Bart POV

Milhouse sits next to me in the treehouse. I cup his cheek with my hand, he leans in closer to me, I close my eyes and RING!

My eyes shoot open. I switch off my alarm clock.

I close my eyes trying to continue the dream, but there's no point.

Wait, I had a dream about Milhouse.

I groan.

I have a crush on Milhouse. How did I not see this before, it seems so obvious to me now.

And I have to see him tomorrow.

~Later that day~

I throw a ball for Santa's Little Helper and he runs after it. Lisa walks outside holding Snowball II.

"Hey, Bart. I kinda need to tell you something."

"Uh, yeah, I also have something to tell you."

We sit down under the tree.

"Last year, I had a girlfriend." Lisa said.

"What? Why didn't you tell me? And who?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I was scared. And it was Addy, remember her?"

"Yeah, I remember. What happened?"

Lisa tells me about Addy, how they got together and why they broke up and that she's pansexual.

I hug her. "I'm so sorry, Lise."

"Thank you. What did you want to tell me?"

"I have a crush on someone." I said.

"Who?" Lisa said.

"I don't wanna say." I said blushing.

"Come on, Bart, tell me, please."

"It might be Milhouse." I said looking like a tomato.

Lisa stifled a laugh.

"Hey, don't judge." I said, playfully punching her arm.

MILHOUSE POV

(A/N: Milhouse's parents aren't divorced yet in this fic)

I haven't heard from Bart in days.

Did I do something wrong? Has he moved on from me?

No, Bart cares about me.

I hear faint yelling from the other room. My parents. I read my clock, it states 10:30. They probably think I'm asleep.

I sneak to the front door and the hinges slightly creak open and closed.

I walk to Bart's house. I hesitantly climb up the treehouse and crawl onto the branch, the rough bark under my fingers, the slippery leaves, the smell of wet grass. I knock on the cool, smooth glass of Bart's window. I knock twice more. A shuffling of bed sheets and footsteps and grumbles come from the room. Bart looks through the window and pulls it open with a squeak. He is wearing plaid pj shorts and a band t shirt. He looks at me curiously and a slight sprout of pink forms on his cheeks and ears. "Milhouse, what are you doing here?" He asks.

"My parents, they're fighting again. I'm sorry, Bart." I say with tears starting to roll down my cheeks. Bart takes my arm and tugs me inside his room. He puts his arms around me in a warm embrace. I sob softly into his shoulder. He pulls us to his bed and we sit, hugging, on the side.

"Milhouse, it's gonna be ok." Bart says with a slight teary voice, pulling away and looking deeply into my eyes.

"But Bart, all they've been doing is fighting. The other day, both of them came to pick me up and they made me decide who to go with. And they were only using me in their stupid competition of who is better. Sometimes I wonder if they actually care about me at all."

"I care about you. You'll always have me." Bart said. It was strange, I've never seen this side of Bart.

"Th...thank you." I said, with the tears reappearing.

"Why don't you stay here for the night?"

"Yeah, thanks. I'll leave my parents a message."

I take my phone out of my pocket and text them.

I tiptoe on the on green carpet to the bathroom. I open the tap. The water hisses as it flows out of the tap. A splash my face. It drips down my jaw onto my shirt. I face my reflection in the mirror. I look pathetic. My eyes are red, my nose kinda stuffy. I let out a deep breath, it echos in the quiet bathroom. I leave. I enter Bart's room. He laid out cushions and a sleeping bag on the floor next to his bed. He smiles softly when he sees me. I only then notice Bart's hair. It's all messy from sleeping. I internally chuckle at his bed head. Bart gestures for me to lay down. He sits on his bed. I lay down in the sleeping bag.

"Goodnight, Milhouse." Bart says softly.

"Goodnight, Bart." I reply.

I close my eyes, but sleep doesn't take me. For about 10 minutes, I try, and fail, to fall asleep.

After gathering all my courage, I whisper, "Bart?"

"Mmm?" He hums back.

"Can I maybe sleep up there...with you?"

Bart sits up and looks at me, he breathes in slowly. He nods. He scoots over and pats the bed.

I slowly stand up as if moving too quickly would destroy this moment. I slip into bed next to him. We face each other. I could feel his breath on my neck. And I knew he could feel my breath as well. We look in each other's eyes for a few moments. He lifts his hand and touches my arm. I brush the hair out of his face. My heart races. I can't think. We lay in comfortable silence. Until Bart breaks the silence, "I'm sorry about your parents. I know it's not the same, but I kinda know what it's like to have problematic parents. I hope it gets better for you." He cups my cheek. Our faces are so close. Our noses are almost touching. Then he turns and his back is turned to me and says "Night."

"Night." I say. I close my eyes and now, here with Bart, I easily fall asleep.

BART POV

I lay, in my bed, next to Milhouse. Aka the guy I have a massive crush on. I replay in my head what happened.

When Milhouse tapped on my window, my heart was racing. He looked so cute in his pjs. When he started to cry, my heart tore in half. I felt terrible for him and it felt like I was the one who hurt him. But I knew I wasn't. I hurt for him. When he asked to sleep on my bed with me, I was thrilled. And of course I ruin everything with my impulsiveness taking over and making me do things like touch his arm and cheek. And I probably scared him. But he didn't seem scared or disgusted. Ugh, I'll never sleep like this. Curse my ADHD for not letting my mind relax.

I snuggle a bit closer to Milhouse and feel his warm body against my back. I take a deep breath and eventually sleep takes over my body.

A/N: Thank you for reading this chapter. I'm really proud of it. 3