[Bandslash, FOB/MCR] Somewhere in Between
Title: Somewhere in Between
Rating: PG-13, possibly R (For language, not porn.)
Pairing: Pete/Patrick, implied Frank/Gerard
Genre: CRACK.
Disclaimer: So very not mine. This is all completely made up, except for the parts where these people exist.
Summary: It's Joe who starts it. Puts things in motion.
Notes: Ahaha. So I was thinking about...something, I don't remember what now, when I went to sleep last night and woke up this morning thinking about Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and how their music changed the world! (I don't know. I had weird dreams last night.) Anyway. Anyway, I read an article this morning about recognizing the signs that maybe you're no longer happy with your job? Because working in an office is a little like Hell, right? And then, naturally, it all went to this place where Pete and Joe work in an office. For the devil. I just. *hands* I don't know. This fandom, man. It makes me crazy in a good way.
It's Joe who starts it. Puts things in motion.
"Oh, man. Man. Man!"
And it's not like Pete ever really demands that his guys you know, show him respect or anything, even though he's kind of been around since the Beginning, but sometimes he thinks it might be nice. Just a little.
"Dude, what?"
Joe's bouncing on his feet, he's so excited, and he has this look of utter glee on his face. Plus, he stinks of the mortal realm, of sweat and fear and loathing.
Joe gave him this Word-a-Day desk calendar as a present not too long ago, and Pete really kind of loves it. He uses it to express his deep, dark pain and eternally tormented soul. (Seriously though? It gets him the really hot chicks when he dresses in black, puts on a morose expression, and uses cheesy lines like "No one else understands me, but you? You get it.")
"So I met this guy, right - "
Pete's eyes narrow slightly because Joe has this...not love, exactly, but a definite fascination for all things mortal. He loves slipping up to The Surface whenever he can, pretending to be one of them. There had even been a period a few decades back when he'd cashed in a few favors here and there and used up a backlog of sick days to party his way through the Hippy era. Which, okay, really explains a lot about Joe now that Pete thinks about it.
"Joe - "
"No, seriously! This guy is amazing, right? Like he's tiny and super smart and he's got phenomenal taste in music."
Pete just stares at him.
"Aaand." Joe's fucking annoying when he's like this. "And he's this tiny musical genius or something. It's incredible."
Pete's still staring.
"He could..." Joe falters a little as he tries to find the right words. "He could totally teach you how to play!"
And, okay, so it's not like Pete's the best musician ever? But that kind of stings. He tries to tell Joe that, only it comes out more as "Fuck you too, Joe."
But, Joe. Joe's one of those guys who never listens when you say things like that to him, and he just smiles. That huge, huge smile that gets Pete to do stupid stuff like agree to go up to the mortal realm one afternoon "Just to meet him, okay? He's totally awesome! You'll love him!"
Joe was supposed to go along too, but he gets called up to The Office and neither one of them is high up enough in the pecking order to even consider disobeying. Besides, it's not like they'd get away with it, because if their boss didn't find out? Someone else would, and Pete really doesn't want to think about where they'd get sent if that happened.
So Pete goes to The Surface, and after half an hour he kind of hates it, but he promised Joe, and disappointing Joe is like trying to kick a really enthusiastic puppy. Pete tries to avoid doing that when he can.
(It's not like you actually get bonus points with the boss for doing things like that, although some people would have you believe it.)
====
====
Pete's wandering around the store Joe said he met the guy in - Borders, if you can believe it - and bumps into Joe's guy. At first glance there really isn't anything to him, he's just a short, awkward kid. But then he looks up and gives Pete this shy, sweet smile and there's something about it that has Pete taking a closer look - that makes him want to pay attention to him.
He's young, for starters, and probably hasn't even started thinking about Consequences yet, even if he doesn't look like the kind of guy who'd go looking for trouble.
(Pete loves those kids best. The wild, crazy ones who grab life by the horns and damn the rest. They're his specialty.)
Joe's guy doesn't really look at Pete, even when he's apologizing for Pete not looking where he was going.
"Oh, uh. Sorry about that." Joe's guy says, and he laughs this quiet little laugh that just gets to Pete, and that's actually kind of rare.
