-Sorry guys, it is what it is.-
Tom placed his arms on his hips and sighed at the dissatisfaction shown by his wards, given the situation that had arisen. They had arrived on the set of the famous TopPop show, prepared to perform one of their most popular songs, Hello America. Everything was ready to go on air in a matter of minutes, but for reasons unknown to the band, the management team rigged up one fucking less microphone than they needed to sing the choruses. This was an irreversible mistake as there was no longer any way to add a fifth mic for the fifth band member, and the decision of who would share Joe's mic was proving daunting.

-Damn, and why is it always my turn to share the fucking microphone with Joe?-
-What the hell is wrong with sharing a microphone with me?-
-It always seems that I'm going to kiss you, and believe me that would be the last thing I would do in my life.-

Pete rolled his eyes in disgust, and lit one of the loose cigarettes he used to carry in his pocket, while everyone else just looked at him with blank eyes, incredulous at the idiotic thing he had just said.

-Sometimes I really think you're an idiot.-
Sav gave the last touches to his almost flatt hair.

-And I give no fucks. If we want to be famous at some point, looking like fagots is not exactly the best way.-

Joe rose from his seat with his fist raised, surely he would have beaten the guitarist to a pulp if it hadn't been for Sav grabbing his arm and forcing him back down.

-Enough, I've been putting up with your stupidities for three years, I'm not going to let you kill each other now that we've managed to get here. I'll sing with Joe.- Sav raised his voice for the first time in a long time, silencing the singer, who looked at the ground in embarrassment, and the guitarist, who had to resign himself to muttering another unfortunate comment under his breath.

-When I said that looking homosexual would make us look ridiculous, I was also referring to you.-

-The only ridiculous thing in this room is your fucking argument on that subject. Please shut your mouth and stop complaining like a little girl.-

Steve burst out laughing at Sav's last words, making Pete's face red with anger. He could barely open his mouth when Sav glared at him.

-5 minutes to start, guys.-
-Shit... LET'S GO.-
The entire band stood up in alarm at the bass player's shout, and headed for the stage to give their due show. He hated sharing more space than was necessary with any of his teammates, but he hated more having to cope with the fights they had with each other, especially when they involved Joe's sexuality, which was no longer a secret to Sav, since in earlier times, the singer would have proposed to the bassist, and he would have rejected him. Ever since Joe came out to him, Sav had become thesinger’s biggest bodyguard on the subject. Lately he was even more of a supporter of the topic, he had been really interested in Joe’s adventures with guys, and actually everything midly related to the gay scene, but he thought of it as just curiosity.

All the members put on their best smiles so that the audience could recognize how grateful they were given the opportunity to perform in front of them, and they slowly moved into their positions, Rick on drums, Steve on the side, Pete on the other side, Sav and Joe right center stage.
The show began, they got ready to sing the intro of Hello America, in which both Pete and Joe, as well as the bassist himself, had to sing those two words in unison. Sav's voice seemed to have left him, when he opened his mouth to sing not a single note left his throat.
He could feel Joe's rhythmic breathing practically on his lips, as well as the heat he gave off as he sang. His breathing had grown slightly heavy at his closeness to the singer, and he had been absolutely caught up watching Joe's lips move and smile as he sang.
A snap put him out of his trance, Pete glared at him and whispered in his ear.

-What the hell are you doing? Have you come to play the bass or to make a bulge on stage?-

Sav swallowed hard and tried to continue playing like he normally did, but with his gaze fixed on Joe. Every move the singer made made him lose himself, he felt drunk, but he hadn't even had a drink since days before the show.
During a solo moment, Steve and Pete took center stage, leaving Sav free to leave the set for a few seconds and breathe.

-Sav, is everything alright? Do you need us to stop?-

A chill ran down his spine and left him ironing.

-Huh...yeah...I'm fine.-
-It doesn't look like it, you've been standing in front of the microphone the entire first half of the song...
-I said I'm fine, okay? Calm down and go outside, I'll be there in a few seconds.
Joe sighed and nodded just before walking out, really worried, knowing that something had definitely happened onstage that had put Sav out of the game, and he suspected that something had been his fault, wich made him feel guilty for his loved one’s mood.
The bass player, for his part, watched the scene from outside the set. What the hell had happened to him? He himself did not know. He hated being close to absolutely everyone, the bassist took care of his personal space more than his own hair (and it's not as If he took little care of his hair), but for some reason, his body's honest reaction to being close to Joe, hadn’t been  precisely to walk away, but to stay stuck like a post, with shaky legs and barely breathing properly.
He had to quickly snap out of his thoughts to reenter the set, trying to focus and play correctly for at least the rest of Hello America. Joe began to get dangerously close, with the intention of singing with Sav, as if it were a duet, a piece of the song. Sav tried to keep his mind cool, which was impossible when Joe put an arm around his friend's neck, failing to make him feel better. He took a deep breath and sang the lyrics with his eyes closed, trying to ignore the presence of his best friend, but he became riveted again for moments simply by feeling the brush of his palm against his chest.
His legs gave out, and if it hadn't been for Joe's strong and well-timed grip, which instantly shifted from his neck to his hip, he would surely have slammed to the ground.
Sav, what happened to you? You had never failed in Hello America...-

-Damn, you've made us look ridiculous, Savage.-
-Don't be like that with him Pete, we can all have a bad day, we were all nervous.-
-In fact I was perfectly timed and...-

A new argument between the two guitarists began, causing Sav to collapse internally, he said goodbye to everyone in a whisper and went to his car ipso facto.

