Chapter Text
‿︵‿︵୨ *.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.* ୧‿︵‿︵
“Alright, this is it, the final show.”
Skizz’s statement hung heavy in the common room of the bus.
In fifteen hours the tour was going to officially wrap up.
In fifteen hours, Jimmy was going to complete his first tour.
In fifteen hours, The Rejects were going to celebrate the end of their first headlining tour.
In fifteen hours, Gem and the Scotts were going to celebrate with their tourmates.
In fifteen hours.
Jimmy looked around the space, as if trying to commit every detail to memory. The tv hung in the corner that never seemed to work. The hidden seat belts behind the sectional cushions that no one ever used. The cabinets that swung open and hit the vocalist more times than he could count. He memorized all of it.
Even the smell of the flowers he was sitting above. The scent of the flowers the vocalist bought Scott has infected the bus, seemingly every space Jimmy walks into had the scent.
The blonde was frankly surprised one bouquet of flowers could take over a space like that.
“Let’s make the best of it!” Skizz announces, seemingly unaware of the tension he brought to the room.
All the tourmates were there, hanging out before arriving at the final venue of the tour. Joel sat with Gem and Big B, their game of cards getting interrupted from Skizz’s announcement.
Impulse sat on the other sectional between Jimmy and Scott; talking to his bandmate about the final project he was rushing to complete. It was only then when Jimmy remembered that project was due at midnight that very night.
As Scott worked, hair a mess from running his hand through it far too many times, his tongue stuck out the slightest bit.
It was a small detail Jimmy only learned about his boyfriend recently; but whenever the other vocalist was trying to put all his focus into something, he subconsciously stuck the tip of his tongue out the side of his mouth.
Jimmy might be more aware about this habit then Scott himself was, and the blonde was perfectly fine with that.
He just thought it was cute.
“We already know that, Skizz.” Joel teases as he tries to sneak a look at Big B’s cards.
“I was actually planning on doing awful tonight, thank-you-very-much.” Gem retorts as she makes her play, which forces Joel to add some cards to his deck. The drummer tried to make a thing of it, but when Gem didn’t give in, Joel added the nuisances to his deck.
Big B just laughed at his tourmates, keeping his cards close to his chest. His magnificently carved chest.
“Just listen up, I’m trying to give a pep-talk!” Skizz shouts, grabbing Joel’s clipboard off of one of the sectionals. The drummer never seemed to use it, so Skizz took it upon himself to give it a new purpose.
“I thought it would be nice to give some words of encouragement before tonight's show–” Skizz explains, glaring down towards his clipboard. “I have no doubt we’ll absolutely kill it tonight, but a few affirmations never killed anybody.”
“Yet.” Scott jokes, earning a laugh from the group.
“By speaking, you’ve volunteered yourself to be first Scott.”
“God damn it–” The vocalist cursed with a smile, looking up towards the guitarist.
Looking down towards his clipboard, Skizz went over a few lines before taking a deep breath and facing towards the vocalist.
“Scott, your energy is absolutely contagious, both on and off stage. You somehow manage to have such a calm presence backed by an insane amount of confidence, genuinely I don’t know how you do it.” The guitarist starts, and Scott gets caught off-guard by the sudden sincerity. “You could tell me the worst news and the world, and I will feel able to handle it; and that’s a gift.”
“Oh my… god.” Scott starts, a small blush creeping onto his face. “Are you trying to make me cry before the actual show Skizz?!”
Scott hid his face in the blanket laying in his lap, much to Jimmy's chagrin.
“Me next!” Gem called out, suddenly very distracted from the card game she was winning.
“No, you were being sassy.” Skizz remarks, purposely skipping over the bassist to annoy her. “I’m gonna do Joel next.”
“Oh so I was being sassy, but JOEL wasn’t??” Gem questions, crossing her arms before leaning against the back of the sectional.
“Joel–” The guitarist starts, ignoring the playful pout Gem sent his way. “No one can do confidence like you do; and you being our tour manager during these past couple months has only cemented that for me. Between dealing with busted engines, minor plagues, and a certain old vocalist; I have never once seen you give up. That takes guts man.”
“Yeah, I guess I am pretty cool.” Joel responds, being as chalant as ever.
The drummer might’ve not thought too much into Skizz’s words, but Jimmy sure did. Joel as been struggling through his tension with Scott throughout the majority of the tour; so being told that it didn’t show, that the man put his best foot forward after every break down, that he was confident to the very bands he looked out for–
Even if Joel didn’t show it, the vocalist knew he appreciated those words more than anything.
“Jimmy, your next–” Skizz starts and the vocalist nearly flinches at the use of his real name. “There’s so much to say about you man, but I’ll say this: You are naturally so quick witted it makes me jealous.”
Suddenly Jimmy understood how his boyfriend felt a few seconds ago, being put on the spot.
“In everyday life, you're so quick to come up with jokes and play into bits, but on stage is where you really shine.” The guitarist continues. “The way you interact with fans, the way you perform, the way you… just everything dude! You’ve only been our vocalist for half a year and The Rejects are more successful than ever, that’s all you!”
Jimmy wanted for someone to object; to make a joke at his expense and move onto the next person.
It never happened.
“Stopppp–” Jimmy responds, pulling up his knees and hiding his face behind his legs. The group laughed, and the vocalist could hear Scott’s laugh mixed up with the rest of them.
Traitor.
“The thing is I think you're holding back!” Skizz says, going against the vocalist’s demands for him to stop. “Seeing you in those radio interviews or talking with the crew, I know you have what it takes to get The Rejects from performing in our current venues to arenas!”
The blush on the blonde’s face was so hot it felt as though it was burning a hole through his jeans. Luckily, Skizz took mercy and went to find a new victim.
