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and-stir-the-stars · 4 months

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showing up fashionably late to my own event :D

day one: fun

au: grab&go au summary: the au is really complicated but all you need to know is that an adult Michael accidentally time travelled and brought his amnesiac brother to the future; Mike tries to raise Evan, but Mike isn't always the best parent

tw: crying, child neglect, implied depression

...

“Ev, buddy, you’re pulling at my arm so hard, it’s gonna come off in your hands.”

Rolling his eyes, Evan only tugged at Michael’s arm harder. “Don’t be dramatic.”

“Oh, no.” Michael dug his feet into the ground, staying in place even as the twelve-year-old tried moving him. “I think I’m hearing a pop, Ev.”

“Mike!”

Evan wasn’t quite sure how the adult did it, but suddenly, Mike’s arm disappeared, and Evan was left holding only his empty jacket sleeve. Ev stumbled on his feet, almost falling as the resistance he was pulling against disappeared.

“Look what you did!”Michael said with a playful smirk. “My whole arm is gone!”

“No, it’s not! Put your arm back in your sleeve, Mikey!”

“You’re no fun.” Grumbling, the twenty-six-year-old took back his sleeve and forced his arm back in.

“I’ve been trying to get you to watch this with me all week, Mike! Stop messing around.” Wasting no time, Evan grabbed at Michael’s arm the second it was back in the sleeve and started tugging again.

“But messin’ around is the only thing I’m good at.”

“Miiiiiiiike.”

“Alright, alright!”

A beaming smile split Evan’s face in two as he tugged his guardian into the living room and to the couch.

“Okay, okay, sit!”

Evan placed his hands on Mike’s lower back and pushed him toward the gray sofa.

Mike listened, but– as Mike often did– only halfway. Michael didn’t sit on the couch, but rather collapsed onto it so he was sprawled across the whole thing, with no room for Evan to sit next to him.

Evan winced at the awful creaking groans that emanated from the couch when Mike fell onto it. “I didn’t say to break the couch.”

“Eh.” Michael waved Evan’s tease away without comment.

“Are you going to sit up?”

“Nope.”

Evan frowned at Michael for a moment.

He had been wanting to watch this movie with Mikey all week now. Every time Evan had asked, though, Mikey had said he was too tired from work, and they’d definitely watch it tomorrow.

Michael had said that exact thing for six days in a row. Evan had started to think they’d never actually watch it together.

Evan would try to remind himself that it wasn’t Michael’s fault.

Evan knew that money was tight. Mike worked a late night shift, so he was always tired during the day, and now that Mike had taken up a second job to work during the day, too…

He shouldn’t be frustrated that Mike was so tired all the time that Evan barely got to see him anymore.

Mike was doing the best that he could. Evan knew that.

Mike had finally agreed to watch the movie, but he was still tired. The ever-present purple shadows under Mike’s eyes were darker than normal, and deeper too. The adult’s eyes were still ever so slightly bloodshot. His movements were slow and sluggish, though Mike was doing his best to hide it.

Evan tried to ignore it– maybe Mike needed to get more sleep, but surely watching a movie first wouldn’t hurt? It was only an hour and a half, and then he’d leave Mike alone to sleep as much as he needed to before work. But watching Mike lying across the couch instead of sitting on it, worry wiggled inside Evan’s chest, gnawing on his heart in painful bites.

“Ev? You gonna start the movie or what?”

Evan blinked. Then, pushing his worries aside as best as he could, Evan smiled. “Lemme get the popcorn!”

The twelve-year-old dashed to the kitchen, his socked feet slipping and sliding across the floor from how quickly he moved.

He and Mikey were going to spend a whole hour and a half together! They hadn’t spent that long together since Mike had started his second job three weeks ago; Mikey had spent all his free time at work or sleeping. They used to talk all the time when they ate meals together, but Mike hadn’t been eating at home too much anymore.

But a whole hour and a half! Evan couldn’t keep still as he waited for the popcorn to finish in the microwave. He bobbed up and down on the balls of his feet, his fingers tapping excitedly against his thighs.

Evan had been so excited to find the Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo CD in a box labeled “free” at the library. He and Mike had watched the show together years ago, back when Mikey still had more free time, but neither of them had realized the show had a movie, too!

It would be so nice to get back into a passion the both of them had once shared.

Jamming his finger into the button, Evan took the popcorn out of the microwave and poured half the bag into a bowl so he and Mike could share.

Evan ran back to the living room, spilling the stray bit of popcorn along the way.

He didn’t waste any time in shoving the half-full bag of popcorn into Mikey’s hands, hitting play on the tv, and settling down to sit on the floor with his back pressed against the couch, since Mike was still lying across the whole thing.

“I still can’t believe we didn’t know there was a movie.” Chuckling, Mike launched a few popcorn kernels at Evan’s head.

“Hey!” Evan ran his hands along his long, unwashed, tangled brown hair.

