Distraction

When All Time Low’s management approached Matt and the band about doing a four band, alternating headliner tour, Matt knew it would be a tough tour but it would also be a great tour. 5 weeks touring all through America, starting in Oklahoma and ending in San Francisco, they would have shows most days with very few days off. Those days off would be spent mainly travelling. The other three bands, Pierce the Veil, Mayday Parade and British band, You Me at Six were all good dudes so it would be like one big family on tour. That was the best way to have things. When You Me at Six had problems with their gear on the opening night, all three bands worked together and helped the Brits out. When Pierce the Veil’s Tour Manager had been sick for a day, the other TM’s had helped do his job. It wasn’t uncommon to find a combination of members from all the bands, passing their free time playing a game of Football or Baseball or just goofing around in general.

One week into the tour and there hadn’t been any major problems. All of the bands had stayed grounded and no one had developed that Rock-Star “My band is better than yours” ego that could often happen when you had so many bands together. Normally, one band would isolate itself from the group and spend the time trying to prove how great / amazing their band was at something, when really no-one actually cared. Matt was hoping that things would stay that way for the next four week because he was too busy as it was, he didn’t need any added stress. That kind of attitude brought with it, childish arguments and bickering that the Tour Manager did not want to have to deal with. Sometime’s his job description became more like that of someone working in a day-care except in a day-care, the children weren’t 24 and 25 years old, able to drink, party and basically do what they wanted as long as they made it to press, meet and greets and their show. It was Matt’s job to make sure that the chaos of tour was an organised chaos.

“Matty?” Jack called from behind him, disrupting Matt from his train of thought. He’d been staring at the same page for twenty minutes trying to make sense of the schedule for next week, he knew there was an error somewhere but he just couldn’t find it! He glanced over his shoulder, finding the guitarist standing propped up against the doorway, dressed in his usual skinny jeans, Glamour kills t-shirt and hoodie combo. He had an impatient look on his face “Matt!”

Matt placed the paper down on the desk of his make-shift production office, spinning around in his chair to see what was wrong with the guitarist. “Yes Jacko, what can I do for you?”

“It’s so so cold,” Jack complained, pulling the hood of his hoodie over his head, his trademark pout on his face. Matt had been subjected about the infamous pout countless times since he began working for the band. Jack knew that Matt hardly ever said no to him when he pouted...well most of the time anyway. “Can we do something?”

“Put on another jumper J or just stay inside, the dressing room is warm enough,” Matt offered as a solution. He didn’t have time to indulge Jack’s every need, he was just too busy. “I’ve got so much to do. Keith is expecting a report on the first week of tour soon enough! I wish I had time but I don’t have time to do anything.”

Jack’s pout intensified as Matt turned back to his work. He’d decided to try and do something else and come back to the schedule later. Maybe he could try and get some of the report that the band’s management were expecting. He opened a blank document, giving it a heading and a title before trying to figure out what he needed to do next. His brain really was refusing to co-operate.

“Matt, I need a band-aid, do you have one?” Jack asked and Matt was forced to turn around and ask him why? Jack could be clumsy at times and if he’d cut himself, he’d complain like a child for the evening because it hurt just a little. Jack shrugged in response to Matt’s question, giving him a look that said the answer was obvious. “I need a band aid because I cut my knees when I fell for you!”

Matt shook his head at the silly chat-up line. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn’t indulge his boyfriend and drop what he was doing to spend time with him.

“Nice try Babe but I really do need to work,” Matt replied, his eyes silently pleading with Jack. When Matt got stressed, his workload always seemed impossible and that only made him more stressed as he pushed himself to get everything done. Realistically, Matt could send the report to Keith later on in the week but in Matt’s head, he’d be late and Matt hated being behind on work and late to hand in things. He was punctual and liked it when everything went according to plan. While on tour, he lived his life according to the strict schedule he’d created for the band. He needed to have them in certain places at certain times, if he didn’t things would end up a mess. “Let me get some work done and then I’ll come hang with you!”

