Because It's You [Mickey]

[Graham Kerr]

The conversation with Nate was still on his mind as he'd exited the empty classrooms, having said goodbye to someone he still wasn't sure qualified as a friend. On one hand he figured that the Slytherin really had only tried to get him and Mickey together, and on the other hand he knew that the boy wasn't really working charity cases. Which he was, because the way he'd acted was completely pathetic. Well, he'd change that. Right now.

It took him a while, but he finally found the other blonde walking through a corridor, and it was there that Gray grabbed his arm and hauled him into the Art Room, locking the door behind them. It was also there that he stood blinking at the boy for a minute or two, at a loss of what to say. Eventually he came up with a small and hurt "Nate, really?"

Seriously?! Nate?! Yeah, okay, the Slytherin channeled his feelings and couldn't help being nice towards Mickey, and it was something that Gray had neglected to do, but still..it seemed awfully quick to get over someone. And yeah, he'd heard his 'friend' saying that it didn't work like that, that Mickey was still into him, but judging on cold, hard facts, it wasn't exactly true.

[Mickey McKey]

Mickey was rather sick of being treated roughly recently. What with being locked in rooms (partially) against his will, and now it was apparently alright to pull unsuspecting, innocent people in to rooms with so much stealth, speed and strength the blonde wouldn't have been surprised if his kidnapped could take down a lion if he wanted to. It was a most undignified way to go about getting someone's attention, simply grabbing them out of a corridor. If he'd been more focused, he might've screamed, and that would have been an embarassing occurence for both himself and the stranger. Luckily, he'd only managed a slightly effeminate gasp.

"What the..." Mickey breathed as he turned, only to lose his breath again once he recognised his "attacker", if you could call Graham that. Great. Now he was locked in ANOTHER room, with ANOTHER person he could really do without seeing. What was it with people he was avoiding recently? And since when did it become socially acceptable to be dragging exes about and locking them in rooms? Running a hand through his hair, he sighed slightly. "What the hell... What are you doing, Graham?" He said wearily, though his question was answered soon, by the man's own question.

As if just being in the same room as Graham wasn't painful enough. Standing here, looking in to that beautiful, lost-looking face, and feeling his heart skip a beat and start to sink with the sound of that voice. All the things he'd missed so, so much, and now he was stuck with them. It was hard to register what the older man was saying, but it just about got through Mickey's clouded head. For a couple of seconds, he stared, shocked, at his house mate, before covering his face with his hands and leaning against a table near him. "Oh, Jesus." He whispered to himself, then looked back up at Graham and raised his voice slightly "How...How do you know?"

[Graham Kerr]

Graham watched him, realising that he looked rather distraught, though if it were because Gray knew or simply because he'd been caught, the blonde wasn't sure. He leaned his hip against the wall, toying with his hoodie and pulling it tighter around him. It was cold in the room, though for all he knew it might be radiating off the younger male. It was hard to read him these days, hard to trust his own feelings, let alone those of his fellow Hufflepuff. What if Nate was wrong and he didn't feel guilty?

"Nate told me" His voice sounded quiet still, something that only happened when he'd really been hurt. If something got too close for comfort he'd yell and attack, offense as the best defence, but when it came to something that genuinely got to him, he went silent. Gray wanted to add something like 'at least he felt I deserved to know' or something that went even further than that, like 'at least he seemed to feel it was wrong' but he didn't say either of it. He just watched the blonde, wishing he could pull his hands away from his face and deciding against it, as manhandling him into the room was quite enough contact for now.

Mickey looked back up at him though, as he asked his question, and Graham couldn't help locking eyes with him for a moment. Just a moment though, as he quickly averted his gaze to bite his lip. It was just too hard to look at him right now, knowing that the blonde wasn't his anymore.

[Mickey McKey]

A nod to acknowledge the other's answer, and Mickey fell silent again. That was strange, he never would have expected Nathan and Graham to be on good terms like that. Or on any terms they would lead to that sort of information being shared. Evidently, he'd thought wrongly. Staring at the floor for a few minutes, the blonde tried to think of something rational to respond with. Even if he wanted to be angry at Graham, he knew that'd be counter-productive, and the hopeful part of him was still holding on to the idea that he could get him back, eventually. Being mean and cold to him would be likely to sabotage any chances of that happening.

"Right. Yeah, Nathan." He agreed, nodding slightly. What did the tall boy want him to say? That he felt guilty, or he wished it hadn't happened? Well, he did feel guilty, even if there was no reason to. But he couldn't wish he hadn't done it, simply because he'd needed it. Sure, the Slytherin was no Graham, but it was enough to make him feel better. Now he'd looked at the man, he couldn't take his eyes away from him, and in honesty, he didn't make an effort to either. So, fully staring at the older man, he continued "I don't know. It just... happened. There wasn't much in it..."

