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It’s date night at the Quinn-Fuentes household, a day reserved for grand adventures, romantic getaways, and usually – hopefully – hot passionate sex in whatever part of the house they manage to make it to before they literally tear the clothes from one another.
It’s the reason they keep lube in the front hallway table, and the table next to their couch, and their junk drawer in the kitchen, and a dozen other hidden places scattered across the house, all of which have been stumbled across by at least one of their friends or family at various moments.
Date nights are meant to rekindle their love and romance, or in their case add fire to that already blazing inferno, because every time Kellin thinks he cannot be more in love with Vic than he already is, he falls just a little bit deeper.
This particular date night, however, they are both cuddling on the couch in nothing more than their underwear and questionably clean shirts. So very romantic. But in their defense, both of them had returned home from Warped tour that day, and while Kellin very much wished they were having sex on their heavily defiled couch, long tours and jet lag kept both their dicks in their pants and firmly, well, softly out of commission.
But tradition demands they treat every Thursday they are both home together as a date, and no amount of jet lag is going to keep them from celebrating their love. So they picked a random movie from Redbox – that he’s not ashamed to admit they drove to even though it’s literally down the road – and plopped their weary asses on their couch to enjoy some much needed and well deserved alone time. Vic is leaning against the couch arm, his arm wrapped around Kellin’s back. Kellin has his head on Vic’s chest, arm wrapped loosely around his boyfriend’s waist. Even if they are both probably going to fall asleep half an hour into the movie, the stiff neck they’ll probably have in the morning and the drool spot Kellin will probably leave on Vic's shirt, and which his boyfriend will probably complain about, are both worth the time spent together now.
Kellin is nearly asleep, eyelids so heavy it would take the strength of Hercules to open them again, when it happens.
“Are you done with the popcorn, pumpkin doodle?” Vic’s drowsy voice asks.
Maybe it’s the lack of sleep and extended periods of exhaustion experienced over the last few weeks that has Kellin chuckling uncontrollably into Vic’s chest, the tremors of his laughter reverberating through both of them. Or maybe it’s the complete absurdity of the pet name that makes him lose it.
They’d been dating for two years now, and at this point Kellin is used to the myriad of pet names Vic has for him. They went far beyond the traditional endearments of babe, and darling, and sweetie and deep into the land of strange and inane with the likes of sugar pie, pumpkin poo, cuddle muffin, and sweetness king, just to name a few.
Most of the time, he sticks with one phrase or word for a few days or weeks, before moving on to whatever other ridiculous phrase pops into his head next. Vic rarely ever even realizes he’s doing it.
Vic mostly kept it to private moments between the two of them, though occasionally he would slip up in public. Once, Vic actually called him the sweetness of honeysuckles in front of Kellin’s mom and step-dad. As long as Vic kept his tongue in check in the outside world, though, it didn’t really bother Kellin. In fact, he finds it one of Vic’s more adorable qualities.
“What’s so funny?” Vic asks, and Kellin can practically hear the pout in his voice. The cogs in Vic’s brain, slowed to a near stop by exhaustion, must ignite to life, however, for a second later he asks, “Oh no. What did I call you this time?”
“Pumpkin doodle,” Kellin giggles, wriggling closer so he’s almost in Vic’s lap.
“What does that even mean?” Vic asks, dragging a hand over his tired face.
“I don’t know. You said it,” Kellin said, trying to contain his laughter to no avail.
“Ugh, why do you even put up with me,” Vic says, rubbing the hand wrapped around Kellin’s back up and down his side.
“Because you're my pumpkin doodle,” Kellin says, and if he wasn’t nearly asleep still and too exhausted to move he would have pressed a kiss to Vic’s lips. "And I love you."
“I love you, too,” Vic says, softly, in awe as if he still can’t believe Kellin loves him, and presses a kiss to the top of Kellin's head. “There’s no way I’m getting you to come upstairs to our bed is there?"
“No,” Kellin mumbles, surprised he’s even able to talk still. “Deal with it,” he says and tightens his grip around Vic, knowing Vic is too much of a sweetheart to displace him and leave him there to sleep on the couch alone.
“Goodnight … babe,” Vic says, hesitating just a moment before he says babe.
If Kellin had any energy left at all, he’d make a witty quip about Vic having to stop and think before calling him a normal pet name. But as it is, sleep demands his attention more.
**
So it’s not really a big deal to Kellin that Vic just doesn’t have a brain to mouth filter sometimes. And if Vic wants to call Kellin ridiculous pet names, it’s fine with him, even if it does get a bit out of control at times.
