Mikey the Matchmaker: Frerard: Oneshot

One cold and wintry evening,

The eve ‘fore Christmas Day,

Two boys walked up to a house,

They were the Brothers Way…

“JINGLE BEEELLS, BATMAN SMEEELLS, ROBIN LAID AN EEEGGG!!”

Gerard socked Mikey in the shoulder to shut him up and rolled his eyes. “I swear Mikes, you dis Batman one more time and I will shove that wreath down your throat!”

He pointed threateningly at the leafy, evergreen wreath that hung on Frank’s door before ringing the doorbell.

Gerard was not in the best of moods. He had not slept well that night, having had drunk too much coffee the day before. This morning, his headphones had broken and he’d burnt his fingers while baking cookies with Mikey. And to add insult to injury, wherever he looked, he could see couples happily staring at each other with love filled eyes or going on romantic little strolls on Christmas Eve while he was stuck in the "friend zone" with his crush. Oh, and he was with his little brother, who had the insensitivity of a five year old.

As if to prove his point, Mikey stuck out his bottom lip and ruffled Gerard’s hair, moving his hand away just in time as Gerard tried to bite him.

“Aw, somebody’s grumpy today! What’s wrong, PMS?”

“Shut up.” Gerard grumbled, and turned towards the door just as Frank opened it.

On seeing him, Mikey burst into laughter and even Gerard had to smirk at how absolutely furious he looked.

The normally tough-as-nails Frank was dressed in a fluffy, pale-green sweater with a reindeer stitched onto the front of it. He still wore his trade-mark, dark, skinny jeans and his eyes were lined in black but the look did almost nothing to improve on the adorableness of the sweatshirt.

“Not one word or I swear I’ll stuff that wreath down your throat!” Frank growled, looking about as threatening as a puppy in the Christmas get-up.

Gerard made a zipping motion across his lips but as usual, Mikey couldn’t resist the temptation.

“Aw, Frankie, don’t you look precious!” Mikey simpered, clutching his hands to his heart, “Did mommy’s little angel help her bake cookies today?”

By the furious blush that raced across Frank’s cheeks, Gerard could tell he had.

“Oh lay off Mikey, it’s not like YOU didn’t bake cookies today!” Gerard said, coming to Frank’s rescue.

Frank shot Gerard a grateful look before turning back to Mikey and Gerard’s pace quickened. Although he would never in a million years say it out loud, he honestly did think Frank looked cute in that sweater. And it also looked incredibly soft… Gerard wondered if it would be weird to ask Frank if he could touch it and quickly decided on yes, it would be.

“Can we come in?” Gerard asked, interrupting Mikey half-way through some joke about how Santa was missing a reindeer AND an elf.

“YOU can come in…” Frank muttered, stepping aside, “But Mikey, I’m not so sure about…”

Mikey laughed and walked in anyway, heading straight for the living room and nodding hello to Frank’s mom.

Gerard stood for a moment longer at the door by Frank and inhaled the sweet smell of apples and cinnamon that always seemed to cling to him and that just so happened to be Gerard’s favourite scent.

“Has he been like this all morning?” Frank muttered, turning to face Gerard but keeping his eyes on Mikey.

Gerard nodded, “Yup, and from experience, I think he has a plan of some sort.”

Frank arched an eyebrow, “A plan?”

“Yeah. Or more like a scheme… and I’m willing to bet it involves humiliating one of us.” Gerard replied, shrugging nonchalantly but wondering how on earth Frank could arch one single eye-brow like that. It gave him a sexy yet dangerous look that Gerard couldn’t get enough of.

Frank sighed, “Oh joy...”

Mikey suddenly stuck his head out of the living room doorway.

“Are you guys gonna stand by the door flirting all day or are you gonna get your asses in here?” he asked with a wild grin.

Gerard blushed red and then paled. Oh crap. He suddenly knew what Mikey’s plan was. His little pest of a brother was going to play matchmaker. With him and Frank.

He shot a sidelong glance at Frank, to see if he had caught on to anything but to his relief, Frank just rolled his eyes and started heading towards the living room. Phew…
Then he turned around and Gerard stiffened again, hoping he wasn’t as red as he thought he was.

“Oh Gerard?” Frank said, his eyes gleaming.

Gerard swallowed, “Y-Yeah?”

“Could you close the door?”

“Oh. Yeah,” Gerard shut the front door and followed behind Frank, trying to tame his raging blush.

He caught Mikey’s eye and furiously shook his head, drawing a finger across his throat. But Mikey just grinned like the Cheshire cat and winked. Not a good sign.

As he and Frank entered the living room, Gerard had to stop signing death threats to Mikey to appreciate how truly Christmassy it was.

