Author's Note: I really have no idea where this came from. I'm home sick and I needed something to do. Gavries is one of my favorites, too. Warning: pure fluff.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Long Walk. It is copyright Stephen King.

Peter McVries was really enjoying his stay with Garraty's family.

He'd just been presented as a friend, but Ray's younger sister hadn't commented at all when she'd found that Pete and Ray slept in the same bed, and his family had barely even noticed when Garraty fell asleep on McVries' shoulder. He'd even managed to kiss the top of his head without the Garraty family saying anything.

Of course, there was the weather. Maine was surprisingly cold for summer. But he didn't really mind that. That was why, when he came across 'camping' while Googling "things to do with boyfriend", he thought it would be perfect.

"But do you even know how to go camping?" Ray sat down next to him.

"Yeah, sure." He gave the shorter boy a reassuring smile. "It'll be fun."

"I'll go tell Mom. Pretty sure I'll get some lecture about no 'fooling around' while they aren't there.

McVries winked. "That's a pretty big possibility, though."

Garraty rolled his eyes and walked out of the room to go speak to his mother. "Hey, mom?

"Yeah?"

Ray Garraty, unfortunately, was not the best at explaining things to his parents. "Pete and I were wondering if we could just go hiking and camping or something because it sounded fun or..." He trailed off.

His mother sighed. "Ray, do I really need to have this talk with you? I've been very quiet about this whole thing..."

"No, mom. Honestly, we'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Mom, we're seventeen. And who'd want to do that in the woods anyways?" His mother glared at him and sighed. "Does that mean yes?"

"Fine."

Garraty practically skipped back to the other room. "Mom said yes!"

"You sound like a toddler who's just been told they can have a playdate." Garraty laughed. "We'll pack all the stuff tonight and then leave tomorrow."

Garraty cocked his head sideways like a confused bird. "Again, I'm just wondering, do you even know how to camp?"

"Relax, of course I do."

"If you say so."

The next day, both of them had giant backpacks and McVries was carrying a rather sickly-looking yellow tent. Garraty had been burdened with carrying the six-pack of Mountain Dew that McVries had insisted on bringing. "We're going to be hiking up a huge hill, why'd you make me carry the Mountain Dew?"

"Because we need caffeine if we're going to survive. And you brought water, too, remember?

Garraty grudgingly continued carrying the Mountain Dew. "My feet already ache."

"Ray, we've only gone about twenty feet."

"How far do we have to go?"

"However far we have to go to find a good place to put our tent down."

Garraty sighed. "Can I hold your hand?"

"Do you even have to ask?" McVries gave him that dumb crooked smile that he knew made Garraty turn red.

The day carried on, and fortunately, the weather got warmer. "Can we stop and eat now?" asked Garraty for about the third time.
McVries looked around. "Once we actually find somewhere that isn't filled with boulders and pine trees. Is that all that Maine is made out of?"

"Have you been talking to Collie Parker?"

"He hates all weather. He'd just stay inside for the rest of his life if he was given the chance."

Garraty laughed and nearly dropped the Mountain Dew. The sun was seeping down through the pine trees and made McVries look as though he was speckled with shadows.

"Can we eat now?"

McVries looked around again. "Sure, love. This looks like we could actually sit here."

"Did you just call me 'love'?"

"Yes." He pulled Garraty down next to him on a layer of pine needles. "I brought sandwiches. And chips."

"And way too much Mountain Dew."

McVries grinned and opened a can of Mountain Dew and got out a sandwich. "Tell me I'm not great at packing."

They sat there like that for awhile, even though the taste of Mountain Dew made Garraty wince at first. The pine needles were surprisingly soft, and Garraty felt a strong urge to just fall asleep there.

Just as Garraty was about to ask whether he could take a nap, it started raining. "Ah, shit. I finally see where Parker was coming from when he said the weather was bullshit."

"Not you too." Garraty began rummaging through his bag and eventually pulled out a windbreaker. "I packed one for you, because you don't seem to know how to pack."

McVries' dark hair was now soaked and was sticking to his forehead. Garraty couldn't help but think that he looked like a puppy that had been left out in the rain. He grumbled a bit under his breath, but took the windbreaker from his companion. His sandwich was completely soaked.

Garraty noticed that McVries didn't look terribly pleased with the rain. "Can we just set up our tent here?"

He looked at Garraty gratefully. "Alright. Now how do we set this thing up?"

"I thought you knew!"

McVries' face turned scarlet, making him look even more like a sad puppy. Garraty sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll help. Are there instructions?"

"Probably." McVries handed the tent to Garraty. After a few attempts where Garraty almost hit McVries in the face with a tent, it was finally properly set up. Both boys quickly ran inside. The sound of the rain on the tarp of the tent was strangely calming.

"Do you want a blanket?" Garraty asked.

McVries scooted closer to him. "Only if I can share with you."

Garraty draped a blanket around both of them. McVries was still soaked and shivering slightly and Garraty ended up with his arm around him. "Remember, Pete, no fooling around," he said, half-joking. McVries seemed to make the male equivalent of a flirtatious giggle and kissed Garraty's cheek. His lips were surprisingly warm against his cold skin

"Do you think the rain will stop soon?" McVries murmured.

"Maybe. I don't really want it to, now."

McVries leaned upwards and pulled Garraty towards him, kissing him gently. It was just soft and nothing serious, but it made Garraty blush anyways. "It's odd, I've kissed people before but never quite like this," Garraty said to no one in particular.

"Is that good?"

"Of course," Garraty said, looking up at the ceiling of the tent. "Can we stay here forever?" It sounded ridiculously cliché and he hadn't really meant to say it, but somehow it came out.

"If you'd like."

"That sounded stupid, sorry."

"No, it didn't. I'd quite like to stay here forever."

"We'd get bored after awhile."

"True." McVries reached over to his backpack and took out a bag of saltines. "These didn't get soaked. Want a Mountain Dew?"

"That stuff tastes a bit like piss."

McVries gave his crooked smile again, and Garraty suddenly found himself very glad that it had started raining and they'd ended up alone in a tent with nothing but two backpacks and far too much Mountain Dew.

.

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Again, I'm not really sure where this came from. I just needed a nice little fluffy thing.