Every time Mikey moved around, he’d brush lightly against Finn. And he moved around a lot. Mikey, by nature, was a very exaggerated individual, and part of that was his tendency to speak as much with gestures and facial expression as he did with words. It was very distracting.

They were sitting in a booth across from Jude and Ion, eating lunch at a diner. Every now and then Mikey would glance at Finn and give him a little smile, just to make him feel included. Finn had a habit of excluding himself when in groups. He smiled back shyly and fidgeted, Mikey’s proximity making him nervous. He liked it. Usually, he wouldn’t have been allowed to touch Mikey. Not that anyone had to police him on it – he was perfectly capable of controlling himself. He knew it would have freaked Mikey out to have someone he couldn’t see come into physical contact with him. He’d seen it happen before. He never wanted to be the cause of Mikey’s fear.

He wished he could be touching Mikey more right then, but it wouldn’t have been appropriate to hug him or something. Finn had only existed a few days within his world, after all – he was grateful Mikey was even as comfortable as he was in such close proximity to a relative stranger. But, he reminded himself, Mikey had always been a very affectionate guy. To those he could see.

Finn wished he’d had the presence of mind to properly enjoy the hug he had received from Mikey. As it was, he had been too surprised that Mikey could actually see him to even hug back properly. He could remember the sensation of Mikey’s breath across his collarbone.

Jude’s cell phone rang and conversation ceased while he answered it. Finn watched Ion slump an arm around Jude’s shoulder and listen in without effort. It had been a while since he’d found out about all Ion’s little peculiarities, but it still caught him off guard every now and then. He found it odd. Not bad; just weird.

“We have to go,” Jude announced as he slapped his phone shut. He and Ion were already standing up, abandoning their half eaten food. “Can you two call someone to give you a ride home?”

Mikey nodded and snagged a handful of fries from Jude’s plate across the table, despite the fact that he still had half of his own left. “I can call my mum.”

Ion gave the two of them a mischievous smile as he slipped out of the booth ahead of Jude. “You two kids behave now.”

“Never!” Mikey said with a defiant grin.

Finn ducked his head and concentrated on not blushing.

“So…” Mikey said in a drawn out tone after the other two had left. “Can we go to the park?”

Finn stared in surprise at Mikey’s ‘I’m so cute you know you want to do what I say’ smile. He was being asked? Was it not obvious he’d do whatever Mikey wanted him to? Sad, sure, but he’d thought it was fairly obvious. “Uh…” He found his voice somewhere. “Yeah, sure.”

It was nerve wracking being alone with Mikey, and Finn had it pinned down to two reasons as they made their way to the park. Reason number one was the obvious – that all Mikey’s attention was on him, and that it was solely his job to entertain the boy. Well, at least he was fairly easy to entertain – he was used to Jude, who was as bad socially as Finn was but lacked his intense desire to please Mikey. Entertainment, Finn anxiously decided, he could provide.

The second reason why it made him nervous was because it was a huge responsibility. Mikey, being unable to see or hear most people, could not be out on his own. But it wasn’t really as simple as just being his eyes and ears; Mikey attracted trouble. He was the world’s biggest target. He was either unaware of or didn’t care for every other societal norm and really stood out. Most people hated those who stood out, who were different. Finn had the job of bodyguard.

It wouldn’t be above his capabilities, hopefully. He'd done an adequate job of protecting Mikey at school, after all - a few slips he'd beaten himself up over, that he'd learned from too late but vowed always to remember for the future. He knew martial arts, too, enough to be dangerous though he had chosen not to fight on his own behalf. He had started classes at the same time as he'd switched schools, when he was thirteen. He knew enough to be dangerous, but he wouldn't use any of it to be a threat. Only to protect.

Mikey was talking about something he’d seen on the news – international politics and war or something. Finn didn’t watch the news; he sucked at current events in general. He didn’t want to admit it. Mikey was, for all everyone perceived him as a little kid, quite smart. Smarter than he was, and Finn knew it. Finn smiled, he nodded; he crammed his hands in his pockets and squirmed. They arrived and Mikey’s attention was immediately hijacked by swings. Thank fuck.

Mikey ran over to the swing set and sat down on one of the swings. He turned and gave Finn a charming smile. “Push me?” he half requested half instructed.

Finn obliged. It was awkward, pushing Mikey. Although Finn had permission for this touch, it was still under his control. He decided how hard to push and where to place his hands, and he kept worrying he’d do it wrong. He wished he could just chill. Deep down, he knew Mikey wouldn’t be offended easily, and that he’d forgive him if he accidentally did something wrong. Right at that moment, though, all he could focus on was all the years he’d wanted this, and the persistent chanting of, don’t fuck it up, don’t fuck it up, hammering through his mind.

At first Finn had pushed him hard, at Mikey’s repeated requests for ‘higher!’ but things had gradually slowed down. Mikey planted his feet on the ground, sending up clouds of dust as his feat dragged across the dirt. Finn took the hint and grabbed the chains to stop the swing. Mikey leaned back against his chest.

Finn prayed Mikey couldn’t feel his heart pounding against his back. Mikey was wearing a hoodie - that was thick enough, right? Fuck, like he needed a pulse check to tell Finn was nervous as hell. But nervous good. Well, mostly good. Don’t fuck it up. Finn forced his brain to shut down for the couple of seconds he needed to brave wrapping his arms around Mikey’s shoulders.

Mikey turned to look at him, and smiled in gentle amusement at Finn’s ‘caught with a hand in the cookie jar’ expression. Finn blushed and averted his gaze to Mikey’s hair. Mikey smelt like candy – he always smelt like fruity candy sweetness. Jude said it was because he ate so much candy that the smell started to be exuded from his pores, like how sometimes people smelled faintly of garlic the day after eating a lot of it. Finn thought it more likely to be his shampoo or deodorant. He attempted to be subtle about sniffing Mikey’s hair. Strawberries.

A group of teenagers, four guys and two girls, were walking down the footpath towards them. They hadn’t spotted the two of them yet and Finn considered moving away from Mikey before they did. It was asking for trouble, really. One of the guys noticed them and examined their relative closeness. His eyes locked with Finn’s and he gave him a predatory smirk. Too late.

Finn gripped Mikey protectively against him, and Mikey turned and gave him a questioning look. Finn returned it with a tight smile then returned his gaze to the other teens. The guy who had noticed them first was already nudging his friends and nodding in their direction. Great.

Finn leant down to whisper to Mikey. “How about you call your mum now?”

Mikey had always been perceptive. After locking gazes with Finn for a few seconds he shrugged and nodded his head without question. “Okay.”

Finn removed his grip from Mikey, partly to allow him to use his phone more easily, but mostly because he was worried Mikey’s mum would just be able to tell Finn was touching her son. It wasn’t like Finn had his hand down Mikey’s pants, sure, but Finn had been enjoying the physical contact with Mikey on a more than platonic level. Not sexual, just not platonic. Nothing could ever been platonic for Finn when it came to Mikey.

