Love

It was a cold, rainy Friday night, and for once, Pete was content with staying home, curled up beneath a blanket and watching The Nightmare Before Christmas. He was comfortable beneath the blanket in the warm house, so he was justifiably angry when there was a knock at the door. Pete didn’t register the fact that it sounded urgent- he only knew that they were interrupting what was supposed to be a quiet night. Pete threw the blanket to the ground and tugged open the door, prepared to scream at whoever it was that interrupted his quiet night in.
His anger was quickly replaced by concern, though, upon seeing who was at the door. Gabe Saporta stood there, with an unconscious Mikey Way in his arms. The younger was wrapped tightly in Gabe’s hoodie and was obviously injured. Both were soaked from the rain and freezing, with Mikey shivering in Gabe’s arms.
Pete wasted no time in taking the two into his home. He had Gabe take Mikey into his room while he went to grab the frequently used first aid kit. When he came back, he found Gabe talking on his cellphone, most likely explaining what happened to Gerard.
Pete left Gabe with telling Gerard what happened while he searched for some dry clothes that would fit Mikey. He eventually came up with a soft black hoodie and a pair of sweatpants that were too big for Pete.
At this point, Gabe had finished calling Gerard. He helped Pete remove Mikey’s soaked clothes, clean and bandage the worst of the wounds, and slip the dry, comfortable clothes over Mikey’s thin frame.
After taking care of his injured friend, Pete tucked Mikey into his bed before asking Gabe about what happened.
“I was on my way home from a party,” Gabe said, “I was running late, so I cut through the school’s parking lot. I saw someone lying on the sidewalk, so I stopped to see if they were okay. I saw it was Mikey, and that he was in pain, so I got him here as soon as I could. You were the first person that came to my mind to help.”
Pete nodded, brushing some of the hair out of Mikey’s face. He frowned at the warmth he felt on his forehead.
Mikey unconsciously snuggled closer to Pete, searching for warmth. Pete gave a small smile to the sleeping teenager, getting off the bed to get extra blankets. He found a few thick, soft comforters to wrap around his friend’s body. He draped the blankets over Mikey’s sleeping form before sitting back down beside him.
“Poor kid’s gonna have a cold,” Pete murmured, running a hand through Mikey’s soft brown hair. With his other hand he gently tugged off Mikey’s glasses and set them down on the nightstand. “Gabe, did Mikey tell you who did this to him?”
Gabe shook his head, “No, Mikey pretty much passed out the second I got him into the car.”
“Well, when I find out who did this to him, I’ll beat the shit out of them,” Pete said.
Pete was very protective of the younger. Mikey was a very sweet guy, which made him very easy to take advantage of. Mikey was also the target of many bullies simply because he wouldn’t fight back.
It could’ve been much worse, though. That’s why Mikey kept his sexuality a secret from anyone he couldn’t trust. Mikey was gay, but because he was such a good actor, he made it seem like he was asexual. With the people at their school being so intolerant, Mikey’s beatings would’ve been several times worse.
Pete and Gabe were two of the few people that Mikey knew he could trust with his sexuality, along with Gerard, Frank, Patrick, Brendon, Ryan, Ray, and Bob.
The sound of pounding on the front door brought Pete out of his thoughts. Gabe went to answer the door, since Pete was busy caring for Mikey. At an alarming speed, Gerard raced into Pete’s room.
“What happened to him? Is he okay?” Gerard asked.
Frank managed to catch up to Gerard and said, “Babe, calm down. Freaking out won’t help Mikey.” Frank kissed his boyfriend’s cheek and squeezed his hand reassuringly.
Gerard and Frank were one of the few couples in school that were out of the closet. No one dared to mess with them, though, due to Gerard’s willingness to fight back and the fact that attempting to lay a finger on the hyperactive Frank was a death wish.
“He’s got a couple bruises and gashes, and he’s been unconscious the entire time he’s been here,” Pete said, “We don’t know who attacked him.”
As if on cue, Mikey stirred. Gerard was at his side in a heartbeat, grasping his brother’s hand.
The moment Mikey opened his eyes, Gerard pulled him into a tight hug. He buried his face into the crook of Mikey’s neck and said, “Thank god you’re okay, Mikey.” Gerard kissed Mikey’s forehead. “God, I was terrified when Gabe called me and told me you were hurt.”
Mikey let his head rest on Gerard’s shoulder. At this point, Gerard noticed that Mikey was shaking terribly and seemed very drowsy. He pulled away a little to feel Mikey’s forehead. “Christ, Mikey, you’re burning up!”
“’M okay, Gee… really.”
