Artifacts of Popular Culture by inlovewithnight (NC-17)

[turlough]

Fandom: BANDOM
Pairing: Gabe/Gerard/Mikey
Length: 7,980 words
Author on LJ: inlovewithnight
Author Website: n/a
Why this must be read:

Gerard and Mikey and Gabe back in Jersey before MCR began.

This is a gorgeous story with a quiet and thoughtful mood and excellent pacing. I absolutely love this Gerard - the way he translates his fascination with Gabe into a comic, his uncertainties, and his absolute trust in Mikey - and this Gabe - it's the first time I've really realised how much younger he is than Gerard and what that would have meant back then. The ending feels just right in the the way it seems to hint at new possibilities opening up.

Excerpt from the story:

"He asked me to go to dinner with him."

"Did you?"

"No."

Mikey shifts onto his back, frowning. "Why not?"

"Because..." The answer is so self-evident he can't even think of it. "Because I'm not..." Mikey's eyebrow lifts dangerously. "Because I'm not you."

"He already has dinner with me. He asked you because he wanted to have dinner with you."

"Why would he want to do that?"

Mikey shrugs. "Maybe he wants to see your drawings."

It's like he choked on an ice cube, something cold blocking up his chest. "You told him about that?"

Mikey's eyes widen. "No. No, of course not. Just a joke, Gee."

The cold feeling eases; Mikey doesn't lie, not to him. "I don't know how to hang out with people like him."

"You mean tall people?"

"No."

"Jewish people?"

"What? No."

"Uruguayans?"

It takes a minute for Gerard to figure out what the hell that even means, and he rolls his eyes. "No, Mikey. Come on."

"What, then?"

"You know. Cool people."

Mikey laughs, his glasses slipping down again, leaving the delicate skin at the corners of his eyes all exposed and crinkled with smile lines. "Gabe isn't cool."

"Yeah, he is."

"He's not. He's just... Gabe. Just this guy."

Gerard traces the smile lines. "Like you're just Mikey."

"Yeah." Mikey shifts onto his side again, catching Gerard's wrist and moving his hand down to rest on his shoulder. "Kinda like that. And you hang out with me all the time."

"That's different and it's bullshit and you know it. You're my brother." He rubs his knuckles against Mikey's shoulder, frowning down at the swell of bone under Mikey's t-shirt. They're both quiet for a minute, watching Jon Stewart do his thing.

"You should've had dinner with him," Mikey says softly.

"Yeah, well." Gerard shrugs, swallowing against the familiar choking realization that he did something wrong, again. "Maybe next time."

And because Mikey is Mikey, he doesn't push or tease. He just settles his head against Gerard's thigh and nods, eyes on the TV again. "Yeah. Next time."

Artifacts of Popular Culture or here