***
The cheesy pickup line Jack had just used had been typical Jack behaviour throughout the course of their relationship. They’d been dating for over a year now and their relationship had started while Matt had been helping the band out in the studio while they’d be recording their latest album “Don’t Panic!” Matt could recall the events of that night perfectly in his mind. Matt had been hiding his feelings for the dark haired guitarist for a few months now, afraid to say anything because he was certain Jack did not feel the same way. He thought that to confess his feelings for his friend would ruin the friendship they’d built up over the years. That was the last thing Matt wanted, if he couldn’t have Jack romantically, he’d rather have him as his best friend instead of as nothing at all. Eventually, he’d be able to get over the strong feelings -well at least he hoped he would anyway.

One day, after Jack had finished tracking guitar for one of the songs, he’s asked Matt did he want to grab something to eat with him. Their day had started at 7am and by the time 5 pm came everyone else was exhausted or had plans made for the night already. LA was its usual busy self and neither he nor Jack was in any mood to try and wait for a table in some restaurant. Instead, they grabbed a Chinese take-out and found themselves back in Jack’s apartment that he shared with some other people. It was his base in the city but he mainly stayed in Baltimore where he owned a house. They were the only ones in the apartment, Jack’s housemate Justin was on tour with his band and Mark was away on a business trip or something like that. Jack hadn’t been too sure because his life had been dominated by the album which they were recording during their free time from tour. They’d come home ten days ago and went straight to the studio and in another 4 days they would leave again. The band needed Matt for backing vocals and to help track guitar, so he did his tour wind down work and the prep for the next tour while the band recorded.

They had managed to eat every morsel of the feast they’d ordered and now, all that was left was the fortune cookies. Jack was superstitious about the fortunes and closed his eyes, picking one at random just so he knew the fortune contained inside would be right for him. Matt cracked open his cookie reading the words “Don’t Panic!” It was sound advice that could apply to not only him but to the band also. Lately, all they seemed to be doing in panicking! It was a stressful time. The band currently had no record label and they were recording the album independently until they could find a label that understood their needs and understood the band.

“Mine says, take a chance,” Jack announced holding the piece of paper up for Matt to read while Matt did the same. Jack’s eyes squinted while he read the paper and Matt knew he was only waiting for a chance to remove the contacts from his tired eyes and replace it with his glasses. His face broke out into a grin “That’s it! Damn, I think that would fit the album title perfectly. I need to text the boys now and see what they say!”

Matt agreed that yes, “Don’t Panic” would definitely be an appropriate album title. A comfortable silence fell around the pair as Jack tossed the cell phone onto the table, stretching his long legs out in front of him, yawning. Matt tried not to look in his direction because he’d only end up staring otherwise. Instead, he focussed his attention on the show that was playing on the TV screen in front of them. When Jack’s phones beeped, signalling a new message he didn’t reach for it like he normally would. Matt glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and noticed that he seemed to be deep in thought. What he had on his mind, Matt wasn’t sure but he knew that Jack would talk about it if it was important. The silence felt nice after such a noisy day.

“Matt, can I ask you a question?” Jack asked, breaking the silence. Matt nodded at him, signalling for him to go ahead “How many boyfriends have you had?”

Now it was Matt’s turn to be confused. No one knew he liked guys, Jack included and anyway, everyone knew he’d only had girlfriends. “I don’t know what you’re on about Jack. I’ve never had a boyfriend!”

Jack’s face broke into a grin as he leaned closer to Matt, his once tired brown eyes now sparkling “Well, how do you feel about making me your first?”

