ficlet: Make It Up
Here's a drabble I wrote in mcee's Brian Schechter Needs Some Love post last week, which was chronically under-attentioned, I think (I mostly mean the post, but the drabble too).
I wasn't even going to write this, but then I couldn't get rid of the goddamn plotbunny, so FINE, HERE'S A COMMENT DRABBLE.
MAKE IT UP
Brian, Gerard; gen
554 words
Brian is dozing in front of the TV when his phone rings and startles him back fully awake. "What?" he asks, a bit snappishly, when he answers.
"OhmygodIjustrealizedI'msosorry," Gerard says all in a rush.
"Stop," Brian interrupts him. "What's going on? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but are you okay?" Gerard sounds very concerned. Brian is disconcerted, to say the least.
"I don't know why I wouldn't be?"
"Oh. Okay, good. Fuck, yeah, I'm really glad to hear that. God, I thought you were going to hate me."
"Why would I hate you, Gerard?" Brian drops his hand over his face to scrub at his eyes. He peers through his fingers at the time on his DVD player. It's almost midnight. He must be getting old if he's this tired at midnight, jesus.
"Well, I was finally looking at my promo copy of the DVD after Mikey called me to yell at me about not thanking him, which I can't fuckin' believe I didn't do, so I deserved that. But then I was looking at what the other guys said--"
Brian can totally see where this is going. "I couldn't stop Bob from putting 'smoooches,' Gerard, and yes, I've already seen the interne--"
"No, no, it's not that. I thought that was really sweet, actually."
"So what is it?"
"We didn't thank you!"
"Wha?"
"On the DVD! We're all complete assholes, none of us remembered to thank you."
Brian had in fact noticed this when he was approving the final layouts, and yeah, it had stung at the time, but he'd forced himself to chalk it up to a lack of space and the guys' recent obsessions with their respective marriages (and babies-to-be, Christ) and let it go. "I noticed," is what he tells Gerard.
"I'm really sorry," Gerard says very, very earnestly. "And Mikey is, too. And I think it's probably okay if I speak for Toro and Bob and Frank. I'm, like, channeling their expected apologies for you."
"I'm touched," Brian says, and sure, it's kind of sarcastic, but he's never found a good way of dealing with Gerard when he's this earnest. He feels compelled to counter-balance that shit out or something.
"Brian," Gerard huffs. "Just say 'thank you'. You know we love you, right? Even if we're idiots about showing it?"
A warm little flicker lights up somewhere in Brian's chest. He tries to ignore it. "I know," he says.
"I'm going to make everyone call you," Gerard goes on. "Tonight. Right now."
"Please don't," Brian groans.
"Oh, okay." If Gerard is taken aback by this at all, he does a good job of brushing it off. "But mark my words, Schechter, we're going to make this up to you."
"Whatever makes you happy," Brian says.
"You make us happy," Gerard says.
There's a pause, and then Brian laughs. "You're disgusting," he tells Gerard. "Go have sex with your wife or something, let me go to bed."
"Okay," Gerard agrees cheerily, and Brian laughs again to himself. "But seriously, when you least expect it? We are going to appreciate the shit out of you, just you wait."
"Goodnight, Gerard," Brian says, and then hangs up.
If the smile he flashes his ceiling is ridiculously huge and toothy, well, nobody would dream of holding that against him, right?
* * *
I have another plot-bunny running around in my head right now, based on an mcr4u prompt from someone on my friends list. I will maybe write it this weekend when I am out of town to see family (SERIOUSLY WHY AM I SO BUSY ALL OF A SUDDEN, IS IT BECAUSE MY THESIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE DONE NEXT WEEK?). I also agreed to write a pinch-hit which I should probably do this weekend too.
I wasn't even going to write this, but then I couldn't get rid of the goddamn plotbunny, so FINE, HERE'S A COMMENT DRABBLE.
MAKE IT UP
Brian, Gerard; gen
554 words
Brian is dozing in front of the TV when his phone rings and startles him back fully awake. "What?" he asks, a bit snappishly, when he answers.
"OhmygodIjustrealizedI'msosorry," Gerard says all in a rush.
"Stop," Brian interrupts him. "What's going on? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but are you okay?" Gerard sounds very concerned. Brian is disconcerted, to say the least.
"I don't know why I wouldn't be?"
"Oh. Okay, good. Fuck, yeah, I'm really glad to hear that. God, I thought you were going to hate me."
"Why would I hate you, Gerard?" Brian drops his hand over his face to scrub at his eyes. He peers through his fingers at the time on his DVD player. It's almost midnight. He must be getting old if he's this tired at midnight, jesus.
"Well, I was finally looking at my promo copy of the DVD after Mikey called me to yell at me about not thanking him, which I can't fuckin' believe I didn't do, so I deserved that. But then I was looking at what the other guys said--"
Brian can totally see where this is going. "I couldn't stop Bob from putting 'smoooches,' Gerard, and yes, I've already seen the interne--"
"No, no, it's not that. I thought that was really sweet, actually."
"So what is it?"
"We didn't thank you!"
"Wha?"
"On the DVD! We're all complete assholes, none of us remembered to thank you."
Brian had in fact noticed this when he was approving the final layouts, and yeah, it had stung at the time, but he'd forced himself to chalk it up to a lack of space and the guys' recent obsessions with their respective marriages (and babies-to-be, Christ) and let it go. "I noticed," is what he tells Gerard.
"I'm really sorry," Gerard says very, very earnestly. "And Mikey is, too. And I think it's probably okay if I speak for Toro and Bob and Frank. I'm, like, channeling their expected apologies for you."
"I'm touched," Brian says, and sure, it's kind of sarcastic, but he's never found a good way of dealing with Gerard when he's this earnest. He feels compelled to counter-balance that shit out or something.
"Brian," Gerard huffs. "Just say 'thank you'. You know we love you, right? Even if we're idiots about showing it?"
A warm little flicker lights up somewhere in Brian's chest. He tries to ignore it. "I know," he says.
"I'm going to make everyone call you," Gerard goes on. "Tonight. Right now."
"Please don't," Brian groans.
"Oh, okay." If Gerard is taken aback by this at all, he does a good job of brushing it off. "But mark my words, Schechter, we're going to make this up to you."
"Whatever makes you happy," Brian says.
"You make us happy," Gerard says.
There's a pause, and then Brian laughs. "You're disgusting," he tells Gerard. "Go have sex with your wife or something, let me go to bed."
"Okay," Gerard agrees cheerily, and Brian laughs again to himself. "But seriously, when you least expect it? We are going to appreciate the shit out of you, just you wait."
"Goodnight, Gerard," Brian says, and then hangs up.
If the smile he flashes his ceiling is ridiculously huge and toothy, well, nobody would dream of holding that against him, right?
* * *
I have another plot-bunny running around in my head right now, based on an mcr4u prompt from someone on my friends list. I will maybe write it this weekend when I am out of town to see family (SERIOUSLY WHY AM I SO BUSY ALL OF A SUDDEN, IS IT BECAUSE MY THESIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE DONE NEXT WEEK?). I also agreed to write a pinch-hit which I should probably do this weekend too.