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It started with the mistletoe. Peter had gone a bit over the top with it, but that was nothing new. Almost every doorway within the pad had mistletoe, which the man insisted was an accident.
Mike knew for a fact that it was anything but.
The four Monkees had been involved within a free love-based relationship for a few years now, and Mike could only assume that that had something to do with the bizarre overuse of a silly decoration like that.
Numerous times throughout the day, any pair of Monkees would find themselves under the mistletoe. Of course, that meant that they had to kiss.
They’d sometimes end up standing there for quite some time.
As much as Mike loved to show his love for his bandmates-plus-boyfriends, this was getting silly. Especially now that Christmas had been over for several months.
So, when he noticed that the mistletoe had completely shriveled up, Mike went around the pad and took them all down, throwing the ex-plants into the trash can.
“Michael?”
Mike turned to look at the voice’s owner. Peter.
The man stood before him, staring down at his hands, which he had been wringing together almost nervously. The blonde’s hair covered his eyes like a curtain, and Mike couldn’t help but soften at the sight.
“Heya, Shotgun,” he greeted with a smile. “What’s goin’ on in that pretty lil’ head of yours?” The Texan titled his head to the side in interest. G-d, Peter looked so cute…
Peter lifted his head finally, sadness swimming in his large, doe eyes. “You threw them away!?” he all but shouted. “Why would you do that!?”
The bassist’s volume was enough to not only surprise Mike, but attract the attention of both Micky and Davy, who scrambled over in concern.
“What’s the matter, Pete?” Micky asked, reaching out to let Peter decide whether he wanted to be touched or not.
Davy too reached out, glancing between both Mike and Peter. “Yeah, what’s goin’ on, loves?”
“Michael just… he just threw out the mistletoe!” Peter all but cried.
“...Okay…?” Micky murmured.
“Shotgun,” Mike began with a soft chuckle. That was what this was about? “They were dyin’. We couldn’t keep those in the pad like that.”
“But…”
“Peter,” Davy cut in, “why did you put all that mistletoe in every doorway, anyway?”
Peter ducked his head again, letting his hair flop over his eyes. “I wanted to kiss you guys…”
The room went completely silent.
Mike blinked. Was… was that why Peter was still hanging up all of that mistletoe after so many months? He couldn’t understand. Then again, he couldn’t really understand a lot about Peter, but that was never a bad thing; Peter was just a little different, that was all. “Darlin’, you don’t need no mistletoe to kiss us, you know that.”
Peter nodded shyly. “I know, but I just really like it. I like when two of us are walking and find ourselves under the mistletoe, so we have to kiss.”
Micky felt like his heart was going to explode. There was something so unbelievably adorable about that sentiment, and it was enough to drive him absolutely insane. “Hey, wait! I’ve got an idea!”
All heads turned to the drummer. “Oh boy,” Davy murmured teasingly. “I could’ve sworn I smelt smoke.”
“Oh, hush,” he shot back, sticking out his tongue. “Anyways, what do you think about a love toll, Pete?”
While the question wasn’t directed at him, Mike still felt the need to cut in and clear up whatever confusion he felt. “A… what now?”
Micky grinned. “I’m so glad you asked,” he began with a flourish, complete with a silly voice that no one could really identify as an impression of anyone. “If one of us is entering a room while the other one is leaving, we’ve gotta pay a love toll and kiss!”
“That… that ain’t a bad idea,” Mike said after a moment of silence. He smiled at the other men. “Ain’t a bad idea at all.”
Peter burst into a huge smile. “Yay!” He clapped his hands together before taking Mike’s face in his hands and kissing him deeply.
“Hey, don’t forget about us,” Davy teased, smiling warmly at the display. Giggling, Peter turned to kiss Davy’s lips while Mike kissed Micky.
Kisses went all around, as they always did, and Mike couldn’t have been more thankful for mistletoe in the middle of the summer.