Chicken dinner - Bandom/actor RPF, PG.
Title: Chicken dinner
Fandom: Bandom (MCR) and actor RPF
Rating: PG.
Length: ~2270 words.
Characters/Pairings: Mikey Way/Ian McKellen, Gerard/Lindsey, Mikey/Alicia, Ian McKellen/Patrick Stewart.
Disclaimer: Unless my stories ideas are magical psychic visions? Really not real.
Summary: Gerard was a dork, but he'd like to see most people watch Ian McKellen walk out of a bright and steamy bathroom and not get a tear in their eye.
Notes: This takes place after Mikey and Gerard's conversation in A piece of chicken, but you can read this first if you're familiar with the fact that Ian McKellen checked out Mikey at a party once. (I love my life sometimes.)
Also on AO3 and DW.
Chicken dinner
One
While Gerard was in line for coffee, his phone buzzed in his pocket. When he pulled it out after he ordered, he read:
16 pc chkn ngts plz thx
So after he guzzled everything at Starbucks, he swung by McDonalds on his way to Mikey's hotel and got a burger, fries, and Mikey's chicken nuggets. The doorman didn't look twice at him as he carried the bag of food in the entrance, but one of the receptionists behind the front desk - made of marble, of course - narrowed their eyes pointedly.
Gerard grinned back. And it wasn't entirely a fuck-you smile. It was always fun sticking it to the Man. Unfortunately, his ride up to the seventeenth floor didn't involve any more punk rock opportunities, unless eating half his fries counted. But there was always the ride back down.
He found Mikey's room and knocked the beginning of Cherub Rock on the door. Or what was supposed to be Cherub Rock, anyway. Oh well. Mikey would probably get it.
The door opened, and Mikey stood in front of him, his hair as rumpled as the Star Wars shirt and boxer-briefs he wore. "Hey."
"Hey," Gerard said, handing him the bag. "You couldn't get chicken here?"
Mikey shrugged and pulled out his box of nuggets. "Only if I wanted it grilled with caviar on the side."
Gerard grimaced. "Well, I'll be at the gross-ass Holiday Inn if you need me. It's three blocks down. You remember when bus call is?"
"Um. Do you?"
"Not off the top of my head." But it didn't really matter because Gerard was rooming with Ray. Like Ray would ever let him be late.
"Let me get my phone. Worm texted me, I think."
Mikey padded next to the king-size bed - god, that was probably like sleeping on a fucking cloud - and dug through his discarded jeans.
A muffled voice from the bathroom called, "Someone at the door, Michael?"
"Just Gerard."
"I see."
The door opened, and...okay, Gerard was a dork, but he'd like to see most people watch Ian McKellen walk out of a bright and steamy bathroom and not get a tear in their eye. It was like the end of The Two Towers, only Gandalf had short hair and a fluffy bathrobe provided by the hotel.
And then. He smiled at Gerard. "Good to meet you. I'm Ian."
"I know," and okay, it was squeaky, but come on. He cleared his throat and waved with his free hand. Or should he bow? No, hand-waving was good. It was cool. Cooler. "Mikey told me about you."
"Only good things, I hope."
Gerard nodded, not trusting himself to talk.
"7:30."
"Huh?"
Mikey waved his phone. "Bus call. 7:30?"
"Sounds right." Oh yeah, he was heading into dog-hearing territory now. Time to duck out. "You two...um. Good night?"
Mikey's lips twitched. Asshole. "Night, Gee."
He closed the door and promptly stopped half his burger in his mouth to keep from giggling.
-
Two
Colds sucked. Gerard lost an entire hotel night sleeping, and when he climbed on the bus again, he collapsed in his bunk and slept most of the day again. And they hadn't played in...well, wherever they were before, and he wanted to see it. Or, at least, he didn't want to feel like he was going to keel over and die if he didn't get personal with his pillow.
By the time he stumbled out of the bunk again, the aroma of grease filled the bus. Of course they picked a sick day to get Church's Chicken or KFC or something. His stomach churned.
"You guys better have gotten me a biscuit or something," he called as he splashed water on his face in the bathroom. Yeah, he looked like a zombie. Too bad human flesh would make him barf.