"No problem." Pete says, and when he smiles, Joe's guy blushes. Which...okay, interesting.
They end up talking for a while. Music, mostly, and Joe was right, his guy - Patrick - is incredible. Pete totally gets why Joe likes him, and he gets a bad feeling in his gut, because things like this usually don't have happy endings.
====
====
Joe kind of gets weird when Pete brings up the part where he tried to steal Patrick's soul -
"Pete! Dude! I just wanted you to meet him, not...not do that thing."
Pete just stares at him, because really? Really?
"Joe, you do remember what it is we do, right? I mean, seriously. Take a look around."
And okay, yeah, so Hell's not like what most people would imagine it would be, what with the offices and paperwork and secretaries, but come on. Over two thousand years have come and gone and the mortal realm isn't the only place progress happens to. Pete's still trying to get used to the fact that he has an assistant, and she's been around since the '70s.
Joe makes these really kind of disgusting eyes at her, and Pete groans, drops his face into his hands. That shit's been going on since the mid '80s and it's just not cool.
"Joe. Joe, don't man." He mutters, "Seriously, don't."
Joe rolls his eyes and kicks the door to Pete's office shut, dropping into the chair across from him. "Okay, so like...it didn't take, right?"
Pete stares at him. He tends to do that a lot with Joe, he's noticed.
"No, Joe." He says. "My stealing his eternal soul 'didn't take'."
Joe lets out this relieved breath and Pete can't really blame him, because yeah. Patrick's cool and all, and Pete wouldn't mind seeing him around the office, but he kind of feels guilty for trying to take his soul.
"Okay. Okay, that's cool, man. Cool."
"Yeah." Pete says, and he means it.
====
====
Pete runs into the Way brothers when he heads up to visit Patrick the next time, and it's both embarrassing and kind of hilarious.
"Pete."
"Gerard."
Gerard doesn't like Pete, probably because of that time Pete had attempted to get Mikey on his Side.
Mikey sort of smiles at him, wings folded neatly against his back. He's never had a problem with Pete being who and what he is, which, come to think of it, might be why Gerard has a problem with Pete.
"I don't know what you think you're doing with Patrick, but it needs to to stop."
And okay, normally having an angel of Gerard's status in his face like this would have Pete bristling and more than a little annoyed, but they're talking about Patrick.
"He's a nice kid." Pete says, hands shoved in his pockets. "Besides, I kind of failed at taking his soul."
Gerard raises an eyebrow at that.
"You failed."
Pete shrugs and looks away. "Yeah."
"You do know he's one of ours, right?" Gerard asks, and Pete's gaze snaps back to meet his. It's not like it's a surprise, and really, that explains a few things.
"Seriously?"
Gerard's mouth turns down and his wings twitch when he speaks, voice tight and angry. "Stay away from him, Pete."
Things between their bosses aren't as strained as they used to be, and really. Even then the whole 'stealing souls' thing was blown way out of proportion. Free will, right? It's not like Pete ever forces people into signing away their eternal souls or giving in to temptation, they make that decision all by themselves. All he does is offer them a choice and then deals with the necessary paperwork afterwards. He's more of a glorified desk jockey these days than anything else, and really, someone needs to relay that information to the mortal realm sometime. He's getting tired of the stereotyping because in all honesty? He's not such a bad guy.
"Look, I'm not trying to lead him astray or anything, okay? He's just...he's interesting."
Gerard stares at him, some of the anger melting away at whatever he sees on his face. "We'll be watching, Pete.”
Pete can't quite find it in himself to be annoyed by that because he's met Patrick, okay? He gets it.
====
====
He'd sort of assumed that Gerard had meant that "We" a little more directly and not...not this.
"Oh, hi Pete." Patrick smiles at him when he opens the door to let him in. "You're early."
"I can go outside and come back later if you want?" He offers, only half kidding.
Patrick laughs and bumps shoulders with Pete as he heads into the kitchen. "No, you're fine. I have a friend over, though, he's on his way out."
Pete looks up at that, curious, and -
"Hey, Pete."
Patrick looks surprised, eyes moving between Pete and the -
"Andy."
