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Joey changes position for a more comfortable one on Corey's lap, and leans forward to pick up the nail polish
The tour bus is empty, and it seems it will be for a long time, Corey told him that his boys were drinking at some nudist place or something like that, none of the both really care about it
One of his boyfriend's arms is around his waist, his head resting on his shoulder and hiding his face on his neck to smell his hair
"Strawberry shampoo?" asks him after a long inhalation, a smile on his words
"Oh, shut up for once, Cor" Says Joey inexpressive, he's already gotten too many flirts from Corey today "Just give me your hand, will you?"
Corey doesn't complain and now Joey can take a good look at Corey's old polish, as he expected, it was all chipped, so he uncaps the small bottle and soak the nail blush in the red liquid
He gently takes his boyfriend's hand for a better grip, admiring for a second the slight difference between his pale, bony hand and Corey's big one, starting with his pinky and continuing slowly one by one, making sure to make several passes
He can feel kisses trail down his neck, and Corey's free hand explore under his shirt to caress his hip. He hums sofly and moves slightly, which makes Joey narrowly miss and almost smear his finger
"Gooddamnit... Stop fucking moving for a second..." Says rolling his eyes and trying to continue with his work
Corey, on the other hand, chuckles and murmurs against his ear "Sorry babe, i'll try to behave... But it's kinda diffucult with you sittin' on my lap with that pretty face..." Leaving him a kiss on his cheek to emphasize it, and if Joey had ignored him as usual, maybe he wouln't have blushed like a thirteen-years-old for that
Corey chuckles again, and Joey is really trying to do this shit fine, while Corey is moving restless and occasionally making suggestive comments about the situation, as usual, and he must admit that he's used to it... To Corey, in general
Because you don't need to know him completely to realize that he's rough, both on and off stage; always loudly and boastful, with no fear to get what he wants, or tell what he wants to tell, even if it hurts someone's feelings. Sometimes pretty rude and aggressive if you piss him off too much, the kind of boy that's always starting fights on random bars for the most stupid reason while drunk, it was just the way that he was, you could like him or hate him
The thing is, that Joey is exactly the opposite, like, yeah, he would be lying if he tells you that he never has started a fight in a bar, but he's not loud, just talkative, he's not rough on stage, just passionate, he knows when is better to shut the mouth, and if he ever hurted someone's feelings, probably was because they deserve it
So for that, Joey would be also lying if he says he didn't slightly dislike Corey at first, how he smugly talked to him about his band's fame to get his attention, how he made him nervous when he licked his lips while looking at him, or giving him some kind of morbid compliments about his body
At that time he decided to minimize it simply thinking that he was feeling like that just because of the Corey's apperance; His well defined jaw, his sky blue eyes, his messy reddish blonde curls or the few tattoos that covered his body, along with his carefree and outgoing attitude, made Corey seem very attractive to both women and men, and it seemed that Joey wasn't going to be the exception
He just finished the third nail
But as time went by, he realized that maybe it wasn't just Corey's appearance that attracted him so much, maybe it was also that, unlike what he appeared to be, he knew how to listen to people very well, despite not giving very good advices, he knew when someone was going through a bad time, and he would talk and listen to that person about their concerns, perhaps that was why they got so close, and without meaning to in the first place
He still remembers it as if it were today; He was having another crisis about it, crying like a girl in front of the mirror, shirtless, hating, criticizing his scars again, for a small comment that probably wasn't even said with the purpose of offending him, they were just comments, but, after fake the best smile he could and say that he was very tired and wanted to take a rest, hid in the dressing room to cry and hate himself,like most of the time, and he swears that he fucking closed the fucking door but still, in the worst way he could be found, Corey walked in
"Uh, hey Joe, do you happen to have some picks that you could lend to our guitarist?" He didn't seem to notice at first,not even looking at Joey as he walked confidently in and surveyed the room. "Motherfucker says that he has no clue where those things go, and our another one wouldn't fucking lend his-"
Joey could quickly put on a shirt, or something to cover them, but he stayed there, frozen and now Corey's expression changed to one of concern, as he saw Joey's face soaked in tears, but just as he opened his mouth to say something, his gaze lowered, and he looked with visible confusion at Joey's scars and he could see when the realization came to him
So that's when the real crisis began
"All done here" said Joey giving a last look at Corey's painted nails and letting go of his hand "Try to be fucking careful, Cor, if you come back to me in two days, telling me to do all damn thing again, I'll fucking sent you to eat shit"
Corey laughed at his boyfriend's threat, and left more kisses scattered on his cheek "Fine, fine, I'll be careful this time, love. So, now that that you're done with that-"
"Done?" Said Joey arching a pierced eyebrow, and quickly cutting off the suggestion that Corey was about to make "I still have to finish you other, fool, and even if i had finish both, we would have to wait for the polish to dry to do... Something"
Corey smiled and rolled his eyes, raising his hands in defeat "Alright! Alright!, bossy I'll wait... It's not like i'm complaining about you so close to me like this, haha!"