Finn watched the teenagers like a guard dog, wondering if they’d start anything. There weren’t many witnesses. An old man sitting a way off on a bench under a tree, reading a newspaper. An old lady walking her little dog. In Finn’s experience, though, witnesses weren’t much use anyway – people hated getting involved. Not just to protect themselves, either. People would rarely even go get help unless someone specifically requested it of them. Someone else would do it. Though, to be honest, he wasn’t any different most of the time.

“Hey, faggots!” one of the guys called in their direction.

Don’t react, don’t react, Finn ordered himself. His fingernails dug into his palms. It was a trespass, for someone to talk about Mikey like that. Finn didn’t know if Mikey was gay or straight or what, but it was meant as an insult and that was what counted. He wanted to dash out there and defend Mikey’s honor violently, but he didn’t like the odds. Four against one – he assumed neither of the girls would get involved physically. Besides, it would scare Mikey. Finn went and stood beside him. Although the teens hadn’t actually come much closer, he didn’t like the idea of having nothing between them and Mikey.

The teens were talking amongst themselves, too quietly for Finn to decipher their words, their conversation punctuated with occasional laughter. Finn was becoming increasingly confident they had no plans to attack them. They weren’t looking for a fight, just a joke. That wasn’t much better, but at least Mikey didn’t have to know about it.

Finn tugged on Mikey’s sleeve after he’d finished on the phone and motioned with his head. “Let’s go wait for your mum.”

Mikey, who was walking slightly ahead of Finn, kept turning and giving him unsure smiles as they walked towards the parking lot. He had picked up on Finn’s sudden change in mood.

Mikey turned towards him and started walking backwards, a conspiratory smile slowly forming on his face. He turned around again and fell into step beside Finn.

It started with humming. Just a quiet humming of a vaguely familiar tune Finn couldn’t place. After a few moments, the humming changed to singing, barely above a whisper. Finn couldn’t catch the words or figure out the song. Mikey’s singing gradually increased in volume until he could.

“Tranquil as a forest, but on fire within,” were the first words Finn made out, but it wasn’t until the next line, “once you find your centre, you are sure to win,” that Finn finally figured it out.

At first, he felt obligated to keep his stony face on. He couldn’t keep it up long. He burst out laughing. “Mulan?” he asked a still singing Mikey between laughter.

His laughter only increased as Mikey voiced the different characters’ parts. His was really getting into it, moving around animatedly. When Mikey got to, “How could I make a man out of you?” Finn choked on his laughter.

“Oh shit,” Finn groaned in between laughs. “I didn’t think that movie could be corrupted for me more since I decided the main guy was hot when I was eleven.” Finn’s laughter turned nervous as he realised what he’d just said.

Mikey had stopped singing to giggle. “Captain Li Shang.”

Finn shoved his hands in his pockets and shot Mikey an anxious smile. “You’re the expert.”

Mikey tilted his head to the side contemplatively, and then nodded. “Yeah, I guess I can see that.”

That statement put questions in Finn’s head he wasn’t brave enough to ask out loud.

When Mikey’s mum arrived to pick them up, Finn lingered awkwardly. “I’ll catch the bus home,” he responded to Mikey’s questioning look.

Mikey looked genuinely disappointed for a moment before perking up again. “You should come over!”

Finn liked the sound of that. He glanced at Mikey’s mum nervously and she nodded reassuringly. “Okay.”

Mikey opted to sit beside Finn during the ride to his house instead of up front with his mum. It made Finn smile softly to himself. Mikey hummed Disney songs until they arrived.

“You can stay for dinner, if you like. We’re having pizza,” Mikey’s mum said as they walked in the front door. Her voice was always gentle when she spoke to Finn. She was always nice to him. It didn’t really work though – being overly nice to him – as it only made him realise she was aware how anxious she made him, which made him more nervous. He just didn’t want to do anything wrong in front of her. And he definitely didn’t want her to be able to read him. He wondered if she’d be so friendly towards him if she was aware of the nature of some of the thoughts and feelings he had concerning her son.

Though she had always done her best to make him feel welcome in their home, he’d only been there a few times, and even then it was only briefly. He felt like he was trespassing. It was Mikey’s home, somewhere that was supposed to be safe, and Finn wasn’t sure how he would have felt about someone he could neither seen nor hear invading it.

Finn didn’t have time to do anything but give her a helpless look, though, as Mikey grabbed his hand and pulled him along to his room. Mikey had not, as he often did not, heard his mum. Mikey shut the door behind them.

Finn had never been in Mikey’s room, but it was very much what he had expected it. He’d dedicated nights, mornings and showers to imagining the size of Mikey’s bed, though he doubted they’d be enacting any of his many fantasies within it.

The room was colourful and filled with a lot of random stuff; neat without being fastidiously so. Mikey had a shelf full of CDs, a stuffed bear lying on his blue, green and teal bed covers and brightly coloured jewellery and hair ties covering the top of his dresser.

“So…” Mikey said, dropping to the light teal carpet and sitting back with his weight supported by his arms. He tilted his head to the side. “What do you want to do?”

Finn just stared. Fuck, he knew what he wanted to do. “Uh…” he eventually got out. Smooth.

Mikey got on his knees and clambered on them over to a wooden coffee table which had puzzle pieces strewn across it. “I’m doing a puzzle. Want to help?”

Finn nodded. “Sure.”

Finn sat down opposite Mikey at the table, but Mikey signalled him to sit beside him. “It’ll be upside down over there.”

As Finn switched sides, Mikey disappeared behind him. Finn was just turning to investigate when his vision was concealed by a blanket being tossed onto his head. Finn pulled it off of his face and turned towards Mikey. Mikey who was removing his hoody. Mikey whose shirt was being lifted as he removed his hoodie to reveal a sliver of smooth skin. Finn stared. Finn stared a little too long, he realised when his gaze was met with questioningly raised eyebrows from Mikey. Finn tore his gaze away and wet his suddenly too dry lips then chewed on them nervously. That’s right, be creepy, he told himself scornfully.

Mikey burrowed under the blanket next to him, sitting close enough that Finn could feel the heat emanating off of his skin. “So, this is what it’s meant to look like,” Mikey said as he held up the lid of the box to reveal a panda. “But one time I got one that was meant to be a dog, but it ended up being a pony that didn’t look at all like the picture on the box, so I wouldn’t trust them.”

Finn nodded and smiled awkwardly. His brain had just about shut down from Mikey’s proximity. “Well, it looks right so far.”

“Maybe it’ll be a dinosaur. Dinosaurs are cool,” Mikey contemplated as he reached for a piece of the puzzle.

Finn smiled fondly. “I think someone should confiscate the lids before giving puzzles to you so it’s a surprise.”

Mikey looked at him and beamed. “Yeah! I’m going to tell my mum to do that now.”

Mikey and his mum, despite their difficulties (or perhaps because of them), were really close. Finn was happy for him. While Mikey was an only child and had no father in his life, Finn had a comparatively large family with both parents and two older brothers. Sometimes he wished he didn’t. Finn didn’t particularly care for company, but at home he had truckloads of it whether he wanted it or not, and though he loved his family he got sick of each of them very quickly.

One of the major blessings of changing schools was getting away from his brothers. Though they had, at times, stood up for him against bullies, he felt like they were constantly watching him. They weren’t, really – they didn’t have any great concern what he got up to – but it was suffocating none the less.