A tall fir tree stood proudly near one corner of the room, draped with silver and gold tinsel and hung with dozens of shiny baubles. The lights weaved through its branches were off at the moment but Gerard could see a cord with a switch snaking from the tree to a socket near the fireplace and he hoped that Frank might turn the lights on later.

Besides for the tree, Christmas cards and nativity dolls were scattered around the room. Well, scattered was an understatement; they were taking over! The dolls and cards covered the coffee table, hung from strings above the windows and were covering most of the mantle above the fireplace.

When Gerard’s eyes fell on the rest of the fireplace, he smiled. There were perfect little sprigs of holly and mistletoe bunched together in two big bouquets on either side of the mantle and the traditional coloured stockings were pinned up on the header.

“It looks like Santa dropped a Christmas bomb in here!” Mikey whistled, nudging Frank.

“Yeah… mom likes to go overboard with the decorations,” Frank admitted.

“I think it looks… great,” Gerard breathed, taking a slow, sweeping look around for the second time.

What he had really wanted to say was romantic, but he didn’t dare…

“Yeah, yeah, and if you had your pencil case and sketchbook, you’d probably paint a picture!” Mikey groaned.

Gerard’s attention flicked back to his blabber-mouth brother and in the same moment, both Ways remembered Mikey’s “scheme.”

“So Frank…” Mikey began, earning a suspicious glare from Gerard, “Have you heard that song All I Want for Christmas is You?”

Frank gave Mikey a funny look, “Uh, yeah, it goes on the radio all the time.”

Mikey snickered, “Yeah, and it’s also what Gerard sings in the shower. Except he replaces the word “you” with-”

“Frank, how did you get such a perfect balance of tinsel and baubles?” Gerard interrupted quickly.

Wow, could Mikey be any more obvious?! What happened to matchmakers being subtle?

Frank’s eyebrows shot up. He knew something was up between the Way brothers but he also knew it was something he wasn’t supposed to know about…

“Um, my mom did that…” Frank muttered in reply to Gerard, searching his wide, hazel eyes for clues.

Gerard kept his expression innocent and open until Frank gave up and looked away.

The shorter boy flopped down onto one end of the sofa, which was placed in front of the Christmas tree and facing the fireplace and Mikey quickly sat on the other end, leaving only the middle for Gerard.

But there was no way Gerard was playing Mikey’s game. With a glare, he dropped into a cross-legged position on the carpet in front of the sofa.

“Dude, the sweater’s not contagious.” Frank snorted, picking self-consciously at a piece of lose fluff on his sleeve.

“Oh… I know I just…” Gerard mumbled, feeling bad.

“Don’t worry Frank,” Mikey snickered, “Gerard LOVES your sweater… in fact, he also LOVES-”
Gerard lifted a foot and gave Mikey’s shin a vicious kick.

“OH FU- FISH AND CHIPS!” Mikey gasped, remembering that Frank's mother was home.

Now it was Gerard’s turn to snicker, “Oh I’m sorry Mikey, was that your leg?”

Frank looked from one Way brother to the other, trying again to figure out the silent battle that raged between their killer glares. But to no avail.

“Okay, what’s going on?” he demanded to know.

Neither brother answered, challenging the other to do so.

“Nothing Frank.” Gerard replied finally, through gritted teeth, “Mikey was just saying I also LOVE fish and chips.”

Mikey silently pressed his lips together in a tight line, his eyes flashing with anticipation behind his black-framed glasses. He leaned casually back against the sofa as if nothing had happened and smiled at Frank.

“So Frankie-boy, I’m guessing by the fact that your mommy dressed you that you’re still single?” he purred.

Both Frank and Gerard blushed and glared at Mikey.

“I am THIS close to strangling you with tinsel right now,” Frank growled.

Mikey held up his hands in defence, “Whoa, chill out there Santa’s little helper, I just wanted to know, is there anybody you plan to spend Christmas day with?”

Frank rolled his eyes, “Well, considering I’m spending Christmas Eve with the two of you…”

“Right, just checking,” Mikey grinned.

He leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees.

“So if there was anyone who say… had a crush on you… they’d have a good chance of getting some “alone time” with you this Christmas?”

Frank looked puzzled for a second, “Why are you… oh.”

His face cleared and he looked decidedly uncomfortable, “Listen Mikey, I like you as a friend but… uh… just a friend…”

Gerard stifled his giggles as Mikey took a turn to blush and stammer. Served him right…

“What? Me, no! Oh God, that’s… EWWW!” Mikey spluttered.

Frank rolled his eyes, “A simple “no that’s not what I meant” would have sufficed… and not have lowered my self-esteem!”

