"JOHNNY!" Johnny pulled out his headphones and walked into the kitchen where the yell had come from.
"What do you want Paige?" Johnny asked before even entering the kitchen. Briggs was grabbing beers out of the fridge while Charlie leaned against the kitchen counter drinking her own Miller Lite. Paige didn't even bother glancing over her shoulder at him before heading out the door. Charlie
Turning his attention to Johnny rather than the beers he had been grabbing, Briggs questioned "Hey, we're all down on the beach with a campfire, you coming?"
"Where's Mike?" Charlie asked, looking directly at Johnny.
Johnny simply shrugged in response, so Charlie turned to look at Briggs, raising an eyebrow in question.
"Hey if he didn't know," Briggs gestured towards Johnny with the couple of beers he was holding, "then I don't know."
Charlie chuckled before snatching two of the beers from Briggs and heading outside to join Paige ad Jakes.
"What the hell did she mean by that?" Johnny asked.
Briggs's only response was a hardly hidden smirk before grabbing his bottle of rum and moving towards the door, but before he got outside he looked back at Johnny. "You coming?"
"Oh I was gonna wait for Mike."
Shaking his head slightly and laughing, Briggs made his way down to the beach.
Fortunately, Johnny only needed to wait five minutes before he heard Mike enter the front door.
"Yo, Mikey, where ya been?"
Mike walked into the kitchen and sat down heavily in the stool next to Johnny. "With Bello. He made me watch another western."
"What you don't like cowboys, Mikey?"
Glancing at Johnny, Mike chuckled slightly before answering, "No. Not at all. Especially after tonight."
There was silence for a minute or two while Mike just sat and stared at his hands as Johnny watched him. "Are you okay, Mike?"
There was a slight hesitation before Mike nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine."
Though it wasn't exactly a convincing answer, Johnny decided to agree. "Well good. 'Cause everyone's out at the campfire."
Mike looked at Johnny. "Oh. Why aren't you down there?"
Johnny grinned widely. "Waiting for you, of course."
"Oh of course." Mike smirked. "Thanks, Johnny."
"Let's go!" Johnny said excitedly, jumping from his own stool and walking to the door before noticing that Mike wasn't following.
"I'll, uh, meet you down there."
Johnny paused. "Oh, alright."
"Gonna change," Mike explained, gesturing awkwardly toward the general vicinity of the stairs.
"Hurry up then, Mikey!" and with that Johnny was out the door.
After swapping his flannel shirt for a blue hoodie and his boots for sandals, Mike went to join the rest of the Graceland gang.
"Mikey, over here!" Johnny shouted, waving him over. Mike smiled and crossed through their circle to sit on the sand between Johnny and Jakes, but significantly closer to Johnny - so close their knees were touching.
"Listen up, folks, listen up!" Johnny proclaimed. "So, have I got a story for you guys. I went surfing this morning with Mikey here and, ya know, being the generous and great friend that I am, I decided to give a few pointers, right? So anyway, I'm showing him some stuff and I bet him he can't catch this wave that's coming. So he paddles out, stands up - has the nerve to turn around and freakin' grin that dopey ass grin of his at me - before catching this wave! No way in hell did I think he was gonna be able to do that - but he totally cut right in front of this other dude trying to ride that wave. This dude is pissed though, right? So the dude leaps off his board and tackles Mike, dragging him under! Then he gets back on his board and just paddles away, calm as ever, while Mikey's trying - and failing - to get back on his board. But get this - the angry dude was like 60 years old, man!"
Mike blushed through the laughter and chorus of "No ways!" and sarcastic "Atta boy, Mikey" comments. Johnny swung his arm around Mike's shoulders casually and Mike flushes a deeper shade of red.
"Why do you have to tell people that story?" Mike asks accusingly, but the smile is still firmly on his face.
"You didn't like my story? I'm wounded, Mikey."
"It's embarrassing."
"No, what's embarrassing is getting taken down by a man old enough to get discounts for being a senior citizen," Briggs interjected.
"Oh lay off the poor kid," Charlie said.
"Yeah, what's really embarrassing is Paige's new boyfriend," Jakes commented.
"He is not my-"
"The guy's got this bleached hair and these gold chains that he wears with his dirty wife beater," Jakes continued, ignoring Paige's protests. " He's like the not-so-slim-shady."