No one answered.
Gerard raised to a standing position again. "Guys? Hello?" The bus was swaying, so they were on the move. The driver couldn't have left the band behind. Could he?
After a second, Mikey yelled back, "The lounge!"
Awesome. Gerard took a heavy breath and said, "Coming!"
The mutter of voices made him even more pukey as he climbed his way back. Fuck. If this was going to be a Band Meeting, he didn't want to know why. He just couldn't deal with it.
"So what's..."
Everyone looked up at him from around a bucket of chicken (and Pop Tarts, over in Frank's area). Frank, Bob, Ray, Mikey...and Ian McKellen.
"Oh."
"Gerard," Ian McKellen said, face lighting up. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, of all things. Wasn't it some kind of rule that knighted guys had to wear suits all the time? "Good to see you again. I heard you were feeling a bit under the weather."
"Yeah, just...yeah."
"Well, hopefully you'll feel up to tonight's show. Michael invited me along to watch, and I couldn't turn him down."
Mikey gave Sir Ian a fond smile, and Gerard just shook his head. This kind of crap only happened to Mikey.
"Dude." Bob grabbed his arm. "Sit before you pass out."
Right. Sitting. Ray shifted on the couch to give him room, and Gerard took it. He grabbed the biscuit Mikey handed him and gave a queasy smile in thanks.
-
He ended up drooling on Ray's arm in the lounge for a couple more hours. Normally, he'd try to stay awake longer - since Ian, as he insisted everyone call him, was there - but they ended up mostly talking band shit while Ian listened politely. He actually seemed amused if anything, occasionally shooting Ray a technical question when it intersected with his theater knowledge. Way cool, but not the kind of thing Gerard could be involved in with a cold.
So Gerard shuffled off to soundcheck - thankfully, he wasn't congested enough that it affected his voice - and back to the bus for another nap, and then to the show.
It wasn't his thing to point out celebrities in the house: the music was the music, the bands were the bands, and the fans were definitely the fans. Hell, Gerard got so into it he almost forgot that one of the greatest living British actors was bopping along at side stage.
But Mikey turned up his game, playing for all he was worth, and when the show ended, he carefully disengaged his bass and threw his arms around Ian's neck. They kissed tenderly, and then passionately, and wow that was way more tongue than Gerard ever wanted to see his brother give anyone, but at least he was pretty sure he didn't have to worry about Mikey's happiness.
Gerard managed to give Ian a friendly clap on the shoulder on his way off the stage. There's no way he would've dared if he hadn't been on post-show endorphins, but judging by the way Ian clapped his shoulder back, it wasn't entirely unwelcome.
-
Three
"I'm calling you in advance."
"Uh, yeah," Gerard said as he tried to set the phone in the rental car's cup holder. "Obviously."
"So you'll know I'm bringing Ian."
"You're bringing Ian?" Gerard's fingers lost their grip, and the phone clattered down. "To Mom's dinner?"
"What was that?"
"Dinner with Mom. Are you two..."
Gerard could almost hear Mikey's eye roll. "He was in the city, and he wanted to see me."
"Don't tell me he's taking the train."
"I think he's got a driver. Maybe."
Gerard shook his head. Magneto on a train. Well, it probably wouldn't be a problem if Wolverine and Rogue weren't running around. "See you in a bit."
-
Ian McKellen wasn't the largest guy in the world, but spreading his arms around Gerard's mom's kitchen table and speaking in a booming voice made him seem too big for the room.
"Bilbo Baggins! Do not take me for some conjurers of cheap tricks. I am not trying to rob you!"
He drew back, and Gerard mouthed along with, "I'm trying to help you."
His mom stubbed out the last of her cigarette and clapped heartily. Gerard joined in just a second behind her. Mikey just gave one of his close-eyed smiles that made him look like a cat.
"Wow," Gerard breathed. "You were really robbed for that Oscar."
Ian laughed. "We took more than enough for Return of the King. Now, Michael tells me you're writing a series of comic books?"
So Gerard spent the rest of the night talking about the various ideas that were bouncing in his head while his mom smoked and Mikey stuffed his face, and it was...well, like Ian was part of the family.