“Then there’s you–” Skizz says, enjoying his newfound power of embarrassing his tourmates as he turns towards a certain drummer. “Impulse, I genuinely don’t know how you do it. Your tenacity and perseverance is second to none; there’s been so many times through the tour when we’ve had bad days or moments, and you were always quick to power through for the group.”
A soft smile spread across the man's face as he stared knowingly towards the guitarist.
“Are you talking about that horrendous podcast episode I made while wasted?”
“Partially.” Skizz admits with a smile. “You sure persevered through your brain fog to create that masterpiece.”
“And the terrible hang over the next day.” The drummer adds, getting a laugh from the group.
“We’ll have to recreate that video at some point, it was too good!”
“Or we could just make a legitimate podcast.”
The suggestion caused Skizz to break focus; looking towards the man that he only met a couple months ago, but felt like he knew his whole life.
“I would like that.” The guitarist admits, before shaking himself from his thoughts and turning towards Big B. “Now stop distracting me so you get more compliments.”
After the group was done laughing at Skizz’s comment, the man spoke up again.
“Big B, you’re so genuine it hurts sometimes.” The guitarist admits, getting a smile from his bandmate. “I mean, how many times during this tour have one of us felt stressed out or upset, and you took the time to comfort us in that wonderfully-weird way of yours? I mean, you’re just awesome dude!”
For a second, Jimmy saw something flash in Big B’s eyes.
Whether it was admiration, respect, or tears welling up; Jimmy had no clue. It was gone before he got a better look at it.
“Thank you so much dude.” Big B responds genuinely, proving the guitarist’s point perfectly.
After Big B spoke, Skizz made a show of looking at his paper again, even lifting the page to look underneath it before speaking up.
“And that seems to be everyone!” Skizz announced, Gem staring daggers into his skin.
“Skizz, I’m about to throw you out the window–”
“I’d like to see you try, Gemstone.” Skizz quips back, meeting the glare of the bassist.
“The truth is Gem, I really struggled for you.” Skizz admits, looking down towards the clipboard again. “You’re just so charismatic! Almost every single time we’ve gone out, you’ve led the group into the night. Conversation and hanging out with you just comes so easy I genuinely can’t come up with the words to express it!”
Gem, after finally hearing an affirmation of her own, smiled to herself as she picked up her cards again.
“Life Records couldn’t have picked a better band to tour with.” Skizz confesses, the other Rejects nodding in agreement. “Getting closer to you guys has been an absolute honor, and I mean that.”
The members of Gem and the Scotts looked to each other, sharing stares and quick glances before the drummer spoke up.
“Working with you guys has been amazing as well… definitely a memorable first tour, flowers to you guys!”
“Flowers you say?” Gem deadpans, staring at her bandmate with an unimpressed expression.
“Or not!” Impulse quickly takes back. “Flowers would be hard to transport anyway, I mean, could you imagine storing flowers on this bus?”
Jimmy didn’t have to, because right underneath where Impulse was sitting, a bouquet of poppies and roses hid, waiting to be gifted to the most remarkable man Jimmy has ever met.
“Right…” Gem remarks, getting up to ruffle the drummer's hair before heading into the kitchen. “You must have flowers on your mind because of my new perfume.”
Scott and Jimmy both turned towards Gem as she said that.
A wave of relief washed over the blonde with an excuse as to why the bus smells of pollen and florals presenting itself.
“When’d you grab a new perfume?” Scott asked the bassist, the woman matching her previous unimpressed look for the vocalist.
“A couple nights back while we were running errands.” She deadpans.
“Ah.”
Before the topic could be further discussed, the bus came to a stop. A brick wall covers the windows as the vehicle parked outside the last venue of the tour, a feeling sinking into Jimmy’s stomach at the thought.
This is it.
They had fifteen hours.
Taking a deep breath, Jimmy inhaling months worth of memories and pollen, the blonde spoke up.
“Let’s get on with it then.”
͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙ ♫ •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙
The venue seemed familiar in a way.
Nothing about it stood out from the several other places the bands have visited over the past couple months. However, this is one of the only venues to give the bands two dressing rooms.
The last time the bands were able to get ready separately was in the first couple weeks of the tour, and Jimmy wasn’t sure how he felt about it.
On one hand, it probably was best for the bands to have more space to get ready. Between The Rejects hogging up all the mirror space, Gem and the Scotts having to set up their different face paints, and the general chaos of seven people getting ready in a small room; it wasn’t a bad idea to separate the bands.
Yet here Jimmy was, doing his eyeliner in a fairly quiet room, missing the hassle of sharing a space with everyone. Skizz and Joel worked to repair a few things behind him while Big B caught a quick nap before the show in a couple hours.
It also didn’t help that, after however many shows they’ve performed the past couple months, Jimmy’s nerves were getting the best of him. The vocalist’s hands shook as he attempted to draw on semi-decent eyeliner for the night.
The Rejects never really had dedicated stage clothes like Gem and the Scotts, but it was a general understanding to dress up for tonight.
Skizz was dressed somewhat formal for the night; wearing a dress shirt and suit jacket, both short-sleeved in order to avoid absolutely dying of heat on stage. Then with a pair of simple jeans and mis-matched shoes, the outfit was tied off with a red tie that the man purposely glued to be hanging off his shoulder.
Standing next to the guitarist was Joel, far more casual than the other man. Sporting regular jeans with a chain hung off his waist, the drummer was also wearing a black skull crop top with his wrists decorated with a bunch of different colored bracelets.
Jimmy remembers off-handedly mentioning the choice of shirt to Joel a while back, and the drummer just shrugged him off. Drumming was definitely a workout within itself, Joel’s hair nearly always drenched in sweat after every performance wrapped up, so the air flow that comes with a crop top probably wasn’t the worst idea.
Then there was the man taking up the entire sofa. Big B wore a pair of regular ripped black jeans; a checkerboard belt matching his sneakers, which for some reason were on the couch, perfectly. Wearing a blue tank top, the bassist's arms were on full display, only being partially covered by a pair of striped arm warmers.
