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More of the fic prompts! I'm kind of cheating a little? saekokato wanted Brian/Ray, and an explanation as to why Brian looked a little mesmerized in her icon. But then there was this AU, and I didn't cheat so much completely mess around with her prompt. /o\
Brian doesn't like Vancouver. In fact, he's not very fond of Canada as a whole. It's not as though he has anything against maple leaves or beavers or anything, it's just. Much like Tokyo is ground zero for large, mutant lizards, seriously weird shit happens in Canada. More specifically, Vancouver. Brian has enough to deal with concerning his band that he doesn't need to go out of his way to make his life harder.
“So, hey,” Frank says, feet in Ray's lap. “Time to make an honest man of Bob, Ray!”
That's the other reason Brian doesn't like Canada. Or, no, that's one of a million reasons Brian doesn't like Frank.
Ray smiles, head bobbing along to whatever he's listening to, and cheerfully shoves Frank onto the floor. “Bob's going to kill you if you keep up with the gay marriage jokes, Frank.”
Lifting a hand to flip Ray off, Frank rolls into a comfortable position on the floor, hands behind his head. “Gerard totally has to be the flower girl,” he says, nudging Ray with his foot until Ray takes the headphones off. “He'd get to wear a pretty dress and shower everyone with rose petals and sparkles.”
Even though he knows better, Brian holds out hope that Ray won't fall victim to Frank's special kind of crazy.
“Maybe a tiara too,” Ray says, smiling at the the thought. "He'd probably go for that."
Brian sighs and hunches down in front of his laptop. He has the tour schedule open in front of him. The new festival in Vancouver they were asked to play at is a weekend thing, two shows with a radio interview on the second day before the band hits the stage.
He looks up when Frank says something about sequins and watches the two of them planning Ray and Bob's wedding right down to the invitations. Moments like this one are when he has to wonder how the hell anything could top his guys for weirdness.
====
====
During sound check for the first show Frank almost gets flattened by falling lights.
Mikey's closest and manages to get him out of the way in time, everything frighteningly quiet in the aftermath. Brian's on the phone to the radio station, but hangs up to check on his guys, hustling them off the stage, Mikey and Gerard flanking Frank, Bob stomping ahead with Worm. Brian has to give Ray a little push to get him moving.
Brian looks back and sees a familiar form ducking through the rubberneckers and remembers the reason he really fucking hates Vancouver.
“Brian?”
Ray's watching him with a worried look on his face and as much as Brian would love to lock his guys up on the bus and get the hell out of Canada, he knows they won't go for it. He settles for scowling at Ray until he holds his hands up in surrender and hurries off after the others.
Brian fucking hates Vancouver because whatever weird shit is going down is bound to drag all the freaks and weirdos into it, and Brian's guys are nothing but freaks and weirdos.
====
====
It takes some time to get the band settled and Frank calmed down. Frank's trying a little too hard to reassure everyone that he's fine, he's okay. His smile's a little too big, eyes a little too wide.
Eventually Bob throws a pillow at his head, and Frank whips around to stare at him. He looks like he's going to fly apart any minute. Bob smiles this lazy little smile that's just edging over into a smirk, head cocked to the side. Bob waits a beat, and then takes a jab at Frank that has him howling, teeth bared in a crazy smile as he launches himself at Bob.
Bob's smile rolls over into an outright smirk even though Frank takes him down with his momentum. He's yelling a mix of threats and your mom jokes, laughing like a complete lunatic as he wrestles with Bob on the floor of their dingy little dressing room.
Brian waits to make sure things are as okay as they're likely to get, and slips out of the room to make a call. Several calls, really, but only one that matters.
Tony picks up on the second ring.
“So,” Brian says. “What the fuck is going on, and why are my guys involved?”
There's no answer for a moment. When it comes, it comes in the form of teenage girls squealing like they've spotted prey. The worst part is that Brian recognizes the squealing. He knows those voices.
“Tony, no.”
It's futile, really, because the squealing gets louder. They're not the only band playing the festival, and Brian knows more than a few band members are wandering the grounds. The smart ones have security with them, while the poor stupid bastards who should know better might as well have targets painted on their chests.
“I'm fucking serious, Tony.”
Nothing from Tony and everything from the girls with him.
Sighing, Brian pats himself down for his cigarettes. “This had better be the fucking end of the world, Tony.”
Maybe Tony's had enough of the squealing, or maybe he knows Brian's not really in the mood because this time he answers. “Not so you'd notice,” Tony says. “It's just a little infestation.”
====
====
Ray finds him a few hours later, holed up somewhere quiet with his laptop.
Ray's not supposed to be there. Ray is, in fact, supposed to be in the nice, safe, secure dressing room with the rest of the band while Worm and the rest of their security guys keep an eye on them.
