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“Your cholesterol is a bit on the high side but nothing to be concerned about just yet. Just something to be mindful of,” Ty was saying.
Michael mostly let Ty’s words wash over him, not really absorbing anything in particular. He just had to get through the last - he looked at his watch again - 7 minutes or so.
“How are you finding the questionnaire?” Ty queried, placing a copy of Michael’s bloodwork results on the table within Michael’s reach.
It was his second check-in at the compound as part of his deal with Ty Betteridge and so far they were exactly as advertised. They checked his vitals, ran some blood work, and had him fill out a multi page questionnaire that was one part psychological survey, one part memory challenge, and one part health review.
It’d been over a decade since Michael had been inside the walls of the compound, excepting his brief stay during Mike’s emergency consolidation treatments. Emotionally he felt distant from that experience. Enough time and additional trauma had happened to him since those months of confinement that they almost didn’t seem real anymore. But his body remembered.
When reading back his results, Ty himself had noted that Michael’s heart had been racing despite his calm exterior. His fingers kept tingling and he had to remind himself to breathe slow and steady because his body kept trying for short and fast instead.
But when it came to Ty he was able to mostly tune him out unless he was asking a direct question.
“Questionnaire’s fine, Ty, not much left,” he muttered, never looking up, continuing to fill it out without pause.
After a few long moments, Ty asked, “And how is Mike?”
Michael’s writing hand stilled mid-sentence and his eyes flicked up. His expression remained bland. “Doing fine, as you should know. He came back for those two follow up appointments with y'all.”
Ty waved that away good naturedly. “Oh we’re aware of how well he’s recovered. Some of our best work, really. I meant, how are you two doing? Big shift for him. Walking away from Edgar.”
It was difficult to say exactly why this question unsettled him so much. Maybe it was just the fact that it meant he had to acknowledge that the compound had a significant amount of personal information on them. Or maybe it was just that he didn’t like Ty Betteridge’s curious gaze so focused on Mike.
He flicked his eyes back down at the questionnaire and continued to finish up his last answer. “He’s fine. We’re fine.”
“Personally I didn’t think anything could prompt him to leave Edgar. Who would’ve thought?”
It took Michael a moment to breathe again. “He didn’t do it lightly.”
Ty laughed, “No I imagine not. I wasn’t there when the deal was made but I hear Mike and Edgar were quite dramatic about it all.”
Michael didn’t respond.
“What really surprised me in all this is you. You’d always struck me as a bit too self loathing for that sort of thing. It’s - well it’s heartening to see so much growth.”
Michael’s skin crawled as he put his pen down and handed Ty the questionnaire packet. “Thank you,” he managed, continuing to keep his expression neutral. The idea of Ty Betteridge feeling like an authority on him, on Mike, enough that he felt comfortable commenting on his “growth”- it made his stomach churn with acid.
A thoughtful expression crossed Ty’s face as he absentmindedly straightened the papers. “And he’s really doing alright without Edgar? Our Mikeys function terribly without Edgar. It’s a difficult thing to keep them properly motivated. Whole protocols designed. It never occurred to us that another Mike might help - mmm- ease things.”
Michael swallowed, picked up the results of his check-in and fiddled with it. He would not play this game.
“I think we’re done.” His tone remained mild and his expression inoffensive.
Ty glanced at his watch, raised his eyebrows in mild surprise. “So we are!” Looking back up Ty smiled and tapped the stack of papers in his hands on the desk and stood up. “I’ll walk you out.”
It was then that the door to the interrogation room opened, Ty and Mike walking in, Michael’s heart stopping. A roaring started in Michael’s ears and the tingling in his fingers intensified at the sight of Mike standing in the compound. It took him a heartbeat to recognize that this wasn’t his Mike. This had to be Base Mike. He hadn’t realized that the compound scheduled their respective check-ins for the same day each month.
“Oh, so sorry, we’re a bit ahead of schedule,” the Ty with Base Mike apologized, looking down at his watch and smiling back up at Michael and the other Ty.
Base Mike seemed to shrink into himself when he saw Michael. Michael forced himself not to roll his eyes. Having essentially been reintroduced to Michael in the same breath that he was caught messing around with Mike, Base Mike had since been skittish around Michael each time they’d crossed paths. Michael saw no reason to let him off the hook since he preferred that in future Base Mike keep his hands - and all other body parts - to himself when it came to Mike.
Still, he thought Base Mike was being a little over dramatic. It was true that Michael had found it fairly easy to let go of the fact that Mike essentially revenge fucked Base Mike. He did not, however, find it easy to extend the same sort of grace to Base Mike himself.
The last time Michael had seen Base Mike, he’d walked in on a meeting between Michael and Edgar over a correction that needed redoing. Upon seeing Michael doing nothing more than sitting sedately in an office chair with his hands folded behind his head, Base Mike had immediately turned around and crashed into an incoming Anne, knocking her full cup of coffee and plate of breakfast out of her hands. Michael had fought to keep himself from grinning as he watched Base Mike mumble apologies and scrambled to help clean up the mess, Edgar shooting Michael a warning look not to make things worse. He’d behaved himself but he did so love to watch Base Mike squirm in his presence, the little shit.
Now though, on the heels of Ty asking if Mike was really okay without Edgar, Michael found himself awash with a sense of protectiveness for Base Mike.
“Don’t worry,” the Ty with Base Mike said to Michael. “We’ll have him out of here in thirty minutes. You’re welcome to wait in the lobby for him-”
The Ty with Michael was shaking his head and looking at the other Ty as if he were hopeless. “Different Mike,” Ty cut in, throwing a slightly embarrassed and apologetic look at Michael.
Michael got to his feet and stretched. “It’s been real but I’m sure Mike’s waiting for me.”