It didn't make it any less surreal when Ian kissed Mikey while he was cleaning dishes, but even Gandalf's magic only went so far.
-
Four
Alicia was smart. Alicia was stunning. Alicia was every single thing that Mikey could ever want. It was like a kick in the chest, and Gerard was really glad he ordered soup instead of something with a lot of substance to it because just watching her with Mikey made his throat tighten and his eyes sting.
When he kissed Alicia on the cheek after dinner, it was like kissing the sister he didn't know existed. And he knew, when he hugged Mikey, that Mikey knew exactly how he felt.
It was only days later, when they were sharing chicken fingers and playing Xbox and Gerard had said a million times that Alicia was perfection in human form, that he asked, "What happened with Ian?"
Mikey didn't look over from his controller, but his voice was carefully even as he said, "It wasn't supposed to be a forever thing."
Gerard paused the game. "But it was nice while it lasted, huh?"
Mikey smiled a little. "Yeah."
-
Five
Mikey was on speaker phone as Lindsey glued pieces to her model. Gerard could barely tear his eyes away from her, so it was great that he didn't have to worry about his phone for a while.
"--bring guests?" Oh. He'd zoned out again while looking at the little shingles on Lindsey's house. That tended to happen.
"Yeah," Gerard said. "More the merrier. Did you have anyone in mind?"
"Just an old friend," and wow, Mikey's voice was way too innocent. "And his partner."
Gerard's brain flipped through Mikey's exes. Couldn't be Pete; not only was he with Ashlee, he wasn't even in the area at the moment. And before that, it was...
"Oh!" Gerard clapped his hands once. "Fucking awesome!"
"I figured that'd make your day. See you tonight?"
"Hell yes!"
As Gerard clicked the phone off, Lindsey raised an eyebrow in his direction. "Feel like translating your brother code for me?"
Gerard grinned toothily. "You're a Way now. You'll have to soak it in by osmosis."
-
But code only went so far.
Okay, it wasn't like Mikey hadn't warned him. But it wasn't public knowledge who Ian McKellen's partner was, and Mikey totally took advantage of it.
So Gerard nearly passed out when he saw Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart on his front step. At least Lindsey was behind him, propping him up. And talking. Talking was good.
"Welcome to our home," she said brightly, pinching Gerard's side. He did his best not to wriggle.
Ian grinned. "Thank you for having us. May we come in?"
Lindsey guided Gerard out of the way, directed them all to the living room, took the bag of coffee beans from Patrick, and dragged Gerard into the kitchen and sat him at the table.
"Breathe," she said as she checked on her stew.
"Captain...Picard..."
"And here I thought you'd go with Xavier and Magneto. Never thought they were more than old friends." She giggled. "So which one is Mikey's ex?"
"I...how'd you..."
"Please. I might not be fluent in Way, but I'm getting there."
Gerard shook his head. "God, I love you."
Lindsey beamed. "I know."
-
Things weren't awkward over dinner. Well, not because of exes. Because Gerard was geeking out so hard he was practically shaking? Yeah, okay. But Mikey and Ian were grown-ups, and they purely gave off friend vibes.
Or maybe that was just Gerard gaping at Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart holding hands.
"We really connected on X-Men," Patrick was saying with a soft tone. "We sat in my trailer--"
"Because it was bigger than mine," Ian said.
Patrick laughed. "We were in the same company years before, and even though we were only in the same show once, we had so many of the same war stories."
"Wow."
It wasn't until Mikey snorted that Gerard realized that the breathless gasp of a word came from him. His cheeks got hot, but whatever. Mikey's leg was bouncing on the other side of the table, so he wasn't playing it half as cool as he thought.
"But you didn't fall in love then?" Lindsey said. Leave it to her to rescue things.
"Oh, I did," Ian said. "But I was convinced Patrick was straight."
"So was I." Patrick grinned. "It was only when we started Godot that I revised my previous opinions."
The conversation drifted after that - albums, art, and kids took up a lot of space - but Mikey had his head on Alicia's shoulder, and Gerard had his hand on Lindsey's knee, and it was pretty much the best thing ever.
(Until Ian pretended to hover his spoon over his palm, and Patrick put his fingers to his temples in response. But everything else was still really, really awesome.)
