Fic: If I Could Talk To The Animals [2/2] (skippy, PG13, bandom)

[sparrowsverse]

~~~

Kevin was not going to pace. Pacing was what people did when the other person was late. Mike was not late, he was just... not here. Kevin glanced at the time on his cell, then back up again, looking past the crowd in the hopes Mike would magically appear.

Boo at the Zoo was a bad idea. It was so pathetic, why in the world did Kevin suggest it as something to do? Mike was not only late but so were his friends who he was apparently going to meet tonight.

Kevin really wasn’t sure what he had been thinking when he suggested this place when Mike had finally called him yesterday to do something. He hadn’t really had any new friends in a long time and the way Mike had been looking at him the other day, well, Kevin knew he was oblivious sometimes but occasionally he did know things.

Like how Mike looked like he wanted to eat him up right there if Sisky hadn’t been there.

He started to pace. Right, ten more minutes. If Mike hasn’t shown up by then, he was leaving.

Just as his self-imposed ten minutes were almost up, something tapped him on the shoulder and Kevin spun around, eyes wide before he managed to stutter out, “M-Mike!”

“Hey,” Mike panted out as he leaned down, hands on his knees.

“Oh gosh, are you alright?” Kevin asked in concern as he leaned in closer.

Mike waved him off. “Fine. Just had to run a couple of blocks from the train stop to here. The others aren’t coming and they were my ride.” He stood up looking at Kevin, scowling. “And I would’ve called but my phone decided to die on me.”

Kevin nodded, glad Mike hadn’t just decided to ditch him. “But everything is okay?”

Mike nodded. “It’s fine now. Just, earlier there may have been panicking.”

Kevin snorted, covering his mouth with a gloved hand as Mike grinned. “Only panicking?”

“Maybe a little,” Mike said as he looked around at all the parents and kids.

Chuckling, Kevin shook his head. “Tickets and then we head in?”

“Sounds good to me,” Mike said.

They headed to the ticket booth and grabbed their tickets. Boo at the Zoo didn’t have much to offer them.

There were various people dressed in costumes, games set up, a hayride that was apparently haunted. They stopped at the pumpkin carving demonstration, but wandered away when it started going G-rated for the kiddies.

“That was a bit of a let down,” Mike sighed. “No blood.”

“Sorry,” Kevin sighed, shoulders hunching up. “This was a bad idea.”

Mike winced as how sad Kevin looked. “No, it’s not a bad idea. It’s just actually finding something in this place.”

They continued walking around, not really talking about anything but they kept inching in closer and closer until they were almost bumping shoulders.

When Kevin walked into Mike’s arm, he blushed and glanced off to the side. “What about that?”

Mike glanced up, seeing where Kevin was pointing and had to grin. “A corn maze?”

“It looks interesting,” Kevin said, grinning, and now Mike could see him becoming a little more animated. Kevin held out his hand. “Shall we?”

Glancing down at Kevin’s hand, Mike grabbed it and allowed Kevin to lead them into the maze. He tried to keep track of the twists and turns but the sun was slowly setting and soon everything looked the same.

Kevin was breathless as he led them in and when they finally stopped, he looked around. “Uh-oh.”

“I don’t like that uh-oh, why uh-oh?” Mike asked as he caught his breath.

“I think we’re lost.”

Mike wanted to groan. He really did. But if he did that would make Kevin feel bad and he really didn’t want to make Kevin feel bad. He liked Kevin.

“Okay, we’re lost,” Mike said as he looked around again. “Isn’t there like a story or something if you keep to the left you’ll find your way out of a maze?”

Kevin bit his lip and shrugged. “Maybe?”

Mike sighed and squeezed Kevin’s hand. “We’ll find our way out. I’m sure they probably comb the place before it shuts down or something anyway.”

Kevin nodded and leaned in closer to Mike.

“How about in the meantime, we try and find our way out,” Mike said as he tugged on Kevin’s hand. He picked a direction. “Let’s try this way.”

“Okay.”

They walked in silence among the stalks of dried out corn, which was really not working for Mike.

“So, uh, Kevin?”

“Yeah?” Kevin asked, looking up a bit at Mike.

“You probably get asked this all the time, but how long have you’ve been able to Speak?” Mike asked, internally wincing. Pathetic, Carden! Pathetic!