Of course on the last night of the tour Big B had to show off his traps.
Looking back towards the mirror, it was now Jimmy’s turn to analyze himself. He was wearing an all black number; his red flannel draped around his shoulders, matching the necklace around his neck perfectly. Just out of view, the blonde was wearing a pair of knee-high converse, elevating his outfit to... some kind of level.
The black fishnet sleeves on his arms finished everything off.
It might have not been as intricate as Gem and the Scott’s stage outfits, but Jimmy was proud of the outfit he picked out god damn it!
Speaking of the other band; Jimmy couldn’t help his mind from drifting off and wondering how they were dealing with the show wrapping up. Impulse and Gem were touring for the first time as well, and they seemed fairly put together on the bus, but maybe the same nerves Jimmy was experiencing were getting to them too.
Maybe the vocalist should go to the other band's dressing room to check on the other two; definitely with no ulterior motive of seeing his boyfriend… definitely not.
“I’m going to go visit the others.” Jimmy announces as he gets up from the fold-out chair he stationed in front of his mirror.
“Say hi to Scott for us.” Joel teases, seeing right through the vocalist’s act.
Jimmy would’ve liked to quip back, but he frankly didn’t have the energy for it anymore. There was only so much teasing about his ‘crush’ that he could take before just giving in and dropping the act of being defensive.
Everyone on the bus knew about the two vocalist’s feelings.
What everyone didn’t know however, was the extent of how long these feelings have been acknowledged.
The blonde wasn’t sure when the two should break the news to their tourmates. The main motive for keeping their relationship a secret was to avoid drama with Joel and the other bandmates; however all the drama was left back in the city Scott and Joel made up in.
There wasn’t much of a reason to hide their status anymore, but Jimmy wasn’t stupid enough to go tell everybody about his amazing boyfriend without talking about it with him first.
Walking down the hall, Jimmy was greeted by old, stained carpet and dusty floor boards. The space was old and unkept, and that was fairly obvious; believe it or not though, it was one of the cleaner venues the blonde has seen over the course of this tour.
After a few steps, the vocalist stood in front of the door labeled for Gem and the Scotts; a piece of tape and a sharpie claiming the room. Music was playing from inside, some kind of generic 2000’s pop that definitely didn’t match the vibe of the band's music, but no one seemed to mind.
Taking a quick breath, Jimmy knocked on the door.
Impulse opened the door, his stage face paint already applied as he stared back at the blonde.
“Oh hey, Jim!” Impulse nearly squeaks out in surprise, taking a quick glance of the vocalist’s outfit. Impulse’s mouth spoke before his mind could catch up. “Is that a flower necklace?”
“Oh yeah.” Jimmy acknowledged, reaching up to grab the piece of jewelry. “Scott got it for me a while ago at a rest stop.”
The vocalist watched as his bandmates face scrunched up with anxiety. Why the drummer was suddenly so nervous and acting weird, Jimmy had no clue.
Gem and the Scotts had nothing to lie about, aside from keeping Scott’s feelings away from the blonde, but they’ve been doing that for weeks now without too much issue.
So why now?
“Impulse, invite him to the party!” Gem shouts out over her blow drier as she waved over to the vocalist. “And stop acting weird!”
That got a laugh from Jimmy as Impulse held the door open for him. The room was nearly identical to the previous, the only difference being the whole thing seemed to be inverted.
Scott was stationed up on the couch, headphones on as he typed away aggressively on his keyboard, no doubt finishing up his project before the deadline tonight. Blue and green stars were scattered across his face, being illuminated by the screen in front of him.
Gem was in front of the mirrors, putting together her look for the final show. The bassist already had one red colored contact in, matching perfectly with the red heart of the dark shirt she threw on. Gem’s overalls were partially on, her more so wearing them as jeans rather than a body suit in the current moment.
Then Impulse stood awkwardly in the corner, already dressed and prepared for the show, his drum-sticks hanging from his belt. His face paint almost resembled lightning tonight, and Jimmy could tell the drummer had done the look himself.
Not that it looked bad or anything, it just didn’t match the pure artistry that Scott seemed to put into everything he did.
“How are you feeling?!” Jimmy shouts to Gem, still having to fight against the volume of the blow drier. “About the last show?”
“I’m trying not to cry!” Gem shouts back, her eyes evidently not holding back tears. “I actually can’t believe it’s wrapping up already!”
Finally done with her hair, Gem set down the blow drier.
“Yeah no.” Jimmy agrees. “It feels just like yesterday when we first moved onto the bus.”
“It’s definitely going to be a challenge to readjust back to being a student.” Impulse adds, sitting down in the chair aside from Gem.
“We won’t even be students.” Gem complains as she fiddles with her hair. “We’re basically in summer, which means waiting around for three months doing nothing!”
“Oh, you’re totally right, that’s gonna suck.” Impulse agrees.
“Yeah, I’m always right.” The bassist jokes, grabbing a perfume bottle from the crowded vanity and spritsing her wrist and neck. A strong smell of vanilla and maple flooded Jimmy’s senses, both subtle and overwhelming all at once.
“Maybe you lot could work on the band over the summer?” Jimmy suggests, getting a laugh from Impulse.
“Well obviously–” Impulse starts, holding back his laughter. “Course work is what keeps me going more often than not though, so it’s gonna be rough.”
“Says the soon-to-be graduate.” Gem teases as she sets her perfume down in favor of starting the base layer of her makeup.
“God don’t remind me.” Impulse groans as he leans back against his chair. “Not ready to enter the real world.”
Jimmy was about the speak up, but he quickly got interrupted.
“And submitted!” Scott shouts out, making a show of slamming his laptop shut and falling back into the couch. “The stress is over.”
“Speaking of course work…” Gem remarks.
Getting some cheers from his bandmates, Scott turned to look over towards Jimmy and jumped the slightest bit.
