'Best Friends'

ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ｔｈｉｒｔｙ－ｓｅｖｅｎ

ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ｔｈｉｒｔｙ－ｓｅｖｅｎ

When Marlene came in to rally all her grandchildren plus Jasper up for dinner, then presents, she found Mikey asleep on his bed on his back with his hands above his head. His mouth was parted and his one leg was outside of the cover. She exhaled at the sight and shook his leg, pressing on Jasper's too.

Her five grandchild, she always considered Jasper as one since he'd been in Mikey's life since the start of middle school and never left, plus he was close with everyone in the family. He was basically a Balm at that point. He turned away from her touch and into Mikey, forehead hitting Mikey's upper arm.

"Jasper, Mikey," she called out and tried shaking them again. This time Mikey opened his eyes and blearily looked towards his grandmother, not really registering anything at the moment. She smiled and told him to wake up Jasper, then come down for the ham and presents.

She left and Mikey sighed, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his fists. He didn't want to get up, but he sat up and look down to his side where Jasper was still sleeping. His hair was in his face and he looked so soft in the moment, but Mikey grinned maniacally for his idea to wake up his boyfriend. His hand landed soundly on Jasper's stomach and his boyfriend groaned, punching the side of Mikey.

"That's what you get, you ass," Jasper mumbled as he untangled himself from the covers.

The two wiped away their sleep and went to the kitchen where it smelled like honey glazed ham and dough. There was a large ham on the stove top next to a tray of croissants. Mikey grinned at the food and helped himself, sitting beside Marlene and Aiden. Jasper sat beside Max and they dug into the food.

There was an extra face at the table and Mikey nodded to her. The girl was pretty with tightly curled hair—two poofs on top and the rest of the ethnic hair let down—and her light colored eyes smiling. She had a Christmas sweater on with the face of a reindeer and small bells on the antlers.

"I like your shirt," Mikey complimented, a hand covering his mouth since he had food in his cheek.

Noah's girlfriend thanked him and commented on his—a grey t-shirt with "I do it for the ho's" around a winking Santa Claus. He smirked down at the shirt and nodded, then went back to eating. Around the table there was some chatter but Mikey stayed to himself, still feeling a little tired yet. But, once Marlene announced presents he woke up and sat up straight, ready for the presents he's been waiting for all day.

Everyone sat in the living room and Marlene started handing out gifts. She apologized to Noah's girlfriend that she didn't get her one, but the girl shook her head understandingly. Noah had his own gift for her and Mikey ran to grab Jasper's from his closet. The small box with a glass crab figurine inside was wrapped in red wrapping paper and a sticker labeling who it belonged to on top.

Back in his spot, he felt Jasper's eyes on him, but he ignored them. He knocked his knee into his boyfriend's and acted normal in front of his family.

Once the presents were handed out, Marlene gestures for everyone to open theirs and Mikey handed Jasper the box. Mikey was given two presents and knitted his eyebrows together at the long cylindrical one. He opened Jasper's presents first and grinned at the Funko Pop, then went to the cylindrical present. He spread out the poster and his smile grew further at the show's characters on it.

"Thanks, Jasp," he whispered and set the presents aside to open his family's.

He'd gotten his favorite candy from Max, a pack of boxers (a gag gift) and the serious gift of earbuds from Noah, and money from his grandmother. Aiden quickly told him to open his gift in their room, but Mikey challenged him and peeled back a small section of wrapping paper from the small box, in front of his family. Once he read the writing on the front he coughed and hid the box behind his back.