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.
Gerard shrugged. Mikey's explanation seemed reasonable enough. "Then I'm pretty sure it would still be open."
"Great. Once you're done, wanna do my makeup? For old times sake?" Mikey asked hopefully.
"Why not?" Gerard replied, then dipped his paintbrush back into the paint. Mikey stayed where he was. "You're still gonna watch me?"
"If that's okay, yeah" Mikey replied. Gerard shrugged and continued painting.
-
When they arrived at the bar, it looked pretty much the same as it did last time they were there. Mikey didn't know what he was expecting, but his life was so different from when they were there last that maybe the bar was supposed to be different, too. But no, the loud music and bright lights were the almost exactly the same as they were last time.
As Mikey ordered them drinks, Gerard surveyed the room. There were people dancing to the music, there were people talking and laughing with each other. The atmosphere seemed pretty friendly in the bar, several of the people talking with each other didn't necessarily seem like they had known each other beforehand. Gerard wondered if he would end up chatting with somebody he wouldn't otherwise have met.
It was then that Mikey came back with their drinks, holding them awkwardly like he always did. You would think it wasn't that difficult for one man to hold two drinks, but Mikey's stupidly big hands and long arms made it a little difficult. Still, the biggest factor was probably actually just because he was an awkward guy. He passed a drink to Gerard and they took a sip together. Immediately, Gerard felt almost like he needed to spit it out, but he swallowed it anyways.
"Jesus, that is really horrible," he laughed.
Mikey made a similar face of disgust. "Yeah, their drinks haven't gotten any better."
"Why does Pete like this place so much if the drinks are so horrible?"
"Somehow he finds it in himself to not immediately barf when he comes into contact with them," Mikey shrugged. "And plus, it's probably more about the place itself than the drinks."
"Yeah, from what I could tell, people seem pretty friendly here," Gerard said.
They kept talking for a while, Gerard explained his latest idea for some non-commission work, which Mikey really liked the concept of. Gradually, they nursed their drinks, since Mikey already paid for them. Really, it wasn't so bad when you were drinking them with someone else. It gave them something to laugh about.
Eventually, though, someone walked in the bar who caught both of the brothers' attention almost instantly. Gerard's, because he was ridiculously hot. He was just Gerard's type: dark, handsome and tattooed. He had the slightest feeling he had seen him somewhere before. Whatever that was, he wanted to see him again. The stranger headed over to the bar, and Gerard studied his motions very carefully as he ordered a drink. He was the most perfect man Gerard had ever seen in his life.
Mikey, on the other hand, was stunned to see him, because that was Frank Iero, right in front of him, in 2143. He hadn't considered that people other than Gerard had Travelled in time. That would be something important to bring up to the Headquarters, but for now, he wanted to see where this went. When he looked at Gerard's expression, he could tell that the feelings Gerard had for Frank didn't stay in 1934. It kind of creeped Mikey out that it was his brother's sex life he was seeing unfold, but it wasn't the first time it had happened. Frank and Gerard made a really good couple, and the fact that they had another chance to be together made Mikey feel so happy for the both of them.
"You see the guy with the tattoos at 11 o'clock?" Mikey said discreetly to Gerard, even though he knew the answer. Actually, 'see' was a bit of an understatement. Gerard was not being discrete at all with the way he was looking at Frank. "You should talk to him," Mikey advised, stating the obvious once again.
"What? Oh, him?" Gerard feigned innocence. Mikey almost burst out laughing at that.
"Seriously, Gee. He's just your type," Mikey emphasized.
"Yeah, maybe. This was supposed to be our night to hang out, though..." Gerard responded, not taking his eyes off Frank.
"We have all the time in the world to hang out. Go get that man," Mikey said.
"I don't know what to do, though! How am I going to approach him?" Gerard panicked as Mikey watched Frank take a sip of his drink and grimace.
"Go talk about the weird drinks here. Just do it, I'm sure you'll hit it off fine," Mikey encouraged him, and seriously, if they didn't go up to each other soon, Mikey might just grab Gerard by the hand to get him to finally talk to Frank.
Gerard hesitated for a second, to which Mikey gave him a disappointed but encouraging look. Finally, Gerard said, "Okay, fine," and went off to talk to the stranger.
Mikey watched Gerard speak to Frank. He couldn't hear what he was saying, so he relied on their facial expressions to tell what was going on. When Gerard finished saying something for the first time, Mikey watched Frank's face very carefully. It took a few seconds for him to react, and in those few seconds, Mikey held his breath. Was this Gerard's awkwardness going to ruin the relationship of these two people who were clearly destined for each other? Finally, though, Frank smiled, and Mikey exhaled. Of course Frank could never be put off by Gerard's manner when he was the exact same way himself. He watched Frank say something back and Gerard laugh in response. Gerard looked back at Mikey to see him smiling slightly. Mikey met his gaze and Gerard motioned for him to come over, so he took the last sip of his drink and left it on the bar as he walked over to where they were chatting.
"He your boyfriend?" He heard Frank ask as he came within earshot. He could hear the underlying disappointment in Frank's voice. Luckily, Gerard was one oblivious motherfucker, so he didn't even realize the implications of the question.
"God, no. Mikey's my brother," he explained as Mikey waved to Frank.
"Oh, nice. I'm Frank," he waved back. "I feel like I've seen you somewhere before, I have no idea where though."