Fandom: Bandom (MCR) and actor RPF
Rating: PG.
Length: ~2270 words.
Characters/Pairings: Mikey Way/Ian McKellen, Gerard/Lindsey, Mikey/Alicia, Ian McKellen/Patrick Stewart.
Disclaimer: Unless my stories ideas are magical psychic visions? Really not real.
Summary: Gerard was a dork, but he'd like to see most people watch Ian McKellen walk out of a bright and steamy bathroom and not get a tear in their eye.
Notes: This takes place after Mikey and Gerard's conversation in A piece of chicken, but you can read this first if you're familiar with the fact that Ian McKellen checked out Mikey at a party once. (I love my life sometimes.)
Also on AO3 and DW.
Chicken dinner
One
While Gerard was in line for coffee, his phone buzzed in his pocket. When he pulled it out after he ordered, he read:
16 pc chkn ngts plz thx
So after he guzzled everything at Starbucks, he swung by McDonalds on his way to Mikey's hotel and got a burger, fries, and Mikey's chicken nuggets. The doorman didn't look twice at him as he carried the bag of food in the entrance, but one of the receptionists behind the front desk - made of marble, of course - narrowed their eyes pointedly.
Gerard grinned back. And it wasn't entirely a fuck-you smile. It was always fun sticking it to the Man. Unfortunately, his ride up to the seventeenth floor didn't involve any more punk rock opportunities, unless eating half his fries counted. But there was always the ride back down.
He found Mikey's room and knocked the beginning of Cherub Rock on the door. Or what was supposed to be Cherub Rock, anyway. Oh well. Mikey would probably get it.
The door opened, and Mikey stood in front of him, his hair as rumpled as the Star Wars shirt and boxer-briefs he wore. "Hey."
"Hey," Gerard said, handing him the bag. "You couldn't get chicken here?"
Mikey shrugged and pulled out his box of nuggets. "Only if I wanted it grilled with caviar on the side."
Gerard grimaced. "Well, I'll be at the gross-ass Holiday Inn if you need me. It's three blocks down. You remember when bus call is?"
"Um. Do you?"
"Not off the top of my head." But it didn't really matter because Gerard was rooming with Ray. Like Ray would ever let him be late.
"Let me get my phone. Worm texted me, I think."
Mikey padded next to the king-size bed - god, that was probably like sleeping on a fucking cloud - and dug through his discarded jeans.
A muffled voice from the bathroom called, "Someone at the door, Michael?"
"Just Gerard."
"I see."
The door opened, and...okay, Gerard was a dork, but he'd like to see most people watch Ian McKellen walk out of a bright and steamy bathroom and not get a tear in their eye. It was like the end of The Two Towers, only Gandalf had short hair and a fluffy bathrobe provided by the hotel.
And then. He smiled at Gerard. "Good to meet you. I'm Ian."
"I know," and okay, it was squeaky, but come on. He cleared his throat and waved with his free hand. Or should he bow? No, hand-waving was good. It was cool. Cooler. "Mikey told me about you."
"Only good things, I hope."
Gerard nodded, not trusting himself to talk.
"7:30."
"Huh?"
Mikey waved his phone. "Bus call. 7:30?"
"Sounds right." Oh yeah, he was heading into dog-hearing territory now. Time to duck out. "You two...um. Good night?"
Mikey's lips twitched. Asshole. "Night, Gee."
He closed the door and promptly stopped half his burger in his mouth to keep from giggling.
-
Two
Colds sucked. Gerard lost an entire hotel night sleeping, and when he climbed on the bus again, he collapsed in his bunk and slept most of the day again. And they hadn't played in...well, wherever they were before, and he wanted to see it. Or, at least, he didn't want to feel like he was going to keel over and die if he didn't get personal with his pillow.
By the time he stumbled out of the bunk again, the aroma of grease filled the bus. Of course they picked a sick day to get Church's Chicken or KFC or something. His stomach churned.
"You guys better have gotten me a biscuit or something," he called as he splashed water on his face in the bathroom. Yeah, he looked like a zombie. Too bad human flesh would make him barf.
No one answered.