Joey sighed dejectedly and took Corey's other hand, beggining to paint his first nail
"Hey- Joey... Joe! It's okay man, calm down... I'm not- Joey!"
Corey was talking, but joey wasn't listening, now, he was curled up in a corner, hugging his knees to his chest and mumbling half-hearted apologies, cut off by rapid breathing and tears flooding his face
"Y-You weren't supp-osed to see t-that... I- That's not- I-I'm sorry- I-"
He was a mess, his eyes were squeezed tightly and there was a lump in his throat that didn't allow him to formulate words without stuttering, he could feel Corey's look of disgust- he was going to stop talking to him- he would never see him like before again, and he would say that to his bandmates- and they would laugh at him- and look down to him- and-
His thoughts were interrupted by a hug
"Calm down Joe, It's all okay... inhale by four, exhale by four, okay? Just like me"
Surely it was for putting those into practice, or perhaps by the hand on his back gently stroking his hair, or by Corey's soothing voice instructing him to slowly relax, that he managed to stabilize his breathing and stop his tears
"Listen Joey I-" he sighed "I-I think that you misunderstand me, I... Didn't mean to make you think that i'm one of those assholes who exclude people... Like you, there's nothing wrong with you, I think that you're very strong and amazing to go through everything you went through... And... I would never treat you different for something like this... You still being someone important to me, no matter what... You-You don't have to feel embarassed about your scars... Actually, i think they're beautiful, like you, like all your being..."
He stammered a little at first, not sure what to say, but, with those last few sentences... Joey was speechless
Corey had not only told him that he was strong, and he would never treat him different, he told him too that he was beautiful, that his scars were beautiful
No one, never had told him that before, so he stayed silent, holding back the urge to cry again, and digesting those words, repeating them over and over in his head, searching in vane for any sign of a lie or sarcasm
Corey seemed to misinterpret his silence
"Listen... I'm not the best person to make the people feel alright... I'm just saying that you are, and will always be my... Uhm... Friend, okay? No matter what..."
The tears fell against his will, and he decided to respond to the older with a big hug
He was halfway there, making three times as much effort as before, because Corey was getting bored, increasingly restless, both in the sense of movement and in the sense of flirting
"You're done now?" Asked for the seventh time in the last five minutes
He sighed "Almost... It would be easier if you stop moving for a second and decided to be more patient"
"Okay... Okay..." About 30 second passed, Corey tracing Joey's ribs with his fingertips under his shirt from up to down "...What about now?"
And Joey snorted loudly
Since then they become closer, Corey used to send silly cat gifs to Joe all the time, and call him with no reason; "Just because he wanted to hear his voice", and if he had been anyone else, Joey probably would have told him to fuck himself, but with Corey, everything felt different
Every time his phone vibrated, he hurriedly picked it up with feigned disinterest when he saw that name on the screen, smiled unconsciously when they chatted about something stupid (with the cat gifs always present), and got extremely excited, squirming in his bunk every time that he asked him if he was free that day
Joey thought of him as one of the best friends he could have on the tour
Until December 31, 1999
That day, Joey was very tired, he could barely make it to the countdown, separated from the rest, telling himself that he would return to the others when the next millennium began
When suddenly, someone grabbed him by the shoulders forcefully from behind, giving him an almost infernal growl right on his ear, which made him cough lightly on his cigarette and jerk away roughly, looking quickly behind him
"Hahahaha! Oh god... You're so easy to scare..."
Corey chuckled and stood beside him, watching the stars together from the balcony, the heavy music and laughter muffled against the walls until it became an intelligible hum
But surprisingly, Joey didn't get mad at him for the joke earlier
Evermore, he felt deeply happy to have him here by his side, he understood that he chose to be here, with him, in this unique moment, but at the same time, that idea made him feel a little strange
"Uhmm, why... You're not with your bandmates?"