There's a weird, awkward silence and then Patrick clears his throat. "You guys know each other?"
"In passing," Andy says, and Pete flinches a little, shakes his head when he hears the faint rustle of wings he knows Patrick can't see. "We kind of travel in similar circles."
Patrick's eyes narrow, and Pete can see him working things out. He knows about Pete, it's not like he couldn't after Pete tried to get Patrick to sell his soul, but he obviously didn't know about Andy.
"It's okay," Andy says, giving Patrick a smile, "I've got to get going anyway."
Patrick's frown smooths out and he he smiles at Andy. "Sure. I'll catch your gig this weekend, okay?"
Andy smiles and lets himself out while Pete stands there trying to figure out if he should be worried, or just really, really grateful that Patrick has guys like the Way brothers and fucking Andy looking out for him.
====
====
"Dude." Joe says, sounding unhappy when Pete tells him about it. "Andy's like...he's old, man. He's been around since, like, forever."
Pete...doesn't stare at Joe this time, he just scowls down at his feet. Sometimes he forgets that Joe's kind of new, that he hasn't been there since the Beginning.
"Something's up with that kid." He says, like not using Patrick's name will make things better. Easier.
He can feel it, all those centuries of experience he has telling him, without a doubt, that Something Is Not Right. Patrick's a cool little guy, but he's still just a mortal. And even though it kills Pete a little, when you break it all down Patrick's just another soul, no matter how amazing or incredible he is.
But then when you throw in angels of Gerard and Mikey's status into the mix, not to mention Andy who's actually older than Pete? It starts to get a little complicated. He can't even begin to see how the Lines go on this one, can't untangle them like he usually can, and it's making him a little crazy.
The whole thing is a mess.
Pete's a mess.
"But this is good, right?" Joe asks, a little tentatively. "I mean, at least he's safe, right?"
And. Okay, yeah. He is. Patrick's safe with the Way brothers and Andy looking out for him, but -
"It's weird." Pete mutters again. "I could understand the Ways, everyone knows they work together, but Andy too? Something is going on with that kid."
Joe sighs because Pete's been saying that for days now. He likes to change it up once in a while, throw in a few words off his desk calendar every now and then, but it all boils down to the same thing:
Something Is Not Right.
Joe coughs, rubs his nose.
"Maybe that's not entirely a bad thing." He says when Pete looks at him, and then he smiles.
====
====
Pete doesn't really know what he's doing anymore. He's in the mortal realm ("Earth, Pete. We call it Earth.") more than anywhere else. He's with Patrick more than anyone else, and he's... It's...
The thing is, he likes it better than he thought he would. He likes making music with Patrick, having Patrick put his words to Patrick's music. He likes doing stupid, simple things like hanging out and watching television - he doesn't know which Side came up with it, but he likes it. He likes spending time with Patrick, and Joe, and - he still totally can't believe it - Andy.
Andy's stopped looking at him like maybe he thinks Pete's about to rip Patrick's still beating heart from his chest, or try to snatch his soul out from under his feet while Patrick's too busy laughing at him to notice.
Pete has Joe to thank for that, he knows. Joe's goofy and friendly and comes across as being a bad fit for his job, which makes him surprisingly good at it. But, and this is the important thing, people like him. Andy likes him, and if he's willing to extend that basic goodwill to Pete with regards to Patrick? That's more than enough for Pete.
But one day Patrick turns to him and Pete knows this is it. This is where things turn ugly, this is where Sides are brought into play.
"What are we doing, Pete? What are you doing?"
There's a note of desperation in Patrick's voice that does something to Pete. It makes his chest ache, makes him want to fix it, fix them, but he doesn't have an answer.
====
====
It's Joe, fucking Joe, who figures it all out in the end.
Pete, as it turns out, has a shitload of sick days piling up and people who owe him favors. Big favors. The kind that get him pretty much what he wants (within reason), and what he wants is some time off.
Not too much, just a few decades. Fifty, sixty. Maybe more, if he's having a good time, and hey, doesn't Joe look like he could use some R&R too? They've both been working hard lately, they deserve it.
