Staring through the demons (unholyverse )

5

Mikey woke up in the middle of the night. Slowly, not all of a sudden, so he didn't have that sick feeling from jolting out of sleep; he just drifted gently back into consciousness, which was the best way. Except he had to pee, which was annoying.

He was unbelievably comfortable, even with Frank's knees jammed into the backs of his thighs, and for a long moment he just lay there, enjoying the warmth and the real bed and Gerard's still, silent, sleeping face on the pillow next to him.

Eventually, though, his bladder won out over his desire to lie still and not move, so he started wriggling downwards, because sleeping in the middle of six dudes on one bed meant that getting out the normal way was completely off the cards.

He thought he caught Gerard in the stomach with an elbow, and he heard Bob turning over, grumbling in his sleep, and then he slipped down over the foot of the bed and sat on the carpet for a minute, rubbing his eyes and convincing his legs to carry him.

The light switch was not where Mikey remembered it being, so he made do in the dark as best he could, then padded back into the bedroom. Frank and Gerard had both rolled into Mikey's spot. Gerard's hand was cupped around the back of Frank's head, and Frank had his arm slung over Gerard's waist, face tucked into the hollow of his neck.

Well, thought Mikey. Shit.

He hovered uncertainly at the foot of the bed, trying to decide what to do. He could try to wedge himself back in between them, but he didn't want to have to explain it if they woke up.

"Mikey?" Ray lifted his head slightly, peering sleepily through the gloom. "'Smatter?"

"Frank's in my spot," Mikey told him.

"Oh," Ray said, yawning. He shoved backwards, making Gerard squirm away from him and even closer to Frank, and held his hand out. "C'mere, there's room."

Mikey went and let Ray pull him down on the edge of the bed. It felt like he might fall off if he rolled over or breathed in too deeply, but Ray put his arms around him and hooked one of his feet through Mikey's ankles, and that felt better, like a full-body seatbelt.

"Goodnight, Mikey," he said quietly, giving him a little squeeze.

"Goodnight," Mikey said. He closed his eyes.