“No, you’re not, Mikey,” Pete cut in. He grabbed one of the comforters he had on the bed and wrapped it tightly around Mikey’s thin frame. “Gabe found you injured and unconscious in a parking lot. You’re sick and you need to rest, kid.”
“Pete’s right, Mikey,” Gerard said, “Let’s get you home.”
“You guys can stay here tonight, if you want,” Pete offered, “My parents aren’t around and it’s kinda late, anyway.”
Gerard gave it some thought and eventually agreed to it. He and Frank stayed in the guest room, while Mikey stayed in Pete’s room.
“I should probably get going,” Gabe said, “My mom’s gonna kill me if I’m not back.” He gave Mikey a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead. “I’m so sorry I didn’t get to you sooner. If I had just been there-”
“Gabe,” Mikey mumbled into his friend’s shoulder, “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. Had you not found me, I’d probably be dead or something.”
Gabe gave a small smile to Mikey. “Call me if you need anything, okay? And make sure you get lots of rest, kiddo.”
Mikey nodded. Gabe gave him one last squeeze before leaving Pete’s place.
Pete and Mikey were left alone together in the room. Pete adjusted the thick, warm comforters around Mikey before handing him his glasses. “Do you need me to get you anything?” He asked the younger, “More blankets? Food? Drink?”
“I’m fine Pete. Thank you, though,” Mikey murmured.
“Okay. You wanna watch a movie? I was watching The Nightmare Before Christmas before all this happened, so if you want, you could join me.”
Mikey smiled, “Yeah… I’d like that.”
Pete left the room for a minute to retrieve the DVD. He came back into the room, set up the movie, and sat down beside Mikey.
Mikey snuggled up against Pete. Pete smiled and draped an arm over Mikey, offering him what warmth he could to the sickly teen.
About ten minutes into the movie, Pete finally asked, “Mikey, do you know who attacked you?”
Mikey nodded, “Please don’t tell Gerard. I don’t want him to feel bad about it.”
Pete nodded, “Okay, Mikey. Just tell me who did this to you.
“…Bert.”
Pete’s eyes widened. Bert was Gerard’s ex-boyfriend. He was violent and a read douchebag, but he never thought Bert would attack Mikey to get back at Gerard.
“Oh, Mikey,” Pete murmured, pulling the younger into a hug. “I’ll get that bastard. I promise.” He wiped the tears that fell from Mikey’s eyes.
“Please don’t cry, Mikey,” Pete whispered, “I don’t like to see you cry. You… you’re too beautiful to cry.”
Mikey blushed and looked down. “Do you really mean that?”
Pete decided to take a chance and pressed his lips to Mikey’s for an innocent kiss. He didn’t make it last long, though, in fear of making Mikey uncomfortable.
Mikey gave Pete a shy smile when they pulled away. Pete returned the smile and held Mikey tight. “Does that answer your question?”
Mikey nodded and snuggled closer to Pete, resting his head on Pete’s shoulder. It wasn’t long until he had fallen asleep in Pete’s arms.
Gerard stepped into the room to check in on Mikey and saw the two cuddled up together. Pete was a bit afraid, since Gerard was a very protective older brother. However, a smile appeared on Gerard’s face, as though he knew something like this might happen.
“How is he?” Gerard asked, sitting on the bed. He leaned over and kissed his brother’s cheek. He gently removed Mikey’s glasses and set them down on the nightstand.
“He fell asleep about ten minutes ago,” Pete said, running a hand through Mikey’s hair. He sighed and added, “He didn’t want me to tell you who attacked him, because he doesn’t want you to feel guilty, but I really think you should know. Bert attacked him, Gerard.”
Anger flooded into Gerard’s eyes. “That fucker touched my brother?” Pete could already tell that Gerard was plotting ways to get back at his ex… he wasn’t the only one.
Gerard regained his composure and asked, “So… are you two, like, a thing now?”
“I don’t know,” Pete sighed, “I mean, we kissed, and we’re cuddling now, but I don’t think we’re officially official, y’know?”
Gerard nodded in understanding. “Well, just so you know, Mikey’s completely head over heels for you. So, I know that he’ll be willing to try if you are.” Gerard gently rubbed Mikey’s shoulder and added, “But I swear, if you hurt him-”
“I won’t Gerard,” Pete said, “I’ll never hurt him.”
Gerard smiled, “I know you won’t. Keep him safe, okay?”
“I will, Gee,” Pete murmured.
Gerard pressed his lips to Mikey’s forehead, murmuring an “I love you” against the warm skin. With that, Gerard left the room.
Pete laid Mikey down onto the bed before shutting off the movie. He laid down next to Mikey, wrapping his arms around him. Pete kissed Mikey’s forehead and said, “You’re safe now, Mikey. Safe and sound.”

Notes