“How long have you been here?” The vocalist asked, getting up to walk over to his tourmates.
“Just a minute or so…” Jimmy smiles, trying to keep himself from pulling his boyfriend into a hug. “Congrats by the way.”
“Thank you, here do you wanna see?” Scott offers, grabbing his tablet off of the vanity and pulling up the finished assignment for Jimmy to watch.
All the details from before were absolutely radiant now that they were colored-in and exported; and Jimmy’s jaw literally dropped as he saw what were once simple silhouettes turn into absolute artistry.
When he got to the section Jimmy had yet to see, his eyes were glued to the screen. He watched as the elven prince walked around the town, absolutely dazed by its beauty. Then someone grabs his shoulder before kissing him on the cheek, pointing towards a home decorated with green and blue banners and walking off.
The new character seemed to be the one Scott was struggling with earlier in the tour; Jimmy only seeing the man's drawing once before when his hangover was plaguing him.
The character's blonde hair, the tips dyed a light green, nearly matched Jimmy’s perfectly. His outfit closely resembled what the elven prince was wearing, the only difference being the color and the red poppy necklace hanging from the man's neck.
It was then when it clicked for Jimmy.
“Oh, that’s not fair.” The blonde whispered, replaying the part where his character kissed the elven prince, a blush taking over his face. “You’re evil for this.”
“Yeah?” Scott teases, crossing his arms and staring down his boyfriend.
“When did you even– how did you even– just wow.” Jimmy says, unsure of where to even begin unpacking the situation.
Laughing to himself, Scott was more than willing to fill in the blanks.
“I designed him that night back at the motel.” Scott admits, a small blush creeping onto his face. “I couldn’t think of anyone else that would fit the character better.”
Impulse and Gem be damned, Jimmy pulled his boyfriend into a hug.
His thoughtful, talented, amazing boyfriend.
The boyfriend that spent the time animating Jimmy just for the sake of it.
The boyfriend that added angel wings to his character just because Jimmy said he reminded him of an angel.
The boyfriend that Jimmy knew he loved.
Maybe that was too forward, and Jimmy knew that thought wasn’t going to be verbalized for a long time, but god it was still such a nice thought to have.
He loved Scott.
Pulling away from the hug, the moment Scott and Jimmy made eye contact they both looked down at each other's lips and burst out laughing.
A silent agreement was reached with the laughter; let's not drag out this secret.
They weren’t going to mention it now, but god damn it it needed to be brought up sooner rather than later.
“It looks really good!” Jimmy settled on saying, grabbing the tablet once again and rewatching the entire animation. However, Scott never stopped laughing, causing his boyfriend to raise a concerned brow. “Everything good?”
“No sorry…” Scott continues laughing. “Your eyeliner is just in such a state right now!”
It was only then when Jimmy remembered his earlier struggle with his makeup, shaky hands attempting to expose his nerves.
“Thanks for telling me guys.” Jimmy remarks to the other members of Gem and the Scotts, and they just give him a shrug.
“The Reject’s makeup always looks messy to me.” Impulse admits, earning a laugh from Gem.
“Geez, I’d rather you insult me at that point.” Jimmy jokes, as Scott grabbed a makeup wipe and began to clean up his boyfriend's face.
“Here, I can do your makeup this time around.” Scott offers, only to be yanked by his shirt collar by Gem.
“I think you’re forgetting your actual bandmate that needs her stage makeup done?” Gem quips, grinning at the two vocalists.
“Fine.” Scott relents, grabbing some of his face paints and makeup. “I’ll do yours after, Jim.”
“That’s alright, I’ve got nothing but time.”
He spent that time watching as his boyfriend applied Gem’s makeup. Half of the bassist’s face got covered in black swirls and arches, a few scattered hearts here and there to bring the red of her eye into the design.
It was just as detailed and intricate as everything else Scott did, and Jimmy took much joy in noticing that his boyfriend, once again, stuck his tongue out while he worked. About ten minutes later, Gem was in full stage makeup, looking like an absolute badass.
After the bassist checked in the mirror and approved, she offered to go grab snacks at a nearby gas station for everyone, dragging Impulse along for ‘moral support’.
The attempt at wingmaning was comical, but Jimmy couldn’t find it in himself to laugh. After all, the attempt at least got him some one-on-one time with his boyfriend.
“Alright, so I’m going to give you two options.” Scott starts, digging through his bag before realizing the yellow face paint was sitting on the vanity Impulse was stationed at earlier. “I can either do your regular smudgy eyeliner, or try something a bit more fun.”
“Something a bit more fun?” Jimmy questioned, a blush growing on his face as he looked towards Scott.
“Yeah something fun.” The other man confirms. “I have a vague idea about a cool design that should look good on you, but you’ll have to trust that it’ll turn out good.”
Oh, he was talking about makeup.
Fighting back his blush, Jimmy coughs out; “And what makes you think I would ever trust you?”
“Maybe the fact that you’re fidgeting with the necklace I bought you right now.”
“I swear–” Jimmy shouts, dropping his hands and forcing them to his sides. His boyfriend just gave him a playful look before pulling up a few reference images on his phone.
“So which will it be, angel?”
Trying his best to ignore the pet name, Jimmy took a second to think. He knew all the other Rejects were most likely going to be matching the smudgy eyeliner aesthetic, and he should probably follow suit.
However, seeing his boyfriend’s excited eyes has gotten the blonde thinking backwards. If Jimmy had the chance to become a canvas for Scott’s art, he was going to take it.
“Let’s try something fun.” Jimmy settles on, and Scott gives him a quick kiss before grabbing the yellow face paint.
Having Scott do his makeup has become familiar to the blonde, despite it only happening about three times. As Scott defined his colors and shapes, tongue poking out of his mouth as he does so, Jimmy reminisces.
