#poly!fob

It’s usual, especially at that time, for Pete to be bitchy and angry and aggressive and pouty. It’s not usual for the rest of them to be. Well, maybe Patrick, sometimes, but certainly not Andy and Joe. The issue is, something is wrong. Terribly wrong, in fact, like cosmically, universally, your soul might be fucked up wrong. Because Andy and Joe have soulmates, and Pete and Patrick have soulmates, so why do the four of them still feel like something is missing? And worse, why do they feel like something isn’t when they’re together? It causes many, many fights because everyone is so cranky because everyone is so scared, and eventually there isn’t any other option but to take a break. They take time apart, and then they (secretly) come back together to figure things out. And that’s when it hits. Somehow, some way, it’s worked out that Pete and Patrick aren’t just soulmates, and Joe and Andy aren’t just soulmates, they’re all soulmates. A whole lot makes sense after that, and there’s a general sense of absolute relief because they’re not crazy. Well, at least not for that. 

Joe baking cookies in the kitchen while Andy and Pete swear at each other (lovingly) while they play video games. Patrick is curled on the couch messing in GarageBand, humming to himself and occasionally saying “Boys, boys, we’re all winners in this house.” when Pete tackles Andy down and starts whining when he gets his ass kicked. Joe brings out the fresh cookies, setting them on the coffee table and plopping down next to Patrick. He watches Pete and Andy wrestle for a minute, grinning and turning to bet Patrick $20 that somehow Pete’s gonna pull through. Patrick bets $50 that he absolutely will not. When Pete inevitably is forced to say uncle, Andy sitting on his back and eating cookies, looking far too smug, Patrick finally calls it and says no more video games for the night. They pop in a movie instead and order takeout, and for the rest of the evening things are relatively quiet. Until Pete flicks Andy in the ear and steals his sushi. 

What about a super sleepy cuddly FOB? It’s rainy and grey outside, and typically they like to keep a closer eye on Pete when the weather is like that so Patrick proposes they stay in and watch movies. Joe orders takeout from a new vegan place in town and Andy gathers up all the blankets in the house they can find before throwing them on the giant sectional they bought a while back because Pete loved falling asleep on the couch so much, but he would wake up with back pain and be grouchy the whole day. They pile up on the couch and cover up, Pete squished in the middle between Joe and Patrick while Andy lays sprawled out, feet in Joe’s lap and hand resting gently in Pete’s hair. They don’t even argue about the movie and eventually the TV rests on the menu screen of The Princess Bride because all of them are asleep, empty takeout boxes resting in their laps. 

Pete is mostly excited about the fireworks because he loves the bright colors and fancy designs, and also the way that without fail Joe always covers his ears for him so he won’t like, blow an eardrum or something. Andy likes the party they throw with all of their friends because he gets to see everyone laughing and having a good time, and usually he and Brendon get into a pranking contest which ends up with both Spencer and Patrick berating them about growing the hell up and not throwing piss balloons on the people below them. Joe loves the New Year’s kisses that they all swap around at midnight, lips pressed to cheeks and Pete mashing his mouth against all of theirs in turn, eager and a little messy. Patrick just likes to see all of his boys so happy and bright and loving and knowing that they got through this year together and will get to spend another the same

Aww I loved how they all looked at the grammys, so handsome and pretty. I imagine Patrick is the one darting around to make sure everyone is actually ready because Pete and Joe have been smacking each other with their ties for the past ten minutes, only dressed in their pants and unbuttoned shirts, and Andy hasn’t picked a pair of shoes yet even though they all had their outfits chosen weeks ago. Still, they all end up dressed and looking nice eventually, and Patrick’s blood-pressure dips back to a healthy level so they go out and face the crowds, happy to be together and relieved that this isn’t ten years ago when these kinds of things meant the world.  

When they get hotel nights, Pete doesn’t want to have to split into separate rooms let alone have to sleep in a bed by himself. Even if they start out that way, Pete will end up in bed with whoever he’s sharing a room with, and then a few hours later will drag them over to the next room to lay in bed and if the two people in the other room aren’t already sleeping together, well Pete fixes that by dragging whoever is left over into the pile of musicians he’s created before crawling up and happily curling around them, tail wagging contentedly as he drifts off. Sure he’s never happy to wake up in the morning and it takes many pets and attempts at bribery to get him to even sit up, but usually there’s a free breakfast with a waffle maker and that’s enough to get him started

Pete probably hops around from enclosure to enclosure, wanting to see everything he possible can. Of course eventually he wears himself out and complains about how it’s hot and his feet hurt and he’s tired, but he has a good run while he can. Patrick particularly likes the monkeys and comments about how alike they and Pete are, and even look. He’s rewarded with a light punch in the ribs, but it’s worth it. Andy is iffy about the zoo, not liking how small the habitats seem and the idea of keeping animals in captivity certainly doesn’t appeal to him, but he knows that at least some of the animals couldn’t survive on their own so he tries to keep that in mind. Joe mostly takes pictures of all of the rest of them because they look so cute fawning over all of the animals. Instagram goes wild in the comments. 

They do all get matching sweaters thanks to Pete’s mom and Patrick of all people insists that they wear them at least once over the holiday season even though Pete adamantly despises his because it itches and Andy’s is just a little too small. Still, they dutifully don the sweaters and even take pictures to send as proof (though they don’t call it ‘proof’ and instead consider it to be evidence of their gratefulness) to Pete’s mom as thanks