Then, he’d kissed Matt! He kissed Matt in a way that undoubtedly told him that Jack was serious about his question. The kiss was filled with passion and Matt knew that this, whatever this was, was real! Matt missed the contact of his lips against Jack’s once Jack pulled away from him, his eyes scanning the Tour Managers face to make sure that Matt wasn’t completely freaked out by what had happened. Matt was completely the opposite, he was now sporting a massive smile on his face. “I like you Matt! I really like you and I have for a while now. I needed to kiss you and, to quote my fortune cookie, “take a chance” I’m going to presume that since you kissed back and didn’t punch me or something, that maybe you might feel the same way? Do you?”

Matt couldn’t speak, he was too happy to speak so instead he chose to nod at Jack and place another sweet kiss on his lips. As cheesy as it was, Matt had fallen for Jack’s pick-up line and it had been the start to a wonderful relationship with the younger man

***
The memory had brought a smile to Matt’s face and now had he looked at all the relevant numbers from the first show, he couldn’t help but feel like the sooner he finished this up, he could go and spend time with his boyfriend who he hadn’t spent enough time with lately. He’d been lost in the memory and not wanting to get distracted from his work, he hadn’t dared to look behind him and see if Jack had left or not. If he was there, he probably would give into Jack’s pout and if the guitarist had left he’d probably go after him to try and make up for neglecting him. He was better off being oblivious to whether he was being graced with Jack’s presence or not. Jack was like a puppy, he needed constant love and attention and while Matt tried his best, he couldn’t always give it to him. Jack had been surviving on only getting share a bunk with Matt after long days when they were both either too drunk or too tired to talk. Beside those few hours while they slept, they hadn’t really had much time together. The start of any tour could be hectic, this tour was ten times worse but it should die down in a few days and things would become more settled. The track on his i-tunes switched to Basketcase by Green Day and Matt hummed along to the opening verse as he typed.

“Babe, if you were a booger I’d pick you first!”

Again with the cheesy pick up lines. Matt didn’t turn around to Jack but guessed he was still standing where he had been. He ignored the comment which was all you could do with Jack at times. He tried his best not to laugh at the childish choice of pick up lines. Sometimes he wondered where Jack came up with some of the things he came up with.

He heard Jack sigh obviously frustrated at not getting the attention he wanted.

“Baby,” Jack whined, drawing out the word but he still didn’t move from the doorway. Matt knew he would be planning his next step in his head but Matt just continued to copy tables from one document to another. The work he had to do could be so tedious at times. “Your lips look lonely....would they like to meet mine?”

He had to hand it to Jack he was trying his hardest to get what he wanted. But Matt couldn’t give in just yet. It was times like this that made him miss Colussy his old assistant Tour Manager. Colussy had decided to retire from touring so he could spend more time at home with his wife. Matt didn’t blame him, being in a relationship was hard when you lived on the road. All Time Low spent most of the year touring and they’d spent nearly 300 days in the past year on tour. Matt was lucky that his boyfriend was always on the same tour as him even if it meant he had to boss Jack around at times to make sure things were done right. As much as he understood the reason that Colussy had left, Matt couldn’t help but miss the extra pair of hands when it came all the extra paperwork. To make things worse, this was Colussy’s home city and he’d be coming along to the show tonight, Matt didn’t want him to think that he was completely snowed under and stressed out after only two months without Colussy. That would make him feel guilty and it was the last thing Matt wanted. Colussy deserved to get some time with his wife.

“It’s not going to work Jack,” Matt said in a sing-song voice, glancing back at him “Seriously though, you’ll only get bored Babe. Hang out with the guys in the dressing room and I’ll be with you as soon as I can, ok?”

Jack reluctantly agreed and stood up straight and blew a kiss in Matt’s direction. Matt returned the kiss as Jack left the room.

***
“Alex is making out with Lisa in the dressing room, it’s disgusting. Zack’s in the gym and Rian’s sleeping, completely oblivious to the fact Lisa is trying to jump Alex’s bones in the same room as him,” Jack announced returning twenty minutes later. Matt had made significant progress on the report and he was had three more dates left to document. Now that his brain was being more co-operative, he was finding it easier to work. The sooner he finished the sooner he could relax. “The guys in Pierce the Veil are in an interview, the crew are working and I can’t find anyone else. I’ve no one to hang-out with and I’m still fucking freezing! Why is this city so cold?”