As he passed Base Mike, Michael patted him on the shoulder, not having the heart to be cruel to him in this place of shared trauma. Especially not when Base Mike being here meant that Mike didn’t have to set foot in this place ever again.
**********
Mike lay collapsed on top of Michael, sated but also vibrating with nervous energy.
The drive home from the compound had been tense. Mike had attempted to fill the silence. He’d tried to pull Michael out of himself to no avail. Mike wasn’t an idiot. Ty had said something to rile him up. When Mike had asked how he was feeling Michael had just turned and looked out the passenger side window without answering.
Once home Mike had poured him a glass of whiskey and insisted that Michael eat something. After that Mike had practically shoved him in the shower since it always helped Mike himself reset a bit.
When Michael emerged from the bathroom Mike was waiting, ropes in hand. It had occurred to Mike that if he had been feeling vulnerable and afraid he would want Michael to take control of him. There was nothing so comforting as being at Michael’s mercy, knowing that ceding control to him meant that Mike would ultimately be held, safe and protected. So despite feeling like a bit of a fraud, Mike did his best to adopt an air of quiet authority as he dragged a surprised Michael into the bedroom and tied him down to the bed.
It seemed to have been the right choice because as soon as he was restrained, Michael’s muscles relaxed, his eyes lighting up as Mike brought out the flogger and started running the strands up Michael’s legs. It was rare that Mike got to make Michael beg but when he did, Mike’s knees went weak with how sweet he sounded. Michael pleading and promises spilling from his mouth, his accent slipping, desperate for release and eager to bend to Mike’s every whim. It took everything in Mike not to give in too soon, his instincts screaming to give Michael exactly what he was pleading for the second he begged for it.
When release finally came they were both a mess, Michael practically sobbing with relief and Mike groaning snippets of love and gratitude as he pressed his face against Michael’s shoulder. For several minutes they lay there, catching their breath. Mike was almost afraid to move, afraid he would look up to find Michael just as closed off as he was earlier. But he really needed to untie Michael.
Sitting up he didn’t look at Michael, too much of a coward to face him until he’d finished untying the ropes. Once free Michael sat up and rolled out his shoulders.
“Wrists okay?” Mike asked, looking down at his own hands.
Michael nodded and eyed him, “You alright?”
The tenderness in the question startled Mike into meeting Michael’s gaze. “Me? Yeah I’m fine.”
Michael raised a skeptical eyebrow.
Mike shifted. “I… I’m not used to you shutting me out like that. Not anymore anyway.”
Michael took a breath and nodded. He scooted closer to Mike and pulled him into his arms, resting Mike’s head on his shoulder. “That weren’t fair of me.”
“It’s perfectly fair. You’re not required to tell me everything. You didn’t badger me back when- when I was going through stuff,” Mike fumbled, not wanting to bring up Operation You Only Live Twice since it was still a sore subject. “You just tried to be there for me. I just… I don’t have your patience, apparently.”
Michael snorted, “Well I am almost eight years older than you, I’d hope I have more patience than you.”
Mike glanced up at Michael, “Eight years, huh?”
Michael stilled for a moment, realizing his slip up, then let out a gruff exhale. “That a problem?”
It was Mike’s turn to snort, “Only if those additional three years got added since we’ve been together.”
Michael huffed. “Calm down, almost all of it is from before. The few weeks that aren’t, are from before we fought about it. I’m a man of my word.”
Mike was silent for a moment then said, “You wanna talk about it?”
One of Michael’s hands rubbed Mike’s back, “Not really. But… you should know, Ty asked about you.”
Mike stilled then pulled out of Michael’s arms to sit up, not meeting Michael’s eyes, “Oh?”
“Got real nosy about how you’re faring without Edgar.”
Mike shifted on the bed and half turned away from Michael. “Yeah, uh, Base Mike said something similar after the last check-in.”
Michael moved slowly, shifting to move into Mike’s field of vision. His expression was stern. “And you didn’t think to tell me this? That was a month ago.”
“I… it didn’t seem important.”
Michael shook his head in disbelief. “Mike, this is Ty Fucking Betteridge. Anyone that catches that man’s interest is at risk. Why the fuck wouldn’t you say something to me?”
Mike scratched at the back of his head. “I mean, I’m sure he told Edgar. And- well I know Base Mike is- uh, he’s a sore subject for us.”
Michael blinked. “Jesus Mike, don’t be a child about it. You ain’t told me because the information came from Base Mike and- what? You thought it was more important not to risk me feeling jealous than to let me know there’s a credible threat against you?”
Mike raised his hands in front of him and smirked, “Okay slow down. Credible threat is a little presumptuous at this point.”
“First of all stop avoiding the issue, second of all Ty is alway a credible threat.”
Mike was starting to feel a little cornered, “Can we not do this when we’re both naked? I feel like we’re starting to argue and I’d like to be dressed if that’s the case.”
Michael looked like he was biting his tongue but he gestured for Mike to get up and get dressed. While Mike hurried to throw on some sleep pants Michael wordlessly left the room, the sounds of the shower following shortly after.
Fuck. Mike had seriously miscalculated. Why the fuck had he told Michael?
Mike hunted around for his phone and remembered he’d left it in the living room and hurried out to find it. He needed to check in with Base Mike before he got into it with Michael. Find out if his most recent visit was similarly disconcerting. Of course he ended up having to search between all the couch cushions for it and by the time he found it Michael was already coming out to find him, freshly showered and wearing boxers and a t-shirt.
“So what did he say?” Michael demanded, resting his hands on the back of the couch, leaning forward. When Mike hesitated Michael practically growled, “Out with it.”
“Just that Ty asked how I was doing, whether I seemed happy. And I guess he was asking whether the uh, the age difference affected things at all.“
Michael blinked. “How do you mean?”