He had grown it long to look like Mikey’s, although Mikey didn’t know it yet. Nor did Mike know that Evan had been skipping showers so he wouldn’t have to wash his hair, because Mike’s hair was always greasy and tangled, too.

Once he was certain he didn’t have popcorn in his hair, Evan stuck his tongue out at Mike. “Jerk.”

Mike smiled at him with red-rimmed eyes. “Pipsqueak.”

Evan shook his head at his guardian, but elected not to fight back on the ‘pipsqueak’ allegations. He knew that wasn’t a battle he could win.

“Thanks,” Evan said, quiet but genuine. “For taking the time to watch it with me.”

“Of course.”

…

The conversation lulled once the movie started, but it was quick to pick back up again. The two pointed out jokes in the movie that they liked, made sarcastic replies to the characters’ dialogue, and pointed out things in the movie that they had missed from the show.

As the movie went on, though, Mike became less and less talkative.

Twenty minutes into the movie, Evan watched with a giggle as the Teen Titans walked through a fancy office, and Beast Boy eyed a big red button. The character’s gloved fingers reached to press the ominous button, only to be slapped away by Raven.

Twenty minutes into the movie, Evan looked up at Michael with a smile and a joke on the tip of his tongue.

The joke died on Evan’s tongue when he caught sight of his guardian.

Michael's eyes had slipped close.

His face, which was ways tense in pain and exhaustion, was smooth, unwrinkled– peaceful, even.

Mikey had fallen asleep.

Evan hit pause on the movie and looked up at Mike again, like he had only been seeing things the first time, and Mike would look at him in annoyance and say why did you pause it? I was having fun; play the movie!

Michael's chest moved slowly, calmly up and down. Drool trickled down the corner of his mouth. His eyes were still shut.

Twenty minutes into the movie, and Mike had fallen asleep.

Evan sat there on the floor, staring up at Mike like the adult might suddenly wake, like it might be revealed that this was all some joke and the last several minutes hadn't happened; Mike had been awake the whole time; haha, you should see the look on your face; okay, okay, Ev, play the movie now, no more jokes, I swear.

Mike started to snore in his sleep.

Evan turned the tv off.

He stood to his feet, grabbed the paper popcorn bag from the couch as quietly as he could, and took the bag and his bowl to the kitchen with slow, quiet steps.

He came back.

There was a blanket draped over the back of the couch for occasions just like this. Grabbing it, Evan tugged it off and threw it over Mike. He tucked his guardian in as best as he could with how Mike was sprawled all over the couch, one arm and a leg laying off the edge entirely, and made sure Mike would be warm in his sleep.

Then Evan sat down with his back against the couch, right where he had been settled to watch the movie.

He didn't know why he sat there again. But he sat there for a long time, staring at the black tv screen with an empty hole swallowing his chest, leaving behind nothing but aches and sharp edges that he was too numb to really feel.

The tv screen wasn't completely black. The longer Evan sat there, the more he became aware of the reflections shining in the empty black screen.

From the television screen, Evan could see a couple canvases hanging on the beige walls behind them, from back when Mike still painted. There was a shelf behind them, too, decorated with a few books and pictures of himself and Mike in standing frames, though there were more pictures of Evan than there were Mike.

He could see Mike behind him, too, the adult's face soft and peaceful in sleep, his chaotic near-black hair poking out from the blanket in many different directions.

The twelve-year-old could see himself reflected on the television screen, too.

Evan watched as a big fat tear leaked down his face and dripped from his chin onto the carpet.

Evan wasn't sure how it happened, but between one blink and the next, he was sobbing. His entire body trembled with each loud, labored breath; his hands clenched desperately at his shirt, digging into his chest like he was falling apart and if he just grabbed hard enough he could keep his ribcage together with his bare hands. One hand floated up to his face, rubbing desperately at his cheeks and coming away wet before clamping over his mouth to stifle his sobs.

Evan stayed there far longer than he should have. He knew he should have moved away to cry, rather than risk waking poor Mikey up.

But deep down, selfishly, desperately, Evan wanted his Mikey to hear him crying and wake up. He wanted Mikey to sit down beside him, wrap him up in his arms, whisper a joke in his ear, and noogie his hair. He wanted Mike to say he was sorry for falling asleep, to tell him to put the movie back on and promise that everything was going to be okay.

None of that happened.

Michael didn't hear him.

Evan stayed sitting and crying alone on the living room floor, with Mike so close but so far beyond his reach.

In a couple hours, Mike would groggily get up and make his way to work.

The next day, Mike would apologize for missing the movie and promise they could watch it together soon.

The next day, Evan would lie laugh and say they didn't need to– honestly I fell asleep way before you did; I didn't even notice that you fell asleep during the movie. The movie wasn't even that good; it was kinda awful, actually, not really any point in watching it…

But for now, all Evan could do was pick himself up on wobbly knees, force himself to his room, and crawl alone into bed as the tears dried on his cheeks.

#grab&go #grab&go au #evan afton #michael afton #michael smith #crying child weekend bash #cc bash day one #fnaf #the afton kids #fnaf fic

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