Kevin just giggled and waved him off. “All the time, but don’t worry about it. I’ve been able to Speak since I was five. Freaked me out the first time I heard a butterfly talk to me. I yelled for my mom.” Mike noticed Kevin looked a little sad at the end of that.

“I’m sorry, are your parents still around?”

Kevin gave a small, sad smile. “They’re around. Just busy.”

Mike wisely decided to stop asking about Kevin’s parents.

“So, a band?” Kevin asked as they continued to walk.

“Yeah,” Mike grinned. “Sisky’s in it and these other guys, Bill and Butcher.”

“Butcher?” Kevin squeaked out.

Mike laughed. “It’s a nickname. He used to work in a butcher shop, it just kinda stuck. He’s the drummer.”

“And the band is called The Academy Is..., right?”

Mike nodded. “Good memory.”

Kevin blushed and Mike grinned.

They continued to keep walking through the corn maze as the sky got darker and darker. Kevin started to shiver and Mike wrapped his arm around Kevin’s shoulders and tugged him in to ward off the cold.

Kevin froze and Mike grimaced. “To forward?”

“No, this is nice,” Kevin mumbled as he slowly wrapped his arm around Mike’s waist. “You’re warm.”

Mike licked his lips, feeling a slight heat creep upside his neck. “Yeah well, I think I have more layers on than you.”

Kevin nodded against Mike’s chest. “Not used to Chicago weather.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, moved here from New Jersey.”

“Ah, I’m so sorry then,” Mike lightly teased him.

Kevin snorted and lightly smacked Mike on the chest. “Jerk.”

Mike’s eyes narrowed, a teasing grin on his face. “Oh, it’s on now.”

Anything Kevin might’ve said was halted as he felt himself moved and Mike’s fingers started to tickle his sides. He started laughing and tried to defend himself.

“Mike!” He cried out, wiggling and trying to move back from Mike’s fingers.

Mike advanced forward, intent on making Kevin pay even more. “Prepare yourself!”

“Never!” Kevin cried out and started to run down the path, Mike chasing after him.

Laughing, Mike caught up and started to tickle Kevin mercilessly. They spun around as Kevin kept trying to move away. Mike grinned and stepped forward, but yelped when he tripped over a root and fell backwards into the corn maze.

Kevin’s eyes widened as he tried to grab Mike’s arm.

They went down in a pile, cushioned by the stalks of corn and Kevin on top of Mike.

“Ungh,” Mike moaned. “You okay, Kev?” He opened his eyes and blinked. Kevin was very close to his face.

“I think so,” Kevin groaned as he tried to move and saw how close he was to Mike’s face.

It felt like everything stopped while they looked at each other. Mike leaned up, pressing his lips against Kevin’s lips, demanding as he snaked an arm around Kevin’s waist and brought him in.

Kevin squeaked, a free arm flailing before he managed to support himself and just melted against Mike’s lips, feeling his toes curl. It wasn’t anything planned, they were just going for the moment as they kissed each other breathless.

“Ow,” Mike mumbled against Kevin’s lips.

Kevin sat up immediately, eyes wide. “Did I hurt you? Are you okay, Mike? Oh gosh, we fell over and just- here we are, making out.”

“To be fair, falling over was not part of my plan,” Mike groaned as he tried to sit up. It felt like the corn stalks were poking into the skin on his back through his jacket.

“But kissing me was?” Kevin asked hesitantly.

Mike nodded. “Been wanting to do that actually since I first saw you in the park.”

“That long?”

Mike nodded again.

Kevin leaned over and kissed Mike again. Sitting back up, Kevin smiled at him shyly. “C’mon, let’s get you up and see what the damage is.”

Allowing himself to stand, Mike watched bemusedly as Kevin checked him over, brushing away broken corn stalks and inspecting any damage.

“Well, I don’t see any bleeding,” Kevin said as he started to check Mike’s hands.

“I think I got lucky, but those corn stalks were pointy,” Mike complained as he looked at the broken corn stalks and glared.

Kevin chuckled and patted Mike’s hand. “Poor you.”

“I think I need more kissing to feel better,” Mike looked back and smirked as Kevin blushed.

Standing on his tip toes, Kevin pressed a kiss to the corner of Mike’s lips. “There. Now, if we get out of this maze, I promise a lot more kissing.”

“Well, what are we waiting for then?” Mike grinned at Kevin, grabbing his hand as they headed down the path.