Mike shifted, “I- Look, I don’t-”
Michael shot him a severe look and Mike faltered.
Shit. Why couldn’t he have just kept his mouth shut from the beginning. “He asked if you being five to ten years older than me positioned me to be more- uh- obedient.”
Michael stared at Mike in stunned horror. “Jesus.”
“Michael, it doesn’t mean anything for us. I think if anything it just… it means some fucked up shit for the compound Mikeys.”
Michael shook his head, “We ain’t got no idea what Ty is mulling over in that brain full of war crimes. And he’s showing an interest in you specifically, Mike. Not Mikey, not Base Mike, not me. You.”
“Look-” Mike started but his phone began vibrating with an incoming call. Mike looked at the screen then answered, “Mikey, what’s up? Hey, hey slow down, breathe for me buddy. I can’t understand-”
Mike looked up at Michael, his expression serious. Michael’s expression softened and moved around the couch to stand before Mike.
“What kind of audio clips?” Mike managed to interject when Mikey took a breath. “Mikey, come stay with us for a few days. We can try to put our heads together and it’ll give the two of you some time to cool down. Yeah it’ll be fine.”
Michael raised his eyebrows at Mike and Mike shot him a reproachful look. “Okay we’ll see you soon. Mbye.”
“They fightin’?” Michael asked, his expression shifted to one of mild concern as Mike stared at his phone for a moment after hanging up.
“Yeah…” Mike murmured as he tried to wrack his brain. Looking up at Michael he asked, “In all the timelines you’ve experienced, you and him ever fight over someone calling themselves Mustardseed?”
Michael furrowed his brow as he thought then slowly shook his head, “Don’t ring a bell.”
Mike looked down at his phone again, thoughtful, “Whoever it is, is sending people at Base audio clips of Mikey. Some of it from events that have been undone. Fucked up shit from the sounds of it.”
Michael flinched. For a moment he and Mike shared an uncomfortable look and Mike was sure Michael was thinking about Edgar. He knew he was.
“So he and Edgar are fighting about some audio that this Mustardseed person sent Edgar?” Michael guessed. Mike knew the Pacific Ocean was at the top of Michael’s mind.
Mike wavered, “Sort of. They aren’t letting Mikey hear any of the audio that was sent because - well it’d probably send him spiraling even more than he already is.”
Michael exhaled heavily. “Well, we’d best make sure the guest room is ready for him. And we’re not done talking about Ty.”
“Oh joy,” Mike muttered. Then, “Fuck, we need to change the sheets in our room too.”
“I’m on it, did a load of bedding yesterday,” Michael said over his shoulder as he headed in the direction of their bedroom. Then he paused and turned back to Mike and shifted uncomfortably, “You uh- think maybe we ask Boris if Bruno can stay with us a few nights? Might be good for Mikey.”
Mike grinned, “You’re a big softy you know,”
Michael's expression went stern, “We can tell him Boris is going away for the weekend. Doesn’t have to know it’s for him.”
Mike rolled his eyes and started to head toward the door, “Fine, fine. But I’ll know.”
********
They managed to do a decent job of distracting Mikey his first night. They’d taken Bruno for a walk, picked up some dinner, played gin rummy until Mikey complained, and then switched to poker. They didn’t bother strategizing their investigation into Mustardseed that first night. Mikey was too worked up and he needed a soft place to land after having it out with Edgar.
The next morning Mikey had looked bleary.
“Trouble sleeping?” Michael asked sympathetically.
“This guy woke me up in the middle of the night,” Mikey grumbled as he pet Bruno, an indulgent smile on his face. “Interrupted the dog dream, you guys know the one. He was pawing at the bedroom door so I thought he needed to go outside but when I took him, he didn’t do anything.”
Michael frowned as he brought over a pan of homemade biscuits and dropped one on each of the three plates set at the kitchen table. “Hmm, s’not like him. Probably should mention it to Boris, could be a sign of infection.”
“Well he also may have just been riled up because he heard you two,” Mikey muttered, pointedly not looking at either of them.
Mike and Michael exchange a confused look. They hadn’t messed around at all the previous night. In fact, generally speaking, when Mikey was over Michael had noticed that Mike was typically more distant. He wasn’t sure Mike even realized he was doing it but Michael knew it was because Mike was, consciously or not, trying to make Mikey feel more comfortable.
“Did you not sleep last night?” Mike asked Michael, looking concerned. It’d been ages since Michael had trouble sleeping through the night.
“Nope. Got up to take a piss at one point but didn’t hear Bruno,” Michael reassured, patting Mike’s shoulder as he crossed back to the stove to grab the pan of sausage gravy.
Mikey rolled his eyes, “Uh huh, it’s fine. Just invest in some white noise machines for when you have overnight guests.”
Michael snorted, now convinced Mikey actually dreamt that he heard them fucking around and woke Bruno himself with his tossing and turning.
They spent the day going over everything that Mikey could remember. Snippets of overheard conversations, things that members of Base had let slip, the audio file that Matt had shared, and everything Mustardseed had messaged Mikey via Reddit. It had felt productive even if they didn’t feel any closer to figuring out who Mustardseed was. For Mikey especially it seemed that just the act of talking things through with other people who didn’t treat him with suspicion seemed to boost his morale.
But as the afternoon gave way to evening, Mikey got quieter and quieter as he retreated into himself. Michael could practically see the storm clouds gathering over him.
Shifting in his easy chair, Michael watched Mikey and Mike sitting over on the couch together, each evaluating their cards, Bruno sleeping at their feet. They’d decided to call it a wrap on planning after dinner and had started playing poker to chill out before bed. Michael caught Mike’s gaze across the living room and gave an almost imperceptible nod of his head in Mikey’s direction. Mike nodded, glanced down at his cards, and asked as nonchalantly as possible, “You doing okay Mikey?”
