The Wrong Body [Frerard AU]

Chapter Five

"Hey, Mikey." Gerard enfolded his brother into a hug, holding him tighter and longer than he usually would. Mikey squeezed back.

"Have you met the family already?" The older brother asked when they pulled apart.

"Not yet," Mikey said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "All I know is that he's an unmarried man who's filthy rich."

"Well, that'll be a nice change." Gerard tried to crack a joke.

Mikey's face softened. "I don't want to leave you, Gee," he whispered. "He's a complete stranger."

Gerard chewed on his tongue, roaming his mind for a solution. "C'mon." He grabbed Mikey's hand and pulled him up the stairs.

Mikey stumbled. "Where are we–"

"He's meeting with Bryar, right?" Mr. Bryar was the owner of the orphanage. "Let's listen in."

The younger boy's eyes went wide. "No, Gerard, we'll get in trouble."

Gerard snorted. "No we won't. We'll be fine, trust me."

It seemed as though the meeting had just started. Gerard pressed his ear to the door, trying to listen in.

"...about your career," Mr. Bryar was saying.

"Well, I am currently working for Apple as a technician and have owned many large companies in the past," the man said.

"I see. It says here that you went to Yale for college?"

"Yes, I did..."

"This is boring," Mikey huffed, a little too loudly.

Gerard placed a finger to his lips, silently telling Mikey to shut up. He pressed his ear to the door again.

"Why don't you tell me why you'd like to like to adopt Mikey?" Mr. Bryar asked.

"My wife was pregnant with our first child fifteen years ago. As the birthdate got closer, she became sicker. She ended up passing away on the due date, along with the baby. I never married again, but I've wanted kids ever since. Mikey caught my attention when I visited the other day," the man said with a sigh.

Gerard frowned. The man's voice sounded strangely familiar...

He heard a rustling sound on the other end of the door and Bryar's voice. "If you look over these papers and sign them, we can go see Mikey."

Gerard peeled his ear from the door. "We should go to your room," he said to his brother. "Pretend like we didn't hear anything."

Mikey nodded. The walked to his room, Mikey shutting the door behind them. He lowered himself onto his bed while Gerard sat in a chair.

"He seemed scripted," Mikey commented after a while. "Like, there was no emotion in his voice."

"You're right," Gerard nodded. "And he..." he rubbed one eye. "Never mind."

Mikey propped himself up with his elbows. "No, tell me."

"I... I don't know. I just thought I recognized his voice. I was probably imagining it," he added quickly when seeing his brother's terrified expression.

Mikey looked down, eyes wide with fear. Gerard felt awful; he had never seen Mikey this scared before.

The younger boy looked back up. "I don't want–"

There was a rap on the door. "Mikey? You have a visitor."

Mikey scowled. He crossed to the door and reluctantly opened it up.