Chapter Text
Jeremy opened the front door, humming softly. He shouted that he was home to whoever was home, which, judging by the cars, was just Jake. Maybe one of his other two boyfriends, but the silence told Jeremy otherwise.
Speaking of which, this level of quiet was odd, even for Jake. Jake usually blasted music or watched really old romcoms. Dead silence was worrying.
"Jake?" Jeremy called. "You home?" He was answered by a small "thunk" from the bathroom, as if something had been knocked over.
Fuck.
Jeremy yanked off his shoes, sprinting to the bathroom. The door was closed, but he could hear ragged breaths from inside. Jeremy took a calming breath. If he went in there panicking, Jake would freak out too. Jeremy opened the door slowly.
The sight before Jeremy broke his heart. His tallest boyfriend was hunched over the toilet, taking ragged breaths. The smell of puke hit Jeremy like a train, and it took all his might not to gag. He dropped to his knees next to Jake, noticing upon closer inspection that he'd been crying.
Jake looked up at Jeremy weakly, breaking Jeremy's heart all over again. Jake drew a deep, shaky breath. "I'm sorry-"
"No," Jeremy cut him off, cupping the taller's face in his hands. "Don't apologize. You did nothing wrong." Jake nodded, fresh tears falling from his eyes. Jeremy wiped them away with his thumb. "You wanna tell me what happened?" Jeremy asked softly, moving a hand to rub Jake's shoulder gently.
Jake shook his head quickly and leaned into Jeremy's chest. The shorter opened his arms and pulled the taller closer, rocking back and forth slowly. Jeremy ran one of his hands through Jake's mussed-up hair and used the other to pull out his phone. He opened their group chat.
HeereAndQueer: Babes I just got home
HeereAndQueer: Jake's super upset
BiAndRichIsBitch: Does he need anything
I'llSeeYouInMell: yea I have like 10 more minutes on my shift
I'llSeeYouInMell: I can grab him something from the store
HeereAndQueer: I'll ask
Jeremy nudged Jake softly. "You want anything from the store? Pizza? Ice cream?"
Jake pushed himself off of Jeremy's chest and took Jeremy's phone.
HeereAndQueer: ice cream plz
HeereAndQueer: cookie dough
HeereAndQueer: this is Jake btw
I'llSeeYouInMell: Ok baby I'll get you your ice cream
I'llSeeYouInMell: Love you ❤️❤️
BiAndRichIsBitch: I love you too baby ❣❣ I hope you feel better!!
Jake handed the phone back to Jeremy and slumped back against the shorter. Jeremy hugged him again.
After a few minutes, Jeremy nudged Jake again. "You wanna take a bath?" He asked, and Jake nodded slowly. Jeremy peeled himself away from Jake to flush the toilet and turn on the water.
Jeremy glanced back at Jake after checking the water. Jake was still curled up on the ground, but he was now struggling to unzip his sweater. Jeremy dried off his hand and helped Jake strip slowly. Jeremy then helped Jake into the tub.
Jake scooted to one end of the tub and opened his arms for Jeremy to climb in with him. Jeremy nodded and stripped, climbing into the tub with Jake. He helped Jake wash his hair, taking care to be gentle.
After Jake was done, Jeremy climbed out and unstopped the tub. The water drained as Jake climbed out and was handed a towel. Jake wrapped it around himself like a blanket and smiled. Jeremy took a similar towel and started drying his hair.
After both boys had been dried and dressed, Jeremy led Jake to the couch. Jake flopped down, dragging Jeremy on top of him. The two laid there, content.
A minute later, the front door opened, revealing Michael. The dark boy shed his coat and shoes before walking over to two of his boyfriends.
"Hello, you dorks," he greeted the two, kissing them both on the forehead. "I got your ice cream, Jakey." Michael gestured to a plastic bag on his arm. Jake perked up and smiled. Michael handed him the small carton and turned to the kitchen. "I'll get you a spoon."
Michael came back a moment later with a spoon, as promised. Jake immediately started eating the ice cream. Jeremy slid off the couch to grab the remote. He turned on the tv, flicking to The Simpsons for white noise.
After another 10 minutes, the door slammed open, startled all three boys. Rich flew into the room, not bothering to take off his shoes or jacket. He ran up to Jake, cupping the taller's face.
"You ok?" Rich asked, worried. Jake nodded.
"I'm fine, Richie. Micha got me ice cream," Jake informed him, smiling.
"What was wrong?" Rich asked. Jake's expression dropped. Rich knew he fucked up, even without looking at Jeremy and Michael, who were giving him "What the fuck, Richard?" looks. Rich immediately backpedaled. "You don't have to tell me if you don't wanna-"
Jake cut him off. "No, no, I gotta tell you guys eventually." Everyone else went silent as Jake took a trembling breath. "I just... Overworked myself. Again. It's stupid, but I just had so much on my schedule and I panicked and just..." He sighed sadly.
Michael was the first one to speak up. "Well, I'm sure you'll be fine. Whatever's on your schedule. You've survived worse, man."
Rich nodded. "You're Jake fucking Dillinger. You can handle this. We believe in you."
Jeremy chimed in. "Yeah. And if it's too much, you can always cancel and we can watch movies at home or something. I'm sure everyone else will understand."
By now, Jake was tearing up again. He smiled and pulled his three boyfriends into his arms. "I have the best boyfriends," he sighed as the other three hugged him back.
They cuddled in comfortable silence for a few minutes, before Rich yawned loudly. The others glanced over at him. "What?" He shot back. "I just finished an 18-hour shift. Gimme a break."
The others chuckled and Michael suggested they go to bed, seeing as they'd end up falling asleep on the couch otherwise. They agreed tiredly and went to the actual bed. They fell asleep in one of their weird cuddle piles, happy and warm in each other's arms.