Mikey glanced up from his hand looking startled. Michael was sure he was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t even really been seeing his cards.
“Yeah,” Mikey replied, a bit too quickly.
Mike didn’t look up from his cards but said, “Hey Michael, mind getting me another whiskey? Mikey, you want another?”
“Uh, sure.” Mikey fidgeted, as if he were trying to get more comfortable on the couch.
Michael knew what Mike was doing and he was happy to help. “Sure thing, maybe I’ll throw together some sandwiches while I’m at it. Always good to have something to soak up the whiskey.”
Michael had barely reached the kitchen when he heard Mike try again.
“Thinking about Edgar?” Mike asked.
There was a long silence. Michael made sure to be a little extra noisy in the kitchen as he pulled things out of the fridge.
“I just… I feel like I’m losing him. What if this is it?,” Mikey’s voice cracked.
“Hey come here, this isn’t it,” Mike soothed and Michael could hear them moving around on the couch.
Michael had to strain to hear what Mikey said next as he sounded muffled.
“It feels like I’m failing a marriage that hasn’t even happened yet. Like, what if I fuck this up and then all of a sudden Michael never gets married?”
“Okay well, first of all, I think you might be due for another refresher on how connectivity does and doesn’t work, but second of all, you’re not going to fuck this up. Edgar’s not shutting you out, he’s trying to protect you from getting hurt.”
Michael gathered up the plate of sandwiches and the bottle of whiskey and headed back into the living room. As he expected Mike was holding Mikey close, arms wrapped around him, Mikey’s face buried in his chest. He hated himself for the tiny flare of jealousy that sparked in his stomach at the sight and forced himself to snuff it out. He wasn’t even fully sure what he was jealous of. He certainly wasn’t concerned about anything happening between Mike and Mikey. They both viewed their youngest iteration as if he were an extremely annoying, if beloved, little brother.
But the closeness. The familial ease with which Mikey interacted with Mike. The way Mikey would lean into Mike’s side, trust communicated in every movement. Michael wished Mikey could feel that way with him. It was Michael’s own fault that Mikey couldn’t, he knew that. But he ached for it all the same.
“Here you go Mikey boy,” he said, putting the plate down on the coffee table and poured whiskey into each of their glasses.
Mikey sat up a little, his eyes rimmed red and Mike’s arm still wrapped around him. Mike grabbed Mikey’s whiskey with his free hand and passed it to Mikey who downed it in one go.
Mike raised his eyebrows.
“You two will get through this,” Mike reassured, taking back the now empty glass and setting it on the table.
“You don’t get it Mike, you’re with Michael, you chose to leave him. It’s not the same. He’s going to leave me-”
Michael saw Mike’s posture stiffen as Mikey fumbled and realized he’d stumbled into emotionally dangerous territory. Michael fought the urge to come to Mike’s defense, knowing it wouldn’t make anything better and would likely only leave everyone in the room feeling worse.
Mikey switched gears, rubbing at eyes that were still leaking a slow stream of tears. “But think about it Mike. You heard the recording Matt sent me. That shit should be lost to another timeline. Mustardseed might have access to timelines I don’t even remember, or shit that you or Michael have experienced and I never did! Mike, what if Edgar knows about the Pacific Ocean?”
Mike’s eyes flew to Michael, who had straightened in his chair, Mike’s expression protective and concerned. Michael kept his expression neutral and did his best to sound calm as he asked, “Edgar knows about the Pacific Ocean?”
Mikey shrugged helplessly, “If this person wants to torch my life, it'd be the perfect fuel. It’s what I would do if I wanted to hurt me.”
His eyes never leaving Michael, Mike advised, “I don’t think it’s a good idea to assume Edgar knows. We don’t know this person’s motivations.”
Mikey shrugged again, his expression defeated. “If Edgar knows, if he’s heard- Mike I don’t think I’ll be able to look him in the eye.”
Michael could see Mike’s muscles tightening as the conversation went on, his gaze flitting between Mikey and Michael.
“Hey, ruminating on the Pacific Ocean is only going to hurt you and it’s not going to change anything. Drop it, “ Mike said a little sterner than seemed entirely necessary. Mike seemed to realize he’d sounded a little harsh and quickly pulled Mikey back into a hug. “You’re going to be okay Mikey Boy. We got your back and Edgar loves you.”
Michael nodded, “Mike’s right. Better to focus on what we can do to sniff out this Mustardseed and figure out what it is they want. ‘Meantime, the guest room is all yours, as long as you need it, Pilgrim.”
Mikey sat back a little so that he could see Michael better, leaning against Mike’s shoulder. He gave Michael a watery smile. “I gotta say I am so glad you two got together if for no other reason than I get to sleep on a real bed when I crash here now. My back and neck are both grateful. Other than Bruno waking me up last night, I slept like a baby.”
A deep genuine chuckle escaped from Micahel’s chest at that. “Happy to hear it.”
Mike gave Mikey’s shoulder a comforting little squeeze and Michael stood up. “No offense Mikey but you look like shit. I think it’s time we cut you off and put you to bed. Take a sandwich with you. You’re always sleepy after you get some food in your belly so it’ll help ya.”
“You’re right,” Mikey agreed and yawned as he stood up, extricating himself from Mike. Bruno stood, his tail giving a sleepy little wag. “Come on Bruno. Night you two.”
Mikey grabbed a sandwich and headed off to the guest room, Bruno following behind him.
For a moment Mike and Michael just sat in silence as they waited for the sound of the bedroom door to close. The second they heard the soft click of the latch Michael crossed to Mike and sat down on the couch, turning to face him.