"Nowhere," Gerard said instantly. "Mikey's just your average dude."
"Oh. I guess it must have been someone else," Frank shook his head. "I was just telling Gerard about the project I'm working on. I work for a historical society, we're recovering music from the late 20th century. Back when it was on physical copies, you know? I used to want to be a musician when I was a kid, so this is really something that I love doing. Just today we dug out some stuff by this artist, David Bowie, and it's fascinating how music that's so old can be so captivating."
"Yeah, I've heard of him. I've always wanted to listen to what kind of stuff he made," Gerard said, his eyes not leaving Frank's. It was honestly adorable how lovestruck he was, but Mikey didn't necessarily want to watch all of this unfold.
"Yeah, that sounds really interesting. Music is kind of the one thing that stays relevant, right? No matter what, society will always need music," Mikey added.
"Exactly! A lot of my colleagues tend to under-emphasize the arts, but I feel that they're just as important, if not more important than politics and whatnot when you study history," Frank exclaimed.
"I'm sure Gerard can tell you all about art, he's an artist himself," Mikey said. "I'll leave you to it." He went back to his corner of the bar, where someone quickly struck up a conversation with him. He half-listened to the woman with the dangling earrings talking to him, diverting his attention to Frank and Gerard, who were getting closer and closer to each other. Normally, he hated watching people like that in bars, but he knew that Gerard and Frank would be more than a friendly one-night stand. He knew how perfect they were together, and he wanted to ensure that they had the chance to make each other happy in the long term.
Once he was sure that they were sticking with each other for the night, Mikey allowed himself to socialize with other people a bit more. He really wasn't an extrovert, but every once in a while, it was nice to chat with new people. Plus, none of the people seemed to recognize him from the news, or if they did, they didn't ask him about it, for which he was grateful.
About an hour later, Mikey was feeling a little bit tired of listening and talking, when Gerard approached him, Frank standing nearby.
"Hey, so um," he began. "Frank is gonna... uh, show me his music at his apartment and I'm gonna stay over. I'll be home tomorrow, so... bye," he said nervously. Mikey would have rolled his eyes if it wouldn't embarrass Gerard and potentially make him not want to go out with him again.
"Alright, have fun. And stay safe," was what he said instead. Gerard blushed and turned to head out the door. As he walked, he took Frank's hand into his own. Mikey smiled to himself again. He was really looking forward to how happy they made each other.
Mikey left not long after Gerard and Frank did. All in all, it was a really nice night. Even if they didn't talk to each other that much, he felt as if he had repaired his and Gerard's relationship. Plus, Gerard got to meet Frank again, which also meant that Mikey would have the chance to befriend him again, which would be nice. Frank was really easy to talk to and Mikey couldn't help but feel he missed him.
When he got home, Pete was asleep on the couch. It wasn't that late, so Pete probably hadn't been asleep that long, so Mikey felt like he should wake him up. Plus, Mikey needed to sleep on that couch later that night, and he would prefer if it were Pete-less. He tapped the bit of his shoulder that was exposed by his tank top. Pete stirred and Mikey poked his shoulder again, more insistent this time. Pete brought his hands up to shield his eyes from the light and made a sound that sounded a bit like 'what?'.
"You fell asleep on the couch, dumbass," Mikey told him. Pete muttered something incoherent. "Come on, let's get you to bed," Mikey replied.
"Oh. Mikeyway," Pete said sleepily.
"Yeah. Now get in your own bed, fuckhead," Mikey insisted. Pete made an 'Okay' sound and started to get up from the couch.
"Mikeyway. I miss you," Pete mumbled.
"I'm right here, Pete," Mikey said, though he knew what Pete probably meant.
"No. I miss talking with you," Pete said as he started walking down the hallway, an arm around Mikey's shoulder for support.
"I miss talking with you too, Pete. I'm sorry I've been neglecting you. I really do care about you," Mikey said honestly.
"Sleep in my bed?" Pete asked. Mikey looked back though the hallway to the couch, and then back at the doorway to Pete's room. Pete's bed would definitely be more comfortable than the couch Mikey would sleep on every night, since he couldn't get his own place and Pete only had two bedrooms. Plus, he felt a bit like he owed it to Pete after never talking to each other.
"Sure," Mikey shrugged. As they got to Pete's room, Pete collapsed immediately on the bed. Mikey followed suit right after, careful to avoid Pete's limbs. Although, they weren't exactly fragile-looking. Evidently, Pete had been working out, and Mikey couldn't deny that he looked good.
Pete was already so asleep that he didn't even pull the blanket over him. Instead, Mikey did it for the both of them. When it hit Pete's skin, he hummed his thanks. "I'm so glad you're back," Pete mumbled.
"I'm glad too," Mikey replied. He didn't know if Pete heard it in his state, but it didn't really matter. For once, he actually felt like he was back home, like everything was going to go on just fine. For once, he was excited to see what the future held, instead of being afraid of it. This, he thought, is recovery.
OHHH BOYYY this is such a weird fic and i apologize but this is the last ~official~ chapter! sorry it took so long to get out lmao. next is the epilogue and then its DONE! thank u so much for reading and for embarking on this journey with me. this fic took literally 2 years to write and i didnt love the whole Process but im really proud to have written it. thank you <3