The more time they spend together, though, the worse Vic gets about it. And at the moment, their bands just so happen to be on a world tour together. They spend a fair amount of time away from one another doing various band related chores, such as press and sound check, but they manage to share a hotel room together every time their bands stop for the night, sneak into each other’s buses during travel days, and pretty much spend every single second possible together. They even manage to get a few Thursday dates in.
So it’s no surprise that Vic slips up in front of Kellin's band.
“Hey, honey bunches of oats,” Vic says, catching him after a rare soundcheck that Kellin had actually shown up for. “It’s Thursday, as you probably know," Vic says, mumbling a bit, his cheeks tinged red as he kicks at the worn carpet. "I found this little restaurant just down the block, if you wanna head there before the concert?” he asks like he thinks Kellin might actually say no. As if.
“Yeah, I just gotta get my wallet from the green room,” Kellin says, so used to Vic’s pet names that he’s hardly even aware when Vic does it anymore. Though, honey bunches of oats is a new one.
“Meet me by the back door?” Vic asks, leaning forward for a kiss.
Kellin pecks him on the lips. “Be right there,” he assures, and slaps Vic on the ass as he walks away.
He hears his band hysterically laughing and he whips around to see what they’re laughing at when he realizes they’re all staring at him. “What?” he says, reflexively smoothing his fingers through his hair and fixing it so it lies flatter.
“Your boyfriend calls you honey bunches of oat?” Justin forces out between laughs. Gabe is doubled over with laughter and Jesse is trying very hard to contain it.
“Wait, Vic is your boyfriend?” Jack stops laughing long enough to ask.
“Where have you been for the last two years?” Jesse asks and slaps Jack on the back of the head.
“Two years?” Jack says, eyes bulging in surprise. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks, and pouts.
“We weren’t exactly keeping it a secret,” Kellin says, giving Jack a raised eyebrow, unsure if the younger man was serious or not. “Why else do you think Vic and I always share a hotel room? And why else do you think I sneak on his bus all the time?”
“They live together, for fucks sake,” Jesse says. “You know this. We’ve been to their house.”
"I thought Kellin just got there before we did," Jack says still looking confused.
Gabe just shakes his head and mutters, “It was a housewarming party for the two of them, you dense mother fucker.”
“Jack’s revelation aside,” Justin interjects, “You’re boyfriend seriously calls you honey bunches of oats?”
“Eh, that one’s new,” Kellin says with a shrug. He’s a bit embarrassed, but not enough to be bothered. He’s known everyone but Jack since he was a teenager, and they’re always ragging on him about something or other. He can’t be bothered by it anymore. It’s just a bit of friendly teasing anyways. “But yes, yes, he did just call me honey bunches of oats,” Kellin says, totally owning it. So his boyfriend’s a bit odd. Aren’t they all? Isn’t that why they were rock stars to begin with because none of them quite fit with the ‘in’ crowd in high school?
“Does he call you weird pet names often?” Gabe says, elbowing him in the ribs as they walk back to the green room.
“Yes. All the time. Everyday,” Kellin says, sliding into the green room. He makes a beeline for his wallet, eager to join his boyfriend for their date.
"Why?" Gabe presses.
“I don’t know, it’s just something he does,” Kellin says with a shrug, stuffing his wallet into his skin tight jeans. He chose these ass hugging jeans specifically hoping Vic would want to go on a date tonight, and hopefully tear them from his body with his teeth in their hotel room after the concert.
Ooh, calm down, mini me, he thinks, shifting his thoughts back to his band mates and away from his incredibly sexy boyfriend.
"Aw, isn't that adorable," Gabe teases, and Kellin just rolls his eyes at him.
“Does he even know he’s doing it?” Jesse asks, giving Kellin a knowing look as he blocks his access out the door.
“Most of the time, no,” Kellin says, trying to slide around Jesse, only to have Jesse throw his arm up to stop him.
“Aren’t you worried he’ll do it in public and out the both of you?” Jesse asks the million dollar question.
Kellin has thought about it, and on the occasional odd night it has kept him up late at night thinking about it. He did worry Vic might disclose their relationship to the entire known universe by accident, and while he isn’t opposed to coming out, he and Vic haven’t talked about it. He has no idea what Vic’s thoughts on the subject are, and they both kept expertly avoiding it. Once or twice, Kellin had tried to bring it up, but whether on purpose or not, Vic had been dense about it and hadn’t gotten the hint. It is the one big question remaining in their relationship, and it ….