-What the hell is wrong with me...?-

He took a deep breath and buried his head in the steering wheel of the car, honking the horn. He had ruined the show, publicly embarrassed himself, and surely humiliated the band over and over again.

His eyes filled with tears and he began to sob, always silent so as not to alarm anyone who might pass by.
The car door opened, and closed seconds later, indicating that someone had just entered.

-It wasn't your fault, Savvy... We were all nervous... We did what we could, and in fact I think you've been fantastic...-
Sav lifted his head from the wheel and pushed his hair back from his face in an attempt to calm down, and Joe gently cupped his chin to make his friend face him.
-You are wonderful, Sav... You are a great musician, a great leader and a beautiful person... The boys are not upset at all... Rather worried...-
-Pete is upset...-
-Sav, Pete is a rat.-
-Don't call him that...-
-We should fire him.-
-JOE! NO.

Joe smiled slightly and caressed his friend's cheek with all the affection that he harbored in his little heart, wiping away the tears that still flowed from his eyes.
-Do you want to tell me what happened on stage...?-
Sav looked away and swallowed.
-I would if I knew... I only know that I was paralyzed... But not as if I got stage fright... But as if my body had discovered something that my mind is not capable of processing...
Joe simply looked at his friend curiously, while maintaining some physical contact with him, since it was his way of letting him feel that he wasn't alone.
-...Do you want to stay at my house tonight? I would not like to go for you in the morning and find you overthinking and crying in a corner.
-I can take care of myself.
-Of course you can, but I want to take care of you.- Both of their eyes locked, Sav's legs trembled again, and of course he remained rooted to the seat. The question in his mind changed from “What the hell is wrong with me?” To “What the hell are you doing to me, Joe?”
-So... Shall we stop first for something to eat? Its on me...-
The two young men stopped at an Indian food stand before driving straight to Joe's.
Sav's head was able to rest thanks to the singer's attempts to make him laugh (and also a fair amount of alcohol poisoning his brain, since Joe never went a night without his shot of whiskey, and Sav naturally hadn't refused to have a few with his friend.), he really enjoyed the singer's company, but every time Joe (who was a lover of physical contact and invasion of personal space) got too close, that enjoyment turned into a feeling of loss of control, which Sav didn't quite understand.
-Are you comfortable? I can bring you more blankets if you're cold or something.-
-...Thank you so much...-
-Why do you thank me? -The eyes of both stared at each other again, in silence, this time, Sav put all of himself to identify what he felt.
-Because... well, because you're my best friend... And because I never thank you even though you do everything for my well-being... -
-bubbly. You don't have to thank me for anything, I don't do it out of obligation, I take care of you because I love you.-
-...do you love me?-
-Well, even if you're a fan of Wednesday, which seems very stupid to me, I have to love you, right? We are like a married couple already but without sex and without kisses.-
-... Shut up now, you're starting to say nonsense, idiot.-
They both started chatting about anything, until Sav was tired enough to start raving, and blurting out everything that came to his mind.
-... when you started to sing in front of me, I remained static...-
-Hm...and why is that?-
-I don't know... I think it's because you were so close... Look, like this... -Sav moved closer to Joe until he was inches away from himself.- ...I like it when you sing so close, but confuses me a bit...-
-...If I resolve your doubts ,tomorrow, will you invite me to a drink of whiskey after rehearsing?-
Sav nodded frantically, his face turning fluorescent red as the singer closed the short distance between the two boys' lips.
Joe gently stroked Sav's hair as he kissed his lips sweetly, as if it wasn't a big shock to him to kiss a man, yet the bassist was a bundle of nerves. When they separated, he had practically entered into a loop of mental questions about why he would have enjoyed so much a kiss so flat, so simple, lasting only a few seconds, with a person who, according to him, was only a very close friend.
-Well... How was that...?
-...I...I don’t know... It was really good but, i mean, i don’t like men...-
-Then why haven't you pushed me away...? Don't you think that maybe that could be the reason why you got paralyzed on the set? that maybe you feel a bit curious about men...?-
-...But this had never happened to me with another man, only with you...-
-Well... I discovered that I liked men when I found out that I had fallen in love with you.-
-But I can’t be in love with you... Right?-
-Well... There is a way to find out.-
-Go on.
-If we went back to that stage, to sing in the same way, a microphone for both of us, without a single person around us, just you and me, would you kiss me?-
There was silence in the room, and Sav relived in his mind the moment when they both sang together, facing each other, looking into each other's eyes.
He wouldn’t even care about the show or the song anymore.

-...I would kiss you... Hell yes I would...

______________________________________

This one’s for my favourite Person ever!! 💕