~~~

It had been a week and a half since the maze and Mike couldn’t be happier. They finally had a recording date for their newest album, Santi, and Butch Walker, their producer, had scrounged up a guitarist to play on the album.

Mike was definitely looking forward to playing with Michael Guy Chislett. Ever since he first met the guy, he knew they were going to make music together. Even if the guy wasn’t part of the band, Mike was excited and couldn’t wait.

Looking both ways, Mike hurried across the street and onto the campus. Checking his phone again, Mike took a left.

It was the first time he was visiting Kevin on campus. He wondered what kind of dorm room the guy had.

The instructions Kevin provided him with had him standing in front of a small house with an attachment on the back instead. Frowning, Mike hurried up the steps and knocked on the door.

There were a few sounds coming from the inside and a thumping noise. “Just a minute!” Kevin’s muffled voice called out.

Mike had to grin.

There were the sounds of locks being undone and then the door opened. A blast of heat hit Mike in the face that left him gasping for breath and he felt himself hauled inside.

“Sorry, sorry!” Kevin apologized as he closed the door behind Mike, locking it back up. “I just didn’t want to let the heat escape.”

“It’s like the desert in here,” Mike panted out as he quickly shucked off his winter coat, gloves, hat and boots.

Kevin winced. “Yeah, well. It’s cold outside and I want my friends to live.”

“Friends?” Mike asked bewildered as he fanned himself with a hand.

A butterfly flew by and landed on top of Kevin’s head.

“Yeah, my friends,” Kevin said as he pointed at the top of his head. It started dancing on the strands of Kevin’s hair, flitting from curl to curl.

Mike watched, entranced.

Kevin just grinned and grabbed Mike’s hand. “C’mon.” He tugged Mike forward, further into the small house.

“This all yours?” Mike asked as he looked around. It was larger than his apartment.

“Mmm-hmm,” Kevin hummed in agreement. “When the university found out I was coming here they refitted the whole house so my friends could live here without the fear of the cold outside.”

“They gave you a house?”

Kevin nodded. “As long as I’m studying for my degree in butterflies I can keep the place and they’ll pay my rent and utilities.”

Mike whistled low. “Lucky.” And he looked at Kevin with a grin on his face. “Is ‘degree in butterflies’ the technical term?”

Chuckling, Kevin shook his head. “No, the technical term is lepidoptera.”

“That is a mouthful,” Mike commented as he was led into the living room and sat down. “What? No tour of the house?”

Kevin started pointing. “Living room, bathroom is over there. Kitchen to the back and my bedroom is off to the side.”

“And the extension I saw at the back of the house?”

“My work space,” Kevin said as the butterfly left his hair and flew away. “It’s where most of the butterflies are, too.”

Mike grinned. “Cool.”

Kevin blushed, and not just because of the heat from the house.

It had been a long time since Kevin had someone over and he really wasn’t sure what to do in this instance. Drinks, right? You usually offered someone something to drink.

“Uh, did you want something to drink?” Kevin asked, shuffling in spot.

“Sure,” Mike said, leaning back against the table. “Water?”

Kevin nodded quickly. “I can get you water.” He hurried into the kitchen, leaving a bemused looking Mike behind him as he quickly filled two glasses and hurried back.

He sat opposite Mike and handed the glass over.

Mike thanked him and sipped at it. “So, why the invite?”

“Huh?” Kevin asked, confused.

“Why did you invite me over?” Mike tried again.

“Oh!” Kevin said and sunk into his seat, hunching into himself. “I thought we could hang out.”

“I can hang out,” Mike grinned as he set his glass of water down on the coffee table, half finished.

Kevin smiled brightly. “So what’s new with you, Mike?”

Mike raised an eyebrow. “You just saw me the other day.”

“Well yeah,” Kevin said as he toed the wooden floor. “But lots can happen in a couple of days.”

Mike chuckled. “True enough. And, well, there is something new going on.”

“Oh?” Kevin asked, perking up a bit.

“Yep.” Mike then grinned wildly. “We’re recording our new record in a couple of weeks!”

“Oh gosh! Way to go, Mike!” Kevin said excitedly, leaning across the table to pull Mike in for hug. “That is amazing. I know you’ve been waiting to record for a while now.”

Mike nodded as he hugged Kevin back, reluctantly pulling away from the younger man. “I even get to play with that guitarist I’ve been wanting to.”