====
====
There's an article somewhere, Pete doesn't remember where or when, or even who, he just knows it's out there. He's quoted as saying something about how there would be less war and fighting if people listened to this band. This really amazing band with a fucking incredible singer. This band, and he's mostly joking, mostly, this band could possibly take over the world one day on the strength of said singer's voice alone.
And maybe it's true. Maybe he's right because the moment they make it big, really make it big? Things just start to happen.
It's not really noticeable at first, things that could easily passed off as coincidences. Like a band could be responsible for ending war and famine, right? It's not like anyone would believe him if Pete said it was Patrick's fucking amazing voice, his music, that was the reason.
That kind of thing only happens in stupid '80s movies, and it's not like Pete's Keanu Reeves or anything.
Besides, they're not the only ones out there. Gerard, who still really doesn't trust him with Patrick even if Andy does, gets together with Mikey and forms a band of their own. Pete laughs like crazy every time he hears someone say that Gerard Way is out to save lives with that band of his, because...well, yeah. That's kind of what he does.
Pete has his suspicions concerning Gerard and that tiny freak of a guitarist of his, but it's not like he has room to talk, what with Patrick and all.
(Pete and Gerard actually sit down and have a conversation about it one day, and Gerard looks like he's sucking on lemons the entire time which just makes it all the better for Pete.
"I'm doing this to to keep an eye on you," Gerard tells him, and he's not making a threat of it. He's just laying it out so there won't be any misunderstandings between them. Pete likes that about Gerard.
"I thought that's what Andy was supposed to do?"
Gerard makes a face and rubs the bridge of his nose, and Pete almost feels bad for him. He knows what it's like. "Yeah. But that was before Joe got to him.")
Anyway. There's an interview, and the important people know the truth so it doesn't bother Pete too much when people think he's joking, that he's got an inflated ego or whatever.
He knows -
"Pete, seriously," Patrick mumbles, arm tightening around Pete's waist. "We have a radio interview in the morning. Turn your brain off and go to sleep."
Pete smiles and rolls over until his cheek is resting against Patrick's chest, the steady beat of his heart beneath his ear.
They're going to fucking change the world, he just knows it.
More here and here.
Rating: PG-13, possibly R (For language, not porn.)
Pairing: Pete/Patrick, implied Frank/Gerard
Genre: CRACK.
Disclaimer: So very not mine. This is all completely made up, except for the parts where these people exist.
Summary: It's Joe who starts it. Puts things in motion.
Notes: Ahaha. So I was thinking about...something, I don't remember what now, when I went to sleep last night and woke up this morning thinking about Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and how their music changed the world! (I don't know. I had weird dreams last night.) Anyway. Anyway, I read an article this morning about recognizing the signs that maybe you're no longer happy with your job? Because working in an office is a little like Hell, right? And then, naturally, it all went to this place where Pete and Joe work in an office. For the devil. I just. *hands* I don't know. This fandom, man. It makes me crazy in a good way.
It's Joe who starts it. Puts things in motion.
"Oh, man. Man. Man!"
And it's not like Pete ever really demands that his guys you know, show him respect or anything, even though he's kind of been around since the Beginning, but sometimes he thinks it might be nice. Just a little.
"Dude, what?"
Joe's bouncing on his feet, he's so excited, and he has this look of utter glee on his face. Plus, he stinks of the mortal realm, of sweat and fear and loathing.
Joe gave him this Word-a-Day desk calendar as a present not too long ago, and Pete really kind of loves it. He uses it to express his deep, dark pain and eternally tormented soul. (Seriously though? It gets him the really hot chicks when he dresses in black, puts on a morose expression, and uses cheesy lines like "No one else understands me, but you? You get it.")
"So I met this guy, right - "
Pete's eyes narrow slightly because Joe has this...not love, exactly, but a definite fascination for all things mortal. He loves slipping up to The Surface whenever he can, pretending to be one of them. There had even been a period a few decades back when he'd cashed in a few favors here and there and used up a backlog of sick days to party his way through the Hippy era. Which, okay, really explains a lot about Joe now that Pete thinks about it.
"Joe - "
"No, seriously! This guy is amazing, right? Like he's tiny and super smart and he's got phenomenal taste in music."
