uh, keep the one I gave you yesterday?”
It took a moment to set in.
His promise? What did he-
Oh .
His promise to cherish, to keep, to have and to hold, to show how he’d make love , to-
“Which part of it?” Jeremy whispered, trying to find some sort of out Mike was trying to take because how could he possibly want all-
“All of it, Doll,”
Strong hands placed themselves firmly on Jeremy’s waist, as Mike’s stare earnestly pierced down towards him. He was conveying with everything he had that yes , this was what he wanted. It took a moment of shaky breath before the shorter could rest his hands on the sturdy chest in front of him, tears pricking the corners of his eyes as it all settled in. It all finally settled into pale skin and fragile hearts.
“Maybe I’m wrong and the ‘I’m so in love with you’ was the whole death thing talking but-” Mike started, smirk edging its way to the corners of his mouth.
“ Oh my god ,” Jeremy snapped playfully, eyes rolling, “Do not even try and start that with me, we both know that-”
In an instant Mike pressed himself forward and captured the brunet’s mouth into a kiss, their first kiss outside of a shitty, sketchy pizzeria. Warmth spread across freckled skin, and after the initial startled jolt he pushed back with just as much fervor, relishing in the sweet bliss overtaking every cell in his body.
It felt like he was finally home . Really, and truly, home.
When he pulled away, he couldn’t keep himself more than a few inches from green eyes, and Jeremy felt his heart yo-yo into his stomach and back up again at the intensity of it all.
“Can I- give you everything you said you wanted?”
He didn’t think he’d ever get over the school girl crush butterflies the man gave him with each and everything he did. Nodding, he couldn’t keep himself from letting tears fall onto warm cheeks any longer. It all just became too much.
Mike beamed , a sight reserved for Jeremy in the first place but now in an entirely new way. His own blue eyes grew an extra shine, as he leaned forward to press their foreheads together.
“ The food! ”
The two whipped their head to the voice now running towards them, to see red hair and far too much concern for food he did not even want in the first place.
Neither of them could keep from laughing, as Fritz picked up the long abandoned bags, and they could faintly see Jeremy’s mom watching from behind glass doors.
“Fuck you guys, you can kiss more but I’m finishing my date with Suze-”
“ Stop calling her that!” Mike groaned back, while Jeremy couldn’t hold in the extra burst of laughter at his expense.
An odd sense of comfortability fell over him, as he let his hands feel over the man’s arms and shoulders while he was distracted with Fritz. It was all real . He was real, and they were real. No longer a dream or fantasy just out of reach.
The thing they had longed for, missed, craved , their entire life was now right in front of them.
And it wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.