Home didn’t really become such an annoying place until he came out when he was thirteen. School had been an issue then, with bullies and teasing and the GSA on his ass all the time (figuratively, thank fuck), but home life was what really irked him. And was something he couldn’t escape. It wasn’t that his family was intentionally malicious, simply that they didn’t take him seriously. Like his being gay was some sort of joke, a silly phase that he’d grow out of and realise the hilarity of in a couple of years time. Like that year one of his brothers decided to go goth and they’d all made their little jokes until he was done with it and started making fun of the goth kids himself. Finn wasn’t even obvious about it! Well, maybe it was obvious he liked Mikey, but they didn’t know about that. They’d have a field day with Mikey, which was why Finn didn’t plan to ever introduce them – because then he’d be angry.

Mikey brushed up against Finn as he reached for a piece on his side, and Finn could have sworn Mikey was closer now, was brushing up against him with increased frequency. He’d know, too – Finn was paying far more attention to Mikey’s proximity than he was the puzzle. Mikey was good at puzzles; Finn was barely functioning. It was embarrassing.

Mikey shuffled closer to Finn and leant against his side. “I’m cold,” he explained.

Finn tentatively wrapped an arm around Mikey and gripped his opposite arm. It was indeed cold, Finn noted with disappointment. Mikey’s story checked out. He snuggled against Finn’s chest and Finn’s mind officially gave up on even pretending to focus on something as trivial as a puzzle. Oh God, he’s touching me, was all it had to say. Mikey had to be able to feel his heart hammering this time.

Mikey had given up on the puzzle too, Finn realised, and his mind struggled to put this information together. Mikey must have been bored. He had a short attention span sometimes. “Uh… did you want to do something else?” Finn asked, concentrating on keeping his voice steady and natural.

Mikey made a noncommittal sound and picked at the fabric covering Finn’s chest. And oh, fuck, Finn hoped he didn’t look down. Erections made things awkward. Surely Mikey was doing this on purpose. Surely he knew…? But Mikey was a very touchy feely kind of guy, and Finn had never quite figured out how aware he was of what could be considered sexual.

When Mikey showed no signs of stopping, Finn decided he’d have to do something. Mikey was going to notice the state he was in sooner or later, and it was better to be honest than have Mikey thinking he was taking advantage of him by enjoying his contact on a level it wasn’t intended to be enjoyed on.

“Uh, Mikey…” Finn said in a hoarse voice. “You might not wanna…”

Mikey looked up at him with a questioning look that was just a little too innocent. “What?” he asked, then wet his lips.

“Uh…” Finn attempted to continue, but his brain was having none of it. Was he over sexualising everything because that’s what he wanted, or was Mikey doing this on purpose?

Mikey started playing with the material at the base of Finn’s shirt, his fingers every now and then making light contact with a small segment of Finn’s bare flesh. It gave Finn goosebumps. Well, Mikey was certainly looking down now, and Finn knew he wasn’t naïve enough to miss the blatant tenting of his pants. Awkward, yes, but Mikey hadn’t ceased touching him. Why…? The muscles in his stomach spasmed and his breath hitched as Mikey’s finger ghosted over the flesh directly under his navel. It was taking a lot of self control not to reciprocate.

“Um…” Finn tried again, but nothing more came out. He knew what he wanted to ask: ‘what are you doing?’ No, no, that wasn’t it – he could see quite plainly what Mikey was doing – why was what he really wanted to know.

Mikey flipped the edge of Finn’s shirt up and ran fingers experimentally over the bare flesh, causing Finn to shudder at the sudden contact. Fuck, he was so hard it almost hurt. If he whacked off in Mikey’s bathroom after this, he decided, it would be justified – Mikey had been asking for it. Yes. Asking for him to jerk off in his bathroom. That was what he was doing. Well, no, Mikey was asking for him to jump his bones, but Finn wouldn’t dare do that.

An entire hand was run along Finn’s stomach and he realised he was gripping Mikey’s arm too hard. He removed his hand, placing it instead on the carpet to brace himself. In that position, leaning back slightly, Mikey had better access. Finn was certain he caught him smiling.

Finn was almost panting as Mikey shuffled as close as he could get without being on top of him and slid both hands under his shirt. Oh God, this was undeniably sexual. Finn sat up slightly so that he could move one arm from holding him up. Slowly, hesitantly, he ran his fingertips across one of the hands that were now caressing his chest. It paused. Mikey’s fingers tangled through his own, causing his heart and something else to leap a little. He caressed the digits of Mikey’s soft hands, then stroked upwards to the back of his hand, his wrist, his arm… he got to Mikey’s shoulder and then moved his hand to the side of Mikey’s chest, just below his armpit.

Finn looked up at Mikey hesitantly only to be surprised by the nervous lust he found there. For some reason, he’d been expecting to get a teasing laugh – not cruel, just that of a boy playing a game. He realised now how serious Mikey was.

“Can I…” Finn swallowed in an attempt to clear the hoarseness from his voice. “Can I kiss you?”

Because there was a distinction, wasn’t there? Teenage boys fooled around with each other all the time, didn’t they? Finn had never done it, but he’d heard about it – guys giving each other handjobs or watching porn together and shit. Sure, Mikey was a bit old for that, but he hadn’t exactly had anyone to experiment with before. Maybe he just needed an outlet.

But there was a distinction, and it lay with kissing. Boys who were just fooling around out of curiosity did not kiss. That was gay. It didn’t matter which route Mikey took – whether he was serious about this or just curious – Finn would do whatever he wanted. It would matter to him later, but for now… for now whatever he got was a blessing.

Mikey replied by kissing him, like he’d required some kind of permission. Not only did he kiss Finn, but he kissed him with enthusiasm. With the two of them completely lacking in experience, the kiss was messy and fumbled, but so eager. Finn was surprised when Mikey pushed him down onto the blanket and straddled his hips. He was a little domineering, Finn was starting to realise.

In all of his imaginings, Finn had formed a vague idea of what Mikey would be like if Finn ever had a chance with him, and it wasn’t like this. When he’d thought about it, Mikey had been hesitant and nervous and Finn had been the one to drive things forward. Now that all his fantasies were becoming reality, Finn was finding he had been very wrong. He was pleasantly surprised.

“W-what do you want?” Finn asked as Mikey pulled his shirt over his head. “I’ll do whatever you want.” Finn made a face as he realised how pathetic those words sounded.

Mikey braced himself on his hands and leant down so he was inches away from Finn’s face. “I don’t know what I want. But I want it badly.”

That was… incredibly hot. It was also simultaneously very encouraging and a lot of pressure. And Finn was no longer wearing a shirt, a fact he was becoming increasingly self conscious of. Not only was he topless, but Mikey was paying quite a bit of attention to his bare flesh – thoroughly examining it with little experimental touches. Finn didn’t even like being shirtless around his family.