“This really reminds me of the hometown show.” Jimmy speaks up, getting a hum from his boyfriend. “I can't believe your first impression of me was having a panic attack next to a dumpster.”
“No.” Scott replied, bringing the brush towards the inside of Jimmy’s waterline. “My first impression of you was with your bedhead and Captain America pajamas.”
“That’s arguably much worse.”
“Oh, one hundred percent.”
The two men laughed, Scott holding Jimmy’s face still, at the comment. After the fit, Scott continued his work in silence before speaking up once again.
“It’s crazy to think that was only two months ago, the hometown show?” Scott asks, despite it not being a question. “And for the record, I didn’t even remember you were having a panic attack.”
“Really?” Jimmy asked unconvinced.
“Yeah, I just remember being able to talk to you and doing your makeup.” Scott confesses. “I was honestly very hesitant to get close with any of The Rejects for fairly obvious reasons, but that night, you proved me wrong.”
“Happy I was able to help.” Jimmy smiles, cracking an eye open slightly as Scott pulls away to grab some setting spray. Sparying it on the vocalist’s left eye, Scott moved onto the right.
“You’ve genuinely helped so much, Jim.” Scott continues, slightly fanning the left side of his boyfriend's face. “I don’t think you’ll ever know the true extent of how much you’ve changed my life.”
Jimmy could feel the tears gather behind his closed eyelids, and it took everything in him not to open them and ruin his boyfriend's work.
“You can’t get mad at Skizz for almost making you cry, and then turn around and do the same thing to me.” Jimmy complains, getting a laugh from his boyfriend.
“Sorry for telling the truth.” Scott apologizes, not sorry in the slightest. “Throughout this tour though, you’ve done everything to make me feel comfortable and safe, both in general and in our relationship. That means everything to someone who felt nauseous at the thought of entering a tour bus after what happened.”
Jimmy felt another cold spray hit the right side of his face, scrunching up his nose, causing a tear to fall out his eye. Scott just wiped away the tear and repaired the damage with no complaint.
“I’m just trying to say thank you is all.” Scott says, reaching to grab a tissue for his boyfriend. “Forgive me for being all sentimental... last show nerves I suppose.”
“No it's fine–” Jimmy immediately replies, holding the tissue to his eye. “I’ve honestly been feeling that same way as of late.”
There was an unreadable expression on Scott’s face as he looked at Jimmy. The blonde is yet to memorize all of his boyfriend’s facial expressions, but when Scott leaned in and kissed him, Jimmy made a mental note to catalog the expression he saw as a good one.
The two stayed like that for a while, not daring to part. There might not be another moment like this for a while.
After all, tomorrow morning the bands will begin their travels back home. There will be no more venues to sneak around, motel rooms to crash inside, or local restaurants to visit; it’ll just be travel with the occasional rest stop.
That already sounds like hell, but then Jimmy considers the fact of Scott living a few towns over. The tour bus wasn’t exactly the fastest vehicle in the world, so it took nearly a day of travel to reach Gem and The Scotts.
The blonde didn’t have a car laying around, everywhere he needed to be up until this point was local to his city. He definitely knows what his first purchase will be once Life Records hands out paychecks for the tour.
However, for a bit of time, they would have to be long distance.
The two men’s entire relationship was built within the confines of this bus, and they’ll have to abandon it, and eachother, once the tour wraps up.
It was a scary thought, so in such a rare intimate moment, the two took the time to cherish what will soon be taken away from them.
“Here–” Scott pants out as he pulls away from Jimmy’s lips, grabbing a mirror from the vanity. “Whatcha think?”
The sight alone made Jimmy want to begin crying again. Yellow, almost angelic, wings sprouted from the corners of his eyes; each stroke of paint perfectly placed to create the absolute beauty in the mirror.
“I love it.” Jimmy says, panting out as well. “God Scott, I really love… it.”
That caused Scott to lean in once again, however this time the two vocalists were rudely interrupted by a sharp knock on the door.
“You guys better return Jimmy right now, we miss him!” The two men heard Skizz shout through the door and Scott let his head fall onto Jimmy’s shoulder.
“I’m going to kill your bandmates one of these days.”
“They can’t help being terrible wingmen.”
“You know, I can’t wait to drop the act just to get everyone to start acting normal again.” Scott jokes before standing up and walking towards the door.
“I’m holding your vocalist for ransome, one of you guys get me a cup of tea and you can have him back.” Scott says through the crack in the door, and Jimmy could hear his bandmates complain before heading to the bus to make some tea.
They returned quickly enough, handing Scott his tea before rushing Jimmy to ask if he was alright, but something stopped them dead in their tracks.
“Your makeup looks amazing, Jiggles!” Skizz shouts, nearly screams, as his jaw drops to the floor. “I want cool makeup like that, what the heck?!”
“Compliments to the artist.” Jimmy gestures over towards Scott, who took a sip of his tea and grimaced. It was only then when the vocalist remembers he had some sugar packets in his pocket after The Reject’s escapade a few nights ago, so he passed one along to Scott.
His boyfriend gave him a confused look, but poured the sugar in his tea nonetheless.
“Scott, I will make you another cup of tea if you also do my makeup.” Skizz offers, getting a laugh from the other man.
“You didn’t even make my first cup of tea right.” Scott remarks, walking over to grab some of his makeup supplies. “But I’ll make an exception just this once, since you were so nice earlier and all.”
“Well that’s not fair, I want some cool makeup too.” Joel jokes, hitting Skizz on the back of his head.
Checking the time real quick, Scott weighed his options before turning to look towards The Rejects.
“I think we could make something work.”
* . °•★| 2:42 ──────ㅇ─ 3:13 |☆•° . *
“♪♫ Who has to know? ♫♪ ” Jimmy sings into the microphone, tears already forming in his eyes as he sings the last words of the encore, officially ending the tour. “♪♫ Who has to know?♫♪ ”
As Skizz and Big B drew out the riffs on their instruments, Jimmy felt a tear run down his face as the fans all cheered away.