“Y’allright?” Michael asked, one hand coming to rest on Mike’s knee.
Mike nodded absently and Michael was fairly certain that Mike hadn’t really heard him. He gave Mike’s knee a squeeze and Mike blinked, focusing on Michael.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Michael murmured.
Mike shrugged and looked down at his lap. “How am I- I just feel so…”
Michael waited for Mike to find the words.
“He’s drowning and he doesn’t even know how hard it can get. And I don’t want him to ever find out. I just…” Mike shook his head, falling into silence.
Michael cleared his throat. “You want to shield him from every awful thing that ever happened to you and give him a shot at something better. And it hurts to know that even if you do that, pain still finds him.”
Mike stared at Michael and shook his head, “How do you stand it?”
Michael didn’t answer. Instead he pulled Mike so that he was leaning back against Michael’s chest, Michael’s arms around him, Michael’s chin resting on his shoulder.
“You’re good with him, you know. He trusts you.”
Mike turned his face toward Michael, his brow furrowed. “Hey, he trusts you too, Michael.”
Michael rocked his head from side to side, his chin still on Mike’s shoulder, a small movement of uncertainty. “He’s more comfortable with you is all. And he’s right to be. You two experienced more similar timelines than me, you're closer in age and-”
Mike sat up straighter and turned around to face Michael, “Hey, what is this?”
Michael shook his head, “I’m just saying you do a good job of getting him to allow you to protect him. He listens to you more than he listens to me. There’s more distance between him and me and I can’t blame him for that.”
Mike’s frown deepened. “We need you too Michael. He needs you.”
Michael gave Mike a sad smile. “You think I’m getting down on myself but you’re wrong.”
“How do you mean?”
“Ty ain’t wrong to be curious about you if he wants more compliant Mikeys.”
He saw the moment Mike realized what he was saying. Mike started to shake his head, “Michael he has no need for me, he’s got plenty of Mikeys -”
“Ty is an ambitious bastard. If he thinks you could help streamline things? Make things more efficient? You bet your ass he’s going to see what he can do to make that a reality. You- and Base Mike I would think- are in his sights now.”
Something about what Michael said caused Mike’s posture to straighten. He flinched but didn’t speak right away, seeming lost in thought. Finally, “I didn’t know how responsible I would feel for Base Mike. How protective.”
Michael cleared his throat, “Pretty sure he feels the same way. Edgar told me he volunteered for the check-ins at the compound. Didn’t even clear it with Edgar first.”
Mike blinked in surprise. “He didn’t need to do that.”
“I think he wanted to.”
Mike shifted uncomfortably and grumbled, “It’s like having another Mikey to worry about all the time.”
Michael laughed. “Pretty sure you wouldn’t fuck Mikey though.”
Mike’s cheeks flushed and he gave Michael a little shove, “You are never going to let me live that down are you?”
Michael grinned, “Not so long as it makes you blush like that, no. Besides, you’ve given me a real gift. I get to punish you for it anytime I feel like it.”
Mike rolled his eyes.
“It’s good though,” Michael admitted. “As much shit as I give Base Mike, I’m glad you two want to protect each other. Means I got one more person looking out for you.”
Mike rubbed his face and slid the heels of his hand up to press them against his eyes. “I can’t think about this right now. We have to deal with what’s in front of us first.”
Michael nodded, “What we need to do right now is get to bed so we can put our heads together tomorrow and start investigating this Mustardseed business.”
Mike groaned and leaned forward so his head rested against Michael’s shoulder. “I’m too wound up to go to bed with all this-” Mike made a broad all encompassing gesture.
Michael smirked. “I can help with that I think.”
He pulled Mike to his feet, dragging him into the kitchen, the room farthest from the guest room. He shoved a surprised Mike against the wall and kissed him, pressing his hips against him so he could feel Michael’s hardon. Mike shuddered beneath him, his hand coming to cradle Michael’s face.
“Fuck- Michael you-” Mike gasped as Michael’s mouth trailed along his throat. “You’ve just been waiting to pounce.”
Michael grunted a little, “Been keeping my distance since Mikey got here yesterday.”
He leaned in for a slow kiss, his hands sliding down Mike’s sides until he reached his waist. Mike’s hips bucking and Michael smiled into the kiss.
“So proud of your prowess, aren’t you?” Mike murmured, sounding only slightly annoyed.
Michael didn’t answer and instead ran his fingers along the waist of Mike’s sleep pants. Mike shivered in response, hips bucking again. Michael grinned and Mike let out a whine.
“That’s my sweet boy.” Michael purred and he slipped his hand beneath the waistband and grabbed his cock, making Mike gasp. “You’re going to need to be quiet.”
“I- can manage- that,” Mike panted, grabbing onto Michael’s face and pulling him in for another kiss, trying not to moan as Michael stroked him. “But- I insist we- fuuuck- move to the bedroom. Last time we fucked around in the kitchen you- you had the bright idea to use olive oil as lubricant and-”
Michael froze then pulled back to look Mike in the eye, “For fucks sake Mike, you need to use that safe word of yours. If I’m hurting you-”
“Let me finish-” Mike interrupted.
Michael smirked.
Mike coughed around a laugh, “It stained every article of clothing I had on including one of my favorite shirts.”
Michael growled but started to walk backwards, using his free hand to pull on Mike’s arm while he resumed stroking with the other. “Fine but you’re getting on your hands and knees tonight. There’s no way Mikey will sleep through the bed hitting the wall. ‘Specially not with Bruno in there with him. He’s already having nightmares about the two of us fucking, let’s not make things worse for the poor boy.”
“And here I thought you liked me best on my knees regardless,” Mike joked breathlessly as they staggered into the bedroom.
