*Special thanks to StMatthew1968, PeacefulDaydream, Murdock Calavicci, and TexasRose. Enjoy another sweet Peter/Mike flashback chapter. There will be a few of these as one of my head-canons is that Peter was the one who got through to Mike.*

Peter sat on the balcony, overlooking the sea. The continuous sound of the waves coming in and going back out made him feel at ease. He smiled. It was still dark outside but the familiarity of the surroundings was still so comforting.

He always loved to watch the sunrise. Ever since he was a kid, he liked to slip out into the backyard every morning he could watch it. He didn't have the greatest view back then, it was always blocked by houses or trees. But that didn't matter to Peter, the whole sky would still turn pretty shades of pink, orange, and yellow. Nothing could block its essence. He didn't need a front-row seat to appreciate how beautiful it was.

One of the first mornings in the beach house, he tried to be as quiet as possible as he went out to the balcony. He hadn't seen a sunrise in a while. It was only when he couldn't sleep or when he was worried about something that he'd go out. This was one of those mornings. He sat on the balcony and looked out over the water. Sunrise on the beach, what could possibly be better than that?

"Mornin' shotgun." A tired voice said behind him, starling him.

"Oh, Mike." He jumped, "did I wake you up? I'm sorry."

He turned to face Mike and couldn't help but smile at what he saw. He had never seen him like this before. He was wrapped up in a robe and his hair was sticking up in a hundred different directions. He looked...pretty silly, Peter had to admit. If it weren't for the coffee mug in his hands, he would've guessed the Texan had just rolled out of bed.

"'S okay. I was already up."

"Well, I was going to watch the sunrise, if you want to join me...?"

Honestly, Peter was nervous about asking this. Over the weeks, Micky and Davy had tried to convince him to join them in their activities but he would always turn them down. Davy had already given up, explaining that he was just a "recluse" and couldn't be bothered with them. Micky hadn't given up, but had been failing enough times, eventually deciding it would be best to give him space instead.

"He'll warm up to us eventually," he explained with a sigh.

Peter had never asked Mike to join him in anything before and he became nervous about if he'd get upset. He was playing out the worst scenarios in his head, mentally slapping himself for making that offer, before he saw Mike's face.

He looked more confused and uncomfortable than upset. He looked at Peter for a minute, opening his mouth to say something, before he shook his head and his eyes darted to the ground.

"Why?" He asked softly.

"Well, you're up. You're already here, and I just thought-"

"No, I mean, why do y'all bother?" Peter frowned at the question, but didn't respond. "We barely know each other. Why waste your time on me?"

Did he really feel that? Peter wondered as he stood up, slowly walking over. Mike still had his head down low in shame.

"Can you look at me, please?" He asked and Mike complied, looking up to face Peter. For a split second, he thought he saw tears in his eyes.

"Michael, we can't get to know each other if you don't let us. That's why I'm wasting my time on you. Because I want to know you. The guys do too. You're worth more that-"

"But I'm not! That's the thing!" he snapped, stepping backward. "I'm nothing, nobody. I'm not worth your time. You're just wasting your efforts on nothing!"

Peter softened a little but took a step back too.

"I don't know who told you that, but it's not true. And anyways, it's in the past." He walked over and brushed off a cushion on another chair. "Please, just sit, and we can talk."

To his surprise, Mike took a deep breath and sat in the chair. Peter smiled a little before returning to his own. He took a moment to find the right words before he spoke.

"Michael, I really hope you know that we're doing this because we care about you. We want to include you, we want to be close to you. Not because we want to hurt you or take advantage of you or anything like that. But I always feel better when I watch the sunrise. It's like all my worries and stress are left behind in the darkness, gone. The new day starts and we're all back at to the beginning again..."

He drifted off when he saw that Mike was smiling, gazing at the sky. Peter was getting through to him! But as soon as it came, the smile was gone the second Mike felt eyes on him.

"It's okay, Mike." He said softly as the sky began to lighten. "I promise, it'll be okay. I don't know what you went through but you don't have to worry about that now."

"Thanks." He whispered, still not facing Peter.

Peter beamed and turned to watch the sky too. He was ecstatic and couldn't help it. As the sun rose, something else came too. He didn't know how to explain it. It was a sense of security and hope. A connection.

Mike sighed a deep breath and looked around.

"It sure is pretty."

"Yeah, it is." Peter glanced over back at Mike and grinned. He just looked so...peaceful. "Maybe we should do this again sometime?"

"Yeah, maybe."