Peter glanced at his watch as he trudged back uphill towards the pad. He had been gone for three hours, hopefully that was enough time for Daisy to have made her exit. Peter was also hopeful that Mike had not noticed that he had left but on the other hand wanted Davy to have realized he had.

Peter had went to his favorite thinking spot on the beach, the one he had visited so many times before to contemplate his thoughts with the ocean. It hadn't steered him wrong yet. He discovered that Davy was becoming less and less attractive to him with every waiver of responsibility and uncertainty about what he actually wanted.

Was the initial high of the relationship worth the pain it was causing now? Peter still wasn't so sure. He needed to speak up now. This had all been about what Davy wanted and what would make Davy more comfortable. But at what expense? It was making Peter feel horrible. Like he was second. He didn't want to be second. If Davy's heart was not in this anymore then Peter didn't want it a minute longer. Peter decided that he was the most important person to himself and he ought to start treating himself as such.

He steadied himself on a wooden crate outside the window and lifted himself back inside. Peter climbed in backward and staggered onto the lumpy mattress below. He turned expecting to see Davy waiting with his puppy dog eyes to have a heart-to-heart, but instead he came face to face with a better rested Micky lounging on Davy's bed.

"What are you doing in here?" Peter asked exasperated.

"Checking on you."

"What?"

"Mike asked me to check on you, and you weren't here so I couldn't leave until I did my job."

"How long have you been waiting in here?"

"Does it matter? Not long enough for Mike to come and see what I'm doing. Where did you go anyway?"

"Just to the beach, that's all."

"But why?...Oh, I know! It's because Davy's girlfriend was here. It was hard to see him two days in a row making kissy faces with her when it should be with you."

Peter's body tensed up. "Get out, Micky."

Micky put his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine. Just a heads up though, I think she is about to leave so you're in the clear. I won't breathe a word of this to anyone. Your secrets safe with me."

Peter couldn't help himself, "Wait."

Micky stopped and turned around looking intrigued. "Yes?"

"How was…um…" Peter rubbed his hand on the back of his neck, "How was he acting with her?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, was he attentive, stand-offish, all over her…"

"Oh, oh right, gotta scope out the competition" Micky winked.

Peter rolled his eyes.

"Okay, okay, not in the mood. He was like he always is with girls. You know, arm around her; talking, laughing, kissing, blah, blah, blah."

Peter's eyes widened. "So like he actually likes her and wants to be with her."

"As far as I can tell. Sorry Pete, looks like this one is for real."

Micky closed the door and Peter collapsed onto the bed. A million thoughts raced through his mind. That uncomfortable act must have been just that, an act for Peter's benefit. Davy had to make it look like he was disinterested in the girl and as soon as Peter left he was back to his old tricks. Peter should have known better. Once a flirt always a flirt. How could Peter have thought that Davy would change just for him? Peter braced himself for the conversation that was about to take place.

Peter hadn't even fully braced himself when the door slowly opened again and a distraught Davy entered.

"Peter, I'm…"

"…sorry. Didn't know she was going to be here?" Peter interrupted. "Yeah you said that last night too."

"So you don't believe me?"

"Oh, I do believe you. What I can't believe is that you're making me go through this. I am being put through the wringer emotionally by sharing you with others and then having to watch it. And for what? So you don't have to be uncomfortable with your sexuality."

Davy was silent. He was staring at the ground and Peter was sure that either he didn't know what to say or that he was going to let Peter say what he had to say. Either way, Peter was going to keep talking.

"You claim to love me and you keep making these promises about how things are going to be. I'll admit the times I spend with you alone are amazing, but those in between times, those times when there's a noticeable female shaped wedge in the relationship those are difficult to swallow. Did you even notice that you broke every stipulation that was made regarding you having female relationships?"

It was true. Davy was the one that encouraged Peter to make parameters to him seeing women in order to keep himself accountable. Davy had broken the first rule with Peter's hesitant consent of seeing the same girl more than once by having a girlfriend. Then Davy had inadvertently broken the third rule by having his girlfriend show up at their house. Micky had said there was intimacy, although Peter couldn't be sure to what degree. But the thing that stung the most was the fact that this was a past girlfriend. And not just any past girlfriend, it was the one that Davy had seemed the most serious about.

Peter waited for an answer this time. Davy held out for a moment either trying to gather his thoughts or to make sure Peter was actually done. He sighed and looked up towards Peter. His eyes were welling up with tears.

"I'm having a hard time knowing what to say," he began. "You're right; I did disrespect your wishes and break all those stipulations."

"It's isn't even about disrespecting my wishes as much as you wanted me to make those. It was a collaborative effort between us. And it seemed like it meant something to you."

"It did mean something to me," Davy protested as he made gestures between the two of them, "This means more than something to me."

"Then why her? Why choose someone that I know you've had feelings for? Why not some random girl you met the day before?"

Davy's shoulders slumped like he was not mentally prepared to answer that question even though he knew it would be coming. "Honestly, it all happened so fast. I saw her when I was out on one of my other dates. We got to talking and she was asking why I disappeared when we had been having such fun together. I didn't have an answer for her that wouldn't involve my roommate's unrequited love. She asked if we could rekindle and I was looking for a girlfriend, so I thought what harm could it do."