But… it wasn’t completely horrible. It made him nervous, but Mikey certainly didn’t seem displeased with what he saw. It was more a look of awe and fascination. Finn found it hard to understand how this was warranted. He could concede that he wasn’t unattractive, and he had a bit of a build from martial arts… but it was fairly unimpressive. Very much average. Even if he considered that Mikey couldn’t see many people, he could see Jude and Ion and Wiley, and they were all in better shape than him. If anything, Mikey should have had high expectations of the attractiveness of the average male.

Mikey was leaning in to kiss him when the necklace he was wearing swung forward to smack Finn in the nose. Mikey giggled and leant back, holding up his index finger; one moment. Mikey sauntered over to his dresser and began removing the various jewels that adorned his body – bracelets, rings and a necklace. And his belt. Finn could have sworn Mikey was making a show of it.

Finn was getting cold. He wanted Mikey’s warm body back. He also wanted his nipples to stop becoming erect because frankly, the erection in his pants was embarrassing enough, and Mikey couldn’t even see that one directly. Then again, it wasn’t as though Mikey himself had been entirely unaffected in that area. Finn bit back a smile. He had to be doing something right.

Mikey continued over towards his moderately impressive sound system, lifting the front of his shirt and clamping it between his teeth to hold it in place on the way. Although Mikey didn’t have much in the way of muscle, he’d definitely grown out of the scrawny stage. Finn had seen Mikey without a shirt on before, though not often. While Finn was shy about his body, Mikey seemed just as confident about his body as he did in everything else. There simply weren’t many excuses for him to take his clothes off. Well, it seemed there was one now, and Finn was getting it all to himself. It was for him. Pathetic or not, he’d never felt so proud of himself.

Mikey was scanning through his large selection of CDs, and Finn was reminded that Mikey’s mum was home. And the door was unlocked. He considered mentioning this, but Mikey just seemed so in control that Finn felt unable to question his actions or lack thereof. He would trust in him to know what he was doing.

He selected a CD and pressed a button on his CD player, causing the tray to eject. He removed the CD already in there and replaced it with his selection. Another button pressed and the tray retracted. Music started to play. Somehow Finn had expected something… different. Something either a kid would listen to or his something his mum would. What was playing, however, was both recent and targeted at their age group.

While he didn’t recognise the song that was playing, it did seem appropriate – moody and not especially poppy, but not emo shit either. Just rock. Finn was too distracted by Mikey’s bare skin to listen to the lyrics. Speaking of which, Mikey had crossed his arms across his chest and gripped part of the hem of his shirt in each hand. He pulled his shirt off over his head.

“I’m cold,” Mikey pouted, a sharp contrast to his increasingly sexual actions.

Somehow, the familiarly of it made Finn smile and relax slightly. He opened his arms in welcome and Mikey beamed, scurrying over and covering Finn’s body with his own, chests pressed close together. Finn wrapped his arms around Mikey, intending to simply hold him against his own body for warmth, but was distracted by the softness of his skin. He ran his hands across Mikey’s bare back and felt him shiver above him. Not from cold.

Finn smiled to himself and traced Mikey’s spine with gentle fingertips. Although Finn couldn’t see Mikey’s face, the effect his touch was having on the boy was clear. Uneven gasps, arousing in their own right, were whispered across his neck and little whimpering sounds found his ears through the music. Mikey squirmed on top of him and bucked downwards suddenly when Finn increased the pressure of his touch and slid his fingers from the top to the very bottom of Mikey’s spine. Finn blushed at the pleasantly surprised sound he made in response.

It wasn’t until Mikey leant further into Finn’s neck and bit down on it that Finn officially gave up on being ashamed of the noises he couldn’t stop himself from making. Fuck it, he had so many more important things to dedicate his attention too. Mikey nibbled at his neck, then sucked the skin into his mouth experimentally. It felt good. Mikey only sucked harder when Finn responded by squirming and bucking against him. It kind of hurt, but in a good way. Definitely a good way.

Mikey drew back and grinned, running his fingers across the mark he’d left. “Not bad.”

Finn’s eyes widened in realisation. Shit, he hadn’t thought about that. “Is it obvious?” he asked anxiously. “Your mum’s totally going to notice…”

Mikey tilted his head to the side, and then shook his head. “It doesn’t matter if she does.”

Finn stared at him in surprise. “Um, I think she’s going to care. And then kill me horribly.”

Mikey chuckled. “She likes you!”

Finn sat up slightly, bracing himself on his arms. “Until I molest her little boy, she likes me!”

Mikey gave him a smile that suggested he thought Finn was being cute, and Finn flushed. “I’m not sure how well a hicky on your neck translates to you molesting her ‘little boy.’”Mikey leant back slightly and his smile became a little distant. “She used to think I was dating Jude.”

Finn gaped. “Jude?” He would have laughed if he wasn’t slightly bothered by someone thinking Mikey was dating someone else, even if he knew it to be unfounded. Not that nobody had ever suggested that the two of them might be an item before, but his mother? That was different.

Mikey nodded exaggeratedly. “More than once, even. And she was all supportive too. It was kind of funny but really awkward and I got the sex talk and condoms even though I denied it. She asked me about Ion, too, if we were together, back before he left.”

Finn considered this. “So your mum thinks you’re a big slut who gets with all his friends?”

Mikey smirked. “Something like that.” He contemplated that for a few seconds. “Well, not really. I mean with Jude I think it was because we’ve always hung out a lot, and for years, and we don’t even have much in common. And Jude, you know… he always took care of me and he’s all protective of his friends and all. I guess she just assumed he was getting something out of it.”

Finn raised an eyebrow. “I… see. And Ion?”

Mikey shrugged one shoulder. “He’s openly gay and we wrestled on our living room floor more than once?” Seeing the awkward, slightly jealous expression on Finn’s face, Mikey hurried to continue. “Anyway, she was all okay with it when she thought it was them, and it would kind of be… well, have you seen those two go at it? It looks dangerous. And Jude sucks at emotional stuff and Ion has a truckload of issues, so I bet she’d be way happy with you.”

The more Mikey reassured him, the more Finn was becoming distracted by Mikey’s half nakedness. When Finn failed to come up with any response but staring at his nipple, Mikey decided without a trace of disappointment that chat time was over.

At first, Finn thought Mikey was going to suck on his neck some more, a slightly scary prospect considering the very blatant marks it would leave, but not one he would prevent. Instead Mikey proceeded to nibble on his earlobes. It was surprisingly arousing. He didn’t cease his onslaught until he had Finn bucking up against him against his conscious will, at which point he withdrew, gave Finn a smug smile and reciprocated the friction. Mikey’s clever seduction methods began to quickly disintegrate after that point, and somehow, that excited Finn more; Mikey had become as lost as he was in the sensations and arousal of the situation.

When he felt a hand fumbling on the button of his jeans, Finn stiffened. That was… that was new. It wasn’t that he didn’t want it, it was just that stupid self consciousness again.

Mikey pulled away from the kiss they were locked in, having noticed Finn’s reaction. His gaze was met with anxious anticipation. “I want…” Mikey murmured and brushed his hand over Finn’s erection in an attempt to communicate his need. Finn gasped at the contact, Mikey’s words having doubled the intensity of it somehow. Mikey wanted his cock? Okay, he could live with that. Mikey put more pressure into his touch and Finn found himself helping remove his own pants. It seemed that the more aroused he got, the less self conscious he felt. As soon as they were done with Finn’s pants, Mikey started removing his own.