Michael gave him a wolfish grin, “I thought I told you to be quiet.”
“Quiet- not silent,” Mike panted as he closed the door behind them.
“Mm, I’ll allow it,” Michael grumbled and started pulling off his shirt. “Now. Get on your knees.”
*******
When Mike arrived back at the apartment from taking Bruno for a quick morning walk, Mikey was finally awake. He and Michael were in the kitchen pulling breakfast together. Mikey was doling out bacon, eggs, and toast to each of the three plates set around the table as Mike slid into his chair.
Michael slapped three mugs on the table and poured coffee into each before fetching the milk and sugar. “Alright boys, we’re going to eat breakfast and then get to work-”
Just then all three of their phones vibrated at the same time.
Mike looked at his phone. There was a text message from a random number. All it contained was an audio file. “Great.”
“They can’t help you. They won’t help you. Go home Mikey.” Mikey read aloud. “That’s all I got.”
For a moment they all sat in silence.
“What do we do?” Mike asked, looking between the other two. “They obviously sent whatever these are to try and sow distrust between us and Mikey, right?”
Michael thought about it for a moment. “Maybe. We still gotta listen. More ‘an likely they won’t give us much to go on but if we delete em without listening, we might be throwing away clues as to who is doing this. We need every scrap we can get our hands on.”
“Uh counterpoint- every person other than Matt has shut me out after listening to whatever Mustardseed sent them,” Mikey argued.
Mike rubbed at the back of his neck. “I agree with Michael, I don’t see any other way. We’re working with such a small amount of data.”
Mikey groaned and crossed his arms. “Uh you heard Matt’s audio clip. If it’s even close to as bad-”
“It will be,” Michael interrupted. “And whatever it is, we’ll deal with it together.”
Mikey pushed his untouched plate of bacon and eggs away from him, looking a little pale. Mike glanced over at Michael who had started to dig into his own breakfast. He raised his eyebrows at Mike, clearly expecting him to handle Mikey.
Mike reached over and grasped Mikey’s shoulder, “Hey. Why don’t you take Bruno for a w-a-l-k while Michael and I listen to the audio clips. There’s no reason you have to be here for it. We can describe them to you afterwards if you want and then you can decide if you want to hear them for yourself.”
“Bruno just got back from a w-a-l-k,” Mikey muttered, looking defeated.
“It was a short one and I know Bruno would be thrilled,” Mike reassured him.
Mikey sat there for a minute, slumped in his chair, before finally nodding. “Okay. Fine. But if I come back here and you two hate me, I’m issuing a correction.”
Michael snorted but otherwise continued eating his breakfast without interruption.
“That sounds fine. Now go on so we can get this over with,” Mike hurried.
They waited for the sound of Mikey’s footfalls on the stairway to fade away before they did anything.
“Thanks for the help,” Mike griped.
“I told you, you’re good with him. He don’t listen to me the way he listens to you,” Michael replied mildly.
While Michael wasn’t wrong exactly, Mike still thought it was a cop out.
“Okay, which one are we listening to first?’ Mike asked. His palms felt sweaty and itchy.
“What’s your file name?” Michael asked.
“Oh. I hadn’t even noticed- it’s called 2.”
Michael nodded, “Yep, mine’s 1. Ready?”
Mike sighed and nodded. Michael turned up the volume on his phone and hit play. At first all they could hear was panting. Then there was a moan. A familiar one. Michael looked up at Mike, one eyebrow raised. Mike started to shake his head a little, his mouth slightly agape as they continued to listen.
Admit it, it’s a nice change from fucking an old man.
Fuck you. You miss him and you know it.
Oh that’s right, he usually fucks you, not the other way around
You say that like it’s not the same with Edgar
Shut up
For a while there was just panting, moaning, and the occasional “fuck!”. Mike sat with his elbows on the table, his face in his hands. This could not be happening.
Wait, wait, I’m gonna cum
That- that’s kind of the point
Not yet, I haven’t had a chance to finish while topping
There was a small whimper, then some sounds of shifting around, and then a grunt and a moan.
Okay but it feels good to pull one over on that crafty withholding bastard doesn’t it?
Fuck- yeah it does.
He’d be so pissed to know I was fucking you right now
“We don’t have to listen to the rest-” Mike muttered and tried to reach out to grab Michael’s phone but Michael slid it across the table, out of Mike’s reach. Michael didn’t look mad exactly. He did look a bit exasperated as he continued to listen and watch as Mike’s face continued to redden. The rest of the audio was just sounds of moaning and fucking, the two Mikes eventual releases coming one right after the other. Mike prayed it ended there.
It didn’t.
I say we shower and go for round three if we can. Think you’ll be up for it?
I need at least a couple hours or so and a snack.
So we take a shower. I grab a calculator and some snacks from downstairs. We go back a couple hours and sleep it off in one of the other guest rooms, come back here for round three
There was a long pause.
Come on, Michael and Edgar are gonna keep cock blocking us for weeks, probably. They’re both stubborn bastards.
When did you get so reckless with calculator use?
What can I say I’m pissed at Edgar and it’s just another fuck you to him
Jesus we can be childish.
Like you wouldn’t do the same. Come on, if we don’t shower now we’ll just fall asleep.
Ugh fiiiine.
Michael and Mike sat in silence for a moment after the audio ended.
“So,” Michael began lightly. “Anything more you want to share about your little tryst with Base Mike? Keeping in mind that this may not be the last audio recording I end up getting from our good friend Mustardseed.”
The earth could swallow him whole and it still wouldn’t be as bad as having to sit there and watch Michael listen to him get fucked by Base Mike. Michael for his part looked completely calm, though Mike knew Michael was extremely good at tabling his feelings to deal with later.
