And, Love

Part 4

You took another drink, twirling the flower in your hand. Ignoring the sound of the door closing.

You knew who it was. You took a drink, not looking up. You shoved the piece of paper across the table.

"Josh dumped me." The smile bitter on your face. "He said he was tired of sharing me with you." You threw the alcohol back, feeling the rum burn on its way down. "Actually," you chuckled, hand slapping over the check. "He said he was tired of sharing me with 'some guy he'd never even met'. Said," you grimaced. "That if he wanted to be in a polyship, he'd have been in one."

Closing your eyes you chuckled. The atmosphere heavy. You could feel Mikey's unease as he moved across from you, not speaking. Not interrupting. Just letting you get it all out. As usual.

Aa fucking usual. You nodded, lips pressed together. "Wrote-" you blinked, pinching the bridge of your nose. "Wrote me a hefty check." You picked it up, waggled it. "Enough to cover the rest of the down payment for the building I've had my eye on." You stared at it, tempted to rip it up for a minute. Sighed, set it back down. "Said he hoped I 'followed my dreams' and that I was 'happy' no matter what." You tsked, throwing the flower on the ground. "No hard fucking feelings, he said."

Disappointed that it didn't break apart.

"Are you..."

"No, Mikey." You snapped, standing, stomping on the blue carnation. "I'm not okay." You crossed the distance, shoving three fingers in his face, ignoring the shock in Mikey's eyes as they took you in. "Three months. Three goddamned months. No one lasts longer than-"

"I'm sorry." Mikey covered your fingers, holding your hand to his chest. "I'm sorry that-"

You shook your head. "He's not wrong, either." You looked at your fingers tangled in Mikey's. The orange bandana, his ice blue eyes that seemed to glow with every emotion, the wrappings around his hands. The green texture of his skin.

"I don't know-" Mikey froze, turning to you woodenly. Grip tightening around your hand. You could feel his heart pick up speed.

"Mikey?" Your mouth tilted up in a corner as you leaned closer, gazed into his shifting eyes curiously.

"I-I heard that," he inhaled deeply, shoulders moving with the effort. "S-sometimes friends. You know. Help friends."

"Help?" You pulled away, confused. "Help ho-Oh " The bashful expression made it perfectly clear what friends sometimes helped with.

"I-" Fingers readjusted over your knuckles. "I could... help you?"

You blinked. The idea washed over you slowly. You knew, you knew you should say no. Mikey was straight. Mikey was a mutant. Mikey was anything but platonic for you.

Instead you pulled his hand out, extending his fingers, tugging at the wrapping till you found the end. "Why do you wear these?"

Slowly you began unwrapping, not sure if the heat in your stomach was from the alcohol or... You peered up at Mikey, the way his eyes were wide, regarding you with an emotion very similar to fear.

"I-it uh-" He swallowed hard, watching your fingers reveal the last bit of skin, wrapping falling to the floor. "It provides cushioning when hitting-"

You trailed your fingers over his palm, feeling an eerie sort of calm wash over you. "Cushioning?" You grabbed his other hand to repeat the process.

"And stability." Mikey quickly added. "All the fragile bones and tendons and-and..."

You nodded, watching him as you brought a finger to your mouth.