“What's going on?”
Brian glares at his laptop screen, scrolling down to find what he's looking for.
Ray watches him for a few minutes and then leans over to see what Brian's doing. Brian makes a noise of protest, but Ray gets there before he can snap the lid shut.
“Spider solitaire?” Ray sounds confused, which is understandable. Brian's not that big a fan of spider solitaire. “I thought you weren't a big fan of spider solitaire.”
Brian sighs and looks up at Ray. Ray has his patient face on, the one he uses when he's settling in to wait someone out, like he has all the damn time in the world and isn't going to budge until he gets what he's looking for. Brian's about to deal out a lot of bullshit, and a lot of 'blah, blah, blah', but the overhead lights flicker.
Ray looks up, Brian gets a bad feeling, and then the lights explode.
Brian hates Vancouver.
====
====
Ray takes the news a lot better than Brian was expecting.
“You're a wizard.”
Except for the part where he doesn't believe Brian.
“Yes, Ray,” Brian says. “I'm a wizard.”
There's a moment of silence, which wouldn't be so bad if they weren't locked in a tiny room with Brian's laptop as the only source of light.
“You're a wizard.”
Technically, Brian has the potential to become a wizard. He's been playing the denial card for a long time though, which in hindsight wasn't the smartest thing to do. They might not be facing the end of the world, but a sprite infestation is annoying and holds its own dangers. It would be pretty damn nice if Brian knew a spell or two that could help out.
“I'm a wizard, there's a sprite infestation, and I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of being stuck in here.”
Ray doesn't say anything, and since Brian really is tired of being stuck in there, he decides it's well past time to do something about it.
He might have the potential to become a wizard and the handy, dandy 'how-to' instructions on his laptop, but he's not going to risk a spell he doesn't know how to cast or control backfiring when Ray, when any of his guys are around.
Brian hands his laptop to Ray and pulls out his phone. It's not as flashy as a spell or some other bit of magic, but it's practical and will get the job done, which is all Brian's really asking for.
====
====
“Sprites,” Ray says, poking at the little guy/girl/whatever in the jar he's holding.
With the semi-crisis averted by Tony and his scary apprentice, the show had gone on, and now Tony and his scary apprentice and her equally scary sister are talking to Gerard and the others.
“That's what Tony says they are,” Brian mutters, glaring at the sprite. “Apparently they're usually pretty docile, but the energy from the festival has them all worked up.” And because he knows Ray's going to want to know, "Tony has a friend who's going to help him relocate them."
Ray gives him a look, and Brian shrugs. As far as he's concerned the little bastards are lucky Tony's the one dealing with them. He doesn't care if they didn't mean to cause trouble, the little shits could have hurt someone. Brian's trying not to think too hard about the damn lights, he really isn't.
Taking the jar from Ray, Brian goes to put it in the box with the other jars full of tiny, angry little people. Crouching down next to the box, Brian gives it a shake before setting it down with the other jars, smiling when the sprite wobbles unsteadily on its feet.
“So,” Ray says. “You're a wizard.”
Sighing, Brian looks up, the words on the tip of his tongue, and then he sees the look on Ray's face. Ray's smiling at him. No. Ray's laughing at him.
“You're a wizard, and now they know,” Ray says, pointing over the others who are staring at Tony and his scary apprentice. Gerard looks a little moony-eyed too, and Frank's not far behind. “You realize they're going to make your life hell, right?”
That's not really news.
Ray takes in the look on his face and nods. “Okay, yeah, I guess that's not really news.”
It really, really isn't.
Ray cocks his head to the side. “How about this, then?” he asks, crossing his arms. “I'm not going to marry Bob.”
That. Okay, that's. It's not really news so much as something that makes Brian wonder if Ray hit his head on something during the semi-crisis. He'd been with Brian for most of that, and while they'd caught a few water balloons to the face, they hadn't run into any real trouble. As far as Brian knows, while Ray and Bob have a mutual appreciation thing between them, they're not actually involved, or dating, or a couple, or whatever term people want to use.
“I'm sure Gerard will be crushed,” Brian says, eyes flicking over to the cluster of people surrounding Gerard. “He was excited about the tiara.”
Ray's still laughing at Brian. He has this look on his face like he knows something Brian doesn't. "Don't forget the sparkles," Ray says. "He really liked those."
Brian's starting to get a crick in his neck, he's tired, and he's pretty sure his guys are going to give him shit for keeping the whole thing about him being a wizard a secret.
“Come on, we should probably do something before Gerard or Frank get themselves in trouble.” Ray pauses. “More trouble.”
Brian looks up at Ray. At the smile on his lips, the way he's still laughing at Brian, and at the hand he's holding out to him.
