The Adventures of Mike Carden-Way
So at some point in the past, icanbreakthesky showed me a picture of Mike Carden, probably on Warped Tour 0something, where he was sweaty and gross-looking. Conversations about how he was becoming a Way resulted, and then ridiculous plotting about how Mike Carden became a Way, and basically we started brainstorming about how to stick bb!Mike Carden in with teenage Gee and Mikey.
And thus this came out last night:
"We have the same name, right?" Mike asked, crawling over the back of the couch to tumble down next to Mikey. Mikey shifted over, moving his pencils out of eye-poking range and his homework out of brother-crumpling range. "Right Mikey? We're both Michael?"
"Right," Mikey nodded without looking up. Quadratic equations were easy but boring, he just needed to focus and-
"So why's my short-name Mike and yours is Mikey?"
"Nickname."
"What?"
"It's not a short name, it's a nickname," Mikey explained. He grinned slightly to himself, bending over his math book further. "And mine is bigger because I'm bigger."
"That's not fair!"
"Why not? You're little."
Just as he expected, Mike sat up on his knees, steadying himself with a hand on Mikey's shoulder and an indignant expression on his face. "I'm not little."
"You kinda are, actually," Mikey paused, setting his pencil on his book and closing it. He set it aside, turning to study Mike with a frown. "In fact..."
"What?"
"Nothing, just..." he shrugged one shoulder, the one Mike wasn't hanging on to. "It sorta seems like you're...kind of extra small, you know?"
Mike's eyes went wide. "No?"
"I just mean...how old are you now?"
"Four," Mike nodded. He paused suddenly, scrunching up his face. "And a half. Right?"
"Yep. Huh," Mikey glanced over him. "I feel like you should definitely be bigger. Maybe for four, but especially for four and a half."
Mike leaned forward, and Mikey caught him as he started to tip over. "What do you do to get big then?"
"You..." Over Mike's shoulder, Mikey caught sight of his bass propped up in the corner of the living room. "You play guitar."
For the first time that afternoon, Mike looked at Mikey with something close to disbelief. "Really?"
"Really. Look at me and Ray. I'm even bigger than Gerard, right? And he's supposed to be my big brother. It's because Gerard sings and I play guitar."
Mike bit his bottom lip, adopting the look he generally did when he was thinking really hard. Or tying his shoes. Shit, Mikey thought to himself.
"What about Frank?"
"Well," Mikey lowered his head, thinking furiously. The longer he waited, the more skeptical Mike was going to get. "The thing about Frank..."
"Yeah?"
Mikey looked up again. "I don't know if I can tell you."
"What?"
"It's something you should ask Frank about yourself, you know?" he nodded. "He would be able to give you more information about it. Maybe some tips too, because you're both extra-small, you know?"
"Oh," Mike let go of Mikey, sitting back on his heels and looking thoughtful. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"Yeah."
"Good-"
"He's in Gee's room," Mike nodded, scrambling off the couch and taking off up the stairs. "I can go ask him now!"
Mikey was torn between an intense desire to see Frank's face and a strong self-preservation instinct. He'd barely finished cramming all his books into his backpack when he heard Frank's indignant cry of "WHAT?" and Gerard's "Mikey!" He took off out the back door, hoping Gabe was home and willing to hide him for a couple hours.
Yeah, I wasn't planning on this being a neighborhood!AU, but apparently if Mike Carden can somehow get born into the Way household, Gabe can live nearby.
And thus this came out last night:
"We have the same name, right?" Mike asked, crawling over the back of the couch to tumble down next to Mikey. Mikey shifted over, moving his pencils out of eye-poking range and his homework out of brother-crumpling range. "Right Mikey? We're both Michael?"
"Right," Mikey nodded without looking up. Quadratic equations were easy but boring, he just needed to focus and-
"So why's my short-name Mike and yours is Mikey?"
"Nickname."
"What?"
"It's not a short name, it's a nickname," Mikey explained. He grinned slightly to himself, bending over his math book further. "And mine is bigger because I'm bigger."
"That's not fair!"
"Why not? You're little."
Just as he expected, Mike sat up on his knees, steadying himself with a hand on Mikey's shoulder and an indignant expression on his face. "I'm not little."
"You kinda are, actually," Mikey paused, setting his pencil on his book and closing it. He set it aside, turning to study Mike with a frown. "In fact..."
"What?"
"Nothing, just..." he shrugged one shoulder, the one Mike wasn't hanging on to. "It sorta seems like you're...kind of extra small, you know?"
Mike's eyes went wide. "No?"
"I just mean...how old are you now?"
"Four," Mike nodded. He paused suddenly, scrunching up his face. "And a half. Right?"
"Yep. Huh," Mikey glanced over him. "I feel like you should definitely be bigger. Maybe for four, but especially for four and a half."
Mike leaned forward, and Mikey caught him as he started to tip over. "What do you do to get big then?"
"You..." Over Mike's shoulder, Mikey caught sight of his bass propped up in the corner of the living room. "You play guitar."
For the first time that afternoon, Mike looked at Mikey with something close to disbelief. "Really?"
"Really. Look at me and Ray. I'm even bigger than Gerard, right? And he's supposed to be my big brother. It's because Gerard sings and I play guitar."
Mike bit his bottom lip, adopting the look he generally did when he was thinking really hard. Or tying his shoes. Shit, Mikey thought to himself.
"What about Frank?"
"Well," Mikey lowered his head, thinking furiously. The longer he waited, the more skeptical Mike was going to get. "The thing about Frank..."
"Yeah?"
Mikey looked up again. "I don't know if I can tell you."
"What?"
"It's something you should ask Frank about yourself, you know?" he nodded. "He would be able to give you more information about it. Maybe some tips too, because you're both extra-small, you know?"
"Oh," Mike let go of Mikey, sitting back on his heels and looking thoughtful. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"Yeah."
"Good-"
"He's in Gee's room," Mike nodded, scrambling off the couch and taking off up the stairs. "I can go ask him now!"
Mikey was torn between an intense desire to see Frank's face and a strong self-preservation instinct. He'd barely finished cramming all his books into his backpack when he heard Frank's indignant cry of "WHAT?" and Gerard's "Mikey!" He took off out the back door, hoping Gabe was home and willing to hide him for a couple hours.
Yeah, I wasn't planning on this being a neighborhood!AU, but apparently if Mike Carden can somehow get born into the Way household, Gabe can live nearby.