Matt took his jumper which was hanging on the flight case and tossed it in Jack’s direction. Jack pulled it on, repeating something about why Pittsburgh was so cold and thanking Matt. To make things worse, tonight’s show was outdoors. It had definitely been a fact that had been overlooked when booking the show. It didn’t help that just a few days ago, they’d been soaking up the sun at a resort in Florida while they enjoyed the first and so far, the only day off of the tour. At least it had been a day off for the band, Matt had been trying to fix a problem that had occurred regarding an acoustic performance the band had done earlier today.

“Do you remember the night Alex got an anxiety attack on stage and we made you come and sing “Dammit” with us?” Jack asked, his voice muffled because he was bundled under so many layers “That was a good show. Can we do that again soon? Alex doesn’t even have to really have one we can pretend!”

***

Matt nodded his head, remembering the night that had happened not too long after he and Jack had got together. The tour had been a success and was beginning to wind down and they only had two more nights left. They had been nearly finished their set when Alex ran off stage without any warning leaving his band-mates confused about what the hell was happening. Matt and Colussy found the singer crouched in the hallway, struggling to get his breath and having an anxiety attack. Matt knew that Alex had been feeling the stress of recording and he wanted the new album to be perfect. He’d been stressing over the little things and he must have let his thoughts get the better of him on stage. Unfortunately, it had been something that they both had dealt with before so they weren’t novices at calming the singer down. This one seemed a little worse than his previous ones and it would take more than a minute or two to get him ready to go back on stage.

“Alex, look at me dude,” Matt had said, coaxing him to look him in the eyes. Terrified brown eyes met his. “It’s going to be ok Alex! You need to concentrate on getting your breathing back to normal. Just breath with me Lex...In and out!”

Alex had taken a few deep breaths in and out but by the time Colussy had returned with some water for him, chants of “Alex...Alex” were ringing out through the hallway and this was distracting Alex from what he was supposed to be doing – getting better! Matt soaked some of the towel with the cold water, placing it against Alex’s forehead because he was seriously overheating.

“Matty, I can’t go back out there right now,” he gasped, his breathing rate increasing “You need to get the guys to do something!”

Once Colussy had assured him that he had this under control, Matt took off in the direction of the stage. Jack, who had been doing his best, spotted him straight away and came over to the dark side stage area, asking what the hell had happened.

“He’s having an anxiety attack J,” Matt explained, his arm reaching out to calm his worried boyfriend as he stretched closer to him so he could be heard over the crowd. He even let his lips graze the skin on his cheek in a barely there kiss that wasn’t obvious to anyone but the two of them “He’s going to need some more time so you need to do something to distract the crowd, ok?”

Jack nodded, making his way back to the mic stand to talk to the crowd while Matt went to fill Rian and Zack in on what was happening. While all three of them were worried about Alex, it would make things worse if they left the stage to crowd Alex. They knew that just as well as Matt did.

“Alex is otherwise occupied at the moment. He saw how hot I look tonight and got a massive boner and now he’s gone to take care of it. I just can’t help that I’m SO good looking,” Jack explained to the crowd, making light of the situation “So, until he gets back and he could be a while, we need to play a song. He’s not here to decide so I guess we’re going to have to play Dammit.” He looked to his two friends to get their agreement before turning to the microphone again “Matt Flyzik get your ass out here now, you’re singing!”

This was not what Matt had been thinking when he suggested keeping them distracted. Jack was back over to him, his eyes pleading for Matt to agree while he got the guitar he’d need. There was no use in disagreeing, he had no choice and the crowd had started chanting his name. Jack pushed him onto the stage although Matt knew it was just an excuse for the guitarist to slap his butt. Jack was in his element as he playing the opening chords of one of his favourite “Blink 182” songs, his eyes never left Matt’s until Matt took the lead and began singing. He’d sang this song to Jack plenty of times when they’d been lying in bed or just relaxing with Jack playing guitar alongside him.