Both boys wore satin boxers, but that was where the similarities in their underpants choices ended. While Finn wore plain black, Mikey’s boxers were tie-dyed in rainbow. It would have been distracting were Finn’s brain functional enough to allow for diversions.

Confidence bolstered by Mikey’s consistent encouragement, Finn braved moving a hand to Mikey’s ass. It felt good, covered only in the thin, loose material. Mikey had a good ass – nicely rounded despite his small frame. He certainly didn’t seem upset by Finn touching it.

“Do you know what you want yet?” Finn asked in a raspy whisper.

“Hmm…” Mikey said, a seductive smile playing on his lips. “I’ve got a few ideas.” He grabbed hold of Finn’s hand and guided it to his own crotch.

That was… okay, wow. As Finn wrapped his hand around the outline of Mikey’s cock through his boxers, he felt kind of dirty that he was enjoying it so much. It was kind of an awkward position to be in, with Finn reaching between them to touch Mikey, and after a few moments Mikey rolled off.

For a moment, Finn was disappointed by the loss of Mikey’s weight on top of him, but quickly recovered from it when Mikey moved to lie on his side and ran his fingertips down the middle of Finn’s chest, pausing when he reached his navel. While he did this, he maintained eye contact with Finn, and though it made Finn’s herat beat almost hard enough to hurt, he found he couldn’t look away. Mikey had nice eyes, Finn thought idly; large and round, dark blue. Mikey slowly ran one finger down the trail of hair that led from his navel and disappeared beneath Finn’s boxers. Finn’s breath hitched.

Finn was so hard it almost hurt, and when Mikey’s palm lightly grazed the very obvious bulge in his pants, Finn gasped, his entire body jolting involuntarily. Mikey gently took Finn’s hand and let it drop onto the material covering his own cock, squirming at the contact. And aw, fuck, Finn felt like an idiot – he’d somehow forgotten he was supposed to be doing that. He wasn’t sure how – he liked doing it.

Mikey’s hand lightly encircled Finn’s cock through his boxers at the same time as Finn wrapped his own hand around Mikey’s. Finn allowed Mikey to set the pace, matching it stroke for agonisingly slow stroke. Mikey’s hand paused and Finn gave him a questioning look. Mikey lifted his hips off of the blanket and, shooing Finn’s hand away for a moment, he used his spare hand to slide his own boxers down. Mikey’s cock sprang free.

Something in Finn’s stomach leapt at the sight (something in Finn’s boxers leapt at the sight) and oh fuck, Mikey had a nice cock. It was nicely proportioned and about average size – not bad, considering Mikey himself was considerably smaller than a standard guy his age. Not that Finn had been unable to tell this through the thin material of Mikey’s boxers, but feeling and seeing where two different things. His uncircumcised cock was smooth and straight and flared out nicely at the head, the flushed tint of the tightly stretched skin contrasting dramatically with the paler skin of Mikey’s stomach. Feeling may have been one thing, and seeing another, but Finn found he quite liked both at once.

Finn had a sudden urge to kiss Mikey, and acted upon it, placing his spare hand on the back of Mikey’s head and holding him firmly in place. Mikey twisted so that his chest and face were hovering above Finn, supported by his unoccupied hand on the opposite side of Finn’s body, while his lower half remained rested on one hip beside Finn.

Finn kissed him hard, finding he had gained a lust induced confidence. Though firm, he started slowly, but was soon driven by some instinct to kiss Mikey faster, more passionately. As the pace of the make out increased, so too did that of his hand on Finn’s cock, Finn mirroring the speed on Mikey’s own. Mikey’s lips parted slightly, and Finn took the hint and slipped his tongue into Mikey’s mouth. It was awkward, both of them being completely inexperienced, but as each of their tongue’s moved against the other’s, neither could find it in themselves to care.

Mikey’s hand was all at once removed from Finn’s cock, and Finn made a slight sound of disapproval in the back of his throat – he’d been getting pretty close. A moment later, light contact returned in the form of Mikey fingertips brushing against the top of his shaft. It took Finn a few moments to realise what Mikey was up to, but when he felt Mikey’s fingers brush over the bare skin of his cock, it became pretty clear – he’d undone the button on Finn’s boxers.

Ten minutes ago, Finn might have been embarrassed as Mikey reached into the confines of his boxers and retrieved his cock, immediately resuming the rhythmic stroking with renewed vigour. At least Mikey, too busy enthusiastically kissing Finn, wasn’t looking, but Finn was sure he would sooner or later. Mikey was far too curious not to.

Finn reluctantly broke the kiss to gasp as Mikey’s thumb glided over the head of his cock, the pace of his pumping seeming to increase with every moment that passed. Finn bit down on his lip hard, clenching his eyes shut. He was finding it difficult to concentrate enough to keep even with Mikey’s own rhythm.

“Mikey… ah!” Finn stammered, hoping Mikey could understand it to be the warning it was because he couldn’t manage anything in the way of more complex speech. Whether or not Mikey had interpreted correctly, his pace only sped up, fast enough now to become uneven and causing Finn to shift around where he lay. Finn arched his back, thrusting up desperately into Mikey’s fist. For a few moments, Finn’s mind blanked out, pure pleasure washing over him, engulfing him, his hips jolting up in short, sharp movements until he lay there, sweaty and panting and satiated. Mikey was peppering his lips, cheek, neck with gentle, soothing kisses and Finn realised his own hand had still on Mikey’s cock.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, and Mikey tilted his head to the side, not sure what Finn was apologising for. Finn took a moment to clean himself up with his boxers, not wanting to get anything on Mikey’s blanket, and was distinctly aware of Mikey’s eyes on him, examining the newly revealed area of Finn’s body. Finn tucked his softening cock away, self conscious now that his mind was clearing.

Finn tucked his face into the crook of Mikey’s neck, gently sucking and nibbling on it as he returned his hand to Mikey’s cock. Finn slid his hand up and down Mikey’s shaft, slow and teasing, and Mikey released a frustrated whimper that Finn felt against his lips. Mikey shifted and thrust his hips up, attempting to force an increase in pace, and Finn conceded – teasing may have been fun, but he had a hard time denying Mikey.

Mikey tilted his face towards Finn and his eyes slit open, a small smile on his face as he wet his lips. Finn leant over him and kissed Mikey vigorously, and one of Mikey’s hands looped under the arm Finn was using to support himself and found his ass, his other hand following shortly. Finn was surprised when Mikey’s hands slipped down the back of his boxers, and again when he found himself enjoying the way Mikey was kneading at his ass cheeks.

Mikey’s hands were still on Finn’s ass, one gripping each cheek firmly and desperately while he squirmed, small whimpering sounds escaping his lips. Sensing he was close, Finn increased his speed, studying the marvellous ways Mikey’s face twisted in pleasure.

“Finn!” Mikey cried out, and it wasn’t a warning, it just was. Mikey’s cock became firmer in Finn’s grip and a moment later Mikey’s back arched, his entire body stiffening as he came.

