Wheel chair races. (Standalone)
Title: Wheel chair races.
Author
rurouni_yasha
Pairing: Gerard/Bert
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: psh....i wish i owned them. *sighs* but i don't.
Summary: Bert and Gerard are living in a nursing home now and they reflect on some of their life.
POV: Third person.
Dedications: My grandfather who died last year.( even though you weren't like this)
Author's Note: Um...hm...lets think...It's about how i feel when I'm in an old person home, and tied with a sweet ending like from "the notebook" (which i have never see the entire movie of)
“ I’ll race ya!” Bert challenged Gerard who was sitting in the wheelchair next to him. His hair had long since grayed and he was balding a bit, but Bert didn’t care.
“Bee, we got in trouble last time we did that.” Gerard said trying to sound reasonable. Mikey’s children admitted them to a nursing home a few months ago. And being cooped up with ‘ boring old people’ , as Bert’s puts it, was killing them.
“ that’s only because you slipped and crashed into that guy with the walker. He’s laying in bed still cursing at me.” Bert laughed. “He’s pretty pissed. He said if he was younger he’d kick my ass, and I told him to go to hell.”
“Bee, I like it here, don’t fuck this up for me.” Gerard said scolding. Bert pouted. “ Baby, I picked this place for us, especially for us. It’s nice and there’s a lot of room for you to move around don’t screw us over and get us slammed into a crowed tiny one in by Frank and Jepha.” Bert just nodded and sighed.
“I’m so bored in this place, I don’t understand why we couldn’t just live where we were. We were happy!”
“ I couldn’t walk Bee,”
“I was taking great care of you though”
“Psh, as if, your knees were going also and you couldn’t even take the elevator because of that guy you pissed off. So this is the best place for us.”
“I hate it here, I feel…trapped. What if they decided they hated us? Huh? They could mass slaughter us and no one would know!” Bert said looking around. He used a hushed voice to try and cover it all up.
“Robert!” Gerard looked at him shocked, “What’s wrong with you!? Has that old man in our room gotten to you?”
“No, I just feel like tuna in a can Gee.” Bert slouched in the chair putting the brakes on so he wouldn’t slide anywhere away from Gee in the shade. “they could though, and…why does it feel so…dead in here Gee? It’s sickly white, I feel like I’m already dead.”
“Don’t say that, come on, it’s not that bad. Our apartment walls were white, and you weren’t feeling dead then.” Gerard smirked. “tuna? You don’t eat it and you feel like it?” Gerard looked away pretty disturbed.
“So what, I don’t understand how they get a huge fish into a tiny can. But anyway, our bed sheets weren’t pastel colours Gee; they were pretty black and red. And our kitchen was Green. There was a lot of colour. Not like this place, White, cream, beige, light colours, those that remind me of the mental institution.” Bert sighed, “It’s not like I even sleep with you anymore. I’m across the fucking room from you! And I hate it.” He added softly.
“Aww, you’re so cute Bert” Gerard smiled and leaned over kissing him lightly. “I know you miss all the colour, but we see it when Mikey visits. And what about his grandchildren…um…who are they again, Emily and what? Bob? I can’t remember, his name you know who I’m talk about. Besides Emily just had a baby, we’re great-uncles Bee” Gerard smiled brightly.
Bert blushed and sighed heavily. He hated where they were. Gerard picked out this place when they first were married. Bert rolled his eyes and told Gerard he was insane but he knew it was a good idea. They would take care of Mikey’s children. Bert wanted to be a dad, but his lifestyle didn’t allow for children with out adopting, and Gerard said ‘no’. But he complained for a few weeks and Gerard brought home a kitten for Bert to ‘father’. Gerard wasn’t into children. It was nice to have Mikey’s around but, not nice enough for him to want his own. Besides, Bert was enough of a child that he had him to take care of. Bert needed his constant attention and if they did adopt, Bert would have to give that up.
The kitten was a good idea though. Bert named him Gee, after Gerard, so he had a little Gee and a big Gee. It was cute in the beginning but was annoying Gerard slowly. The cat was all black with a little white on his belly. He was a pudgy little thing; Bert said little Gee reminded him of the way Gerard looked when they first met. Gerard was a cute pudgy thing too. After that Gerard made sure he lost a little weight so Bert would notice and take back his comment. Little Gee grew into the family, he was always there to greet them when they came home, or he was the only cat on the face of the planet who liked to lay in Bob’s bass drum when they were trying to practice. He used to sleep at the end of the bed, which caused a problem for Bert.
