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Mikey dug his nails into his arm hard, silently cursing himself in his mind. He hated parties, hated how they made him feel.
He was sad and anxious and everything he didn't want to be, not drunk enough to make it all feel okay.
Mikey shrunk in on himself in some corner by an old couch, his ears practically ringing as he squeezed the plastic cup in his hand. He didn't even know what was in it, he just knew it was booze and was supposed to make this party tolerable.
Pete was somewhere. Where exactly that was, Mikey had no idea. He wished he did. He wanted Pete.
Of course his stupid legs would carry him to the Fall Out Boy bus when he wanted to be anywhere but said party.
He didn't even realize where he was going, only registering the gnawing feeling in his gut begging him to leave. He let his mind go on autopilot for a minute, only registering where he was after he was already there.
Mikey groaned, leaning against the bus and staring down at his busted-up sneakers. This was a terrible idea, he should've just stayed and suffered at the party instead of suffering outside in the nighttime desert cold.
He took in short breaths, arms coming up to wrap around his torso in an attempt to warm up.
Why was he so stupid? Who wears too-tight band tees and worn out girl jeans in the desert at night?
Mikey Way does.
If he had any sense left in his mind, he would knock on the bus' door and hope Patrick was still in there (or just go back to his own damn bus and curl up in his bunk which, admittedly, sounded amazing to him right now).
He was so consumed by his own thoughts that he didn't notice someone approaching.
It was Pete.
"Mikeyway? What're you doing out here?" Pete tilted his head, stuffing his hands in the front pockets of his skinny jeans. "Looked all over that damn party for you, y'know. Worried as hell."
"Pete?" Mikey mumbled, posture relaxing slightly on instinct. "Sorry, I-" His voice got caught in his throat, eyes darting back to the ground. "I just, uhm...needed some fresh air. Stuffy in there."
Pete raised a brow, chewing on the inside of his cheek. "Not buying it, you left without a word. I have your phone, Mikes, and Gee's been calling. I saw all the notifications when I got outside." He stepped closer, reaching out and placing a hand on Mikey's arm. "Did something happen?"
"Not really.." Mikey didn't realize how cold he was until he felt the warmth emanating from Pete's hand. "Gee called? Damn it, they've probably sent half o' our friends out to look for me by now.."
Pete softly nodded, offering a chuckle. "No kidding. I'm sure all of Warped knows you're not back at the bus right now."
Mikey lifted his head, finally looking at Pete with puffy eyes and a new scar forming on his lips. "Should've said somethin' to you before I left. 'M sorry, Peterpan."
Pete's expression softened, feeling the way Mikey shivered underneath his grasp. "Don't be sorry, Mikeway." He moved his hand off of Mikey's arm to quickly shrug off his Clandestine jacket. "Here, you're freezing."
Mikey relaxed even more as Pete helped him into the jacket, almost smiling as the latter zipped it up over his too-tight band shirt.
"So, what really happened?"
"Panicked. I don't know, everything just kept freaking me out more as time went on..I kinda shut down, y'know?"
"I believe that a little more."
Pete stepped forward, turning around to lean back against the bus next to Mikey. "Any better now? I can get you some water or something from inside, if you want." He slid an arm around Mikey's waist, pulling him close to his side. "Or you could just come in with me?"
"I wouldn't wanna, y'know..intrude." Mikey mumbled, leaning into Pete more as he fumbled with the zipper of the jacket.
"You wouldn't be 'intruding' on anything, Mikeyway. Trick loves you and the other guys are chill with you, too." Pete sighed, reaching his unoccupied hand over to brush Mikey's bangs out of his face. "If you don't want to, that's a totally different story."
"I mean, I'm sure Gee's called at least three times by now..I should probably at least go check in with th-"
As if on cue, the bus' door swung open to reveal a sleepy-looking Patrick with his hat off and hair messy. He appeared to be on the phone, Sidekick resting loosely in his hand while on speaker
"No worries, Gerard. Yeah, Pete said he was headin' back here anyway. I'll see if Mikey's with him."
"'M pretty sure Mikey left with his phone, 's not here. Do you think somethin' happened?"
They heard a yawn from the other side of the line, two other voices (probably Ray and Frank) muffled in the background.