Finn gently slid his hand away, resting on his side and slowly brushing his knuckles down Mikey’s brightly flushed cheek in silent reverence. Mikey lay on his back and stared at the ceiling, panting heavily for a few moments until he’d recovered. He propped himself up with one arm and pulled the hem of his boxers up, wiping himself off, then took them off entirely to give himself a more thorough wipe down. When he was done, he tossed his soiled underpants into a corner. He caught Finn ogling him and gave him a playful smile, causing Finn to look down at his hands in embarrassment.

Resting back down on his side facing Finn, and close enough that they touched lightly at several points, Mikey hooked a thumb under the hem of Finn’s boxers and leant forward to whisper into his ear. “These are dirty.”

Mikey gave Finn’s shoulder a light shove, and Finn took the hint and rolled onto his back. Mikey sat up beside him and unceremoniously tugged Finn’s underpants down and off, then sat back and grinned to himself, eyes raking up and down over Finn’s body. Folding his arms across his chest to allow himself some coverage, Finn blushed and averted his eyes.

“I’m cold,” Mikey announced, repeating his words from earlier. He lay down next to Finn, his head on Finn’s chest and an arm and a leg wrapped tightly around him. Though Finn hadn’t been too keen on his last shred of clothing being removed a moment ago, he had to admit that the extra scrap of skin on skin contact was worth it. He wrapped an arm around Mikey, placing his hand on Mikey’s hip.

He could have fallen asleep like that, Finn thought, if it hadn’t been so cold. Already he could feel goosebumps rising across his skin, evaporating sweat not helping matters in the slightest.

“We should get dressed, or something,” Finn eventually conceded, though none too pleased with the idea. Though he didn’t care too much for his own nudity, he definitely liked Mikey’s, not to mention the sensation of Mikey’s naked body against his own.

“We should wash!” suggested Mikey, and sat up abruptly. He stood and held out a hand to help Finn up, not relinquishing it once Finn was standing but instead using it to guide Finn to a door.

As it turned out, the door led to a sizeable en suite, which included a toilet, basin (Mikey had a purple comb and a lime green toothbrush), a bath (he had a devil rubber ducky and a white one with colourful polka dots. Finn made a note to himself to expand this collection) and a large shower. It was the shower Mikey led him to. Abandoning Finn’s hand, Mikey hummed to himself as he turned the water on and adjusted the temperature, standing clear of the spray until he was satisfied. Taking Finn’s hand, Mikey led him under the shower of water. It was pleasantly warm, not too hot to be uncomfortable against their chilled skin.

Mikey threw his head back, eyes closed, and let the water cascade down across his face, smoothing his dark hair back. He turned his face down again, opening his eyes and blinking against the water that ran into them, and gave Finn a small smile. “I like this,” he said in a soft voice.

“I like it too,” Finn replied as Mikey wrapped arms around his torso, resting his palms lightly cupping Finn’s ass.

“Clearly,” Mikey said with a small smile, looking down between them significantly, Finn noticing he was half hard again already, but there had been no derision in his voice. Finn blushed and looked away, all the same.

Mikey began moving against Finn, grinding his hips up against Finn’s as best he could from their present position. Keeping his hands on Finn’s ass to draw him with him, Mikey backed up until his back hit the wall and pulled Finn’s hips against his own; an invitation. By this point, Mikey was just as hard as Finn.

Finn resolved to do this right. If Mikey wanted him to take charge of the situation, he would. Finn ran his fingers slowly down Mikey’s side, stopping when he reached Mikey’s hips and resting his hands there. Leaning forward, he kissed Mikey, bringing one hand up to cup his face and using the one on Mikey’s hip to pull him against him, at the same time pushing his own hips forward to meet Mikey’s. Finn pressed his lips against Mikey’s kissing him firmly but slowly, taking his time now that the edge had been taken off of their lust.

Spreading his legs slightly to allow for better movement, Finn began to grind his hips against Mikey’s, eliciting satisfying noises from the other boy. Mikey squirmed needily, attempting to grind back and pull Finn against him with the hands on his ass, but Finn held him firmly. Slipping his into Mikey’s mouth, Finn kissed Mikey with greater intensity, one hand stroking back and forth along Mikey’s jaw and the other trailing soft touches down the inside of Mikey’s hip. Mikey whimpered and arched his back.

Had Finn the confidence or skill, he would have sucked Mikey off at that point. As it was, he decided to leave that for another day, well, well into the future, when the edge had worn off of his self consciousness when it came to the other guy. That was, if Mikey ever wanted to do this with him again. That sudden thought gave Finn more determination – he’d make sure Mikey wanted this again. He had to – it would almost be worse to have had this once only to be denied ever having it again.

Finn broke the kiss, nudging Mikey’s head to the side to gain access to his neck, and then sunk his teeth into it just hard enough to elicit a sharp yelp of surprise from Mikey. Sliding one hand up from where it had been desperately gripping Finn’s ass, Mikey applied pressure to the back of Finn’s neck, encouraging the attention Finn was giving to his own in the form of nips, licks and sucks.

Mikey put a hand on Finn’s chest, just to steady himself at first, then gently pushed Finn off him. Finn would have worried he’d done something wrong if not for the playful smile Mikey gave him.

“We’ll never get clean at this rate!” Mikey exclaimed, as if that was a major concern of his. He turned around and squirted some soap onto a sponge. Finn admired his ass.

In fact, he wanted to touch it and he wanted to hug Mikey and he was allowed, wasn’t he? He seemed to be allowed to do whatever he wanted, to a reasonable degree. He stepped behind Mikey and wrapped an arm around him, resting that hand on his chest and placing the other on Mikey’s ass.

Mikey let out a little laugh, surprised but pleased that Finn had taken a little initiative. “Hi.” He tilted his head back and to the side so that he could see Finn’s face. “I like you, too.”

Finn’s heart leaped excessively. Mikey liked everyone! Sure, he had a fairly limited selection when it came to ‘everyone’, but he was the kind of guy who would be perfectly happy to hug a stranger and share his last cookie with them. Besides, Mikey hardly knew Finn. But… he had been aware of who he was right away, hadn’t he? Nobody had needed to tell Mikey. His previous complete lack of knowledge of Finn’s existence was looking increasingly exaggerated.

Mikey pecked Finn on the lips then brandished his sponge. “You need to be washed.”

Finn liked the sound of that – Mikey hadn’t said that Finn needed to wash, he’d said Finn needed to be washed. Finn allowed Mikey to turn around and rub the soapy sponge over his body, across his chest and stomach, obediently raising his arms and turning around when Mikey asked so that Mikey could clean his armpits and back.

Finn tensed in surprised when the sponge was drawn over his ass and Mikey chuckled, sliding it over both cheeks and swiping it down Finn’s crack. Finn gasped and Mikey laughed while turning him around. Mikey handed Finn the sponge and for a moment Finn thought it was his turn to wash Mikey, but Mikey just turned around and squirted out a handful of soap. He returned and applied the soap to Finn’s genitals.