They’d finished “Dammit” and Alex still wasn’t ready to come back just yet, although Colussy said he wouldn’t be too much longer. He was calm now and just needed to get himself in the mind-set to get back out there. So, Matt and the band treated the crowd to a cover of “What’s my Age Again?” which succeeded in distracting them from the fact that the real lead singer wasn’t on stage.

***
People seriously underestimated just how much paperwork went into being a Tour Manager, it was borderline ridiculous how much he had to do at times. Itinerary’s, meet and greet lists, set lists, budgets, day schedules, route plans... the list was endless. Then once tour ended, Matt would have to compile the regular tour updates and compile one big report on how that tour had gone. It would take three days of solid work when he got back to Baltimore, the place he now called home. When that was done, he’d spend some much needed time with Jack, just the two of them, watching old movies, going on random road trips and having date-days. He couldn’t wait!

“Your name is Chitty and my name is Chitty! Let’s go finish the musical, we both know what we have to do!” Jack announced as Matt turned around, trying his best to glare at Jack.

“Do not finish that pick up line,” he warned, stopping his boyfriend from saying something about banging. “We watched that film after our first date. Where are you coming up with all these pick up lines? ”

Jack tapped the end of his nose smiling at him as Matt’s mind drifted off to their first date.

***

It had happened the night after Jack had kissed him for the first time. They’d gone out for dinner and had then gone to a gig in a local venue. Later that night, they’d found themselves back in Jack’s apartment sharing a bottle of wine. Jack had been on a DVD buying spree and had bought some DVD’s that he’d watched as a child. He noticed how Matt’s eyes had lit up when he’d seen “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” in the pile and he’d held it up proudly.

“How about you and me make like fabric softener and “snuggle”?” he’s asked a mischievous glint in his eyes. Once again, he’d found another pick up line to use on the older man and once again, it had worked. That night, they’d cuddled under the covers, happily singing along to the songs that featured in the film. It was the softer side to Jack that Matt loved seeing and it had been the perfect end to a perfect date in Matt’s eyes.

***

“We could go watch “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” right now if you’d like,” Jack suggested “All you need to do is take a little break and come hang with your boy! He’s missing you today!”

Once again, Matt found himself having to explain himself to the guitarist. “I really want to, believe me but I need to get this done. I’m missing you too! Could you get me a coffee Babe? I could really use one right about now!”

Matt knew that Jack wouldn’t refuse his request. He hated seeing Matt stressed and overworked, just as much as Matt hated being those things. Where their relationship was concerned there was not a shadow of a doubt that Jack felt just as strongly for Matt as he did for Jack. They had both put a lot of work into making sure this relationship was given every opportunity to function as any normal relationship would. That included keeping the relationship a secret from All Time Low’s fans.

It was unclear what their reaction would be when they found out that their favourite guitarist was not only gay but also in a relationship with the moody, bitchy Tour Manager who seemed to hate their guts. That wasn’t true because Matt loved the band’s loyal fan-base. They were the people who valued their crew just as much as they did the band themselves. Sure, on the surface Matt did appear to have a permanent scowl on his face, something Jack loved to tease him about but that was normally when he was under pressure to get things done. Unfortunately, that was when most of the fans had their first encounter with Matt, when he was trying to make sure that fans listened to the ground rules during meet and greet, when he was trying to make sure that the meet and greet went smoothly and the band was backstage before security opened the doors, when he was trying to get the band to an interview, into or out of the venue on time and Matt couldn’t let them stop and sign things for their fans and the worst one, when fans turned up right before they needed to catch a flight. It wasn’t Matt’s fault that their entire day could be ruined if they missed their flight, interview, performance and whatever else they needed to do. So, he had to be a little tough and appear angry/ annoyed/ pissed off or whatever else the fans liked to call him. Those who realised that he was busy or couldn’t talk and instead chose to approach him when he wasn’t snowed under knew that he was really a nice guy who was just trying to do his job. At the end of the day, it was just a day out for them, a chance to see their favourite band but for Matt, it was his job, his career and basically his life, something he’d devoted years of his life to, regardless of the consequences that leading such a hectic lifestyle brought with it.