“Michael Guy Chis-something, right?” Kevin offered, a frown on his face.

“Yeah! Michael Guy Chislett!” Mike grinned. “You remember his name?”

“His first name apparently,” Kevin chuckled. “Not doing so good on the last name. I remember everything you tell me, though.”

Mike felt heat creep up the back of his neck and reached for his glass of water. Some birthday cards caught his attention on the table instead. He saw Kevin go to reach for them but he was faster.

Opening the first card the words ‘Happy Birthday Kevin’ were written in bright colours and a ‘Love Frankie’ at the bottom.

“It’s your birthday?” Mike asked, confused, as he glanced up from reading the card.

“Was my birthday,” Kevin said firmly as he plucked the card from Mike’s hand.

Mike frowned. “When was it, Kevin?”

Kevin sighed, knowing Mike wouldn’t give this up. “November fifth. It’s not a big deal, Mike.”

“That was two days ago!”

“Like I said, not a big deal,” Kevin repeated, shrugging.

“Kev, it is a big deal!” Mike insisted, leaning forward. “Here I’ve been talking about my band and the new album, and we missed celebrating your birthday!”

Kevin scowled at Mike as he set the birthday card on the table. “Drop it, Mike. I mean it.”

“No,” Mike said firmly, scowling back. “I don’t see why you want me to drop this. It was your birthday, Kevin. We could’ve done something! Dinner, or just staying in.” Clenching his fists, Mike inhaled slowly and tried to force himself to calm down.

Anything Kevin was prepared to say in retaliation was interrupted by a flutter of butterflies streaming in from the open side door and landing on Kevin.

“Guys,” Kevin moaned. “Now is not a good time.”

~Hey! A new person!
That’s who I was talking about.
Is the new person here to sex Kevin up?
He does smell like pheromones.~

Kevin groaned and tried to bury his face into his hands as Mike watched warily and then startled as a couple of the butterflies flew over to inspect him, landing in his hair.

“Are they supposed to be doing this?” Mike asked as they flitted about around him.

~He smells nice.
You should mate with him.
Kevin's male, he can't have babies.
He should still mate with this one, he smells like flowers.~

“They do this all the time,” Kevin sighed as the butterflies flew back towards him.

~Kevin! Kevin! The new guy smells like flowers!~

“Yes, I heard you,” Kevin said, looking at them red-faced.

Mike watched, utterly fascinated, as Kevin interacted with the butterflies, their fight being pushed to the back of his mind. It was the first time seeing someone Speak right in front of him. Oh, there were the videos in school and learning about Speakers, but this was real.

Mike raised an eyebrow at Kevin's red face. "Everything okay?"

Kevin nodded frantically and gestured at the butterflies on top of his head. "They're just being extra chatty."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Doesn’t that get annoying?"

Kevin shrugged. "Some days, but most times they're good friends."

"Gives meaning to the term, social butterfly," Mike grinned.

~He puns! He's funny!
I like him!
He still smells like flowers.
Mate with him, Kevin!~

Kevin just groaned, at the terrible pun and his butterflies.

The butterflies took off from Kevin's head and swirled around them, chatting happily.

~Keep him!
He's pretty!
Still smells like flowers.
MATE!
MATE!
MATE!~

“Enough!” Kevin yelled, jumping to his feet, and the butterflies scattered. He pointed at the side room. “Back inside!”

~Kevin’s being mean.
It’s because he’s not getting any.~

Kevin closed his eyes and slowly exhaled as the butterflies disappeared back into the side room.

“Dude, that was harsh,” Mike pointed out, wincing.

“Trust me, if you heard what they were saying you would’ve snapped too,” Kevin sighed as he flopped back onto his chair. “I love them and they’re the best, but sometimes they’re just-”

“Really chatty?” Mike ventured a guess.

Kevin nodded as he opened his eyes and looked at Mike. “That sums it up really well.”

Noticing how much the conversation with the butterflies seem to take it out of Kevin, Mike patted the space beside him on the cushion. Kevin moved from his chair and tucked himself into Mike’s side.

“Please don’t ask me about my birthday,” Kevin whispered against Mike’s neck.