"Laugh all you want gentlemen and lady, I'm going to be getting free drinks for life," Paige retorted.
"But at what cost, girl?" Charlie remarked.
While the teasing continued, Johnny turned his attention back to Mike. "I don't think you getting knocked off your board by some old dude is embarrassing."
"You don't?" The doubt was evident in Mike's voice.
"No, man. It's cute."
"Speaking of couples!" Paige announced, cutting Jakes off mid-taunt. "Let's talk about you and the kid, Johnny."
"What?" Johnny asked, his eyebrows raised in confusion and surprise.
"What? We all know what's going on with you two," Paige stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"What!" Johnny repeated, even more shocked, at the same time Mike said, "No!"
Paige's jaw dropped. "Oh, come on!"
"It's okay, no one's judging," Charlie added nonchalantly.
"But we're not -"
"Yes you are," Paige stated matter-of-factly. "People who aren't couples don't do those sort of things, boys."
"What? Like what?" Mike asked her.
"They don't look at each other the way you two do."
"Oh that's you're evidence? A look?" Johnny scoffed.
"Not just that," Paige continued. "They don't share meals and stay up late talking and say 'I love you' when the other person leaves- "
"Or fall asleep on each other on the couch," Charlie added.
"Or sit so close that a sheet of paper can't fit between them," Paige said laughing.
"Jakes, help a brother out!" Johnny shouted.
"The only 'helping a brother out' I'll be doing is telling my brother," Jakes paused, gesturing to Johnny, "to get his head out of his ass."
"What! Briggs -"
"Hey, hey I'm with the girls and chocolate Jesus on this one. You're on your own, Johnnyboy."
"You all are messed up!" Johnny said while the others laughed. "Come on, Mike. Who needs 'em?" Johnny stood up, reaching a hand down to pull Mike to his feet. The two made their way down the beach and walked a little ways along the water. They stare at the water for awhile before heading back toward the others. They almost get there when Mike stops.
"Everything okay?"
Mike doesn't speak, just nods.
"Yeah? That why you suddenly stopped walking?"
"Are we?"
"Are we what, Mikey?"
"A couple."
"What? No!" Johnny paused and wiped his face with his hand before looking back at Mike. "I mean…I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"No! Do you know?"
"No."
"Do you…do you want to be, Mike?"
"I don't know."
Johnny waits for a minute, seemingly debating with himself. He crosses the distance between himself and Mike in three steps. He doesn't wait at all before placing grabbing Mike's waist and pulling him closer until their bodies are flush against each other. He moves one hand up to grip the back of Mike's head before kissing him. It's Mike who hesitates this time, but the hesitation last but a few seconds before Mike is eagerly pressing his lips against Johnny's.
Cat calls from the other Graceland occupants break the two from their reverie and Mike pulls away slowly, a huge grin forming on his face.
"We should get back," Mike suggests, not moving his hands from Johnny's chest where they had come to tangle in his shirt during their kiss.
"Yeah." The two broke apart and Johnny grabbed Mike's hand, pausing to make sure it was alright. Upon seeing Mike's smile, he gripped harder his hand harder.
They rejoin the group of misfits and though it seemed impossible, they managed to sit even closer together. Johnny again had his arm slung around Mike's shoulders and as Jakes filled the others in on his progress with the bird smugglers, Mike moved slightly to rest his head on Johnny's shoulder. The night continued, each member regaling the others with stories, except for Mike who had fallen asleep almost instantly after his head hit Johnny's shoulder. The fire dwindled to a low burn and it was decided to go inside when Briggs stepped into his papa bear role, telling Johnny they needed to get to bed because the FBI members had a drug deal in the morning.
"But you might wanna wake your boyfriend up first," Briggs commented, looking down at Mike.
Johnny shook Mike's shoulder gently, quietly saying, "Come on, Mikey. Time for bed."
Mike yawned and blinked his eyes a couple of times before his surrounding came into focus.
"He is so cute," Paige commented, smiling at Mike.
"Like a kitten," Charlie added.
"Careful, he's Johnny's," Jakes warned.
"Damn straight."
"You know, I'm happy for you two, but the walls are thin and if I ever hear the both of you getting it on, you'll be doing all the chores for a year," Briggs threatened.
"Oh no promises, Briggs," Johnny retorted, ducking out of the way when Briggs swatted at him with a towel.