"The harm of being detrimental to our relationship."

"I didn't think anyone would ever know who it was."

"Oh well, that makes it justifiable. You were planning on just hiding and lying about things," Peter was laying the sarcasm on thick.

"No, that's not it at all. It was a quick fix to something and it would have been such a short time that it wouldn't have mattered. Do you think I chose her so I could fall for someone else?"

Peter had to admit that he did. "I mean, yeah. What would you have thought?"

"I guess I can't answer that, because I've never been in that position. I swear though that was not my intention."

"You could have fooled me. Micky just told me how you were acting with her. Like a real couple."

"Well, I couldn't treat her like trash here, could I? Our cover would have been blown in front of Mike."

"Your cover would have been blown, not mine. I'm done with the sneaking around and have been since before this fake girlfriend business."

"Fine, I'm still uncomfortable with them knowing. And I know your patience is wearing thin down to the core."

"Oh it is worn out already. It seems that you thought that I was stronger than I actually am. I'm human and someone can only take so much before their ready to call it quits."

"You're ready to call it quits?"

"Things sure as hell aren't working like this. I don't want someone who isn't all in. Someone who walks away so easily."

"I'm not walking away," Davy stated with grit and determination in his voice. "I already told you I'm not giving up on this, even when things are difficult."

"We haven't even become anything yet. You keep saying you're not in a rush. She is more of a staple in your life than me at this point. She's your partner; I'm someone to have fun with."

They were both quiet for some time taking in the information of the situation, thinking about the next move. Peter didn't know if he could take this anymore, the promises, the lies, and the torture that was loving Davy Jones. It was overwhelming. He was ready to throw in the towel. He had wanted this for so long, but it didn't seem worth it anymore.

His thoughts were broken. "Is that what you want? To be exclusive?"

"It's more than that. I want to be in the relationship, not for the title, for what it represents. That you and I are a partnership, through the difficulties and the storms we work together to make each other the best versions of ourselves. I want to be yours and I want you to be mine. That's very different from the uncertainty that it has been."

Davy nodded and walked from the door that he had been fixated in front of and sat on his bed so that he and Peter were knee to knee. He took Peter's hands in his. "I want that too."

Peter's heart began to flutter and at the same time skepticism crept in with all the harm that could come his way. "I want it, but I'm afraid that I'm just going to end up being let down like I have been."

"I can understand that and if we don't try you'll never know."

"We've been trying this and the track record hasn't exactly been the greatest."

"Hmm, I can't argue with that," Davy said standing up. He reached his hand back out to lift Peter up. "Actions speak louder than words, right?"

Peter nodded in agreement.

"Okay, come with me as a united front to tell Micky and Mike that we are a couple."

Peter was floored. Moments ago Davy was talking about how he was not ready to out them and now he was making a grand gesture. Davy was standing before Peter, arm outstretched, to move forward with things like Peter had been wanting. Reluctantly he placed his hand in Davy's and let him pull him up.

"How are we going to do this?"

"Together."

"Oh my gosh, this is new information!" Micky attempted to sound surprised but failed miserably.

Mike, Peter, and Davy all gave him an eye roll.

"How and when did this all happen?" Mike's stammered.

"It's a long story and I think it would answer most of your questions as to some of the occurrences between the two of us," Davy explained.

"Can't we just fast forward through this montage of the past to catch Mike up to speed?" Micky asked. "I mean the reader does already know."

Two minutes of talking later…

"Ah, it all makes a lot of sense now," Mike said after he was caught up to speed. "I didn't know anyone could talk that fast. I do have some concerns though."

"Of course, why wouldn't you," Micky teased as he dodged Mike's hand.

"What if something happens in the relationship? What would that mean for your friendship and professional relationship?"

"Truthfully, we haven't even thought about that. I figure we will cross that bridge if and when we get to it. We will remain respectful to the group and not let petty differences destroy things for everyone. That's not my style," Peter replied.

"We can be adult enough about things to admit wrongdoing and work through things amicably," Davy added.

"I sure hope so. I don't care what you two do together just don't let it affect yourselves like it has before and we'll all be square."

"I on the other hand do care what you two do together," Micky declared. "I think that sharing a room with your new boyfriend is against house rules."

"This house has no rules," Mike reminded him.

"Shh, shh Mike. Now I propose that we change up the room arrangements so that we can help keep you two virtuous."

In response, Davy and Peter looked at each other, turned around, and walked into their room shutting the door and locking it.

"Don't come crying to Micky when someone ends up pregnant. I'm not raising a baby. They are going to sully their good names."

Mike sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Firstly, guys don't get pregnant. Second, no one would ever trust you to raise their child. And third, don't you think they've potentially already done…that."

Micky's mouth dropped. "Well now I'm thinking about it and it's going to take a lot to get that image out of my head!"

Back in the bedroom, Peter and Davy were ready to begin where they had left off before Mike and Micky had returned from that trip. Both had felt the tension of not being able to freely express themselves together without the fear of being found out or exhaustion or frustration being present.

"What do you want to do?" Peter said as his thumb caressed Davy's cheek.

"I thought we'd start here," Davy said coyly as he brushed his fingertips across Peter's lips before pressing them together. They both bumped into the door from the intensity.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Micky called from the other room.