The Difference Between You And Me {Petekey}

Chapter twenty five

After Mikey's arrival in 2043, Gerard wanted nothing more than to hang out with his little brother forever and never let him go again.

Unfortunately, that was far from possible. Mikey was busy most hours of the day, being interrogated and interviewed and going to therapy. When he got home, he just crashed on Pete's couch and he was up again in the morning without saying more then as couple of sentences to Gerard or Pete. 

Gerard understood that Mikey was severely traumatized from being left two hundred years in the past for an entire year, and that he was doing very important work on behalf of the entire Earth, but it wasn't easy for Gerard either. The majority of the details Gerard knew about Mikey's trip were from filmed interviews Mikey did with the global press. Again, Gerard completely understood that reliving what he had had to experience was not ideal for him, but Gerard wanted to know what Mikey was doing while he was worrying about never seeing him again.

One evening, however, Mikey showed up at the house earlier than usual. Pete was out on a jog, but Gerard was putting some finishing touches on a commission. Mikey came into the room where his brother was painting and leaned on the doorway, watching Gerard paint. It was truly mesmerizing, it was almost as if you could see his mind working, trying to analyze what he had already put onto the canvas and how to improve on it.

Gerard was so preoccupied by his art that he didn't notice that Mikey was there until he stopped to stretch his arms. When he saw his brother in the doorway, he froze. "Oh, hey, sorry. Didn't see you there."

"It's okay. I like watching you paint. Your technique has really changed since I last saw a painting of yours. I like it, it's stunning," Mikey explained, a slight smirk on his face. Gerard had missed that look, one that anyone else wouldn't notice, but to Gerard, it meant that Mikey truly meant what he was saying. Gerard returned the smile.

"Yeah, uh. I used it as an outlet a lot while you were... away. They sell for a lot more now, although that's probably just 'cause everyone wants a painting from the guy who disappeared's brother," he shrugged.

"Oh my god, Gee, you haven't changed a bit. You're fucking talented! Look at this!" He gestured to the painting Gerard was working on. "It's fantastic! Sure, me being on global news probably contributed, but people are finally realizing how amazing these paintings are, and that's what motivates them to buy. Not me. You," Mikey said.

Gerard blushed at the compliment. "Thank you," he said genuinely. "What have you been up to today? You're home early, and no offence, but you're in a better mood than I've seen you in since you first came back."

"Oh, I just had a meeting at the headquarters. I hung out in the Centre for a bit but there wasn't really anything going on and people kept looking at me weird. Things are definitely slowing down, though. I used to have people actually ask for autographs, and I can't remember the last day I had only a meeting to do. I thought I'd  maybe hang out with my big brother a bit. It's been a while since we've had time to and I miss him a lot," Mikey admitted. 

A slow smile spread across Gerard's face. This was the confirmation he needed that Mikey still cared about him, that he hadn't forgotten about him. "Yeah, absolutely! Let me just, uh-" he gestured, indicating that he needed to clean up before they went anywhere.

"You can finish up whatever you're doing, I'm not in a rush," Mikey said. "Is the Leathermouth still open, do you know?"

"Didn't we go there the night before... you know?" Gerard said, hesitant to go back there, considering Mikey was still recovering from what had happened after the last time they were there.

"Yeah, I still want to go back. Get some closure, you know? Plus, it was one of Pete's favourite places to go. I don't want to let anything get in the way of enjoying ourselves there," Mikey explained.