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“He's gonna say no.”
“He's not going to say no, babe.”
“It's your funeral, hon.”
Pete puts his hands on his hips, doubt lining his face, “why would he say no? I know he likes them, we’ve talked about this band before.”
Lucius puts both hands on opposite shoulders, giving him a gentle, loving squeeze, “because he doesn't like you very much.”
Okay, so they had a rocky start when Pete first moved in. And a few months after. But that was all resolved now! Pete stopped breaking things, and if he did, he either replaced them or asked Fang to help him fix them and it worked out. Izzy stopped insulting him so much, even laughed at some of his jokes. They were fine, and dare he be so bold, growing closer every day.
Pete snorts, “please, babe, if it's one thing I know, it's that he’ll say yes.”
“No.”
Izzy doesn't even turn from his computer, eyes glued to the screen as he bounces between programs. Pete deflates, but only momentarily.
“But you're the only person I know who likes them too!”
“Yeah,” Izzy grunts, “but I don't like you.”
And that's…harsh. That hurts a little bit, stinging his gut, but somehow he also doesn't believe him. They've actually held full blown conversations in the last two months. He's made Izzy laugh at jokes that weren't at his expense. They swapped CDs and the occasional biography they enjoyed reading and there was that one time they did the dishes together because Izzy broke the dishwasher.
Pete slaps a ticket on the desk beside Izzy’s mouse, keeping his own clutched between his fingers, “I'm leaving at 5:30, you can ride with me.”
Pete's chewing on his fingers again. Three of them are already bloody from his nerves as he waits with his engine on. 5:29, he still has one minute. Even if he doesn't show up on the dot, Pete will wait for him. At least give him a five minute pass.
5:34 and Pete sighs. Lucius was right, it wasn't worth it, especially with the disappointment he feels now. He was hoping he could find some way to connect with Izzy. To find some way to gain his trust and play happy family, but it seems as though they're doomed to dance around Izzy’s hatred for the rest of their lives.
The passenger side handle clicks as someone tries it. It's locked because Pete’s scared of being carjacked, but his heart trips when he notices it's Izzy. Pete fumbles with the locking mechanism at the same moment Izzy tries the handle again and he can hear the exhausted for fucks sake that leaves him.
They get it, finally, and Izzy slides inside with a loud sigh. But he's here and Pete is positively buzzing with excitement. He tries to stay wordless as he throws the car in reverse, doing his best not to hit the garbage cans like he does when he's alone. He doesn't want to do anything to screw this night up.
“I'm stoked that you decided to come.” He tries, glancing at Izzy for a moment, then back to the road.
“Lucius threatened to cut my cock off if I didn't,” Izzy offers. Ah, okay, then. Pete nods, taking in a deep breath through his nose. While he's happy Lucius cares for his friendships, he can't help the blossoming irritation that, great, this wasn't Izzy’s idea. He didn't come for fun, he came because he was threatened.
Fine. At least his money will be put to good use because at the very least, he's excited to jump around and lose his mind and he can do all of those things without Izzy around, if he doesn't want to be.
The atmosphere is loud and angry and Pete feels so very, very at home here. The first band sucks, but he doesn't even mind that because there's an intense feeling in the air of what's to come. As more time passes, the floor fills with more people in band t-shirts and tight jeans and permanent scowls.
“Are you having fun?” Pete tries to yell over the music, looking at Izzy expectantly. He's done nothing but use his phone for the last forty minutes and shift from one foot to the other. He looks over to Pete and seems to snort, then looks back at his phone.
It feels like he's being an extra dick to him tonight. He could just pretend, does he know that?
All else seems to fade away as the band they came to see takes stage. It's chaotic, and sweaty, and when the crowd pushes forward, Pete follows gladly. He figures Izzy is somewhere by his side and allows himself to finally let go. Nothing else matters to him now that the band is loud and his body is squished between people just as passionate as he is.
By the third song Pete decides to check on Izzy, only to recognize with some horror that he's not actually there. He's an adult, he's been to shows before but Lucius may actually kill him if he loses his boyfriend. But…why does he care? Izzy didn't even want to be here, let alone have a good time. He's probably back at the bar enjoying a drink and being an asshole. If Pete enjoys himself right now, would it really matter? They can meet up after.
Something doesn't feel right by the middle of the set. He's enjoying himself, screams every fucking word, but a growing fear begins to settle in his stomach. He can't ignore that fire and pushes back, slowly disappearing from his spot near the stage to make his way through the crowd, Izzy suddenly the only thing on his mind. He finally spies him around the spot he left him in the first place, and for a moment he calms. He's fine.
Except he's not. He's pissed. Pete’s seen that face before, directed at him a few times, actually. He knows the hot sting of Izzy’s angry spit in his face, and this time it's directed at a dude twice his size. Izzy’s not one to back down, either, that much is certain when he halls his fist back and sends it straight into the guy's gut.
Pete doesn't even think, just moves forward as quickly as he can through the crowd. A small group circles around them, hooting and hollering in the loudness at the fight that's taking place. Big Guy takes a swing, missing Izzy by an inch. Izzy replies by clocking him in the jaw and it’s telling how he hardly moves, pure fucking stone. Which looks to be bad news for Izzy as the beefcake steps forward.
And bad news for Pete because he doesn't even use his head as he's diving forward, taking Big Guy from behind and knocking him off balance. Punches fly, but Pete isn't sure if it's Big Guy or Izzy that lands one straight into his nose. He really only knows he's hit because he feels the warm trickle of blood starting down his upper lip.
Somewhere in the chaos he feels a hand on his shirt, pulling him roughly to his feet and guiding him away. It's only when he hits the street lights and cold evening air that he realizes it's security.