It terrifies him.
It terrifies him that maybe Vic doesn't want to share their relationship, that maybe Vic wants to keep Kellin as just a dirty secret forever. That maybe if the truth comes out, or if the rumor mill got too close, that Vic might just dump him for a girl.
And it scares him how people would react. Both he and Vic were a little more on the sensitive side when it came to other people’s opinions about themselves. It had been especially bad for Vic in high school and led him to cut himself. For Kellin, he still hated for people to see him as anything less than perfect, and he often felt depressed when he felt like he had messed up in any way.
There were always going to be haters, no matter what they did or who they dated, but on top of the normal haters there would the homophobes, and the religious nutbags, and bands within their own scene who would turn their backs on them. He knew he loved Vic, would continue to love Vic no matter what happened, and would refuse to let go of their love just because of a few idiots, but he isn't quite sure how either of them would be able to handle the extra pressure when they were just barely managing the pressure of being semi-famous as it is.
“No,” he resolutely tells Jesse, even if it is a lie. His band knows pretty much everything about him, and he them, but there are just some things he cannot talk to them about. He ducks under Jesse’s arm and escapes down the hallway.
When he gets to the back door, his hands still shaking a little over his conversation with Jesse, Vic is waiting for him with flowers and a ridiculous heart shaped balloon. For the moment, as he throws himself into his boyfriends arms and buries his face in his boyfriend’s shoulder, Kellin’s worries melt away.
He has Vic, and he believes their love is enough to get them through anything.
**
After his conversation with Jesse, Kellin tries to bring the issue up with Vic. He really, really does.
But every time he tries, the words get stuck on his tongue and he chickens out.
He wishes now, though, that he had tried harder.
It’s Valentine’s Day, and they're still on the World Tour.
It’s the time of year that Vic gets a little more mushy, a little more sentimental, and a lot more sensitive. Add that to the fact that it’s also a Thursday, and Vic is walking around like he has cartoon heart eyes surgically attached to his face.
“I’m sorry about our date,” Vic murmurs against his lips. They’re standing just off stage, arms clasped around each other’s waists, foreheads pressed together. Despite their best efforts, they were unable to attend the date they planned the night before. Technical errors at the radio station Pierce the Veil had an interview at earlier in the day forced the band two hours behind schedule. By the time they’d return, it was too late to sneak out for a date before sound check. When the opening act went onstage, they’d barely had any time together at all. To top it all off, they weren’t lucky enough for it to be a hotel night either. Kellin knew sometimes these things just happened, and sometimes all you could do is go with the flow, but Vic looked legitimately close to tears.
“Hey, it’s all right. There will be other dates,” he says, pressing a kiss to Vic’s nose.
“I know, but –”
“There will be other Valentine’s days, too,” Kellin assures. “Now go kill it on stage." They kiss once more before reluctantly breaking apart.
“It’s creepy,” Justin says as Kellin catches up to them on their way back to the green room. “You’re both creepy.”
“I think it’s sweet,” Gabe says, smacking Justin the gut.
“I still can’t believe they’re dating,” Jack mutters.
Jesse just gives him that knowing look again, that’s a bit of an ‘I told you so’ and a bit of smug asshole. Kellin has no idea what his ass is so smug about.
He showers and dresses quickly before making his way to side stage again to wait for King for a Day and watch his boyfriend get hot and sweaty on stage. He never tires of watching his boyfriend perform.
Pumped up and full of adrenaline, Vic rushes over to him and smashes his lips against Kellin’s, practically groping him after Pierce the Veil’s set. The crowd shouts ‘Encore’ in the background, and they both know they have to go on stage, but they're reluctant to let go.
It’s when Vic is introducing him for King for a Day that it happens, the moment Kellin has been dreading. “Please welcome to the stage my beautiful, beloved, one and only, love teddy bear,” Vic says.
The crowd roars, but Kellin is frozen to the spot. Did Vic just …?
Yeah, he totally did, and Kellin is not so sure they can just play this one off as a joke. Maybe if they tried hard enough, but Vic was oddly specific just then.
Kellin has a choice: go out there and play it off like a joke, or own that shit.
He just hopes Vic doesn’t hate him for his decision.
Vic tilts his head, giving him a confused look. It finally propels Kellin forward and on stage. Mike is doubled over his drums, laughing his ass off. Jaime has his patented smile pasted on his face, while Tony’s a bit more polite about it, trying to smother his chuckles in his shoulder.
And Vic, sweet, loveable, adorable, Vic has no idea what he’s just done.