The crowd was absolutely fantastic, quick to interact with the band's chants and even know the words to the majority of Gem and the Scott’s songs. Genuinely, there couldn’t have been a better show to wrap up the tour with.
Wiping away his tears, because Jimmy would rather die than ruin the amazing make up his boyfriend did for him, he looked over to his bandmates.
They seemed just as emotional, Skizz maybe more so.
The guitarist was rocking a lightning bolt on his face, matching with Impulse. The only difference being the Skizz’s was blue with a hint of red, matching his eyes perfectly in the stage light.
Big B was trying his best not to let his nerves show, but Jimmy saw his legs shaking as he waved out to the crowd, blue flowers intricately drawn by Scott greeting the fans if they looked to the corners of the bassist’s eyes.
Then there was Joel, who was joining Jimmy in the process of actively wiping away their emotions. Planets and pink swirls filled the right of the drummer's face; luckily none of them were too close to his eyes, because the man was actively failing to hold back his tears.
The band originally planned to walk off stage after performing their last song, just a simple wave to the fans as they left, but that no longer felt appropriate.
Jimmy felt as though he was obligated to give a speech; it might seem silly, but when Joel gave him a nod, the vocalist took it as a go ahead.
“Thank you so much for such an amazing show!” Jimmy shouts into the crowd, the vocalist taking in the cheers as his response. “For those of you who don’t know, this was actually the last performance of our first headlining tour ever, and you lot have been nothing but great!”
In the corner of his eye, Jimmy saw Gem and the Scotts enter back stage as he continued to speak to the crowd.
“It has been an absolute honor being able to perform across so many different cities for such passionate fans, and I think I speak for everyone that’s been on stage today when I say that your support genuinely means the world!”
Seeing a few fans form hearts with their hands and holding them up in the crowd, Jimmy allowed another tear to fall down his face.
“So, for one last time, can we hear it for our openers Gem and the Scotts!” Cheers ripped through the crowd as another tear rolled down Jimmy’s face. “Let’s hear it for the amazing men standing behind me!” More cheers, and yet another tear. “And let’s hear it for the crew that traveled with us and made all of this possible!”
The crowd was absolutely electric, and Jimmy expected nothing less.
Something he could’ve never expected in a million years, however, was when the crowd started chanting his name.
Not ‘the singer’.
Not ‘the new guy’.
Not ‘Jiggles’.
“Jimmy!”
The crowd all starts chanting his name, a few fans even passing bracelets up to the front, which the vocalist couldn’t deny. It only took a few seconds for the flood gates to officially break when living in such a beautiful moment.
“Not you lot getting me to cry.” Jimmy jokes, getting some laughs out of the crowd. “Give one last cheer to yourselves for being such a lovely crowd tonight; and The Rejects will see you next time!”
With that, the crowd screamed louder than they did the entire tour. A combination of Jimmy’s name, screams, and chanting mixed into a sound that the vocalist will never forget.
The Rejects were supposed to exit stage left, but Jimmy threw caution to the wind and ran into his boyfriend's arms, already stretched out for him. With the adrenaline coursing through his veins, Jimmy didn’t even realize he picked up Scott until the man wrapped his arms around the other vocalist’s neck.
Jimmy spun them around a few times before setting his boyfriend down; Gem and Impulse watching with their jaws hanging open.
“God I’m trying hard not to cry and ruin the makeup.” Jimmy laughs out as a few more tears roll down his face, which Scott promptly wipes away.
“You can cry, it’s okay.” Scott laughs, tears forming in his own eyes as well.
And that’s what officially broke Jimmy. Ducking his head to rest on Scott’s shoulder, he allowed himself to bawl his eyes out. Scott brought a hand up to the blonde’s hair and began to brush through it, and Gem quickly grabbed Scott's polaroid camera to document the moment.
The two men cried for a lot of reasons.
Jimmy cried because he just completed the tour he committed his past couple months to.
Scott cried because he was finally able to rekindle a friendship that spoiled years prior.
Jimmy cried because the fans accepted him with open arms, putting all his anxieties to rest the moment they started chanting his name.
Scott cried because he was able to finish a project that caused him so much stress, and was able to celebrate that victory with his amazing boyfriend.
They both cried because they were, simply, both there for each other.
They both cried because in a few days, they won’t be able to see each other for a while.
They just cried.
Then laughed.
Then cried again.
“Oh, someone get a cup of tea, Scott’s holding him hostage again!” Joel jokes as the other Rejects join their tourmates on the wrong side of the stage.
“Probably developed Stockholm syndrome too, the man willingly ran to his capture!” Skizz shouts as he gave Impulse a high five.
Despite his bandmates now being there, Jimmy couldn't find it in himself to acknowledge them.
Trying to calm his cries, the vocalist stayed in his boyfriend’s arms; and Scott continued to comb through his hair and whispered reassuring words into his ear.
When Jimmy eventually did raise his face, his makeup was somehow marvelously intact. Setting spray does wonders he supposed.
“Hi…” Jimmy greets, looking down at his boyfriend’s beautiful cosmic eyes.
The very same eyes that he struggled to find a comparison for.
The very same eyes that led to Jimmy’s embarrassment back in the motel.
The very same eyes that gave the vocalist a star-struck expression whenever they could.
The very same eyes Jimmy fell in love with.
“Hey angel.” Scott whispers, a tear of his own rolling down his face.
“Hey star.”
The other vocalist smiled at the new pet name, and it took everything in Jimmy not to lean down and kiss him right there.
“He doesn’t even notice we’re here.” Big B laughs out, and Jimmy turns to give him an unimpressed look, proving the bassist’s point wrong.
“I see you.” He laughs out, giving Scott one last quick hug before heading to his bandmates and doing the same. Somewhere in the mess of tears and limbs, Gem and the Scotts managed to find space inside the group hug; wrapping up the tour with everyone hugging backstage.