He paused, and carried on with a slight frown "Why, does it bother you, Graham?" He asked carefully, before biting his lip. That'd come out a bit harsher than he'd intended it to. Still, why should the taller be allowed to question him on who he kisses? They had broken up, after all. Or, more accurately, Gray had broken up with him. Mickey was no where near over it, but if he wanted to kiss another guy, why should the other be upset by this?

[Graham Kerr]

It had just happened. Yeah, wonderful. Like their kiss had just happened? Or was that another matter entirely? Gray couldn't help bristling when Mickey asked him if it bothered him in that tone of voice that suggested he shouldn't care at all. His eyes narrowed for a moment, the blonde fighting the urge to just mouth off at him, because he had a feeling that wouldn't get them anywhere at all. Maybe honesty (as if he hadn't tried that enough, only to have the younger disbelieving him time and again) was the right way to go.

"Yeah, it bothers me. A lot." The Hufflepuff rubbed at his forehead, still leaning against the wall, though his mind almost urged him to cross the distance between him and the other, take him into his arms and show him all the things he couldn't say. "Like I said last time...I'm in love with you. That doesn't just stop just because I'm not around. At least, for me it doesn't, maybe it's different for you." He wasn't accusing him of anything, which was obvious by the still soft voice he carried.

"And, y'know, I want to change that. The not being around bit. Because...this just kills me. I know I have no right to ask you anything, and hell, you'd probably rather date Nate than me, but I figured that I should at least take a shot at something by being honest with you." Not that honesty had ever brought him anywhere, as the blonde seemed to doubt everything he said by default.

[Mickey McKey]

Mickey's face creased slightly, from confusion and from hurt, as the other spoke, eyes not once leaving that beautiful face. It seemed as if Graham thought that he was fine with all of this, which was the complete wrong impression to have. And now... Was that an attempt to make things right again? The younger boy wanted with all his heart to be able to accept this all just like that, but it was hard. He didn't want to be walked out on again, and the logical reaction to this would have been to walk away from it. However, Mickey was always a heart-over-head kind of guy, his feelings always ruled over his thoughts, and his heart had decided that there was near to no chance of him turning down Graham, ever. No matter what he did.

"You really think I'm that fickle?" The boy's quiet voice tackled the first problem - The fact that the elder seemed to think that he'd stopped liking (and, yeah, he'd admit it, loving) him just because he'd left. The suggestion itself was painful to Mickey, especially considering what Graham knew about him... He didn't know everything, granted, but surely it should be enough to get the idea through to him? Michael McKey never stopped loving people, no matter how many times they screwed him over. Just in case his house mate didn't know this about him, he decided to tell him. Pushing himself on to the table and crossing his legs underneath him, he dropped his gaze to the floor and started talking with quick, quiet words. "That's what you seem to be suggesting, anyway. You thought I could move on just like that? Just because I kissed someone, even knowing that it didn't mean anything, I'm over you? I'm not. Not even slightly. I still want you. I still..."

He stuttered a little bit, shuddered slightly, and fell silent. It was probably best that his mind had stopped his mouth from talking, or he might not have stopped gushing until he was blue in the face. He still loved Graham, he still wanted to be with him, to be able to have him to hug and talk to and fall back on when he needed him. Biting his lip, he frowned slightly, and glanced at the other man. "But, how... How do you expect me to just... accept all this? When in the past few weeks you've changed your opinion on me so many times? And when I still don't even know the reason you left me in the first place? That's the worst thing about this whole thing, Gray, I haven't been able to get that question out of my head. I can't stop thinking about it, and it's bloody painful..." Trailing off, Mickey sighed, ran his hand through his hair, pulled his knees to his chest and rested his chin on them. In the time they'd been apart, his mind had gone through every reason he could think of for their break up, and every single one related back to something he'd done wrong, and that would be something that would stay on his mind constantly until he found out the truth.

[Graham Kerr]

Graham stuffed his hands - that seemed to gravitate towards Mickey whenever he wasn't careful - in his jeans pockets, swallowing as he listened to the blonde. He nodded mutely to show that he understood it had been hard, wondering for a moment what on earth he was supposed to say. Anything but the truth, and yet he didn't want to lie to the beautiful blonde. "I was hoping you weren't over me...but I couldn't be sure, could I? I mean I've not exactly been this great guy that deserves anything you have to offer." He hadn't been, but God, he wanted to be. He wanted so much, and he was hoping that he could really make a difference this time, could make the other believe him.

Finally moving through the room, he sat down on the table next to him, looking at his profile quietly. They were physically closer than they'd been for a long time now, but there was still so much distance between them. "Things have been complicated for me. And I know that's no excuse, but they have been. I just got myself convinced that it'd be better for you if I stayed away. I was afraid of hurting you, and I know that sounds stupid but it's true." It was the most he could say about being a werewolf without actually admitting that he was one.