Mikey shuddered, “Just… ugh… but no, that’s not what I meant…”

Again, Frank became suspicious.

“Then why did you ask me… wait… is this your “scheme” by any chance?!” Frank asked, his face clearing for the second time.

“What scheme?” Mikey asked innocently.

Frank groaned and stood up.

“Mikey, if your “scheme” is to get me a girlfriend or whatever, then stop right now. I’m not interested.” Frank snapped.

He walked over to the unlit fireplace, facing away from the Way brothers, and fiddled with one of the two bouquets, which hung just above his head.

“No Frank, I promise you, my scheme is not to get you a girlfriend.” Mikey laughed.

Gerard shot him a look that obviously said “If you say one more word, I swear, I will strangle you with your own stuffed unicorn!”

Frank turned back around and eyed both brothers suspiciously. Then he sighed and threw up his hands in frustration.

“Fine, whatever! Remind me never to get caught up in the Way brother’s battles ever again!” he complained, sinking down onto the sofa once again.

For the rest of the afternoon, Gerard and Frank conversed amiably while Mikey was uncharacteristically quiet. He just sat there, staring off into space and occasionally looking around the living room.

As the day wore on, Gerard began to relax. Maybe Mikey had finally given up on his scheme. Maybe he wouldn’t be humiliated this Christmas Eve.

Eventually, the sky became an inky black, scattered with twinkling stars and, in the middle of Frank and Gerard’s debate over whether Spiderman or Batman was the better hero, Mikey spoke for the first time in two hours.

“Frank, could you light the fire please, it’s getting really cold,” he blurted randomly.

Frank blinked, taken aback by Mikey saying “please,” but stood up slowly, “Um… sure.”

Mikey smiled, “And could Santa’s littlest elf also turn on the sparkly Christmas lights?”

Aaand, he’s back, thought Frank with a roll of his eyes.

He crouched down by the fireplace and proceeded to scrunch up newspapers for the fire.

“Gerard, could you hit that switch right below the mantle? It’ll turn on the lights on the Christmas tree,” Frank said over his shoulder.

Gerard nodded and stood up, bending over right below the mantle and reaching for the switch on the wire.

But suddenly, a sense of suspicion rippled through his body and right on cue, Mikey started laughing maniacally.

Gerard straightened up quickly to ask his brother what was so funny. Too quickly. With a painful bang, Gerard hit his head on the edge of the mantle and fell to his knees, groaning in pain.

“Crap, you okay?” Frank said, alarmed.

He rushed towards his fallen friend and offered a hand to help him up, careful placing the other hand over Gerard’s head so that he would not hit it again.

Once Gerard was on his feet, Frank whirled around to face Mikey, “What’s with the evil laugh?!” he demanded to know.

“Oh, nothing…” Mikey smirked, “I just realized what Gerard was standing under…”

Frank looked around, “The mantle?”

“Nope, next to that.”

“The bunch of holly?”

“Holly and…?”

Gerard stopped rubbing his head and his mouth fell open. At the same time, Frank looked up to inspect the bouquet and his face paled.

The whole room went quiet. Suddenly, the ticking of a clock could be heard loud and clear.

“Holly AND…?” Mikey repeated with a snicker.

“Mistletoe.” Frank whispered.

Frank and Gerard exchanged nervous glances while Mikey hooted with laughter.

“But were not…” Frank protested.

“We don’t…” Gerard protested.

Mikey shook his head solemnly, still smirking, “Christmas traditions. Pucker up boys.”

Gerard could not believe it. His prat of a brother had… won. He looked nervously at Frank, sure he would not want to… but wait… was Frank… blushing? Yes, he was! Frank had turned a deep shade of red and was biting his lip and looking at Gerard shyly. Gerard noted that with his sweater, this look was ten times as adorable...

He leaned forwards awkwardly and quickly placed a peck on Gerard’s mouth, withdrawing and averting his gaze immediately afterwards. Gerard was stunned.

“Come on, that doesn’t count!” Mikey protested, “Kiss him back Gerard, I know you want to!”

And this time, Gerard did not shoot his brother the death glare. Instead he brushed a stray lock of hair out of Frank’s eyes and leaned in pressing his mouth firmly onto Frank’s delicious lips.

They tasted just like Gerard had imagined, like apples, cinnamon and Frank. Neither boy breathed, both kept their eyes closed and the kiss went on for god knows how long. It was so hard for Gerard to break away but when he did, he was rewarded by the expression of ecstasy on Frank’s face.

Behind them, so that only Gerard could hear, Mikey muttered two words.

“Mission accomplished.”

One cold and wintry night,

Gerard walked home in bliss,

For he had received the best present ever:

His true love’s tender kiss.