Joel was the first to pull away with a laugh.
“I don’t know about you lot, but I want to celebrate tonight!” The drummer shouts, getting some cheers from his bandmates. “Lets take a quick minute to freshen up and get some drinks!”
With that, the tourmates all shuffled out the back door of the venue and towards the bus, all dispersing once inside. Gem ran off to take out her colored contact in the bathroom, Impulse and Skizz started rambling about podcast ideas on the sectionals, and Big B went with Joel to the sleeping quarters to grab their wallets.
Scott just stayed by Jimmy’s side, and there was part of the blonde that hoped he never left.
Now was the perfect moment.
“I actually have a gift for you.” Jimmy says, and Scott looks towards his boyfriend. “As a congratulations on wrapping up your animation final and such.”
“Surrreeee–” Scott drawls out, a smile playing on his lips. “I’m sure you definitely didn’t just want to buy me a gift for the sake of it.”
Ignoring his boyfriend’s jab, Jimmy raised the cushion to one of the sectionals and revealed the bouquet that was somehow still in perfect condition. Making sure there were some daisies scattered around the edge of the bouquet, Jimmy turned and gave it to Scott.
Scott’s eyes were wide as he took the flowers, holding the bouquet in his arms and staring at it like it was something worth the whole world.
Then, he laughed.
“There is absolutely no way!” Scott laughs out as he sets down the bouquet of poppies and white roses on the kitchen counter. Jimmy stared in confusion as Scott opened the pantry to grab something, only for the blonde to immediately recognize what was in his hands.
Tulips and blue poppies.
“You have to be kidding me!” Jimmy shouts as Scott handed him the bouquet of his own, the tulips seeming to be more open than they were a few days prior. “When were you able to–”
“Right when The Rejects got on stage.” Scott laughs, picking up his own bouquet once again. “And you?”
“When you were off getting sugar packets, I–”
“So that’s why you had sugar packets in your pocket, see I knew we didn’t run out!”
At the commotion, all the tourmates drew their attention towards the two vocalists. The two men couldn’t care less as they leaned in for a kiss.
Everyone lost their minds.
“And that’s what I call being a good wingman baby, wassup!” Skizz shouts, hitting Impulse repeatedly on the shoulder to get him to understand how good of a wingman they were.
The two vocalists couldn’t help but break their kiss as they smiled at their tourmates reactions. So they just held their foreheads together as they started laughing; both of the vocalists knew it was now or never.
“We actually have a bit of an announcement–” Scott says through his smile, turning to face the different directions of his tourmates. “Jimmy and I have kinda been dating for the past three weeks.”
The bus went silent, everybody's shocked expressions morphed between being excited for their friends and being offended that they kept such a secret from them.
Jimmy turned to look towards Joel; worried for a second that he would be greeted with the haunted expression he’s grown too familiar with over the course of this tour. However, Joel was the first person to break out into a smile.
“So you let us make absolute fools of ourselves trying to be wingmen for you!?” The drummer shouts, getting a laugh from Jimmy.
“I never asked you to do that!” The blonde laughs out, leaning on his boyfriend's shoulder for support.
“We were lied to!” Skizz shouts, finally processing the situation. “I thought the liars were Gemstone and Dipple-Dop, but nO It WAS YOU TWO THE WHOLE TIME!!!!”
“Sorry not sorry.” Scott responds with a laugh, and Skizz drops his act because he was just too excited to be petty.
“Scott, I have a confession.” Joel speaks up, and Scott sends him a confused look. “When Lizzie and I started dating back in the day, we were actually dating a month before telling anybody.”
“I KNEW IT!” Scott laughs out. “It has to be a Frenemies curse or something, to be in a secret relationship I swear.”
“It was just our dirty little secret, who has to know?” Jimmy jokes and Scott rolled his eyes at his boyfriend’s terrible joke.
“That’s it, we’re breaking up!”
“No please, we just told everybody!
“No I can’t take it anymore–” Scott laughs, trying to walk away, only for Jimmy to grab his hand and pull it back. “It… it ends tonight, Jim.”
Gasping at Scott's reference to one of the Rejects songs, Jimmy pulls his boyfriend into a hug.
The hug was sappy, excessive, and in front of all their tourmates; the two vocalists wouldn’t have it any other way.
While they were hugging, Gem managed to snatch one of the tulips from Jimmy’s bouquet and hide it behind her back.
“Here, let's go see if the venue has anything we can use as vases for the flowers.” Joel says as he leaves the bus, everyone else following in tow.
Skizz brought his clip board with him, continuing to brainstorm ideas for the podcast with Impulse as they walked. Gem discreetly gave Big B the flower she stole from Jimmy, as a thank you for the flower he gave her back at the bar.
Joel seemed to lack behind, turning towards Scott and taking a deep breath.
“This is a much better ending than the last tour we went on together.” The drummer says, and Jimmy puts a hand on Scott’s shoulder as the two men talk.
“It honestly has.” Scott remarks with a smile as he stares at his previous bandmate.
“Look, this might be a bit forward, and you’re more than welcome to say no–”
“You’re not asking me out are you?” Scott laughs. “I hate to break it to you, but I have a boyfriend.”
Even with the playful nature of the statement, Scott calling Jimmy his boyfriend publicly gave the blonde butterflies.
“No no–” Joel laughs out, some tears making their way to the corners of his eyes. “Not boyfriends, just friends.”
The word hung in the air as the three men walked towards the venue; and Jimmy couldn’t help the smile on his face as Scott held back the tears in his eyes and said one, simple word.
“Friends.”
That night, the group of friends partied like there was no tomorrow. Jumping between bar to bar, the night felt endless and filled with possibilities, and for the first time ever, Scott joined Jimmy’s side.