“He started it!” Pete calls, even though he knows that's not fucking true. He knows who started it, “I was just defending my friend!”
“And he's getting kicked out right behind you.” Security rolls his eyes, his coworker escorting Izzy out just like he said they were. Izzy wrenches his arm from security’s grip with a soft “fuck off” before collecting himself. His hair is a fucking mess and Pete catches the look of his battered hands. Big Guy must have been a fucking brick.
“Oh, shit,” Izzy half laughs as he looks Pete over. “I think your fucking nose is broken.”
It isn't until he mentions it that Pete starts to feel the pain, adrenaline draining from him. His fingers shake as he reaches up, swiping through the blood still pumping through his nostrils.
“Oh my god, Lucius is gonna kill me.”
“Pete, we have to reset it. It's gonna get all fucked up if we don't.”
“How do you do that?” Pete panics, warm pain radiating through his face now.
“You have to trust me.” Izzy steps up to him and Pete briefly thinks about swinging. It's his fault he's in this mess to begin with, but at this point he has two choices: trust that Izzy knows what he's doing or explain to Lucius why his face is permanently disfigured.
“Fine.”
Izzy reaches up, thumbs parallel with his nose. He's suddenly painfully aware about what he's about to do and wants to go back. He doesn't need help, he's fine!
And then Izzy says, “one!” as a countdown before he's shoving Pete’s nose back into place with a sickening click of cartilage. His vision goes white momentarily at the blinding pain. He's going to throw up or pass out, he just knows it, but filtering through the ringing in his ears, he hears Izzy’s voice, “first time?” He laughs.
“What the hell happened in there, Izzy?”
Izzy sounds ashamed when he responds, scratching the back of his head, “he uh, stepped on my foot.”
“I got my nose broken because he stepped on your foot?” Pete breathed out through his gritted teeth, since he couldn't breathe through his broken nose. Anger drips from his tongue, “what the fuck is wrong with you, Izzy?”
“Me? No one asked you to jump in, twat. I had it handled!”
“Yeah, you sure had him in a death grip, didn't you? That first punch sure landed well.” Was that voice coming from him? “You're such a selfish dick. I invited you to get closer to you and have a good time, and you had to be threatened to even come? Then you start a fight for something that was probably an accident and get me kicked out of a band I've been dying to see?” Pete’s finger digs into Izzy’s chest as he pokes him with each word, “by the way, you’re welcome for taking him down for you. Pretty sure they'd be scraping you off of the venue floor by now if it wasn't for me. Fuck you, Izzy!”
Pete winds down, stepping back before Izzy could even think about taking him down next. He turns and starts down the sidewalk, tears welling up in his eyes. His face hurts, his heart hurts, and his eyes are blurry as he makes his way to the car. The worst part in all of this was the fight had been absolutely exhilarating. If he wasn't in so much pain, he was sure he would be chubbing right about now.
“Pete!” Izzy calls behind him, but he keeps walking, digging his car keys from his pocket. He didn't like being this way. He didn't like being angry, it usually never served much purpose in the grand scheme, but he feels vindicated this time. Izzy deserves this after all the bullshit he's put him through. He shouldn't have to prove himself as worthy of affection like this.
When they get into the car, Izzy stays silent until the first red light.
“Listen,” he starts, voice low and calm, “not to justify but he didn't just step on my foot. He called me a faggot when I told him to apologize. Pissed me off.” Pete’s gut twists, “I just…didn't want to tell you because I know you don't like hearing those things. I…this was the best night I've had in…fucking ages.”
Pete swallows, but all he can taste is the metallic blood. It's drying and flaking down his lips and chin and he can only imagine what he looks like to people happening by.
Izzy…had fun? He knows how much he hates hearing that slur?
“Why are you always so mean to me? What did I do? All I wanted was to be your friend.”
Thick silence fills the car.
“I don't know,” Izzy says quietly. “I…fuck, Pete, you know this isn't easy for me. Why do you always want to share your fucking feelings?”
“It's not that hard. Just say it. Why do you hate me?”
“It is that hard, I–”
“Why do you hate me?”
“Because I don't fucking hate you, alright? You fucking scare me. You're open and honest, and by far the nicest idiot I've ever met. The complete opposite of me, but yet we have so many things in common.” Izzy takes a breath, “you're so sure of yourself all the time, even when you fuck up and you always seem to have the answers when things get tough. You're…” he clearly has to swallow his pride for this one, “you're becoming one of my best friends.”
Pete checks his rearview mirror to see if hell has frozen over behind them. Izzy is scared of him? He shouldn't feel a sense of happiness from that, but he does. Izzy Hands is scared of him. And he's his best friend?
“You do know that's not…how being best friend’s works, right? Being really mean for no reason?”
“I didn't want you getting close.” Izzy word vomits, trying to let the words loose as quickly as possible, “I'm scared of what happens when I have friends.”
“But you're friends with Lucius! You're nice to him.”
“It's easier to have that when I've had your dick in my mouth. Easy to tell you I like your company when I have my fingers in your ass.” He pauses before adding, “I know that's fucking weird.”
Pete turns down a side street, heading in the opposite direction of home, “it's not…that weird. You can be intimate with people without taking them to bed, Izzy. I'm not going to use our friendship against you, you know that, right? All I ever wanted was to just enjoy each other's company.”
And it was true. If he could enjoy his time with Fang and Lucius, why couldn't he enjoy his time with Izzy? It was more than being roommates when they share lovers.
“I could…try to be better.” Izzy offers, his fingers tapping nervously on his knee.
Pete breathes out, a nice, calming breath, “that's all I ask.” He turns to another street, businesses lining both sides, “now let's get some Taco Bell.”