"That's something I was 'bout to ask you, but, whatever, 'think I just prefer to be here with you than with those loudly drunk asses... What 'bout you?"
Joey felt his heart melt at those words, he was thankful that the lights were off, and that's why Corey wasn't able to see his obvious blush, he was so distracted that realize like 15 second after that Corey asked him something
"Uhh, yeah, well I-I normally do this kind of things lonely, I like more to hear everyone scream, and see the fireworks on the sky that being pushed and hugged so hard to break me a bone"
Corey hummed in the dark "Yeah, i get it, considering your height..." He earned a friendly fist on the arm, which make him laugh loudly "Hahaha! Calm down! I'm just joking..."
Joey smiled. He asked himself how it was possible to... Always have good times with him...
"Anyway... Do you want me to leave? You know, so you're alone and that... Like, if you find it more comfortable that way, i have no problem" He shrugged
"No! No! It's fine, as long as you don't lift me up in the air while hugging me, It's okay"
Corey laughed softly "Alright! Perfect, so..."
And they start talking about random stuff, as always, someway, talking to Corey about the most boring shit like the weather or golf would be fun, but actually, he doesn't remember pretty well what did they talked about in those moments, he guesses that his brain leave place for what was coming later
Less than a minute left
His hands were starting to sweat, while he was trying to distract drumming with his fingers on the balcony, then he noticed that Corey was looking at him weirdly
"What?" That only made him more anxious
Corey shook his head, frowning "Nothing, It's fine..."
Joey was about to ask him if something was wrong, because he looked that he was thinking really hard about something, but his breath suddenly cut when someone on the ground floor screamed "Fifteen seconds!"
By then, he was already a bundle of nerves and anxiety, and a chorus of voices began to shout
"Ten!"
The countdown had begun, and he took a drag, trying to relax as much as possible
"Nine!"
Corey was quieter than usual, very unlike him
"Eight!"
Joey thought maybe he wasn't the only anxious person in the room
"Seven!"
So he decided to leave it like that
"Six!"
He thought about his mom and sisters, probably in home with all his family
"Five!"
He thought about all the things that happened this year, it was an habit
"Four!"
His band and him had great times together...
"Three!"
But probably one of the best things that could happen to him this year...
"Two!"
Was meeting Corey
"One!"
He didn't realize when Corey grab him a little bit roughly by the arms
He just felt lips against his own
He's not pretty sure that he listen to the people screaming "happy new year"
He just put his hand on the back of Corey's hair, stroking it
He felt a warm hand caressing his cheek, with the cold sensation of the rings too
And then there was a tongue in his mouth
he hummed softly, trying to follow the kiss without acting like an idiot
But at some point, he forget everything, his anxiety, his bad thoughs, his melancholy, there was only Corey, with him
And when they separate due from the kiss to lack of air, Corey's blue eyes, reflecting the fireworks, were looking at him with one of the softest smile ever
"All done! Fucking finally..." Says Joey rolling his eyes
"Really?" Corey moved very fast, almost making Joey fall, but the arm on his hip prevent it "Let me see!" He said with the emotion of a child, lifting his head over Joey's shoulder and looking at his now bright crimson red nails "Damn Joe, it looks amazing! You're really good at this shit, surely if i would have done it, I would put more polish on my fingers that on my nails, hahaha!"
Joey smiled softly, no matter how loud or constant was Corey's laugh, it was always very nice to hear to him, like something special that could make the worst of days shine in a second
"You have to wait for it to dry first... and try to not touch your clothes or anything with fabric with your nails, that crap is very difficult to remove... specially that color..."
"Bossy" Said Corey with a half-sided smile, he had turned Joey around so they were facing each other, although still sitting on Corey's lap, he seemed that he was looking at Joey's soul through his eyes, then raised a hand to pull a lock of hair behind his ear, and Joey felt deja vu at the sensation of the touch; cold and warm at the same time, and felt his face get hot, Corey hummed softly
"You're beutiful, Joe" and then his face was burning, he didn't say anything, he didn't have to say something, so they just get closer and closer, until they joined in a soft, lovely kiss, with no hurry, posession or luxury, just love, a lot of love