Pete just stares at him.
"Aaand." Joe's fucking annoying when he's like this. "And he's this tiny musical genius or something. It's incredible."
Pete's still staring.
"He could..." Joe falters a little as he tries to find the right words. "He could totally teach you how to play!"
And, okay, so it's not like Pete's the best musician ever? But that kind of stings. He tries to tell Joe that, only it comes out more as "Fuck you too, Joe."
But, Joe. Joe's one of those guys who never listens when you say things like that to him, and he just smiles. That huge, huge smile that gets Pete to do stupid stuff like agree to go up to the mortal realm one afternoon "Just to meet him, okay? He's totally awesome! You'll love him!"
Joe was supposed to go along too, but he gets called up to The Office and neither one of them is high up enough in the pecking order to even consider disobeying. Besides, it's not like they'd get away with it, because if their boss didn't find out? Someone else would, and Pete really doesn't want to think about where they'd get sent if that happened.
So Pete goes to The Surface, and after half an hour he kind of hates it, but he promised Joe, and disappointing Joe is like trying to kick a really enthusiastic puppy. Pete tries to avoid doing that when he can.
(It's not like you actually get bonus points with the boss for doing things like that, although some people would have you believe it.)
====
====
Pete's wandering around the store Joe said he met the guy in - Borders, if you can believe it - and bumps into Joe's guy. At first glance there really isn't anything to him, he's just a short, awkward kid. But then he looks up and gives Pete this shy, sweet smile and there's something about it that has Pete taking a closer look - that makes him want to pay attention to him.
He's young, for starters, and probably hasn't even started thinking about Consequences yet, even if he doesn't look like the kind of guy who'd go looking for trouble.
(Pete loves those kids best. The wild, crazy ones who grab life by the horns and damn the rest. They're his specialty.)
Joe's guy doesn't really look at Pete, even when he's apologizing for Pete not looking where he was going.
"Oh, uh. Sorry about that." Joe's guy says, and he laughs this quiet little laugh that just gets to Pete, and that's actually kind of rare.
"No problem." Pete says, and when he smiles, Joe's guy blushes. Which...okay, interesting.
They end up talking for a while. Music, mostly, and Joe was right, his guy - Patrick - is incredible. Pete totally gets why Joe likes him, and he gets a bad feeling in his gut, because things like this usually don't have happy endings.
====
====
Joe kind of gets weird when Pete brings up the part where he tried to steal Patrick's soul -
"Pete! Dude! I just wanted you to meet him, not...not do that thing."
Pete just stares at him, because really? Really?
"Joe, you do remember what it is we do, right? I mean, seriously. Take a look around."
And okay, yeah, so Hell's not like what most people would imagine it would be, what with the offices and paperwork and secretaries, but come on. Over two thousand years have come and gone and the mortal realm isn't the only place progress happens to. Pete's still trying to get used to the fact that he has an assistant, and she's been around since the '70s.
Joe makes these really kind of disgusting eyes at her, and Pete groans, drops his face into his hands. That shit's been going on since the mid '80s and it's just not cool.
"Joe. Joe, don't man." He mutters, "Seriously, don't."
Joe rolls his eyes and kicks the door to Pete's office shut, dropping into the chair across from him. "Okay, so like...it didn't take, right?"
Pete stares at him. He tends to do that a lot with Joe, he's noticed.
"No, Joe." He says. "My stealing his eternal soul 'didn't take'."
Joe lets out this relieved breath and Pete can't really blame him, because yeah. Patrick's cool and all, and Pete wouldn't mind seeing him around the office, but he kind of feels guilty for trying to take his soul.
"Okay. Okay, that's cool, man. Cool."
"Yeah." Pete says, and he means it.
====
====
Pete runs into the Way brothers when he heads up to visit Patrick the next time, and it's both embarrassing and kind of hilarious.
"Pete."
"Gerard."
Gerard doesn't like Pete, probably because of that time Pete had attempted to get Mikey on his Side.
Mikey sort of smiles at him, wings folded neatly against his back. He's never had a problem with Pete being who and what he is, which, come to think of it, might be why Gerard has a problem with Pete.