The soap lubricated Mikey’s touch, his hands gliding easily over Finn’s cock with little resistance. It bubbled in his pubic hair. Mikey pulled Finn’s foreskin and washed underneath, the water from the shower and Mikey’s delicate fingertips on the sensitive skin causing Finn to squeeze the sponge in tenuous self control.

Mikey stopped before Finn got too into it, but Finn still had to close his eyes and bite his lip for a moment to reel in his desire to just finish himself off, or perhaps just jump Mikey. He breathed in and out a few times, then went and applied more soap to the sponge. It was Mikey’s turn.

Mikey liked to be touched and he liked attention and Finn enjoyed the little approving sounds he made as Finn wiped the sponge over his body. Mikey looked hot like that, Finn decided, his eyes shut and his head tilted back in pleasure.

Trustingly, Mikey kept his eyes shut while Finn went and got more soap. Finn smiled fondly, then grinned to himself as he applied the soap to Mikey’s genitals before otherwise announcing his presence. Surprise soap to the crotch! Mikey jumped and gasped at the unexpected contact.

Finn wrapped an arm around his waist, resting his palm on Mikey’s ass and buried his fingers in the hair at the base of Mikey’s cock. He ran impatient fingers over Mikey’s balls and perineum, then returned to Mikey’s cock, gripping it firmly. He stroked Mikey up and down, showing none of the delicacy and pretence of washing that Mikey had. Finn was running high on confidence and low on control.

He lifted Mikey easily in his arms and Mikey wrapped his legs around Finn’s body as Finn stepped forward to press him against the wall. Their lips were locked and Finn was thoroughly in control, Mikey’s movement very much restricted by the way Finn held him. He truly did not seem to mind. Finn held Mikey securely and lowered both of them carefully to the base of the shower. He straddled Mikey.

Finn kissed Mikey aggressively as he thrust against Mikey’s writhing, desperate body, their movements slicked by the water. Finn was very glad Mikey had such a spacious shower and he could think of more than a few ways that could benefit him in the future if Mikey were to allow it. Frankly, he didn’t care who was doing what, he just wanted it all.

Mikey gripped Finn’s ass, encouraging the forceful contact and broke the kiss, throwing his head back and opening his mouth. He licked at the drops of water. Mikey smiled when Finn gave him a confused, though endeared, look. “I’m thirsty and we’re surrounded by water.”

“We can get you a glass of water, if you like,” Finn offered with a sly smile, using one hand to grip onto Mikey’s hip and taking full advantage of the increased leverage it allowed him.

Mikey moaned. “I’m good.”

“It doesn’t hurt, does it?” Finn asked, displaying his ever present concern for Mikey. Mikey rolled his head to the side, the closest he could get to quirking his head while lying down, and gave Finn a confused look. “The ground is hard and you’re poorly padded.”

“I’m not fragile,” Mikey said and nipped at Finn’s neck. “Don’t stop or I’ll show you just how badass I am.”

Finn grinned and tucked a handful of damp hair behind his ear. “How about we do this now and you show me your badassery later?”

“You wouldn’t like me when I’m being badass,” Mikey declared, then clamped his eyes shut and tossed his head back. “Oh, fuck…”

It was strange hearing Mikey swear – Finn wasn’t sure he ever had before – but somehow arousing. Then again, at that point everything was arousing. The world was arousing. He moved desperately, needily, his brain no longer in any state to form sentences.

Mikey whimpered and gripped at Finn’s hips, nails digging in but Finn’s didn’t notice or care and it felt so goddamn good and Mikey’s hands moved to his ass and pulled him down hard, insistently. Mikey’s body stiffened and he jerked up against Finn, crying out, and Finn kept moving, couldn’t stop now, kept moving until he let out some embarrassing sound and echoed the motions Mikey had made a moment before.

Finn’s arms gave out and he slumped down on top of Mikey, his head draped over Mikey’s shoulder and forehead resting against the base of the shower. His breathing slowly returned to normal.

“You’re heavy,” Mikey commented after they’d both been lying there a while recovering.

“Oh!” Finn said, quickly climbing off of him. “Sorry.”

Mikey smiled fondly at Finn’s genuinely remorseful expression. “You’re cute.”

“I’m cute?” Finn questioned, pulling Mikey into his lap with a smile.

“Uh huh,” Mikey responded teasingly and burrowed himself into Finn’s chest. “Adorable.”

Finn scooped Mikey up and stood, enjoying how easy it was to move him around due to his small frame. “You’re the cute one, mister,” he said and pecked Mikey on the head as he carried him out of the shower.

“We’re cute,” Mikey compromised as Finn placed him on the shower mat then went to turn off the water. “We can be cute together.”

“Together?” Finn asked, watching Mikey out of the corner of his eye as he fetched a towel.

“Together?” Mikey echoed as Finn wrapped a large lime green towel around his shoulders, but when Mikey said it it sounded like a request.

“I’d like that,” Finn ventured nervously while wiping drops of water from Mikey’s skin with the excessively large towel.

“Me too,” Mikey said, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around Finn. “Together,” he whispered.

Though it had been a little vague, Finn was fairly sure they were dating now. He held Mikey tight against him and allowed himself to grin broadly since Mikey could not see him. He’d have been embarrassed if Mikey had seen just how happy he was about it all. To actually be dating Mikey was better than everything they’d just done. Mikey was his boyfriend.

After sharing the towel to dry each other, Finn wrapped Mikey in it and carried him back into the bedroom. Mikey liked being carried. Finn placed Mikey on his bed and gave him a peck on the cheek before going in search of his clothes. He wasn’t terribly embarrassed about being naked anymore, it simply wasn’t a comfortable state for him. Plus it was fucking freezing.

Finn toed at his soiled boxers. “Hmm.” He frowned. “I forgot about that.”

“You can borrow some of mine!” Mikey exclaimed, leaping out from under the blanket he’d buried himself under to defend himself from the cold and going over to his chest of drawers. “You’re a bit bigger than me, but I think they’ll fit you anyway because they’re pretty stretchy.”

Finn smirked and went to join him. “You’re actually letting me borrow your underpants?”

“I’m a great sharer.” Mikey pulled out a pair of blue satin boxers. “Here! Try them.”

Finn took them from Mikey and slipped them on. They fit. “Thanks,” Finn said awkwardly.

Mikey waved it off and shot Finn a sly smile as he slipped on some clean boxers of his own. Purple. “I like you wearing my underwear.”

Finn raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure if that’s kinky or not.”

Mikey wrapped his arms against Finn, tugging on Finn’s hair to get him to dip his head down and then kissing him with gusto for several seconds. Mikey broke the kiss. “I’d be kinky if I had kinkier underwear. How about a thong? I could get you a thong.”

Finn laughed. “Uh, no. ‘Wear a thong’ is on the short list of things I will not do for you.”

“Leather or PVC?” Mikey mused. “We could totally do a theme, a slave master thing.”

Finn smiled and lifted Mikey under the arms, half dragging him to their blanket on the floor. “Oh yeah? Who would be the slave and who would be the master?”

Mikey tilted his head to the side in contemplation. “Well, we could take turns. I’m pretty versatile. Though I’d look pretty hot in a collar…”

Oh, fuck, he would too, Finn thought as his mind was barraged with images. “Uh, yeah.”