“Thanks, babe,” Kellin says into his microphone when he finally reaches Vic..
Vic’s face shifts from utter confusion, to mortification, to embarrassment in a matter of seconds, before, to Kellin’s surprise and relief, he breaks out in a face splitting grin.
“Oops,” Vic says so only Kellin can hear with a cheeky grin, and if Kellin didn’t know any better he’d say his boyfriend planned this.
Kellin squeaks in surprise when Vic grabs his wrist and yanks him forward, colliding their lips together. A hand tangles in the hair at the back of his head as he fists Vic’s shirt. Vic’s tongue swipes along his lips and he easily opens up to him, despite the fact they’re in front of thousands of people.
There’s a hush amongst the crowd as they pull apart, before the crowd erupts in a shriek unlike anything Kellin has every heard before. It nearly blows out his ear drums.
“Damn,” he hears Jaime say into the microphone. “That was hot.”
“Thanks,” Vic says smugly into the microphone, wrapping an arm around Kellin’s shoulder and pulling him closer. “I’d like to revise my previous introduction. Everyone, please welcome to the stage my beautiful, amazing, talented boyfriend, Kellin Quinn!” he says, the crowd erupting once more.
Kellin always enjoys performing King for a Day with Pierce the Veil, but that night is by far his favorite performance to date.
After the confetti falls, despite the fact that Vic is a good two inches shorter than him, the older man throws Kellin over his shoulder and carries him off stage.
“I’m sorry,” Vic says, setting him on his feet and cupping either side of Kellin’s face with his hands. He presses their sweaty foreheads together. “I didn’t mean to out you like that, especially by saying such an embarrassing pet name.”
“It’s okay,” Kellin says. “I knew it was likely to happen at some point.”
“Still,” Vic says. “I wanted to at least talk about it first, but you never got the hint when I brought it up.”
“I think you’re confused,” Kellin says. “You are the one who never got the hint when I tried to bring it up.”
“Well, we’re just a big ol’ pair of idiots,” Vic says, dropping his voice low and backing Kellin up until his back was pressed against the wall. Vic's lips attack his neck, nipping at the sensitive skin with his teeth as his knee slides between Kellin’s legs.
“Woohoo, free show,” Jaime jokes as he and the others pass them by on their way off stage.
Vic laughs as he pulls away, but he keeps Kellin trapped against the wall with his hands on either side. His expression turns serious, a frown tugging down his lips. “I love you,” Vic says. “No matter what happens tomorrow, no matter what the press says, no matter what the fans say, I love you.”
Kellin hugs Vic tightly, holding him as close to his heart as he possibly can. “I love you, too,” he assures.
-
Unable to sleep very well that night, Kellin slips out of his bunk early the next morning. It’s dark on the bus, a tiny ray of light just barely peaking over the horizon as he pads into the kitchen and makes himself a cup of coffee.
Last night had been euphoric. They’d both been on a high from revealing their long held secret, adrenaline pumping through their veins. Riding on that high, they made love in his bunk, something they generally avoided because of how cramped the space was and how close they were to the others. But he loves Vic so much it hurts, pushing at the boundaries of his chest. His love is like a tree, roots firmly entrenched in his heart, that grows larger and taller and wider day after day, year after year. Last night, he simply could not control that love and had to be as close as humanly possible to the love of his life.
Now, though, it is morning, and the bubble of euphoria that had been wrapped around them last night has popped. There are dozens of texts on his phone, probably thousands of social media notifications, and he can’t bring himself to check any of them.
He sits at the table and places his phone on the table in front of him, the screen flashing with another incoming text. He swipes his phone on, lets his thumb hover over the Twitter icon. Twitter, he knows, will be the worst. Every social media has its trolls, but Twitter has the worst of them all. He figures he’ll rip off the bandaid first, so to speak, by checking Twitter and then everything won’t seem so hurtful after that.
“Can’t sleep?” Vic’s tired voice asks, as his boyfriend pads over towards the table.
Kellin just shrugs, locks his phone’s screen and slides the offensive technology away from him.
Vic's eyes flick to Kelin's phone, before he slides in next to him on the bench and rests his head on Kellin’s shoulder. “You should read this text Jack Barakat sent me,” Vic says, holding his phone up so Kellin can see.
He knows what his boyfriend is trying to do, and he knows Vic wouldn’t show him anything bad, but he still feels his heart beat start to pick up as he grabs the phone.
Threesome? The text says, followed by a full frontal nude picture of Jack. Kellin rolls his eyes at the guitarist. It’s not the first time he’s seen Jack naked and probably won’t be the last. The dude absolutely loved showing off his junk.