Gerard raised to a standing position again. "Guys? Hello?" The bus was swaying, so they were on the move. The driver couldn't have left the band behind. Could he?
After a second, Mikey yelled back, "The lounge!"
Awesome. Gerard took a heavy breath and said, "Coming!"
The mutter of voices made him even more pukey as he climbed his way back. Fuck. If this was going to be a Band Meeting, he didn't want to know why. He just couldn't deal with it.
"So what's..."
Everyone looked up at him from around a bucket of chicken (and Pop Tarts, over in Frank's area). Frank, Bob, Ray, Mikey...and Ian McKellen.
"Oh."
"Gerard," Ian McKellen said, face lighting up. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, of all things. Wasn't it some kind of rule that knighted guys had to wear suits all the time? "Good to see you again. I heard you were feeling a bit under the weather."
"Yeah, just...yeah."
"Well, hopefully you'll feel up to tonight's show. Michael invited me along to watch, and I couldn't turn him down."
Mikey gave Sir Ian a fond smile, and Gerard just shook his head. This kind of crap only happened to Mikey.
"Dude." Bob grabbed his arm. "Sit before you pass out."
Right. Sitting. Ray shifted on the couch to give him room, and Gerard took it. He grabbed the biscuit Mikey handed him and gave a queasy smile in thanks.
-
He ended up drooling on Ray's arm in the lounge for a couple more hours. Normally, he'd try to stay awake longer - since Ian, as he insisted everyone call him, was there - but they ended up mostly talking band shit while Ian listened politely. He actually seemed amused if anything, occasionally shooting Ray a technical question when it intersected with his theater knowledge. Way cool, but not the kind of thing Gerard could be involved in with a cold.
So Gerard shuffled off to soundcheck - thankfully, he wasn't congested enough that it affected his voice - and back to the bus for another nap, and then to the show.
It wasn't his thing to point out celebrities in the house: the music was the music, the bands were the bands, and the fans were definitely the fans. Hell, Gerard got so into it he almost forgot that one of the greatest living British actors was bopping along at side stage.
But Mikey turned up his game, playing for all he was worth, and when the show ended, he carefully disengaged his bass and threw his arms around Ian's neck. They kissed tenderly, and then passionately, and wow that was way more tongue than Gerard ever wanted to see his brother give anyone, but at least he was pretty sure he didn't have to worry about Mikey's happiness.
Gerard managed to give Ian a friendly clap on the shoulder on his way off the stage. There's no way he would've dared if he hadn't been on post-show endorphins, but judging by the way Ian clapped his shoulder back, it wasn't entirely unwelcome.
-
Three
"I'm calling you in advance."
"Uh, yeah," Gerard said as he tried to set the phone in the rental car's cup holder. "Obviously."
"So you'll know I'm bringing Ian."
"You're bringing Ian?" Gerard's fingers lost their grip, and the phone clattered down. "To Mom's dinner?"
"What was that?"
"Dinner with Mom. Are you two..."
Gerard could almost hear Mikey's eye roll. "He was in the city, and he wanted to see me."
"Don't tell me he's taking the train."
"I think he's got a driver. Maybe."
Gerard shook his head. Magneto on a train. Well, it probably wouldn't be a problem if Wolverine and Rogue weren't running around. "See you in a bit."
-
Ian McKellen wasn't the largest guy in the world, but spreading his arms around Gerard's mom's kitchen table and speaking in a booming voice made him seem too big for the room.
"Bilbo Baggins! Do not take me for some conjurers of cheap tricks. I am not trying to rob you!"
He drew back, and Gerard mouthed along with, "I'm trying to help you."
His mom stubbed out the last of her cigarette and clapped heartily. Gerard joined in just a second behind her. Mikey just gave one of his close-eyed smiles that made him look like a cat.
"Wow," Gerard breathed. "You were really robbed for that Oscar."
Ian laughed. "We took more than enough for Return of the King. Now, Michael tells me you're writing a series of comic books?"
So Gerard spent the rest of the night talking about the various ideas that were bouncing in his head while his mom smoked and Mikey stuffed his face, and it was...well, like Ian was part of the family.