There were a certain group of fan who strongly disliked anyone who had any romantic connection to the band. They liked to think that they could control every aspect of the band’s life and that they weren’t entitled to be in relationships. When Matt and Jack had decided to give their relationship a decent try, they had made the joint decision to only tell those who needed to know about them. So, while the band, crew, their management and other people knew, their fans didn’t know anything. It was normal for Matt to have to be around Jack so often. This meant that Matt and Jack were able to enjoy the closest thing to a “normal” relationship that they had in a long time. It was definitely a nice way to be, that’s for sure. Eventually, they’d let fans see they were in a relationship but when that day would come wasn’t important to either of them -it would happen when it happened. They had a strong relationship, strong enough not to care about what other’s thought. They’d just fallen into the comfort of being a secret and the perks it brought with it.

“One coffee made exactly how you like it,” Jack announce placing the mug on the table in front of him and in a move that was unusual for him, not trying to hug or kiss Matt. It kind of made Matt sad and wanting to hug Jack, until Matt realised that it was probably Jack’s plan all along. He knew how to get his way and making Matt want to be with him was one way of getting what he wanted. Instead, Jack grabbed the spare seat, pulled it over to the other side of the flight case containing all of the things Matt needed and sat down on it, propping his feet up on the case, nursing a coffee himself “You said I’ll get bored waiting for you Baby but I’m bored on my own. I’ll wait here if you don’t mind. I’m sure I could find something to amuse myself!”

He took out his phone and Matt was hoping he’d find his source of distraction on Twitter or some other site like that. Matt reached for his mug, pulling his hand back when he felt a sticky note attached to the other side. He pulled it off, recognising Jack’s distinctive handwriting anywhere.

The note read : I’ve got the F C K, now all I need is U! then beneath it there was another one You can call me Alice because your ass is Wonderland and I want to be in it!”

“Thanks Jack,” Matt replied, sticking his tongue out at his boyfriend as he stuck the post-it note into his folder to serve as a reminder for the day “So glad you think my ass is so great but that doesn’t mean you’re getting in it anytime soon! Alice ain’t having that adventure right now!”

Jack flipped him off when he realised that he still hadn’t caused Matt to abandon his work. Jack went to take a mouthful of his coffee before pouting in Matt’s direction “I’ve an owie on my lips....Will you kiss it better?”

Matt simply muttered “Later” in response as he continued to work, quickening his pace and trying to get this stuff done with. It was 4pm now and the band wouldn’t have to go on until 10pm tonight. With the exception of a meet and greet, he’d have the evening to do what he’d like.

Jack was on fire with all of the pickup lines today and Matt wondered how many more of them he had up his sleeve. Since it was impossible for Jack to be in a room and sit still for any period of time, it didn’t take him long to find out.

“Matt!” Jack announced impatiently “Is that Pinocchio in your pants or are you just excited to see me? Ooh I’ve just had a whole new wave of them, remember when Alex and I got “Disney Pickup Lines” trending on twitter?”

Matt vaguely remembered the day but knew it had been the by-product of too much time being cooped up on a bus as they drove all day to make it to the next venue. That day, well over two years ago had been a pretty random one to say the least and some of the pickup lines that made it onto the list had been disturbing and slightly odd. It had kept the boys amused to no end though so it was successful.

“I’ve got a monorail you can ride Matt,” Jack grinned, throwing out line after line. He was on a roll and he wasn’t stopping now. “Call me Pooh Bear because all I want is you Honey!”