“Oh, come on Gee,” Bert whispered and kissed him neck with wet kisses that Gerard loved.
“But Bee, the cat’s in here” Gerard gasped and moved his hips against Bert’s.
“Go little Gee, I wanna have fun with Big Gee” Bert said a prodded at the cat with his foot. He received a ‘meow’ that sounded a bit angry and Gerard laughed, telling Bert that nothing could happen with the cat in the room. Bert went to bed angry, and very unsatisfied.
Little Gee was around for 13 years. Gerard hated that cat. He was overly allergic and was on medication for the dander but He let Bert keep the cat. It was adorable to watch them play, or just look at them curled up on the couch watching ‘trading spaces’ to get rid of him. Bert was devastated after Little Gee died. He cried for days after, not being able to adjust to the change with out him. When Bert would come home he’d cry because there was no greeting. Gerard needed something else for Bert, he came home with a fish a few weeks later.
The fish didn’t go over so hotly. Bert liked him, he really did, but he couldn’t understand why he could pet the fish. He kept him in a small bowl, so he could carry him around the house and outside and all. He was a red Chinese fighting fish named Dawg. Gerard gave Bert the “What the hell is wrong with you!?” look when he found out the fish was named Dawg.
“What? He’s my home dawg, Gee. Duh” Bert said and turned on the TV. He used to talk to that fish all the time. Gerard thought maybe he should get Bert checked out but never did.
The fish, Dawg, didn’t last long. He was alive for a week. Gerard said all the ‘playing’ Bert put him though killed him. Bert was alone again, Gerard went tough a series of different pets, from Hamsters, to more fish, and back again. Bert seemed to enjoy the hamster though. He named him Bob, because it reminded Bert of the way Bob’s so quiet. Gerard shook his head and rested his head in his hand. Bob didn’t live longer than a year or so. Bert liked to play hockey with him when he was in the ball. And Bob had a heart attack and died. Bert cried after that too.
As the years went on, Bert seemed to slow down. He would sleep more often and just stay home. He still received angry phone calls from his parents telling him to come back and be a Mormon. He would just sigh and hang up then slump back to the couch and lay down and watch TV.
Gerard took Bert overseas for vacation that year. He showed Bert the amazing things that Europe had to offer and it seemed to cheer him up remarkably. When they returned to the states Bert went back to Utah for a little and came back he seemed even better. It was almost the real Bert back. But he’d aged; Gerard knew he couldn’t expect the same Bert to come back. He was going bald from his horrible hair line and his knees, from all the jumping around he used to do, started to get to him. He was a mess. Gerard at the time was slowing down also. He had a walker to help get him around, his legs not being able to circulate enough for him to walk properly. Bert started to take care of him more and more often. Taking it so far as to help him shower and get dressed. They were both breaking down slowly and Emily, Mikey’s granddaughter sent them to the Nursing home Gerard was looking at when they were first together.
And so here they are, sitting in a bleached white room. It’s filled with men and women their age and they’re snuggled in the corner playing mindless hand games Bert learned on tour when he was a teen and all those stories.
“Do you think the Nurse’ll be pissed if I sleep in your bed tonight Gee?” Bert said softly wheeling in front of him on the way back to their room.
“She might, but you can sleep with me if you want.” Gerard said softly and yawned. “I don’t want to move anymore, I’m tired Bee”.
“Come on Gee, we’re almost there.” Bert encouraged and stopped for Gerard to catch up. When he did they got to the room and Bert helped Gerard into his bed and got in himself. He cuddled up to Gerard. “Like old times Gee”
“Yeah, I missed this” Gerard sighed and rested his head on Bert’s chest listening to the steady rhythm of his heart beat.
“Hey Gee?”
“Yeah?”
“We really did become the crazy old people that everyone wanted to keep their kids away from.” Bert smiled lazily his eyes closing.
“Yeah Bee…we did” Gerard responded before falling asleep.
When the Nurse came in the morning, she found both Gerard and Bert cuddled in the tiny bed. They died in their sleep together, just like they wanted to be.