A Night in New York
Johnny doesn’t want to be alone in his hotel room after the contest, so he asks Jimmy to come with.
Jimmy/Johnny:
Jimmy felt someone tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Johnny standing nervously next him “Is there any chance you could, stay in my room tonight?” Johnny asked. Jimmy fought off a blush while Johnny hurried to explain “It's just that Davy is probably going to stay down here all night and I really don't want to be alone"
It was the night after the contest and everyone except Davy was slowly moving up stairs. Johnny took Jimmy's silence as a no and started to walk away “Wait! I would love to"
Johnny smiled widely “Thanks"
Jimmy tried not to watch too closely, if he did he would get distracted by the way Johnny's hair curled, or the way he held his hands; like they were tapping out a rhythm. He cautiously took Johnny’s arm to lead him out of the bar. All his movements had been getting more stiff and less purposeful the longer the night went “Bye guys"
Everyone in the band said their goodbyes, except for Donny who was too busy staring at Julia to form coherent sentences.
“I need to stop by my room first" Jimmy mentioned when they got into the elevator. He could probably leave it and sleep in his clothes, but hungover him the next morning would disagree.
“Yeah that's fine" Johnny leaned heavily against Jimmy side, it was clear his back was bothering him more than usual.
“Did you take your pain pills?” Jimmy asked, it wouldn't be the first time.
“I didn't want to, everyone was together and…” He didn't explain further, but Jimmy got it.
“Okay wait here" Jimmy left Johnny right in the doorway and ran inside to grab the suitcase he still hadn't unpacked.
When he got back Johnny was leaning against the wall with his eyes shut. Jimmy gently tapped his shoulder and he looked up with a small smile “Ready?”
“Yeah let's go" Jimmy agreed. He moved his suitcase to his other hand and wrapped his arm around Johnny's waist. Johnny gave a silent thanks and moved his arm around Jimmy's shoulder.
“What's going to happen when we get back?” Johnny wondered
“I don't know" Jimmy really wished he could give Johnny some hope with a positive answer, but there was no way to know how the broadcast had been received
“What if we can't book any gigs and everyone just leaves?” The words were quiet. Johnny leaned his head against Jimmy “I don't want to lose people again”
Jimmy couldn't help wondering exactly what Johnny went through they all knew the story of the jeep (it flipped three times) but what else had happened to the adorable boy who deserved the world “You won’t won’t lose us, even if we can't book any gigs"
“Are you sure?” They finally reached Johnny's room but he didn't reach for the key.
“I’m sure” Jimmy didn't usually make promises, but he couldn't help making this one. “I promise I won't leave”
Jimmy's face lit up “Thanks"
Jimmy knew that was a promise he would never be able to break, there was no way he could leave Johnny. “Do you have a key?”
“Oh, it’s right here” Johnny handled the key to Jimmy, which was probably a good idea considering how much his hands were shaking.
Jimmy opened the door and followed Johnny inside. Jimmy went to put his suitcase on the unused bed while Johnny sat down on the floor with his back against the wall. “It’s more comfortable” Johnny explained “At least a little bit”
Jimmy sat down next to him on the floor “You should probably take your pain pills” He hated seeing Johnny in pain, and he clearly was in pain. His breathing was choppy and rather than tapping patterns with his hands, his finger were holding the material of his pants as tight as he could.
“I know, I just don’t want to go all loopy on you” Johnny scooted forward and turned a little before laying down on his back. Right away Jimmy could see a difference, his breathing evened out a little bit and the smile on his face looked a little more natural “I’m good”
“Are you sure?” Jimmy reached onto the desk while still sitting and managed to grab the small prescription bottle “They’re right here if you change your mind” He put the bottle next to him so Johnny could reach it if he wanted to.
“Thanks” Johnny reached up, but instead of grabbing the bottle he took Jimmy’s hand.
Jimmy froze, but Johnny didn’t seem to notice. They sat in silence, it was nice. The only sounds were their breathing, traffic down on the ground, and occasional footsteps.
“How did you know you liked boys?” Johnny asked.
Jimmy stared at Johnny. His expression was a mix of shock, a little bit of fear, and maybe a little hope. “Like romantically?”
“Yeah,” Johnny nodded “I saw the way you used to look at Donny”
“Oh,” Jimmy had almost forgotten about that crush. He kind of let it go when Julia showed up because they clearly were having some kind of thing. After that he started paying more attention to Johnny.
“You don’t look at him anymore, but I saw it and it reminded me of something” Johnny explained “Or maybe someone. I don’t know”
“There was this guy, on my ship” Jimmy took a deep breath and rested his hand in Johnny’s hair for a little bit of comfort “Whenever I looked at him my chest felt warm and their were butterflies everywhere. Then when we got together, he was my world. I’ve never looked at a girl that way”
Johnny nodded along “Was?”
“He didn’t make it” Jimmy explained. He would never forget floating in the water watching the bodies pass and knowing exactly which one belonged to the guy who kissed him two hours ago and told him everything was going to be fine.
“I feel like there was someone,” Johnny admitted “But I don’t remember who”
Jimmy hummed in agreement. He didn’t say anything, to give Johnny time to remember. Instead he watched Johnny, watched the way his eyes were slowly closing like he was going to fall asleep right where he was, and the way his feet twitched when he was thinking.
“Maybe it was you” Johnny wondered. He looked up to meet Jimmy’s eyes “Maybe you were the person I was thinking of” Once Johnny said it out loud, he knew it was probably true. He liked Jimmy. Liked the way he talked, how he made Johnny feel smarter. Liked the way he pushed up his glasses when he got nervous. Liked the way he always looked at Johnny after playing a solo with the band.
“Wow” Jimmy wasn’t sure what to say. His eyes darted around the room until they landed on the clock “It’s really late we should probably go to bed”
Johnny seemed unbothered by the change of subject and carefully stood up. Jimmy handed him the pill bottle, and went to open his suitcase for something to sleep in. They got ready for bed in silence. Jimmy was sitting in his (or Davy’s) bed when Johnny sat next to him “Are you mad?”
“No, I just needed a little time to process” You got that now what? Jimmy was still considering what to do, weighing the pros and cons in his head, when Johnny leaned forward.
“Could we?” Johnny looked at Jimmy’s lips and the pro con list was forgotten, in favor of pressing his lips against Johnny’s.
The kiss felt like it lasted forever. All the drama went away, all the problems, all Jimmy could think about was Johnny. They could have stayed there forever, but there was a knock on the door. They pulled away quickly just in time for Davy to walk in “Sorry I need my…” He picked up his coat, but stopped when he actually looked at them “OH, my bad. Didn’t realize you were busy” If possible they both blushed harder “Well as nice as this has been. I’m going to to go” Davy backed awkwardly towards the door “Remember it’s a hotel so be quiet”
Jimmy his his blushing face and his hands, while Johnny looked a mix of confused and embarrassed “What does that mean ‘be quiet’ we weren’t being loud” That definitely made the list of questions Jimmy did not want to answer. Luckily Johnny looked at Jimmy and seemed to at least kind of get it “Ohh” They both sat awkwardly in silence “Let’s not do that”
“Agreed” Jimmy leaned back on the bed until he was laying down.
Johnny followed and let out a small sigh when he was finally laying down “This bed has way better support than the other one”
“Then you should sleep here” Jimmy offered he sat up but Johnny shook his head.
“I don’t want to kick you off your bed” Johnny sat up and stretched a little.
“Fine we’ll both stay here” Jimmy offered. He helped Johnny lay down and turned off the lights. It wasn’t until he was almost asleep that he realized there was very little chance of the beds being different and maybe Johnny was smarted then he seemed.