"I don't know what you think you're doing with Patrick, but it needs to to stop."
And okay, normally having an angel of Gerard's status in his face like this would have Pete bristling and more than a little annoyed, but they're talking about Patrick.
"He's a nice kid." Pete says, hands shoved in his pockets. "Besides, I kind of failed at taking his soul."
Gerard raises an eyebrow at that.
"You failed."
Pete shrugs and looks away. "Yeah."
"You do know he's one of ours, right?" Gerard asks, and Pete's gaze snaps back to meet his. It's not like it's a surprise, and really, that explains a few things.
"Seriously?"
Gerard's mouth turns down and his wings twitch when he speaks, voice tight and angry. "Stay away from him, Pete."
Things between their bosses aren't as strained as they used to be, and really. Even then the whole 'stealing souls' thing was blown way out of proportion. Free will, right? It's not like Pete ever forces people into signing away their eternal souls or giving in to temptation, they make that decision all by themselves. All he does is offer them a choice and then deals with the necessary paperwork afterwards. He's more of a glorified desk jockey these days than anything else, and really, someone needs to relay that information to the mortal realm sometime. He's getting tired of the stereotyping because in all honesty? He's not such a bad guy.
"Look, I'm not trying to lead him astray or anything, okay? He's just...he's interesting."
Gerard stares at him, some of the anger melting away at whatever he sees on his face. "We'll be watching, Pete.”
Pete can't quite find it in himself to be annoyed by that because he's met Patrick, okay? He gets it.
====
====
He'd sort of assumed that Gerard had meant that "We" a little more directly and not...not this.
"Oh, hi Pete." Patrick smiles at him when he opens the door to let him in. "You're early."
"I can go outside and come back later if you want?" He offers, only half kidding.
Patrick laughs and bumps shoulders with Pete as he heads into the kitchen. "No, you're fine. I have a friend over, though, he's on his way out."
Pete looks up at that, curious, and -
"Hey, Pete."
Patrick looks surprised, eyes moving between Pete and the -
"Andy."
There's a weird, awkward silence and then Patrick clears his throat. "You guys know each other?"
"In passing," Andy says, and Pete flinches a little, shakes his head when he hears the faint rustle of wings he knows Patrick can't see. "We kind of travel in similar circles."
Patrick's eyes narrow, and Pete can see him working things out. He knows about Pete, it's not like he couldn't after Pete tried to get Patrick to sell his soul, but he obviously didn't know about Andy.
"It's okay," Andy says, giving Patrick a smile, "I've got to get going anyway."
Patrick's frown smooths out and he he smiles at Andy. "Sure. I'll catch your gig this weekend, okay?"
Andy smiles and lets himself out while Pete stands there trying to figure out if he should be worried, or just really, really grateful that Patrick has guys like the Way brothers and fucking Andy looking out for him.
====
====
"Dude." Joe says, sounding unhappy when Pete tells him about it. "Andy's like...he's old, man. He's been around since, like, forever."
Pete...doesn't stare at Joe this time, he just scowls down at his feet. Sometimes he forgets that Joe's kind of new, that he hasn't been there since the Beginning.
"Something's up with that kid." He says, like not using Patrick's name will make things better. Easier.
He can feel it, all those centuries of experience he has telling him, without a doubt, that Something Is Not Right. Patrick's a cool little guy, but he's still just a mortal. And even though it kills Pete a little, when you break it all down Patrick's just another soul, no matter how amazing or incredible he is.
But then when you throw in angels of Gerard and Mikey's status into the mix, not to mention Andy who's actually older than Pete? It starts to get a little complicated. He can't even begin to see how the Lines go on this one, can't untangle them like he usually can, and it's making him a little crazy.
The whole thing is a mess.
Pete's a mess.
"But this is good, right?" Joe asks, a little tentatively. "I mean, at least he's safe, right?"
And. Okay, yeah. He is. Patrick's safe with the Way brothers and Andy looking out for him, but -
"It's weird." Pete mutters again. "I could understand the Ways, everyone knows they work together, but Andy too? Something is going on with that kid."