“I uhh, may have misrepresented events slightly,” Mike murmured.
“You mean you left out the part where it was a three time fuck fest?” Michael clarified. “Or the part where he most definitely fucked you? Or the part where you two were little hypocrites and violated Base protocol to fit in more cuckoldry?”
“To be fair, I never said he didn’t fuck me. And you didn’t ask how many times we had sex that night, you just, uh, assumed that-” Mike shut up at the quelling look on Michael’s face.
Michael exhaled loud enough that it was almost a growl. “Well I don’t have time right now to punish you good and proper unless we’re using the calculator-” Mike shot Michael a quelling look of his own. “No, I didn't think you’d agree to that either, a special treat for Base Mike only it seems.” Mike opened his mouth to object but Michael just barreled on. “Fine by me, gives me more time to think on it.”
“Have I mentioned how much I love and adore you?” Mike squeaked.
Michael held up two fingers, “Two words, Mike: chastity cage.”
Mike opened his mouth to object but Michael swiftly started to replay the last 30 seconds of the audio clip, the sounds of Mike’s moans filling the kitchen once again. “For fuck’s sake, fine, just delete that before I spontaneously combust.”
Michael lightly clucked his tongue in a soft tsking sound, “Mike, if I delete it, what am I going to play for you every time you beg me to take off your chastity cage?”
Mike threw his face back into his hands. “Fuck me.”
“Oh sweet boy, rest assured I will.”
“Okay. Can we move on?” Mike pleaded. “Maybe they’ve got you fucking Mikey in some other timelne.”
“Jesus, Mike, that’s disgusting.”
Mike rolled his eyes and scrambled to press play and listened as the audio started up. This time the first voice they heard was Edgar’s. Mike’s stomach churned.
Couldn’t wait to get back to O.V.E.R. to kiss me?
No it’s not that. I mean I would like to kiss you but I could wait to get to O.V.E.R. I'm not that desperate. But also I don’t want Troy to see me kiss you, that would feel weird. But that still isn’t why I pulled over.
Then, why did you pull over?
Because I thought I saw something, I don’t know, a panther? On that ridge there?
A panther?
Yeah like a mountain lion, a cougar, you know, a panther? Look.
I don’t think I see it Mikey.
After a heartbeat of silence there was the sound of a gunshot, a small thump, and then shaky breathing before the audio cut out. Mike shot out of his chair so fast he didn’t remember making the conscious choice to do so. Michael was holding him almost immediately.
“It’s alright, that never happened,” Michael soothed, all anger and frustration from earlier gone.
Mike pulled out of Michael’s arms, irrationally angry with him for his calm. “Fuck off, don’t patronize me. I know better than anyone that you don’t really believe that. It happened, this is the evidence it happened.” He pointed at the phone for emphasis.
“Mike, nothing even close to this has ever happened on one of our dates with Edgar-”
“For you,” Mike cut him off. “You never had a date that went similar to this.”
Michael stilled, “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying my second date with Edgar wrapped up pretty similar to this with the exception of the fucking bullet to Edgar’s brain. We were driving back, I thought I saw something, we pulled over, Edgar thought I couldn’t wait to kiss him, I told him I thought I saw something along the ridge and Edgar couldn’t see it-” Mike broke off as a new horror took root in his mind.
Mike shook his head. “Fuck. I don’t think that’s Mikey- I think that’s some version of me-”
Michael pulled Mike back into a bear hug. “Mike, it’s all of us and it’s none of us. Don’t try to make it you just because you feel guilty about leaving Edgar.”
Mike felt a spark of anger and started to pull away again but this time Michael’s grip on him was vice-like.
“It ain’t you. It ain’t Mikey. It’s some lost iteration. We need to accept that and move on so that we can help Mikey through this,” Michael soothed gruffly.
Mike felt tears stinging his eyes. Michael was right. Of course he felt responsible as the only Mike Walters to ever abandon Edgar. What other Mike Walters could ever care so little for Edgar to end up killing him in cold blood? He wanted to run away and hide, escape the shame that was threatening to drown him. Between this and the audio of fucking around with Base Mike, he was tempted to issue a correction and just delete both messages from Mustardseed before they ever listened to them.
Just then Bruno and Mikey came barreling in through the front door. Michael released Mike and crossed the Mikey.
“I got one, Mustardseed sent me one,” Mikey gasped, holding out his phone to Michael as he tried to catch his breath. Michael took the phone and considered it for a moment before tapping on the audio file.
Oh! Howdy, Mikey. I thought you was Mike. You look… different…. You’re… not Mikey.
Well, I am Mikey, just not the one you were expecting. I escaped from the Flinchite Compound.
You were doing the experiments? On Edgar?
You know about that? The consolidation experim-”
Having realized what they were about to hear and finding himself unable to bear it, Mike rushed forward and took the phone from Michael and immediately deleted the file.
“Mike, for fucks sake,” Michael growled.
Mike threw him a look, “What would we learn Michael? Or do you just want to punish yourself?”
Mikey raised his brows, “Uh, should I- this sounds like a private argument-”
“Well, you could’ve let one of us listen to it before deleting it,” Michael reasoned, he seemed mostly untroubled by the fact that they’d been about to listen to him murder a compound Mikey in cold blood.
“We know what it is. And we know why it was sent,” Mike shot back, tossing the phone back to Mikey.
“Yeah? Why?” Mikey asked.
“Same reason the others were sent. To create divisions between the three of us,” Michael explained.
Mikey’s brow furrowed as he glanced uncertainly between Mike and Michael, “It didn’t work, did it?”
Michael looked at Mike, his eyes full of sympathy, “No, it didn’t work.”