Jack knew that this one would get a reaction out of Matt. He was the one who had taken to calling Jack Bear, because of how his surname sounded and how cuddly and touchy Jack was when he was around Matt. Jack liked to cuddle and Matt liked to be cuddled.

“Oh come on! You have to find that one funny!” Jack exclaimed loudly, throwing his hands up in the air. “I know you want to smile! I know you Flyzik and even your stressed out brain finds that one kinda funny.”

Now that Jack had drawn attention to it, Matt was finding it harder and harder to contain the grin that threatened to stretch across his lips but it didn’t work. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t stop himself smiling.

“Right, you’ve got me there, it was funny,” Matt admitted “But I still have to work, I’ve only to do the stats on last night’s show and then I’m giving up! Can you wait until then?”

Jack stubbornly shook his head. Now, he was really bored and all he wanted was for Matt to stop working and spend time with him. Matt had been gone before he woke up and by the time Jack was awake, it was time for an interview and then an acoustic performance. Matt had gone straight to the production office when they’d got back to the venue and Jack had waited two hours before going to try and distract his stressed out boyfriend. So far, he’d spent another past two hours trying every pickup line he deemed good enough out on Matt but he still hadn’t stopped working.

He spent the next few minutes, calling Matt’s name until he got a response, normally a tired sound “What?” or “Yes Jack?” before answering “Nothing Babe!” It was annoying, Jack knew that but he didn’t stop what he was doing.

“All this work doesn’t seem to be going down well for you at all. You don’t work well when you’re stressed,” Jack commented, stating a fact about Matt but also unbeknownst to Matt, setting himself up for his next cheesy line “You know, you don’t need a spoonful of sugar to make me go down and when it comes to going down on you, I’m supercalifragilistic!”

He winked in his boyfriend’s direction as Matt rested his head in his hands, groaning out loud. “Seriously Jack, did you have to try and ruin Mary Poppins for me too? That’s a movie I watch with my mom. Now, I’m not going to be able to watch it without thinking about that and you going down on me...I’m going to hell and I hope you end up there too! What else are you going to try and taint my memory of Baby? Actually, don’t answer that, I don’t want to know. Ugh why do I have so much work to do?”

He turned his music up louder, trying to ignore Jack who had started humming “Supercalifragilistic” and then started singing the words, adding his own version of it, making sure that Matt heard him.

“Oh, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious even though the sound of it makes Matt get a boner, if you say it loud enough, you’ll always sound precocious. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!” he sang before looking over at his boyfriend who was growing more and more frustrated “Is it working? Is Pinocchio making his way into your pants?”

Matt ignored this comment, what was he supposed to say after that? One of his favourite childhood movie songs would never sound the same way again and it was all because his boyfriend had a strange love of the word “Boner”. He began typing, faster this time because he knew it was only a matter of time before Jack had another one ready to fire at him. If he was nearly finished, maybe he’d hold back. It was unlikely but still worth a shot.

“I think this next one is pure gold, it’s almost a shame to use it now, I was planning on making this my final one, you know finish on a big climax?” Jack announced and he knew that Matt was wearing thin and this might be the one “My name is Mickey and there’s nothing Minnie about me.”

Matt’s jaw dropped as he pointed an accusing finger at Jack “You didn’t...Please tell me you didn’t make a Mickey Mouse one Jack?” he asked his tone shocked “Why did you have to do that? Out of everything, you chose Mickey, why?”

He looked towards the Mickey Mouse teddy that had been proudly displayed on top of his flight case. It had been a present from Jack, given to him not long after they became an “official” couple. In return he had bought Jack some “Home Alone” t-shirts which he wore the whole time. It had been both of their ways of telling the other that they understood the quirky little obsessions that they both had, obsessions that should have been left in their childhood but had made their way into their adult lives. Mickey wasn’t there but he was in Jack’s hand and Jack had a devious smile on his face.

