(no subject)
Title: Open His Mind
Pairing: Gerard/Lindsey/Frank/Jamia, Mikey/OCs
Rating: R
Wordcount: 1475
Summary: Mikey learns a bunch of things about his brother over the course of twenty four hours.
Disclaimer: This is a non-profit, non-commercial work of fiction using the names and likenesses of real individuals. This fictional story is not intended to imply that the events herein actually occurred or that the attitudes or behaviors described are engaged in or condoned by the real persons whose names are used without permission.
Causing Gerard to manifest starts innocently. Or at least as innocent as is possible, considering Mikey’s bussing home from having some really good meaningless sex.
It would sound ridiculous if Mikey tried to tell someone straight, but the arcade at the movie theatre is actually one of the best places to find guys. That started innocently too, back when the machine was first installed. Not a lot of straight guys are into DDR. These days it’s just an unsaid rule; gay teenagers go hang out around the machines if they want to hook up. It’s the modern equivalent of a bathhouse, with a few distinct differences. Mikey doesn’t have to walk about wearing a towel, which he thinks would be awkward. There’s no bowl of condoms at the concession stand. Lastly, the show he generally gets out of the deal has less sweaty grinding and more CGI and product placement.
Mikey’s actually pretty decent at the game. It’s fun, and oddly relaxing. There’s something about loud thumping beats and flashing lights that soothes him. It’s not a mating call; you don’t have to be good at synchronised dancing to stand there and proposition someone. He just likes it.
The day it happens he scores a B+ on DDR, he watches Suckerpunch and text-recs it to everyone, and then he goes home with Alex and gets fucked on the carpet of Alex’s bedroom, bitten fingernails ruining his thighs. Alex comes first but he also gives Mikey a handjob after he catches his breath so it evens out.
There’s no reason for Mikey to stick around after he’s got his jeans on. What’s he supposed to do? Pretend he knows Alex’s last name? Tell him he wants to be boyfriends? Wait for Alex to tell him that? Not likely. He looks up the bus schedule and is out the door in the next ten minutes. At rush hour the bus is nearly full. Mikey has no choice but to go sit at the very back. He nearly beans two people in the head with his backpack before he gets safely to the seat.
At the mall Gerard and Lindsey get on. There are only two seats left on the bus, two aisle seats, one behind the other. Lindsey sits down on the front one. Mikey fishes his phone out of his pocket -some people might just shout hello across the bus, but that’s not Mikey’s style- and has a hello typed but not sent when he notices the weirdest thing. Gerard is holding the hand of the girl beside him. It’s the ballsiest form of cheating Mikey’s ever seen. Except maybe there’s an explanation. Maybe she’s just an overly friendly stoner friend. He deletes the message, and vows to find out later.
Gerard gets home during their loosely family dinner. Nobody’s presence is mandatory, but there’s generally good attendance. Mikey offers to get refills of drinks and uses that as an excuse to stay in the kitchen until he can pin Gerard. Not literally, of course. He doesn’t need to do any more than touch his arm.
Since the day Mikey manifested he’s had a bargain with his brother. He won’t use his ability on Gerard in exchange for not being nicknamed Rewind. Just because he can see twenty four hours into someone’s past if he touches them doesn’t mean he wants a shitty nickname. This is only the second time in six years he’s broken his promise. As Gerard’s day flashes through his mind Mikey frowns. There’s no question about it. Gerard’s definitely been making out with someone that’s not Lindsey. More than making out. The last image he gets before Gerard shoves him away is his brother eating out another black haired girl.
“What the fuck!” Gerard shouts, outraged, completely oblivious to the fact that Mom and Dad are probably listening in. To be frank, Mikey doesn’t much care either. If he did, he would have had this conversation somewhere that Gerard’s shouting wouldn’t attract attention.
“I’ve got proof now. I knew you wouldn’t tell me, if you were gonna you would have already. So I got proof.”
“Fuck you, I tell you everything.”