“Okay,” Mike said. He reached for the remote and turned the TV on. They stayed like that on the couch, just staring at the TV and ignoring the world outside of each other.

~~~

It was only a week and a half until recording started and Mike felt like they still barely spent any time together. Mike still got Kevin a birthday card, but he made it himself and called it an un-birthday card when he presented it to Kevin.

Kevin was all smiles and kissed Mike senseless when he received it, said it was perfect. Mike decided to forgo any romantic dinner plans and they spent the evening making out on the couch and ignoring the TV and the butterflies flying around them.

When Kevin’s exams came up, Mike started seeing a lot less of Kevin. Kevin seemed to become a man possessed and studied like a madman; he called Mike a wonderful distraction whenever he came over, but still a distraction.

Mike knew it was nothing personal, but still felt a little hurt. It wasn’t like he meant to be a distraction, but Kevin had really kissable lips and he’d never felt this horny with anyone before. He really wanted to ravish Kevin against the couch and have him make those noises Mike loved to hear so much.

Then suddenly Mike had no time with recording a few days away and everyone in the band running around putting things together and Butch being a demanding taskmaster with pre-recording things that suddenly needed to get done.

They didn’t see each other for almost a month and when Kevin’s exams were done and he could relax with his butterflies and Mike, Mike was nowhere to be found.

Glancing at the calendar, Kevin realised Mike had been recording the album for a week.
Kevin pulled out his cell to text Mike.

Hey, am finally free from the tyranny of exams. Come over when you’re free.

Kevin snapped his cell closed. There, non-judgemental and an open invitation for Mike to come over whenever. Kevin knew how exhausting recording could be, it narrowing down to yourself, the rest of the band in the room and the producers in the sound booth.

He tried not to think of his brothers when he turned the TV on and lazed about on the couch. Kevin fell asleep to memories and hurts that he’d tried to bury for the past year and a half.

Kevin wasn’t sure how long he slept for, but a pounding on his front door startled him awake sometime later. There were infomercials playing on the TV and he rubbed at the drool covering his face, at his sleep-crusted eyes.

Sleepy, he shuffled over to the front door and peered through the peephole.

It was Mike!

He threw the door open and pulled Mike in. Kicking the door closed, he pulled Mike down for a heated kiss.

“Someone missed me,” Mike mumbled against Kevin’s lips.

“Mmmhmm,” Kevin hummed sleepily. “Been a long month. I missed you lots.”

Mike herded them towards the couch, shedding his winter coat, boots, hat and gloves as they fell down on it.

Kevin licked his way into Mike’s mouth as Mike pressed down on him. “Got your text. Would’ve replied, but I wanted to surprise you.”

“I’m very surprised,” Kevin agreed with a smile as he licked the tip of Mike’s nose.

Mike chuckled and smirked down at Kevin. “Did you know your lower face is covered in dried drool?”

Kevin squeaked and tried to scrub it off frantically. “I was asleep before you pounded on my door.”

Removing his cell, wallet and keys, tossing them to the coffee table, Mike kissed Kevin again. “Poor you.”

Kevin blushed as he tried to press up into Mike, but Mike was keeping him pinned on the couch. It was the hottest thing they’d ever done before.

They made out lazily, reconnecting with one another.

The next time Mike pressed down on Kevin, Kevin froze when he felt Mike’s erection against his thigh.

“Kevin?” Mike asked worriedly.

“Off. Off!” Kevin said frantically and Mike scrambled backwards to accommodate Kevin’s frantic need.

“You okay, Kev?” Mike asked as he slowly shuffled back over towards Kevin.

Kevin closed his eyes and slowly breathed in and out. “I don’t know.”

“Look at me, Kevin.”

Kevin opened his eyes. He bit his lip. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Mike said softly and hesitantly wrapped his arm around Kevin. Kevin all but melted against Mike’s side. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Kevin started to shake his head no but loudly exhaled and shook his head yes. “I haven’t gotten very far with a guy and when I felt your, um-” He gestured at Mike’s obvious erection. “I kind of panicked.” Kevin ducked his head, cheeks flushed with shame.

