Lost

Chapter 21

Mikey was asleep again on the way home. Ray was right: he'd been sleeping a lot lately.
Ray was watching him with soft amusement whilst Frank drove them all to his place. Sure, he liked Mikey. And sure, it kind of hurt that Mikey didn't return those feelings.
But Ray knew that Frank and Mikey would make a good couple: a better one than Frank and Gerard, if anything. Ray knew that Gerard could be an asshole to Frank a lot of the time, and Frank honestly didn't need that.
Ray was glad he was with someone like Mikey, who was currently too shy to deliberately hurt anything. Still, there was a definite sting. Mikey didn't need him. Mikey only needed Frank.
Ray sighed and looked over at Frank, who seemed cheerful.
"So Mikey's been taking his pills?" he asked the shorter man.
"Yup," Frank nodded. "He recently stopped, though. They say he doesn't need them anymore."
"That's great!" Ray beamed at him. Frank managed a small smile.
"Yeah." Then his face darkened. "But Gerard found this woman, Lindsey."
"Oh, really?" Ray blinked. Gerard hadn't said anything about a woman when they left – though to be honest, he'd been quiet for the whole journey in Ray's car.
"She... I don't think she likes me." Frank sighed. "And she's already cutting down on time Gerard spends with Mikey."
"You're being paranoid, Frank. It's just because she's dating Gerard." Ray sighed. "You may love Mikey, but you liked Gerard first, and you're jealous."
"I am not jealous!"
Ray just snorted.
"I'm not!" Frank insisted. "I like Mikey!"
"Liking someone else doesn't stop feelings of replacement, Frank." Ray gave him a stern look. "You have emotions. Everyone knows you have emotions. It's okay to show them."
Frank sighed. "I forgot that you're basically my mom."
Ray grinned and patted his head. "Better remember this time, kiddo."
"Like you'll let me forget," scoffed Frank.
"What are we forgetting?" Mikey's drowsy voice entered the conversation.
"You, Mikey."
"Please don't forget me," Mikey begged. Frank laughed.
"I could never forget you, Mikes."
Ray saw Mikey relax and sighed. For so long he'd wanted Mikey to be his. But now he had to accept that that wasn't the way life worked. Plus helping his brother walk away from him had probably not helped Ray at all when it came to getting with Mikey.
Frank, however, was perfect.
Often angry, yes, but he was absolutely amazing when it came to Mikey. Ray knew he himself was always out of his depth, and those long nights when Mikey would pour out his emotions to him whilst they lay in the same bed meant nothing. It hurt a bit.
But now Mikey had a new Ray; and what was more, he loved Frank. Ray sighed again and leaned back in the seat.
"You okay?" Frank asked him.
"Yeah. Just... just tired."
"I have a couch at home."
"Did it used to be Mikey's bed?"
"Until he took over mine, yeah."
"Cool." Ray watched the road outside as it passed the car quickly.
"Frank?" Mikey asked quietly.
"What is it, Mikey?"
"I had another dream about Shark-Gerard."
Ray almost choked. "Shark-what?"
Frank sighed. "Mikey, you know Gerard physically can't become a shark."
"Doesn't make it less scary." Mikey's voice had a touch of sullenness now. "Gerard was eating Ray this time."
"Excuse me?" Ray twisted around in his seat to look at Mikey. The lanky male blinked at him.
"Sharks," he said; as though that would explain it.

*****

Frank pulled Mikey up to their room. "Come on," he said impatiently. Mikey sighed.
"I'm tired, Frank, I can't go faster."
"Keep your voice down! Ray's asleep."
"You're speaking as loudly as me!"
Frank fell silent, disgruntled, and dragged Mikey over to the bed.
"Pajamas," Mikey reminded him.
"Fuck pajamas." Frank folded his arms and sat down on Mikey's lap. "I want kisses."
"Pajamas first." Mikey patted his head. "Then kisses."
"Have it your way," Frank sighed in defeat. He got off of Mikey's lap and went over to where his pajamas lay, picking them up and walking into the bathroom to avoid any awkward exchanges. They were close, yes, but Mikey wasn't sure he'd be able to contain his excitement if Frank began stripping in front of him.
He chewed his lip and, once Frank had left, changed into his own pajamas. Frank came back a little while later and immediately shoved him down on the bed, kissing him hard. Mikey yelped but clutched at his shirt, quickly relaxing and kissing him back.
"You motherfucker," Frank growled.
"What did I do?"
"You're distracting me."
"From what?"
Frank leaned down to kiss him again, this time licking his lower lip. "Everything."
Mikey smiled and sat them both up, though he did not let the kiss end. Frank shared his reluctance and grabbed his hair, pulling his head even closer.
By the time they needed to pull away and breathe, they were sweating a little and both panting. Frank now had the taste of Mikey's coffee from earlier in his mouth, and he wanted to taste it again. But that wasn't going to happen: Mikey was so exhausted that he slumped backwards onto the pillows and fell asleep.
Frank rolled his eyes and curled up beside him, tucking them both in.
"Night night, Mikey," he told his sleeping boyfriend, who (unsurprisingly) didn't reply.
Frank sighed and settled down, just as the doorbell rang and Gee's furious voice came roaring from outside.