The clubs now had a bit of cyan, and everything felt right with the world. Skizz, Impulse, and Big B all sang terrible karaoke together, Gem and Joel played their game of trivia, and Jimmy was finally able to buy Scott a drink.
Then, when all the festivities were over, the friends headed home.
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Art Created by Lillaray
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“He’s leaving us, I cannot believe this!”
Leave it to Jimmy to never pack his bags ahead of time; but in his defense, he was kinda told about the plan last minute.
“He’s going to be staying with his boyfriend for a week, Grian; it’s not the end of the world.” Pearl states while cutting some blocks of clay.
“Yeah, he’s leaving us!” Grain repeats. “First for The Rejects now for this boy!”
“You know his name.” Jimmy deadpans while packing all but a few of his t-shirts.
Grian just laughs on his end of the call, always so happy to rile up his brother.
“Well Scott is stealing our brother away from us!” Grian shouts again, thankfully not in the library this time around. He seemed to be sitting at his desk back in his and Jimmy’s shared room.
“And Scott is doing so gladly.” The other vocalist remarks from his bunk, packing up a few cords he left behind.
Jimmy smiled at his boyfriend and they shared a quick kiss, the bunks actually being the perfect height for the action.
“I promise I’ll be home in a week and we can make up for lost time then.” Jimmy says to his siblings, earning a smile from Pearl and a skeptical look from Grian.
“Are you planning on bringing Scott back with ya for a bit?” Pearl asks, finally giving her full attention to the camera. “I know we were joking about it before, but we wouldn’t mind having him over for dinner.”
Jimmy looked to the other vocalist as he climbed out of his bunk, giving the blonde a thumbs up before heading to the common room to chat with everyone else.
“Yeah, I think we’d love that.” Jimmy says, a small blush creeping onto his face.
“Great, I'll make sure we’ll have something to make for you lot when you get back!” Pearl announced as she wiped her hands free of clay. “You sent me the address, right Jim?”
“Yes, the bus should arrive around noon tomorrow!” Jimmy says before mentally checking himself. “Thank you so much for grabbing my things Pearl, it would be a hassle to transport everything back and forth.”
“No, no, I get it.” Pearl laughs, shutting down her brother's appreciation. “You kids run along and have fun now.”
As if Pearl controlled the bus, the vehicle stopped dead in its tracks. The blonde could hear the front door open and silently cursed to himself.
“The bus just parked and I gotta run off!” Jimmy quickly told his siblings. “I’ll call you lot later this week, thanks again Pearl!”
With some rushed goodbyes, Jimmy quickly counted up his bags and grabbed the one he packed for his week with Scott; along with his bathroom bag. Taking one last moment to make sure everything was set, the vocalist headed towards the common room.
“Oh, he needs some milk!” Joel shouts out as Big B practically throws Skizz to the ground during an arm wrestling match. The poor guitarist never stood a chance.
Scott was talking to Gem and Impulse near the front, probably going over last minute plans before they officially went back to their normal lives.
“You heading out?” Joel asks as he helps Skizz up from the floor.
“Yeah, I’ve left all my bags on top of my bunk. Thank you again for letting Pearl grab them when you guys get back.” Jimmy says, fidgeting with the necklace around his neck.
“Of course, anything you need bro, just say the word.” Joel laughs before, trying to reel in his thoughts.
“Before you head out, I just wanted to thank you for everything.” Joel starts. “Before this tour, I never thought me and Scott would ever talk again; but now we’re back to being friends. That was all you man, I wouldn’t have come close to talking with him if you never encouraged me to.”
Jimmy offered a soft, genuine smile to the drummer before pulling him into a hug.
“I’m gonna miss you, Joel.” Jimmy admits, getting a laugh from the man.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be seeing a lot of me and the other Rejects once we start recording next week.” Joel jokes, letting go of the vocalist and patting him on the shoulder. “Until then, go have fun with your boyfriend, babe.”
With a shove, Jimmy was pushed towards the front of the bus. Giving Joel a teasing glare, the vocalist then took a moment to say goodbye to Big B and Skizz. His two bandmates weren’t as hard to say goodbye to as Joel and his siblings were, but it was still emotional.
At some point Gem and Impulse said goodbye to their friends as they headed off to god knows where, and Jimmy figures he will be seeing those two again pretty soon.
Then there was Scott, holding out a hand for the blonde.
Never one to deny Scott anything, Jimmy took his boyfriend's hand.
After one last goodbye, the two set off into their new lives.
Not as tourmates.
Not as vocalists.
But as boyfriends.
“You ready?” Scott asks as they watch the bus drive away, the sun no longer being blocked by the vehicle; forcing the two men to squint at each other.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Jimmy laughs, and the two boyfriends share a kiss before beginning the walk to Scott’s place, the blonde helping with as many bags as he could.
Jimmy was glad he brushed his teeth before Scott jumpscared him with the offer of staying at his place for a week or so, because he probably wouldn’t have gotten the chance too when he started packing everything up.
That’s when Jimmy realized it.
“Something wrong?” Scott asked as he felt his boyfriend's grip tighten around his hand.
“No no it’s nothing.” Jimmy laughed out and mentally berated himself. “I just forgot my tooth brush back on the bus.”
“Well you better go run after it.” Scott jokes, getting a laugh from his boyfriend.
As Scott laughed, Jimmy couldn’t help but admire the man he was fortunate enough to call his boyfriend. The man’s cyan hair has grown out slightly over the course of the tour, his brown roots peaking through the vibrant color.
Even though Scott complained about it, the blonde found it absolutely adorable. To be fair though, Jimmy found practically everything about Scott to be adorable.
As his boyfriend turned to look at him with those cosmic eyes, everything went still. Suddenly every part of the universe stopped so the two men could have a simple moment together. Jimmy didn’t know a lot but there is one thing he knows for certain.
“Come on angel, we’ll go grab you another one.”
Scott was going to be the death of him.
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