“Well, I know I’m pretty impressive,” Mike joked lightly as Kevin gave a forced chuckle. “But we don’t have to go any further than you feel comfortable with, Kev.”

“You mean that?” Kevin asked, looking up at Mike.

“Promise,” Mike said firmly. “We go at your pace for this, what we have.”

Kevin licked his lips. “And what exactly do we have? Do we just make out? Are we fuck buddies?”

Mike’s eyebrows rose. “Well, I think we need to fuck to actually be fuck buddies.”

Kevin blushed and looked away. “Sorry, forget I asked.” He tried to squirm away.

“Hey, no,” Mike said and kept a tight hold on Kevin. “We’re...boyfriends,” he said, feeling the word form on his tongue.

“Boyfriends?” Kevin asked bewildered.

“Boyfriends,” Mike said firmly, hugging Kevin. “Except there needs to be dates and stuff and more making out.”

“How about cuddling?” Kevin offered as he laid his head on Mike’s chest.

“Pfft,” Mike snorted but tugged Kevin in closer. “Cuddling. What do I look like, a pillow?”

“A very comfy pillow,” Kevin said, grinning as he wrapped an arm around Mike’s waist and they slowly came down from the high of making out and Kevin’s almost panic attack.

They stayed like for another hour but soon Kevin was yawning.

“Someone’s tired,” Mike commented, but he yawned as well.

“So is someone else,” Kevin teased back.

“Well, let’s get you into bed and I’ll head out,” Mike said, getting to his feet and tugging Kevin up.

Kevin leaned in against Mike, hugging him and inhaling Mike’s scent of sweat, beer and boy, mixed with cigarette smoke.

“If you want, you could spend the night,” Kevin murmured, his breath hot against Mike’s damp shirt.

“Spend the night?” Mike asked, confused.

“Just to sleep,” Kevin said. “Nothing else.”

Mike nodded. “Sure, I can do that.”

Kevin led Mike to his bedroom and grinned as he took everything in. The room was a bit cooler than the rest of the house and there was a scattering of dirty clothes on the floor and the bed itself was huge.

“Okay, I am living here from now on,” Mike joked as Kevin went over to his dresser to get some sleep pants.

“The university is really accommodating,” Kevin said softly as he tossed a pair of sweats that cut off at the knees at Mike.

“I can tell,” Mike said as he watched Kevin turn around. Mike did the same and when they faced each other again, they were both bare-chested and wearing sweats.

“Um, before we go to sleep, I should just tell you that sometimes the butterflies come in here,” Kevin said and pointed at an open vent on the floor. “It connects with their rooms, so they can fly in here.”

“Ah, cool,” Mike said, grinning, and pulled the covers up. They tucked themselves in under the covers and Kevin curled into Mike’s side.

“Mmm, bare-chested Mike.” Kevin grinned as he nuzzled at Mike’s skin.

“Hey, you just said sleep, mister,” Mike grinned at Kevin. “Should I be worried for my virtue?”

“Nah, your virtue is safe with me,” Kevin said sleepily, getting comfortable.

Mike chuckled and they slowly fell asleep together.

The morning brought a soft murmuring to Mike’s ears and he realized it was Kevin whispering, but Kevin was still cuddled up against his side.

And then he felt something creeping across his arm and he resisted the urge to slap it away. He was pretty sure it was a butterfly and he didn’t want to hurt Kevin’s friends.

He slowly opened his eyes instead and saw a Monarch crawling across his arm.

“Kev,” Mike said, voice rough and sleep blurred. “Why do I have a Monarch on my arm?”

“Because she’s being stubborn and won’t fly away,” Kevin murmured. “She’s just tasting you. The butterflies think we had sex.”

Mike had blinked at the words ‘tasting’ and ‘sex’. “They think we had sex?”

Kevin nodded. “Yeah. They’ve never seen two humans mate before and think ‘cause we’re in the bed, we had sex.”

“Ah,” Mike said, because what else was there to say. He felt Kevin shift against him and watched as Kevin got close to the Monarch.

“We didn’t mate, pretty one,” Kevin said softly. “You can go tell the others.”

The Monarch twitched on Mike’s arm and then flew off and down the vent. Kevin breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s better.”

“Can I move my arm?” Mike asked with a grin.

Kevin waved a hand. “Feel free.”

Mike tucked his arm against his side and rolled over so he was facing Kevin. “So, I was thinking showers and then I make you pancakes.”

“Chocolate chip pancakes?” Kevin asked, his eyes lighting up.

“Whatever you want,” Mike promised him and kissed the tip of Kevin’s nose.

Kevin cheered enthusiastically. “I have the mix and everything. But, Mike, separate showers.”

“Of course,” Mike agreed.