"And it's not that it came up for no reason, I just...With everything you told me, you deserve so much and I got so afraid that I just wasn't it. That I couldn't make you happy. And I went about it the wrong way but I needed to sort my head out and determine whether or not I could actually do this. And yeah, maybe it's too late, but I think I can. I'd at least like to try, because these past few weeks, I really realised that I hate not seeing you...about as much as I hate seeing other people making you happy. I'm selfish, but I want to be the one who makes you happy." For a boy who didn't confront his feelings much, who definitely didn't talk about them, this was an awfully hard thing to do, and he hoped Mickey would at least appreciate that, no matter what else happened.

[Mickey McKey]

He stared at the floor, biting his lip and frowning slightly as the other spoke. Graham had said too much for it not to be at least slightly true - the man didn't usually talk much, and Mickey knew, from experience, he hardly ever spoke about himself. He'd been dying to hear words like these since the moment they'd broken up. Now he had, he was finding it an incredibly emotional experience. For a few moments after the man had stopped speaking, he remained silent and staring, before shuddering and falling sideways to lean in to the Hufflepuff he'd wanted so much over these past few days.

"I've missed you. I really have..." Mickey whispered, shuffling closer to Graham and making himself more comfortable. There was so much he'd missed about all of this, being close to him, his smell, and the emotion of it all. There was none of that with Nathan. As lovely as Nathan could be, it wasn't as right as this. "You can't leave me again, okay? You can't. Why did you think you'd hurt me? You're the only person I know for sure wouldn't hurt me. Silly man." He giggled lightly at his last comment, before forcing his mouth to stop speaking his mind's irrational train of thought.

[Graham Kerr]

Grahams heart did a little leap as Mickey sagged against him, wrapping his arm around the boy carefully. He was so wrong about Gray being the only person who wouldn't hurt him, and hadn't he shown that before? "Yeah, I have such a great track record of not hurting you" He mumbled it more to himself than to the other, glancing sideways before brushing a kiss over his temple. "I'm not leaving. I'll prove it to you."

The blonde hopped off the table, taking Mickeys hand so he could pull him off as well, before transfiguring the table into a bed. "See. Now we can stay here, and I'll be here in the morning. And I'll be here, or wherever you want me to be, the morning after that too. And every morning for as long as you want me." God. He was so relieved. So happy. The elder Hufflepuff pulled Mickey to his chest, burying the blonde in his arms before kissing the top of his head.

"I would've gone down on my knees for you, y'know. Begged and all that. I'm serious" Whatever it would have taken to get the younger boy to forgive him. Even if it was only that - forgiveness. He would've dealt with just being his friend if that was the only thing on offer.

[Mickey McKey]

Finally truly cheering up for the first time in a long while, Mickey grinned slightly and raised his eyebrows as Graham made a bed. "That's a bit presumptuous, isn't it, Kerr?" The teasing was back, and he'd missed that, too. It was about time the blonde got back to normal, he'd been moping for far too long. To show that he was truly greatful, despite what he said, he wrapped his arms around the man's waist and rested his head on his chest. "I mean, I know I said I missed you, but I don't think I missed you THAT much..."

Chuckling happily again, he let himself be held to Graham, and grinned happily into his shirt. "You're a true sweetheart, aren't you? And you wouldn't believe me when I told you you could get any guy you wanted. You charmer." Though, he was secretly glad he hadn't believed him, otherwise he surely would have found someone with a lot less problems than Mickey had. And that would have been devestating. Kissing Graham's nick, he pulled away slightly and grinned cheekily up at the man. "Yeah, well, don't get too confident. You're not out of the forest yet. I could still get you on your knees if I wanted to." He added a wink on the end of this, giggled once more, and bounced himself on to the bed, back to his cheery self.

[Graham Kerr]

Graham snorted as Mickey started to tease him, making a grab only to find that the younger had already retreated to the bed. He kneeled on the covers with him, grabbing the boy and tickling his sides with a smile on his face. "I'm not presuming anything. I swear. I'm as innocent as...as cookie dough." When he thought of cookie dough, he thought of summers baking cookies with his mum when he was tiny and definitely a lot more innocent than he was now.

He climbed back off the bed, kneeling down next to it and glancing up at Mickey. "I know I deserve a little grovelling and I'm not beyond it, I promise. So can I please spend the night with you? Promise to keep my hands to myself unless you desperately don't want me to.." He was so excited and happy that he couldn't help moving about, sitting back down on the bed and nuzzling the boys cheek in an affectionate moment.

"Problem is, I don't want nobody else but you" He hid his nose in the boys neck, breathing in his scent. It had driven him crazy during the nights he spent alone, but at the same time he loved it more than anything. It was his smell. The smell of his boy. Or well...what would be his boy. "What do you say? Be my boyfriend?"