“Fucking hell.”
Jimmy cracked an eye open. It was the middle of the night, the whole bus was asleep. He blinked groggily, squinting into the dark, pulling the curtain of his bunk aside a touch so he could peek out.
Johnny, who possessed the bunk across from Jimmy, was rubbing his head with one hand, trying to put on his shoes with the other.
He wondered if he should pretend to be asleep, then ditched the idea, pushing aside the curtain fully. “Jay?”
Johnny looked up, wiping at his cheeks quickly. “W-What the fuck do you want?”
Jimmy frowned, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed, scooting out so he could more or less sit up. “What’s wrong?” he asked, “You’re crying.”
“Nothing. I’m fine. Now go back to sleep. I just need a smoke.” Johnny picked up his pants from yesterday off the ground, slipping them on and pulling a pack of cigarettes from the back pocket. He snagged Jimmy’s lighter as he passed, and the front door of the bus was slammed carelessly behind him, causing Matt to stir and mumble something incoherent in his dreams.
Jimmy frowned, following the bassist off the bus and shutting the door gently behind him.
He couldn’t see Johnny, but he knew where he was. Jimmy chuckled softly to himself, sneaking to the back of the bus and slowly creeping up the ladder.
Johnny was sitting on the roof, just as Jimmy had expected. His back was to the drummer. Every so often, a puff of smoke would dissipate in the air in front of him.
“Johnny.” Jimmy whispered, and Johnny hissed. “I told you to go back to sleep.”
Jimmy crawled across the bus roof, sitting behind Johnny. He spread his legs on either side of the younger man, and pulled him back against his chest. “Aw, baby… what’s the matter?”
The younger man sighed, leaning back into Jimmy’s touch. “I-I don’t know…” he murmured. “I guess I’ve just been sorta stressed lately.”
“Tell me about it, love…” Jimmy’s fingers flitted across Johnny’s sides, lips gracing his neck, and Johnny shivered.
“I just… Tour life is kinda getting to me. I’m always tired, which means I have a headache most of the time, and when it is time to sleep, I can't make myself close my eyes. And the past three shows I’ve been fucking up my bass parts. Hell, I bet Matt could pay those bass lines better than I can. And this whole deal with you, I haven’t been spending much time with you lately, and we’re together all the time! Our anniversary is coming up, and I’ve probably said 24 words to you in the past week. What am I going to get for you?”
Jimmy ran his hands up and down Johnny’s arms, pressing a kiss to his temple. “Johnny… you wrote those bass lines. Everyone has those days when they just can’t get it together. Besides, no one in the audience plays bass as well as you, they can’t notice when you mess up. And don’t worry about our anniversary! It’s supposed to be a happy day, not something to worry over!” he buried his face in Johnny’s hair. “And when you can’t sleep, I’ll always make room for you in my bunk, you know.”
Johnny sighed softly, blowing a stream of smoke into the air. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But still, it just gets to me, you know? I don’t know how to help it.”
Jimmy shifted his angle, turning Johnny around so that they were facing each other. “Maybe talking about it will help.” He said, “Maybe if we kissed it would relieve some of that stress.”
Johnny’s lips tilted up a bit, but that’s the only reaction Jimmy could get out of him. “I don’t know, Jims, I don’t think-“
Jimmy cupped Johnny’s face in his hands and crashed their lips together, effectively silencing the bassist. Johnny jumped in surprise, then relaxed into the kiss, draping his arms around Jimmy’s neck. “I love you, Johnny.” Jimmy whispered, lips straying from Johnny’s mouth to press at his jaw, his chin, his neck. “And if there’s anything I can do to help you be less stressed, let me know.”
Johnny’s fingers curled in Jimmy’s hair. “What you’re doing right now is helping…” he gasped as Jimmy bit down on his neck. “Fuck, Jimmy.”
“Mmm, I love you so much, baby. You know that, right?” Jimmy chuckled, “I just can’t say it enough.”
Johnny smiled, “Oh yeah?” He carded his fingers through Jimmy’s hair. “Well I fucking love you too. I think you’re aware of that, though.”
“It’s nice to hear that, though.” Jimmy’s tongue flicked over the shell of Johnny’s ear. “I feel like if I remind you how much I love you, it’ll help out with the stress some…”
“Maybe if you fucked me…” Johnny whispered, “That would help a lot.”
“What if I tickled you?” Jimmy’s voice was mischievous, and Johnny turned to give him a glare.
“You wouldn’t.”
A squeal of laughter quickly followed, Johnny’s limbs flailing as Jimmy tickled his sides. “Jimmy! Fuck! Fucking hell, quit!”
“Aww, but you’re cute like this!” Jimmy chuckled, and Johnny cried out, “Damn, you, Jimmy! F-Fuck! W-We’re gonna wake everyone up, now, stop!”
“Are you guys fucking on top of the bus?”
That got Jimmy to stop, but he didn’t quit grinning. “Maybe.” He peeked over the side of the roof at Brian, staring at them bleary eyed and messy haired, still half asleep. “Care to join us?”
“Hey!” Johnny pouted, and Brian shook his head.
“I’ll pass. I’m sorta not into guys.” He yawned. “And it’s like fucking five in the morning. Can you um, keep it down? Or at least off the roof? You guys woke me up and I’m gonna pound your faces in when I get like five more hours of sleep.”
Jimmy chuckled. “Uh huh. Sure. We’ll come down now. Wouldn’t want you to kill us too badly.”
“Yeah. Motherfucker. Can’t fucking sleep off a hangover around here with you fucking every second of the day.”
Johnny blushed, burying his face in Jimmy’s side. “We weren’t fucking…”
They came down anyway, and Johnny followed Jimmy to his bunk. Jimmy smiled, crawling into bed and opening his arms for the bassist.
“Maybe a good night’s sleep is what you need.” Jimmy wrapped his arms around Johnny and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “And how better to get a good night’s sleep than to be cuddled up with me?”
Johnny smiled, fingers splaying out against Jimmy’s bare chest. He yawned, whispering. “I couldn’t agree more, Jims. You always know how to help me melt the stress away.”