Hahaha. Love teddy bear? Kellin must really love you. Also, please have a threesome with Jack so he shuts up about it, Alex says.
Aww, you and Kellin are so cute together. Congratulations! Jenna from Tonight Alive said followed by a plethora of emoticons with heart shaped eyes.
Way to seize the moment, Fuentes, Austin said. If anyone gives you shit, man, I got your back. Also, Alan wants to know if he can watch the two of you fuck?
I never said that! The next text from Alan says.
Kellin gives Vic his phone back as a text comes in from Mike, and hesitantly reaches for his own phone.
The first text is from Derek DiScanio saying, Congratulations. Be proud, dude. Except maybe of the fact that your boyfriend called you a teddy bear in front of thousands of people. Don’t tell Vic I said that. Kellin immediately shows the text to Vic, and they both chuckle over it. The rest of his texts are along a similar vein, except for one from a number he does not recognize. He thinks it might be that douche from Attila. The words are not worth repeating.
For the most part, though, he’s overwhelmed by the love and acceptance of his friends and family.
“You’re not mad at me are you?” Vic asks after replying to his brother who was probably wondering where he was. The two of them had sort of snuck off together and hid on Kellin’s bus shortly after the concert.
“What? No, of course not,” Kellin says, resting his head on top of Vic’s.
“Are you … embarrassed by me and the things I say sometimes? I don’t mean to, but I can work on it,” Vic hesitantly says.
Kellin grasps Vic’s hand that’s resting on the table and intertwines their fingers. “Sometimes the things you call me in public are a little embarrassing,” Kellin says, feeling Vic tense along his side. “But I could never be embarrassed of you,” he reassures, knowing what Vic is really asking him. “I’m not ashamed of our relationship.”
“Good,” Vic says. He can feel his boyfriend’s lips curve into a smile as he presses them against Kellin’s neck. “Me either.
“Did you see the news?” Justin asks, causing Kellin to jump and accidently shoulder Vic in the face.
“Sorry,” he mutters as Vic rubs his cheek. His boyfriend knocks their shoulders together signaling there’s nothing to apologize for. “What news?”
“From Alt Press, about your little love fest on stage last night?”
“It was not a love fest,” Kellin vehemently denies, though he’s starting to feel anxious again. Vic and he are both friends with a couple of people over at the Alt Press headquarters, and he’s never known the people there to be homophobic, but that does not mean they wrote nice things about them.
“What did they say?” Vic asks, rubbing his hand across Kellin’s lower back to calm him.
“Just gross things like ‘shared a passionate kiss on stage,’ and ‘just might win the award for cutest couple of the year,’” Justin says reading from his phone. “Oh, and this is the best, ‘their kiss left fangirls everywhere begging for them to tear each other’s clothes off onstage and fuck.’”
“It does not say that,” Kellin says, snatching the phone out of Justin’s hands. The phone isn’t even on. “Ass,” he says, throwing the phone at Justin’s head.
Justin almost drops the phone he’s laughing so hard. “By the way, you two are not as quiet as you think you are. I totally heard you last night.”
Kellin feels his cheeks heat up, but he can’t really say he’s surprised. Justin does, after all, sleep in the bunk directly below him. He would feel sorry for the bassist, but he’s heard Justin fuck more times in his bunk than he had fingers and toes, so he considers this just revenge.
“You are welcome,” Vic smugly says. He grabs Kellin gently by the chin and turns his head towards him before smashing their lips together. Vic moans obscenely. Kellin tries to play along, letting out his own obnoxious moan, but ruins it by laughing into Vic’s mouth.
Justin gives them an unamused look over the rim of his coffee cup. “We’re buying bleach at our next stop,” Justin says before waltzing out of the kitchenette.
Vic rests his head on Kellin’s shoulder again and snuggles closer into his side. “It’s gonna be okay,” Vic says, still rubbing his back.
“I know,” Kellin says, picking up his phone with his still shaking hands. Kellin knows he’s probably going to have to get used to the panic attacks as more and more reports about their little coming out party on stage occur. He decides against checking his phone at this moment, though, and sets it down on the table again. Right now, he doesn’t need to know what the media, or the fans, or even what his family and friends say. He has Vic's love, and that will always be enough.
“Let’s go back to bed, snuggle bug,” Vic says, suppressing a yawn as he slides from the booth. He offers his hand to Kellin and he takes it without hesitation.
“Right behind you, love muffin.”