They got out of bed. Mike started to pick up his clothes as Kevin made the bed.

“You shower first and I’ll get breakfast started,” Mike offered and Kevin grinned. Pressing a kiss to Mike’s cheek, Kevin practically flew out of the bedroom., excited at the promise of breakfast together.

Chuckling, Mike dumped his clothes on the bed and headed to the living room to grab his cell phone. He didn’t have to be in the studio until later on in the day, but it didn’t hurt to check and see if plans had changed.

Other than Sisky, the others really didn’t know about Kevin. They knew he was kind of seeing someone, but that was it.

Mike had a flurry of text messages and he sighed as he checked them all on his way to finding the pancake mix.

Basically, they had an earlier start time in the studio, which Mike realized was in two hours. No time at all for a lazy morning in with Kevin.

He’d have enough time to make pancakes and shower. That would be it. Mike muttered curses under his breath about Bill Beckett and Butch Walker’s new schedule.

Mike took out the ingredients, bowls and utensils and started to prepare the pancakes. By the time a damp-looking Kevin wearing clean clothes wandered in, the first batch of pancakes were done and Kevin was drooling.

“Best boyfriend ever,” Kevin declared as he got the plates, knives and forks out.

“You’re only keeping me for my cooking,” Mike deadpanned as he poured more batter out on the frying pan.

“And your epic making out skills,” Kevin deadpanned back and grabbed butter and syrup.

Mike laughed as he finished making breakfast and went to go tuck in at the table.

Kevin made happy noises as he dug into his chocolate chip pancakes. “So yummy!” he declared.

Mike polished his off quickly, grinning.

“Why you eating so quickly?” Kevin asked around a mouthful of pancake.

Mike grimaced as he wiped at his mouth with a napkin. “Yeah, so I checked my cell and we have an earlier start time in the studio. I was going to tell you right away, just got caught up in cooking.”

Kevin frowned. “Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Mike sighed.

“That sucks.” Kevin pouted at him.

He finished off his food a bit more slowly as Mike downed a glass of OJ. “I have to go shower, but-”

“It’s fine,” Kevin sighed. “I’m sure we can do something when recording is finished.”

“With the way things are going I’m not sure if we’re ever going to finish recording,” Mike groaned, and shuffled off to go shower.

It didn’t take Mike long to get clean and get into his clothes from last night. When he headed back into the kitchen, Kevin had cleaned up and gotten the coffee started.

“You are my absolute favourite,” Mike declared as he smelled the coffee.

Kevin grinned as the coffee dripped into the pot. “Well, you’re leaving earlier than we planned, so you get something to take with you on the road.”

Mike moved forward and planted a kiss on Kevin’s lips. “Travel mug?”

Kevin grabbed it off the counter and held it up. “One of mine, so I know you’re coming back.”

“That is so cheesy,” Mike chuckled and plucked it out of Kevin’s hands.

“I know.” Kevin grinned at Mike, and then sighed. “Still disappointed you’re leaving early.”

“Me too,” Mike sighed and set the travel mug on the kitchen counter. “But as soon as I have some free time, I’ll come right over.”

Kevin nodded as he poured Mike a fresh cup of coffee into the travel mug, making it just the way Mike liked it, as Mike got his jacket and boots on.

At the front door, Kevin pulled Mike in for another kiss before handing him the coffee. “Go be a rock star, I’ll be here.”

Mike bit his lip and then kissed the tip of Kevin’s nose. “Maybe on the days when it’s not so crazy you could come to the studio? Hang out?”

Kevin’s eyes went wide. “Really? I mean, is that okay? You haven’t really told your friends about us.”

“Well, they know I’m seeing someone.” Mike shrugged. “Didn’t really tell them who I was dating.” Mike’s eyes widened. “Not that I’m ashamed of you or anything.”

“I know,” Kevin sighed as he hugged Mike tightly. “It’s hard to tell how someone will react to knowing you’re gay.”

Mike could hear the weight of those words, but didn’t push. “Well, half of the Chicago scene is gay above the waist, so I think we’ll be okay.”

Kevin chuckled. “You think?”

“Yeah.”

Leaning up, Kevin kissed Mike goodbye and shooed him out the door. He closed it quickly and peered through the peephole to see Mike giving him a cheesy wave goodbye. He had to grin.

He, Kevin Jonas, had a boyfriend and he couldn’t be happier.

THE END.

Part 1 // Back to Masterpost