Mikey laughs hollowly. He’s offended that not only would Gerard cheat, he’d hide it, he’d flat out lie when asked. “You’ve cheated on Lindsey in the last twenty four hours. How could you do that? She’s so cool.” Lindsey understands his nickname woes, not wanting to be called Zoom herself. She can look into solids, see right down to atoms and she’s still failing biology. She uses her ability for accuracy in paper cutting projects. Mikey can appreciate that.
“She is, and I would never.”
“You did!”
“Mikey, what’s Kirby’s Law?”
Mikey rolls his eyes and recites “just because you think your ability has shown you something doesn’t mean you have the whole story. But that’s for scientists and sociologists, not common decency.”
“Me and Lindsey have these friends, Frank and Jamia. Sometimes we switch.”
“You’re telling me sometimes you fuck Jamia while she fucks Frank?”
“Yeah. Or I do Frank and she does Jamia. What? You don’t have the market cornered on bisexual.”
Mikey’s pretty sure his brain is broken. Gerard, of course, takes the resulting silence the wrong way. He jams his feet in the high top Converse he just finished taking off and walks back out the back door, leaving Mikey to avoid as many awkward questions as possible. Difficult, considering how Mom and Dad are.
At about three in the morning Gerard bursts into his room, causing Mikey to nearly fall out of bed before he realises what’s going on. Mikey reaches for his glasses. He’ll wake up better if the world isn’t a blur. He’s grown up so used to Gerard having Very Strong Very Loud Opinions that he could probably fall back asleep while Gerard’s yelling at him, if he’s not careful.
Gerard sits on the edge of Mikey’s bed. He smells like perfume. He hikes up his hoodie sleeve, unstretchy cuff straining at his elbow. Mikey watches impassively until Gerard shoves his forearm towards his face. “Go ahead, get the last few hours.”
The instant Mikey’s sleepwarm hand touches Gerard’s arm -colder than it should be, he must have been outside for longer than the minute it would take to get out of a taxi- he sees it. A boy with black and bleach white hair, who has to be Frank, is sitting side by side with Lindsey, making out. It’s probably the only way to keep her quiet. Another girl -Jamia?- is on her hands and knees on the hardwood, between Lindsey’s spread legs eating her out. Mikey’s experience with oral sex is that it makes people loud.
Gerard pulls away, frowning. “You don’t own unique relationship constructs, stop looking so stunned.”
Mikey winces. That’s certainly one word for his near bathhouse experiences. Except actually he doesn’t think Gee knows that. It’s been a long time since they’ve talked one on one. A friend is always over. “I don’t really, uh, have relationship constructs. Like, at all. I mostly just sleep around with guys. Which, uh. Not very bi either. I was kind of just transitional. It’s cool that you are though.” That shared memory is proof enough of that. And then it hits him. “Gee, I didn’t want to put my hand on your arm.”
“But you did, and that was my fucking proof that-”
“No, you’re not listening. I didn’t want to put my hand down. And then I did, even though I didn’t want to. I was compelled to.”
“I don’t-”
“Gerard, you made me. You manifested.”
“Shut up.”
“No, seriously. Order something else.”
“How do I know you won’t do it just to fuck with me?”
“Because I’m not an asshole.” It goes without saying that this is serious. Gerard is the oldest person Mikey knows who hasn’t manifested. Each doctor Gerard’s seen had a different medical explanation for it, but none of them were able to cause an ability to manifest. If this is it, then the issue of Gerard’s swinger lifestyle and his own baseless accusations is distinctly a secondary priority.
Gerard turns his head so Mikey can’t read his lips and whispers something Mikey can’t really hear. Moments later Mikey feels the silly urge to stand on one foot. Silly, but a complete necessity. He pushes the blankets towards the wall and climbs out of bed. Balanced on the heel and toes of one foot he says congratulations.
“Oh my god! I need to tell Jay and Linz and Frank!” Gerard rushes out of the room. Halfway down the hall he turns and rushes back in to give Mikey a hug. Mikey returns it happily. No matter what, Gerard will always be his older brother, and he’ll always want the best for him.