“I hate Vancouver,” Brian says, taking Ray's hand. There's no bite to his words, though, and he thinks he might be smiling, just a little, when Ray pulls him to his feet. “I really fucking hate it.”
Brian doesn't like Vancouver. In fact, he's not very fond of Canada as a whole. It's not as though he has anything against maple leaves or beavers or anything, it's just. Much like Tokyo is ground zero for large, mutant lizards, seriously weird shit happens in Canada. More specifically, Vancouver. Brian has enough to deal with concerning his band that he doesn't need to go out of his way to make his life harder.
“So, hey,” Frank says, feet in Ray's lap. “Time to make an honest man of Bob, Ray!”
That's the other reason Brian doesn't like Canada. Or, no, that's one of a million reasons Brian doesn't like Frank.
Ray smiles, head bobbing along to whatever he's listening to, and cheerfully shoves Frank onto the floor. “Bob's going to kill you if you keep up with the gay marriage jokes, Frank.”
Lifting a hand to flip Ray off, Frank rolls into a comfortable position on the floor, hands behind his head. “Gerard totally has to be the flower girl,” he says, nudging Ray with his foot until Ray takes the headphones off. “He'd get to wear a pretty dress and shower everyone with rose petals and sparkles.”
Even though he knows better, Brian holds out hope that Ray won't fall victim to Frank's special kind of crazy.
“Maybe a tiara too,” Ray says, smiling at the the thought. "He'd probably go for that."
Brian sighs and hunches down in front of his laptop. He has the tour schedule open in front of him. The new festival in Vancouver they were asked to play at is a weekend thing, two shows with a radio interview on the second day before the band hits the stage.
He looks up when Frank says something about sequins and watches the two of them planning Ray and Bob's wedding right down to the invitations. Moments like this one are when he has to wonder how the hell anything could top his guys for weirdness.
====
====
During sound check for the first show Frank almost gets flattened by falling lights.
Mikey's closest and manages to get him out of the way in time, everything frighteningly quiet in the aftermath. Brian's on the phone to the radio station, but hangs up to check on his guys, hustling them off the stage, Mikey and Gerard flanking Frank, Bob stomping ahead with Worm. Brian has to give Ray a little push to get him moving.
Brian looks back and sees a familiar form ducking through the rubberneckers and remembers the reason he really fucking hates Vancouver.
“Brian?”
Ray's watching him with a worried look on his face and as much as Brian would love to lock his guys up on the bus and get the hell out of Canada, he knows they won't go for it. He settles for scowling at Ray until he holds his hands up in surrender and hurries off after the others.
Brian fucking hates Vancouver because whatever weird shit is going down is bound to drag all the freaks and weirdos into it, and Brian's guys are nothing but freaks and weirdos.
====
====
It takes some time to get the band settled and Frank calmed down. Frank's trying a little too hard to reassure everyone that he's fine, he's okay. His smile's a little too big, eyes a little too wide.
Eventually Bob throws a pillow at his head, and Frank whips around to stare at him. He looks like he's going to fly apart any minute. Bob smiles this lazy little smile that's just edging over into a smirk, head cocked to the side. Bob waits a beat, and then takes a jab at Frank that has him howling, teeth bared in a crazy smile as he launches himself at Bob.
Bob's smile rolls over into an outright smirk even though Frank takes him down with his momentum. He's yelling a mix of threats and your mom jokes, laughing like a complete lunatic as he wrestles with Bob on the floor of their dingy little dressing room.
Brian waits to make sure things are as okay as they're likely to get, and slips out of the room to make a call. Several calls, really, but only one that matters.
Tony picks up on the second ring.
“So,” Brian says. “What the fuck is going on, and why are my guys involved?”
There's no answer for a moment. When it comes, it comes in the form of teenage girls squealing like they've spotted prey. The worst part is that Brian recognizes the squealing. He knows those voices.
“Tony, no.”
It's futile, really, because the squealing gets louder. They're not the only band playing the festival, and Brian knows more than a few band members are wandering the grounds. The smart ones have security with them, while the poor stupid bastards who should know better might as well have targets painted on their chests.
“I'm fucking serious, Tony.”
Nothing from Tony and everything from the girls with him.
Sighing, Brian pats himself down for his cigarettes. “This had better be the fucking end of the world, Tony.”
Maybe Tony's had enough of the squealing, or maybe he knows Brian's not really in the mood because this time he answers. “Not so you'd notice,” Tony says. “It's just a little infestation.”
====
====
Ray finds him a few hours later, holed up somewhere quiet with his laptop.
Ray's not supposed to be there. Ray is, in fact, supposed to be in the nice, safe, secure dressing room with the rest of the band while Worm and the rest of their security guys keep an eye on them.
“What's going on?”
Brian glares at his laptop screen, scrolling down to find what he's looking for.