It didn't make it any less surreal when Ian kissed Mikey while he was cleaning dishes, but even Gandalf's magic only went so far.
-
Four
Alicia was smart. Alicia was stunning. Alicia was every single thing that Mikey could ever want. It was like a kick in the chest, and Gerard was really glad he ordered soup instead of something with a lot of substance to it because just watching her with Mikey made his throat tighten and his eyes sting.
When he kissed Alicia on the cheek after dinner, it was like kissing the sister he didn't know existed. And he knew, when he hugged Mikey, that Mikey knew exactly how he felt.
It was only days later, when they were sharing chicken fingers and playing Xbox and Gerard had said a million times that Alicia was perfection in human form, that he asked, "What happened with Ian?"
Mikey didn't look over from his controller, but his voice was carefully even as he said, "It wasn't supposed to be a forever thing."
Gerard paused the game. "But it was nice while it lasted, huh?"
Mikey smiled a little. "Yeah."
-
Five
Mikey was on speaker phone as Lindsey glued pieces to her model. Gerard could barely tear his eyes away from her, so it was great that he didn't have to worry about his phone for a while.
"--bring guests?" Oh. He'd zoned out again while looking at the little shingles on Lindsey's house. That tended to happen.
"Yeah," Gerard said. "More the merrier. Did you have anyone in mind?"
"Just an old friend," and wow, Mikey's voice was way too innocent. "And his partner."
Gerard's brain flipped through Mikey's exes. Couldn't be Pete; not only was he with Ashlee, he wasn't even in the area at the moment. And before that, it was...
"Oh!" Gerard clapped his hands once. "Fucking awesome!"
"I figured that'd make your day. See you tonight?"
"Hell yes!"
As Gerard clicked the phone off, Lindsey raised an eyebrow in his direction. "Feel like translating your brother code for me?"
Gerard grinned toothily. "You're a Way now. You'll have to soak it in by osmosis."
-
But code only went so far.
Okay, it wasn't like Mikey hadn't warned him. But it wasn't public knowledge who Ian McKellen's partner was, and Mikey totally took advantage of it.
So Gerard nearly passed out when he saw Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart on his front step. At least Lindsey was behind him, propping him up. And talking. Talking was good.
"Welcome to our home," she said brightly, pinching Gerard's side. He did his best not to wriggle.
Ian grinned. "Thank you for having us. May we come in?"
Lindsey guided Gerard out of the way, directed them all to the living room, took the bag of coffee beans from Patrick, and dragged Gerard into the kitchen and sat him at the table.
"Breathe," she said as she checked on her stew.
"Captain...Picard..."
"And here I thought you'd go with Xavier and Magneto. Never thought they were more than old friends." She giggled. "So which one is Mikey's ex?"
"I...how'd you..."
"Please. I might not be fluent in Way, but I'm getting there."
Gerard shook his head. "God, I love you."
Lindsey beamed. "I know."
-
Things weren't awkward over dinner. Well, not because of exes. Because Gerard was geeking out so hard he was practically shaking? Yeah, okay. But Mikey and Ian were grown-ups, and they purely gave off friend vibes.
Or maybe that was just Gerard gaping at Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart holding hands.
"We really connected on X-Men," Patrick was saying with a soft tone. "We sat in my trailer--"
"Because it was bigger than mine," Ian said.
Patrick laughed. "We were in the same company years before, and even though we were only in the same show once, we had so many of the same war stories."
"Wow."
It wasn't until Mikey snorted that Gerard realized that the breathless gasp of a word came from him. His cheeks got hot, but whatever. Mikey's leg was bouncing on the other side of the table, so he wasn't playing it half as cool as he thought.
"But you didn't fall in love then?" Lindsey said. Leave it to her to rescue things.
"Oh, I did," Ian said. "But I was convinced Patrick was straight."
"So was I." Patrick grinned. "It was only when we started Godot that I revised my previous opinions."
The conversation drifted after that - albums, art, and kids took up a lot of space - but Mikey had his head on Alicia's shoulder, and Gerard had his hand on Lindsey's knee, and it was pretty much the best thing ever.
(Until Ian pretended to hover his spoon over his palm, and Patrick put his fingers to his temples in response. But everything else was still really, really awesome.)