So Long, Not Goodnight

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Guys?" Mikey's voice entered before his body. "You in here?"

Frank fanned his hands out in front of his pelvis and Gerard pulled a corner of blanket over his as Mikey walked inside and flicked on the lightswitch. He looked from Frank, a horrified grin of teeth exposed and naked, to Gerard equally as exposed except for the rope of red blotched and stained limply hanging from his neck, back to Frank whose color had drained and pooled into Gerard's cheeks. "Mikey!" Gerard's voice cracked. "You couldn'ta knocked?"

"I... didn't know if you had gone out or something," Mikey dropped his eyes to his shoes, still gripping the door handle. "The house was completely dark."

"Give us a sec?" Frank kept his eyes on Gerard, remaining perfectly still. 

"Yeah, fuck, uhm, sorry, yeah," Mikey stepped back into the hallway, pulling the door with him.

 They both scrambled to pull their clothes back on, pants done up but their shirts still open. Gerard padded over and pulled the door back open, Mikey's back was to the frame. Gerard cleared his throat, his face still burning. "Are you okay, Mikes?" Gerard reached out to touch his brother's shoulder. "I thought you were going to be at Toro's?"

He felt like he was in high school again having the house to himself, which was always rare. "I was... Still am," Mikey turned around, his eyes still on his shoes. "I just forgot something."

Mikey lifted his gaze back up at Gerard and over to Frank and around the room. Candles were lit, the blankets on the bed were all tousled, and there was an open half full tube on the bedside table. His focus drifted to the red tie that was looped around his brother's neck, parts of it darker than others. As he slid his eyes back up to his brother's, there was a hot blush of red in the apples of his cheeks and at the tip of his nose. Mikey felt so embarrassed and knew that Gerard felt ten times it. "I'm so sorry if I..." Mikey pulled the center of his bottom lip between his teeth as he looked from Gerard to Frank and back again. "Interrupted something."

Frank noticed Gerard's teeth holding the tiniest tip of tongue as he thought of something to say. "Well, I mean, technically you didn't." 

Gerard's whole face reddened as Mikey looked over at Frank, his hands shoved into his front pockets and rocking on his bare feet. Now Mikey began to blush, a sliver of a smile pulling up one side of his mouth. "Oh shit," Mikey looked back to Gerard, still silent. "I didn't know you two were together! That's so great!"

Gerard grinned slightly, still looking down, as he began to rub behind his hair at the back of his neck. The light of the room suddenly felt less like an interrogation room and back to a bedroom. He knew that Mikey would always support him, but he would never think that his brother would ever walk in on him and someone else naked. Thankfully, he didn't step in another few minutes earlier. He didn't think that he would have ever been able to look into his eyes if Mikey had seen what their intimacy actually looked like; he'd probably feint or his head would just blow off his shoulders upon the slightest glace. "Yeah, we're together," Frank affirmed, making eyes at Gerard, approaching him and taking his hand in his. 

Mikey wrapped them both in a tight hug, almost bouncing up and down. "Gee, I didn't think that this would be that exciting," Frank choked, Mikey's arm almost at his throat. 

"Are you fucking kidding?" Mikey released them and grabbed his brother's shoulder. "Gerard's been shut up here for so long and just..." He cut short, not wanting to overshare things that weren't his. "Just was by himself for so long, I never thought that he'd let anyone in." He stared into his brother's eyes, unblinking. "And I'm so glad that he did."

"Mikes," Gerard whined, rolling his eyes and burying his face in his brother's shoulder, pulling him in for another hug. "I've told you once, I've told you a hundred fucking times, not to worry about me."