I'm givin' you guys some fluff for the couple au bc the last chapter was very sad

"What level are we on, Mikey?" Jeremy asked, sitting on the beanbag in front of the loading game of Apocalypse of the Damned.

"Level Nine: The Cafetorium!" Michael said excitedly, sitting on the beanbag beside Jeremy.

They started the game while Michael explained what Jake had told him in the bathroom before he left school.

"I-it's totally a scam, Michael." Jeremy said, feeling nervous. No way was he letting Michael get a Squip.

"But what if it's not? I could finally, finally, be cool!" Michael said.

"Hey." Jeremy said, looking over at Michael with a soft smile on his face. "Dude, you are cooler than a vintage cassette." Jeremy felt a blush spreading over his face as Michael smiled back. "It's just that no one else but me thinks that yet!"

He put his arm on Michael's shoulder, making the taller male laugh. God, his laugh was adorable. He felt himself blush more and went on with what he was saying, hoping Michael hadn't noticed.

"You're just a nothing in this high school scheme. But it's no big, 'cuz you and I are a team!" Jeremy said, smiling more. "We like out-of-print games-" he motioned towards the hundreds of games on the shelf "- retro skates, got a pac-man tatoo." He pulled back the sleeve of his hoodie to show his tatto, lining it up with Michael's.

"Nobody here appreciates, but soon we'll be together where they do. 'Cause guys like us are cool in college, I know that for sure. Yeah, high school is hell, be we do a damn good job getting through it." Jeremy said.

"Yeah, as losers we've fought for years together." Michael said, smiling softly. He pulled Jeremy into a hug, ruffling his hair. By now, Jeremy's blush was bright red. He pulled his hood over his head to try and hide it while Michael continued. "But, we're stuck on a level, and I wanna move on."

"We'll be in college soon, Mikey." Jeremy said, looking over at him from under his hoodie, his glasses now sideways on his face. "Then we won't be lame anymore."

They went back to playing their game, not hearing Michael's father yelling for him from the other side of the door.

"Michael!" He yelled, and Jeremy fell back in his beanbag, shocked by the yell.

His dad walked in, looking at the paused game, then at Michael.

"What's goin' on?" He said, sounding annoyed.

"Just... just playin' games, dad." Michael said, glancing over at Jeremy, who was still slouched in the beanbag.

Mr. Heere glanced at Jeremy, too. "What, you got a girl over?" He asked, then Jeremy sat up. "Oh, hey Jerry." He said, staring disaprovingly at the bi pride patch on his hoodie.

"H-hi, Mr. Heere." Jeremy said, not bothering to correct him on his name.

"Well, I was just checkin' in on you." Mr. Heere said, leaving the room.

Michael and Jeremy glanced at each other, feeling awkward. Jeremy readjusted his glasses and sat up all the way just as Mrs. Heere walked in.

"Oh, hello Jeremy." She said, smiling, being a lot nicer than Mr. Heere.

Jeremy smiled. "Hi, Mrs. Heere."

"Hi, Mama. Did you need anything?" Michael asked, obviously a lot more comfortable with his mom in the room.

"No, just checking on you boys. Sorry about your father, he just got home." She said, looking at the two boys sympathetically.

"It's no problem, Mama. We're fine, really." Michael said, smiling at his mom.

"Ok, well, you boys have fun, ok? I'll be upstairs if you need me, Mahal." She said, closing the door as she left the room.

"How.. are things with your dad?" Jeremy asked when she'd left.

"What d'you mean?" Michael asked.

"Does he still not accept that you're-"

"I-I like Jenna, remember?" Michael said quickly, but it answered Jeremy's question.

"O-ok, Michael." He said, looking down.

"Hey, Jake said his hook-up was at Payless. Why don't we go down there tomorrow- just to see if he's telling the truth!" Michael said.

"...ok, I g-guess we can go look." Jeremy agreed, knowing he would probably regret it later. "But... you won't be too cool for m-video games, will you?"

Michael looked at Jeremy, who avoided eye contact. "You know that you are my favorite person. That doesn't mean that I can't have dreams." He said, putting his hand on Jeremy's arm, which caused him to blush.

"Is it really true? I'm your.... favowite pewson?" Jeremy smirked, leaning into Michael, who laughed.

"Yeah. We'll never not be a team." He said, smiling at Jeremy. And that was good enough for him.

The two continued to play video games, and Jeremy ended up falling asleep on the beanbag, subconsciously holding Michael's hand and causing the taller to blush, taking his hand from Jeremy's carefully as to not wake him up.