It was too much. Michael’s gaze was all tender care as he watched Mike fight back tears. He didn’t deserve that affection. He turned away from Michael and Mikey, and wrapped his arms around himself to keep himself from coming apart.
“Mike, you okay?” Mikey asked.
Mike didn’t answer.
“He will be,” Michael supplied. “Alright, Mikey, I think we need to go to your Base. Whoever this person is, what they want is to create divisions among Base members. I think their goal is to break Base up.”
“What makes you say that?” asked Mikey.
“Well based on the three audio files we all got, plus Matt’s, all of them seem targeted to make us distrust one another. The one sent to you was intended to make you distrust me. The one I got was intended to get me to distrust Mike. And the one Mike got was probably intended to make us distrust you, Mikey. Though by the looks of it, that seems to have backfired. I don’t think they knew Mike was going to feel so- uh- connected to the Mikey in the recording.”
In a daze, Mike started to leave the kitchen.
“So, should we go now? Or…” he heard Mikey asking Michael.
“Yep, the sooner you make good with your Edgar the better, I think. Gimme one sec and we’ll head right out,” Michael was saying.
Mike kept walking and reached their bedroom just as Michael caught up with him. Michael didn’t say anything, just crossed in front of Mike to get to the closet, opened their safe and removed the calculator.
“We can ask Edgar to transport you-” Mike started.
“Ain’t happening, partner,” Michael told him gently, shoving the calculator into his pack and slinging it over his shoulder as he headed to the door.
“What’s not happening?” Mike asked, confused. “Edgar would have no problem-”
Michael stopped and turned to face Mike, his eyes full of compassion.
“I ain’t leaving you here with a calculator. I assume you’re not coming to Early Base with us seeing as it would mean having to relisten to those audio clips in front of Anne and possibly Mikey’s Edgar. Not to mention Mikey.”
Nausea rolled through Mike’s stomach and up his throat. He shook his head.
“Thought not. And that’s fine. But this here calculator is coming with me.” Michael patted his pack.
“Michael, calculators should be a last resort-”
“The state you’re in, I can’t leave this here,” Michael told him softly.
Mike blinked. “Wha- why?”
“Well first time we had a real fight you took off and iterated yourself and didn’t tell me for over two whole months. The second time we had it out you scampered off and ended up fucking that very same iteration. You see the problem Mike? Shit gets hard, you get impulsive, and you leave.” He said it mildly, as if he were giving out bad news and trying to make it hurt less.
Mike still felt like he’d been slapped. “Fuck you.”
Michael shook his head, “We ain’t doing this now. But I need you to hear that I love you. I’m pissed as hell with you right now, but that changes nothing.”
Mike stood there, a mutinous look on his face. “I’m wasn’t going to leave-”
“No? Then why are you so insistent on me leaving this calculator with you. I ain’t using it Mike. We’re going to contact Early Base like good little protocol followers. I’m just making sure you don’t go rogue because you’re panicking.”
Fuck. Fucking hell. What the hell was Mike supposed to say to that. “Michael I’m not-”
“You know how I know that you were going to use the calculator without telling me? Because you got caught lying about what you and Base Mike got up to and instead of assuming I was angry about that, you correctly deduced I was pissed that you were going to take off. You haven’t said one thing in your defense of that night with Base Mike, but you can’t seem to stop telling me you weren’t gonna use this here calculator.”
Mike had no response to that. Michael was right. He knew exactly what Michael would be more pissed about. And ultimately his shame about the night with Base Mike was nothing in comparison to the recording of Edgar being killed on a date.
Michael seemed to finally lose the battle to keep himself calm. His words came tumbling out in a rush,“What’d you promise me last time? Hmm?”
Mike’s brain was barely processing what Michael was saying, the sound of a gunshot echoing in his ears. “I don’t-“
Michael seemed to realize he wasn’t really able to listen and moved to take Mike’s face in his hands. “You promised me you wouldn’t take off without leaving me time, date, and coordinates,” Michael reminded him. Mike blinked at this and Michael’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah that’s what I thought. And that- that right there is why I’m pissed. You were headed in here for the calculator. Why do you think I followed you here, partner?”
“I- I was just-“ Mike stammered.
Michael leaned his forehead against Mike’s and closed his eyes for a heartbeat. Mike got the sense he was steeling himself.
“We’ll talk about this when I get back. Now listen, I’m going to try to persuade Mikey’s Edgar that only Anne needs to hear the recordings. I can’t promise he won’t insist but I think he’ll see reason.”
Realizing that Michael was going to leave him here alone, Mike started to panic. “Wait, Michael, please-”
“Do you want to go to Base, your Base I mean?” Michael asked. “I don’t think you should be alone. I already messaged Base Mike to see if’n you could go for a home visit tonight. He said it’d be fine.”
“That’s not my home,” Mike mumbled automatically. One corner of Michael's lips twitched up at that.
Of course Michael knew he wouldn’t want to be alone. He couldn’t say yes to this though. Not after what they’d just listened to.
Michael nodded, “Okay, you bringing anything with you?”
Mike blinked, “I didn’t say-”
Michael gave him a small knowing smile, “You didn’t have to. ”
The tears that had been threatening finally fell. Mike rushed forward, wrapping his arms around Michael and burying his face into his shoulder. Michael’s arms pulled him closer and he felt a swift kiss on his cheek. “We’re gonna be okay, sweet boy. But I gotta go and so do you. Are you ready?”
Mike took one last deep breath, giving Michael a tight squeeze before standing back. “Okay. I’m ready.”
Michael shot off a text to Base Mike and gave Mike a gentle smile and winked at him, “Try to keep your hands to yourself this time?”
Mike blushed as he steadied himself, “Not funny.”
Michael grinned, “No, but I do love to watch you squirm. I’ll see you when I see you.”