Ray watches him for a few minutes and then leans over to see what Brian's doing. Brian makes a noise of protest, but Ray gets there before he can snap the lid shut.
“Spider solitaire?” Ray sounds confused, which is understandable. Brian's not that big a fan of spider solitaire. “I thought you weren't a big fan of spider solitaire.”
Brian sighs and looks up at Ray. Ray has his patient face on, the one he uses when he's settling in to wait someone out, like he has all the damn time in the world and isn't going to budge until he gets what he's looking for. Brian's about to deal out a lot of bullshit, and a lot of 'blah, blah, blah', but the overhead lights flicker.
Ray looks up, Brian gets a bad feeling, and then the lights explode.
Brian hates Vancouver.
====
====
Ray takes the news a lot better than Brian was expecting.
“You're a wizard.”
Except for the part where he doesn't believe Brian.
“Yes, Ray,” Brian says. “I'm a wizard.”
There's a moment of silence, which wouldn't be so bad if they weren't locked in a tiny room with Brian's laptop as the only source of light.
“You're a wizard.”
Technically, Brian has the potential to become a wizard. He's been playing the denial card for a long time though, which in hindsight wasn't the smartest thing to do. They might not be facing the end of the world, but a sprite infestation is annoying and holds its own dangers. It would be pretty damn nice if Brian knew a spell or two that could help out.
“I'm a wizard, there's a sprite infestation, and I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of being stuck in here.”
Ray doesn't say anything, and since Brian really is tired of being stuck in there, he decides it's well past time to do something about it.
He might have the potential to become a wizard and the handy, dandy 'how-to' instructions on his laptop, but he's not going to risk a spell he doesn't know how to cast or control backfiring when Ray, when any of his guys are around.
Brian hands his laptop to Ray and pulls out his phone. It's not as flashy as a spell or some other bit of magic, but it's practical and will get the job done, which is all Brian's really asking for.
====
====
“Sprites,” Ray says, poking at the little guy/girl/whatever in the jar he's holding.
With the semi-crisis averted by Tony and his scary apprentice, the show had gone on, and now Tony and his scary apprentice and her equally scary sister are talking to Gerard and the others.
“That's what Tony says they are,” Brian mutters, glaring at the sprite. “Apparently they're usually pretty docile, but the energy from the festival has them all worked up.” And because he knows Ray's going to want to know, "Tony has a friend who's going to help him relocate them."
Ray gives him a look, and Brian shrugs. As far as he's concerned the little bastards are lucky Tony's the one dealing with them. He doesn't care if they didn't mean to cause trouble, the little shits could have hurt someone. Brian's trying not to think too hard about the damn lights, he really isn't.
Taking the jar from Ray, Brian goes to put it in the box with the other jars full of tiny, angry little people. Crouching down next to the box, Brian gives it a shake before setting it down with the other jars, smiling when the sprite wobbles unsteadily on its feet.
“So,” Ray says. “You're a wizard.”
Sighing, Brian looks up, the words on the tip of his tongue, and then he sees the look on Ray's face. Ray's smiling at him. No. Ray's laughing at him.
“You're a wizard, and now they know,” Ray says, pointing over the others who are staring at Tony and his scary apprentice. Gerard looks a little moony-eyed too, and Frank's not far behind. “You realize they're going to make your life hell, right?”
That's not really news.
Ray takes in the look on his face and nods. “Okay, yeah, I guess that's not really news.”
It really, really isn't.
Ray cocks his head to the side. “How about this, then?” he asks, crossing his arms. “I'm not going to marry Bob.”
That. Okay, that's. It's not really news so much as something that makes Brian wonder if Ray hit his head on something during the semi-crisis. He'd been with Brian for most of that, and while they'd caught a few water balloons to the face, they hadn't run into any real trouble. As far as Brian knows, while Ray and Bob have a mutual appreciation thing between them, they're not actually involved, or dating, or a couple, or whatever term people want to use.
“I'm sure Gerard will be crushed,” Brian says, eyes flicking over to the cluster of people surrounding Gerard. “He was excited about the tiara.”
Ray's still laughing at Brian. He has this look on his face like he knows something Brian doesn't. "Don't forget the sparkles," Ray says. "He really liked those."
Brian's starting to get a crick in his neck, he's tired, and he's pretty sure his guys are going to give him shit for keeping the whole thing about him being a wizard a secret.
“Come on, we should probably do something before Gerard or Frank get themselves in trouble.” Ray pauses. “More trouble.”
Brian looks up at Ray. At the smile on his lips, the way he's still laughing at Brian, and at the hand he's holding out to him.
“I hate Vancouver,” Brian says, taking Ray's hand. There's no bite to his words, though, and he thinks he might be smiling, just a little, when Ray pulls him to his feet. “I really fucking hate it.”