“Mickey would you like proof there’s nothing “Minnie” about me?” he grinned, his hand reaching for the waistband of his tight jeans “You may as well get a look in since my boyfriend has no interest!”

Matt’s reflexes were lightening quick as he snatched the teddy from his hands before he could defile the plush toy. It had been subjected to some questionable things by the band before but being stuffed down Jack’s pants would not be one of them.

“No..no...no!” he said firmly, his protective grip tight on the toy and he knew Jack had wanted to get a rise out of him and he’d succeeded. Matt would do anything for Jack and he knew it worked two ways. The pickup lines had been a cute thing to do and they had reminded Matt of so many different aspects of their relationship. It was something so cheesy that only Jack Barakat could be the one responsible for it. “Mickey stays out of this!”

He turned his attention back to the screen for the thousandth time today noticing he only had to copy the set list in and a few small little things left to do.

“Matt?” he heard Jack ask and Matt wasn’t determined not to fall for the “Nothing Babe,” that would probably be the response when he asked Jack what was up. Jack didn’t take well to being ignored “Matt? ... Ok Baby no more pickup lines, I’m finished with them, the rest are crap anyway. I just want to tell you one more thing and then I’ll leave you alone -I promise!”

Matt turned in the chair to face his boyfriend, a look of frustration on his face, it was so close to being finished.

“Jack I get what you’re trying to do and I appreciate it, I really do! I know you’re trying to de-stress me but I really need to finish this and I’m so fucking close to it being done. Can whatever pickup line it is wait until then? I just need to get this done and then we’ll cuddle, make out, go for a walk or whatever you want to do. I just need to get some proper work done! Then I’ll make up for being such a shit boyfriend today, is that ok?”

Matt hadn’t expected his words to sound so mean it was like he was completely dismissing Jack’s efforts to relax him. It had happened though and there wasn’t a way of taking it back, well there wasn’t a way that appeared in Matt’s fried brain.

“I’m sorry Matty, you aren’t a shit boyfriend Babe. You’re just a very stressed out and tired boyfriend” Jack replied, his tone a lot quieter and softer “I just wanted to tell you I Love you! I’ll leave you get this done, come find me when you’re done!”

Matt’s heart jumped when he heard this, hearing Jack say “I love you” had been his favourite thing to hear since they exchanged the sentiment for the first time. He closed the lid of the computer, deeming it finished- he could proof read it later. He reached out grabbing Jack’s hand and pulling his boyfriend back towards him and onto his lap. Jack straddled him, sitting backwards on the chair, facing Matt whose arms were holding him in place as he rested his head in Jack’s chest. Jack’s arms were tight and comforting around him and he felt all his stress disappear as Jack moved his hand up and down his back.

“I love you too Jack,” Matt replied, his voice muffled from the Jack’s hoodie, “I’m finished now, what do you want to do?”

Jack didn’t answer him, choosing instead to plant a kiss on Matt’s temple and falling silent for a few minutes, letting Matt relax against his chest. The only thought running through Matt’s head was: Of course he decided to be quiet and still now, when all the work is done. It was typical of his boyfriend and Matt loved it about him. As much as he complained, he wouldn’t change it for the world. Jack fitted him and they understood each other. Even when people had been un-convinced that having a relationship with someone you worked with wasn’t going to work, they had proved them wrong -a year later and still going strong.

Of course, Jack would have to get the last word in and after some much welcome silence, he began to reply and without looking at his face, Matt could already hear the smirk and smugness in his voice.

“If I had known that telling you I loved you was all it took to make you stop working for a while, I’d have started with that and saved all of those pickup lines for the next time you needed a distraction,” he replied while Matt playfully punched him in his arms “How about one more for old time’s sake?”

Jack didn’t wait for Matt to respond and Matt wasn’t going to stop him from throwing one more out there.

“If you need a teddy bear, I’ll sleep with you tonight!”