“We could do bondage, too,” Mikey suggested, amused by Finn’s reactions to his more kinky suggestions, both when he found the ideas appealing and when he did not. “Not like the totally hardcore stuff with gags and slings and whatever, just a bit of rope. Back to basics, you know? No need to over do it.”

“You are very strange,” Finn commented, rather surprised that Mikey seemed so knowledgeable in the area of BDSM. Finn wondered what he’d been looking at on the internet.

“Ooh, role play!” Mikey exclaimed. “I want to be a pirate! Can I be a pirate? You can be one too, if you like. Maybe I could be a cabin boy.”

“I’m a bad actor,” Finn informed Mikey. It was true – he’d done terribly when he’d had to take drama class when it was mandatory in his first year of high school.

“That’s just because you’re shy,” Mikey said. He smiled. “You seem to be able to become not shy pretty fast.”

“Yeah, well…” Finn trailed off, burying himself under the blanket in embarrassment.

Mikey was opening his mouth to respond when there was a knock on his door.

Mikey stood up and turned down the music, then tightened his face in concentration and stared at the door for a few moments. Finn knew this was his way of ‘changing modes’ so that he could see and hear his mother. “Yeah?” Mikey asked eventually.

“I’m ordering the pizza now. What do you boys want?” Mikey’s mum asked through the door. Then Mikey went over and opened it.

Mikey’s mum couldn’t see Finn from where she was standing just outside the door due to the angle, but Finn burrowed under the blanket anyway. Not that she wouldn’t have a fairly clear idea of what they’d been up to regardless – Mikey was wearing nothing but his boxers and had damp hair. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck.

“You know what I like on my pizza,” Mikey told her. “We should get garlic bread. And those ice creams they have. Oh! And Mountain Dew!”

“What would you like, Finn?” she asked him and she still sounded so nice but surely, surely she’d pieced it together. She must have!

What did Finn want? Mostly, at that moment, he wanted to die. “Um, Meat Lovers?”

Mikey snickered and Finn blushed. Die, die, he would like to die. Maybe he would. Maybe Mikey’s mum was just waiting until there were no witnesses.

“Anything to drink?” she asked, and shit, how could she act so normal? Her son was hanging out with another guy and wasn’t wearing a shirt! Or pants! They didn’t even have the excuse that it had been hot, because it really, really was not.

“No, thanks,” Finn said, hoping she would just leave. After that, she did.

Mikey started laughing as soon as she’d left the room. “You are so cute.”

“I’m not cute!” he denied. “You could have at least put on clothes first. Made it less obvious that I’d gotten you all naked and stuff.”

“Aww,” Mikey said, crawling under the blanket and hugging Finn. “I may be small, but I’m not a little boy. She’s probably just glad that I have such a great guy to give me snuggles.”

“She’s going to cut up me up and hide the pieces in the walls,” Finn mumbled into his knees.

Mikey laughed. “Let’s get dressed. Pizza will be here soon.”

Once he had his clothes on, Finn felt a little better. More secure. He touched the hicky on his neck gingerly. Oh well, it would hardly reveal anything that hadn’t already been obvious, would it?

“Stop being so cute or I’m going to have to ravish you again,” Mikey said, perching a hand on one hip.

“I’m pretty tired, pretty hungry, but… I wouldn’t say no.”

“You’re insatiable.” Mikey wrapped his arms around Finn’s waist and tucked the fingers of one hand down the back of his pants.

“No, I’m pretty sated,” Finn countered. “You’re just irresistible.”

There was a ‘ding-dong’ sound and Mikey’s smile broadened. “Doorbell! Pizza!” He started towards the door then paused. Mikey turned around and walked to his dresser, sorting through a few things on top before letting out a sound of triumph. He brought something over to Finn, then tied it around Finn’s wrist.

Finn examined it. He’d seen Mikey wearing this before – it was black cord with black and white beads woven through it, interspersed with skull-shaped beads. “This is yours,” Finn said.

Mikey shook his head and grinned. “It’s yours now, so everyone will know you belong to me. Come on!”

Finn allowed himself to be led towards the door. “I don’t think most people will get the association. Perhaps I could wear a badge, or a sign. Maybe one of those ‘property of’ labels.”

Mikey grinned at him and opened the door. “We could get you a shirt. Or a tattoo!”

“What, ‘Property of Mikey’?” Finn suggested.

“Yeah!” Mikey exclaimed. “Right across your ass!”

Finn blushed. Mikey’s mum had been in view by that point, and yeah, she’d heard. Finn could tell. She gave him a pitying smile and Finn glanced away, embarrassed.

“We shall eat like kings!” Mikey announced, opening the boxes to find his pizza. He tried to take the garlic bread, too, but scorched his fingers. Finn pressed Mikey’s fingers to his lips and kissed them before he remembered that Mikey’s mum was right there. He shuffled awkwardly and tried to pretend he hadn’t just done something weird.

Mikey’s mum left them alone to watch TV in the living room while they ate, and Finn was grateful. As much as she seemed to be genuinely very nice and not at all murderous, he felt incredibly awkward around her. He wanted her to like him, and he doubted engaging in sexual acts with her son was the best method of achieving that particular goal.

“Can we watch Mulan?” Mikey asked Finn, giving him puppy eyes.

“We can watch whatever you like,” Finn said, opening the box to examine his pizza.

“Cool.” Mikey started humming, and Finn suddenly remembered something.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Finn asked, and then continued when Mikey gave him a confused look. “With the Mulan song, the whole ‘I’ll make a man out of you’.” Finn’s voice was intentionally lowered so that Mikey’s mum would not overhear. “You little tease.”

Mikey smirked. “I admit nothing! Maybe I just like Disney. I do like Disney.”

The movie was about half way though and they had finished eating when Mikey’s mum came in. Finn felt a little nervous about the fact that he was snuggled up so closely to Mikey on the sofa. She stood and watched the movie, leaning on the arm of the sofa, for several awkward moments.

“Finn,” she said after a while, and Finn looked up guiltily. Mikey didn’t seem to have noticed her presence. “I’m really glad that you and Mikey are together. I wanted you to know that. I know you really like him and he really likes you, and I think you’ll be great together.”

Finn glanced at Mikey, but Mikey was still completely focussed on the movie. Finn felt like he should say something, but couldn’t think what. Besides, Mikey would notice if Finn said anything.

“Mikey has a lot of limitations. I was really worried that he wouldn’t find anyone who was right for him. I’m sure you’re just as happy about it as he is, but… Thank you. I want him to be happy, and you make him happy.” She winked at Finn. “Don’t worry.”

And then she left, and Finn wondered if he should have said something, or if she had intended for Mikey to be unaware that she’d spoken to Finn. It was a relief, though – she’d told him pretty much the same things Mikey had, but he couldn’t really believe that she didn’t mind until he’d heard it directly from her. All she wanted was for her son to be happy and healthy, and as long as she was confident in those two things, she wanted him to live his own life.

Finn pulled Mikey to him and kissed him, gentle but deep, and Mikey didn’t care that his mouth was too occupied to sing along with the characters on TV.