Joe sighs because Pete's been saying that for days now. He likes to change it up once in a while, throw in a few words off his desk calendar every now and then, but it all boils down to the same thing:
Something Is Not Right.
Joe coughs, rubs his nose.
"Maybe that's not entirely a bad thing." He says when Pete looks at him, and then he smiles.
====
====
Pete doesn't really know what he's doing anymore. He's in the mortal realm ("Earth, Pete. We call it Earth.") more than anywhere else. He's with Patrick more than anyone else, and he's... It's...
The thing is, he likes it better than he thought he would. He likes making music with Patrick, having Patrick put his words to Patrick's music. He likes doing stupid, simple things like hanging out and watching television - he doesn't know which Side came up with it, but he likes it. He likes spending time with Patrick, and Joe, and - he still totally can't believe it - Andy.
Andy's stopped looking at him like maybe he thinks Pete's about to rip Patrick's still beating heart from his chest, or try to snatch his soul out from under his feet while Patrick's too busy laughing at him to notice.
Pete has Joe to thank for that, he knows. Joe's goofy and friendly and comes across as being a bad fit for his job, which makes him surprisingly good at it. But, and this is the important thing, people like him. Andy likes him, and if he's willing to extend that basic goodwill to Pete with regards to Patrick? That's more than enough for Pete.
But one day Patrick turns to him and Pete knows this is it. This is where things turn ugly, this is where Sides are brought into play.
"What are we doing, Pete? What are you doing?"
There's a note of desperation in Patrick's voice that does something to Pete. It makes his chest ache, makes him want to fix it, fix them, but he doesn't have an answer.
====
====
It's Joe, fucking Joe, who figures it all out in the end.
Pete, as it turns out, has a shitload of sick days piling up and people who owe him favors. Big favors. The kind that get him pretty much what he wants (within reason), and what he wants is some time off.
Not too much, just a few decades. Fifty, sixty. Maybe more, if he's having a good time, and hey, doesn't Joe look like he could use some R&R too? They've both been working hard lately, they deserve it.
====
====
There's an article somewhere, Pete doesn't remember where or when, or even who, he just knows it's out there. He's quoted as saying something about how there would be less war and fighting if people listened to this band. This really amazing band with a fucking incredible singer. This band, and he's mostly joking, mostly, this band could possibly take over the world one day on the strength of said singer's voice alone.
And maybe it's true. Maybe he's right because the moment they make it big, really make it big? Things just start to happen.
It's not really noticeable at first, things that could easily passed off as coincidences. Like a band could be responsible for ending war and famine, right? It's not like anyone would believe him if Pete said it was Patrick's fucking amazing voice, his music, that was the reason.
That kind of thing only happens in stupid '80s movies, and it's not like Pete's Keanu Reeves or anything.
Besides, they're not the only ones out there. Gerard, who still really doesn't trust him with Patrick even if Andy does, gets together with Mikey and forms a band of their own. Pete laughs like crazy every time he hears someone say that Gerard Way is out to save lives with that band of his, because...well, yeah. That's kind of what he does.
Pete has his suspicions concerning Gerard and that tiny freak of a guitarist of his, but it's not like he has room to talk, what with Patrick and all.
(Pete and Gerard actually sit down and have a conversation about it one day, and Gerard looks like he's sucking on lemons the entire time which just makes it all the better for Pete.
"I'm doing this to to keep an eye on you," Gerard tells him, and he's not making a threat of it. He's just laying it out so there won't be any misunderstandings between them. Pete likes that about Gerard.
"I thought that's what Andy was supposed to do?"
Gerard makes a face and rubs the bridge of his nose, and Pete almost feels bad for him. He knows what it's like. "Yeah. But that was before Joe got to him.")
Anyway. There's an interview, and the important people know the truth so it doesn't bother Pete too much when people think he's joking, that he's got an inflated ego or whatever.
He knows -
"Pete, seriously," Patrick mumbles, arm tightening around Pete's waist. "We have a radio interview in the morning. Turn your brain off and go to sleep."
Pete smiles and rolls over until his cheek is resting against Patrick's chest, the steady beat of his heart beneath his ear.
They're going to fucking change the world, he just knows it.
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