"Maybe I should have Frankie or Ray go lookin'..Could just be passed out drunk over there, y'know?"
"Probably wasn't answering because Pete carries his phone, I'm sure he's fine. The guy wears girl jeans, there's no way his phone fits in his pocket. If Pete' with him, he's fine. If he's passed out drunk, they're passed out drunk together."
Patrick stopped just as he shut the door, catching the two in his peripherals.
"Found them, they're outside the bus."
"Good, good. Can you check in on 'em for me? If anything's happened, I'll come pick him up."
"'Course. Don't worry about anything. I've got him, Gee."
Gerard appeared to have hung up, Patrick sticking his phone in his jacket pocket before making his way over to the two.
Pete and Mikey both looked over at Patrick, Pete offering a smile as he squeezed Mikey's waist.
"Hey, Trick. Seems like we've got a certain older brother looking for Mikey?"
"Yeah, they called because they couldn't get a hold of him." Patrick nodded, offering a friendly smile toward Mikey. "You guys should just come inside instead of trudging all the way back to MyChem's bus. 'S fuckin' freezing out here."
Pete glanced at Mikey who nodded in agreement, quickly removing his arm from Mikey's waist to follow Patrick back inside.
After a moment, Patrick was sitting in the booth at the kitchen table. The other two opted for the couch, Mikey leaning back into the cushions with a sigh.
"How much did you guys drink? Y'know what, just take some damn water. Gee'll have all of our heads if you return back super faded.." Patrick leaned over, opening the small fridge to retrieve two water bottles before tossing them into Pete's lap. "Pete can't walk you back if he's stumbling like a fool."
"You know me too well, Trick." Pete giggled, opening one of the bottles and handing it off to Mikey. Patrick stayed out in the kitchen for a little bit, eventually bidding the two goodnight and going back to bed.
Comfortable silence fell over both of them, Mikey holding the half-empty water bottle as he leaned into Pete's side.
"Feeling better?"
"Mhm.." Mikey hummed, feeling Pete's hand rest on his thigh.
"Tired though, right? This probably took all of the energy you had left."
"So tired."
"Thought so."
Pete slowly stood up, discarding his empty water bottle on the kitchen counter. "How does some sleep sound? I could totally be up for a little shut-eye."
Mikey eagerly nodded, reaching up to tug his phone out of Pete's pocket to text Gee.
'hey gee. stayin the night at fob's bus. love you.'
He stood up after sending the text, Pete quietly walking to the bunks with Mikey in tow.
They both settled for sleeping in boxers, Mikey opting to change out of his tee and into one of Pete's.
"Not wearin' a shirt to bed?" Mikey whispered, slowly climbing into Pete's bunk.
"Hell no, too hot on this damn bus in the morning for that." Pete grinned, sliding into the bunk next to Mikey and lazily throwing the covers over them.
Mikey quietly chuckled, settling into Pete's arms with his face buried in his collarbone.
After a moment of silence, Mikey spoke up again.
"Love this tattoo.." He sounded sleepy, one of his hands moving down from Pete's neck to trace the bartskull on Pete's lower abdomen. "'S so you. Clandestine's got a sick ass logo..even if I don't really get why you named it 'bartskull..'"
"Oh yeah?" Pete chuckled, pressing a kiss to Mikey's forehead. "See it's bartskull 'cause it's a bat with a heart and a skull in it. Bat, heart, skull. Bartskull."
Mikey hummed in understanding, bringing his hand up to rest on Pete's chest. "Mm. I see it now..You're so creative, Petepan.."
Pete felt a warm feeling rise up in his chest, a smile widening across his lips. "High praise from you, Mikeway." He rubbed a hand up and down Mikey's back, slipping his hand up and under the fabric to rest it on his lower back.
Mikey yawned again, shutting his eyes as he buried his face back against Pete. "'M lucky..to have you, I mean.."
"You get so sappy when you're tired."
"I get sappy when 'm tired and tipsy.."
Pete met Mikey's gaze when he lifted his head and opened his eyes, smiling against his lips as he pressed a sleepy kiss to them.
"I love you.."
"I love you too."
Mikey happily hummed, snuggling back against Pete with his face in the crook of his neck.
"Get some sleep, baby boy."
Mikey was asleep before Pete finished talking.