I'm the Last One That You'll Ever Remember

“Sonofabitch!” An Iron Man clad Gerard cursed, propelling himself off the wall he’d been leaning against to pace the open floor of the Comic-Con Convention. He didn’t give a damn what proficient Cosplay characters moseyed past him from where, all that was on his mind was his predicament called Pastel. According to his brother, she was missing, and no one in the Killjoy had been able to pinpoint her whereabouts so Gerard could hunt her down himself and take her out once and for all.

Disguised as the almighty Thor from the Avengers theme the group went with today, Michael eyed his brother striding back and forth in front of him. He kept his back against the wall, not seeing any reason to get all fired up himself even though the very same woman had thought it’d be smart to cut his pregnant fiance with a sharp blade before disappearing off the face of the planet. That action alone made her a target on Michael’s kill list. But he had to hand it to his brother, his reasoning for wanting to be rid of Pastel outranked his own.

To be candid, if Michael had been the one that got Pastel pregnant, he’d want her dead too, and as soon as possible. So he understood his brother’s frustration immediately, and supported it.

“Look, if I were you, Gee, I’d kill her the second she decides to show her face again.” Michael admonished his furious older brother. “Don’t even think of letting her get away again, because it might be the last time you see her AND it’ll only give her more time for her to fuck with you and your family.”

Gerard let out a growl, resisting the impulse to pull at his dark hair in case Frank spared a glance in their direction. He wouldn’t want him to get the idea that something was aggravating him when he should only be spending brotherly time with his brother on this birthday trip to Comic-Con. Then again, pacing around probably wasn’t sending a better message either. Ceasing in his tracks, Gerard turned to face his brother. “But I can’t do that, Michael! I promised Frank I’d changed for him and our family. And I have!”

Michael understood that his brother was referring to his murderous past as a member of the Killjoys. After meeting Frank, Gerard wanted to make a change, and change he’d never attempted before, nor ever wished to. All of a sudden, he wanted to become a good modeled citizen, no longer a bloodthirsty killer. Michael didn’t believe it was even possible, but had seen him transform before his eyes like a basic pumpkin into a magical carriage.

It was literally a miracle.

But old habits die hard, and Michael was about to remind him of that. “Gerard, do you remember last Halloween when you killed those two copycat Killjoys?”

Seeing where his brother was doing, Gerard narrowed his eyes into a glare. “That was totally different, Michael! Those fake fucks were an immediate threat to my family, and the innocent neighbors trick-or-treating for candy that night with their kids! I had to do something, no one else would or probably could!”

“Whatever.” Michael sighed, wrapping up that matter to initiate another more critical one. “Let me ask you this then. Does your husband know about Pastel yet, or the baby you pumped into her?”

“No, Frankie doesn’t know.” Gerard growled, his hands curling into fists as he shot a threatening glare at his brother just in case he was thinking about mentioning it to his beloved husband. No way was Frank ever gonna find out about either one! Not while he lived and breathed. He wasn’t going to risk EVERYTHING he’d worked so hard for on some pregnant maniac. “And you’re NOT gonna breathe a word to him of it either!”

Holding up both hands in peace, Michael smiled. “Oh no, brother. All of this is your business to tell your husband, not mine.”

“Good to know.” Gerard grumbled, glancing over his shoulder to see his husband and Masika taking pictures with some Winx club Cosplayers, likely for their daughter, Venetia.

“But you best believe Pastel won’t rest.” Michael forewarned him, lowering his hands back down. “The second you give her an opportunity she’ll tell Frank herself. You need to eliminate her before she does. It’s the only way, and you know it.”

Letting out a weary sigh, Gerard shook his head before running a carefully armored hand through his long hair.

Killing.

Murdering.

Slaughtering.

It seemed the only large-scale thing Gerard did with his life outside of his family these days. Perhaps because it was the only thing he WASN’T supposed to be doing that he kept finding himself doing!

“God, I don’t want to have to kill again, man.” Gerard softly lamented to his brother, who was there as always to listen to him lay out his problems. “I’ve been trying so hard to live my life on the straight and narrow like every other human being does for the sake of my husband and children!”

“Preaching to the choir, my friend! I get exactly what you’re saying better than you might think, Gee.” Michael seconded, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he too confided in his brother in this private moment. “I’ve been trying to change my way too, you know? There’s literally no way in hell I can find a way to balance being the leader of the Killjoy, and a father and husband to Masika and our children at the same damn time! I can’t emphasize enough how fucking impossible it is!”

“It’ll come down to choice, little brother. It always comes down to a single fucking choice.” Gerard told him with a shake of his head. He remembered wanting to combat the longing to have Frank and proceed on as a serial killer in a band of other serial killers. Stubbornness made him think he could have the best of both worlds only to find out he couldn’t. Frank wouldn’t have accepted him as a Killjoy, and so he had to make a choice. Continue to be a Killjoy and lose the love of his life, or give his life of bloodshed up and have Frank forever. Overtime, the choice became more and more apparent to him the longer they were apart. “If you haven’t made that choice yet, then the day will come when you have to.”

“I’m well aware my time is coming, big brother. Trust me, I know.” Michael conceded with him before looking him in the eye. “What I need to know is if you’ll be there for me when the time comes…when I’ll need you the most. I can’t have Masika getting harmed in any way, pregnant or not, Gee. You have to protect her for me in my stead like I would protect Frank for you. Understand me?”

“I’ll do better than that.” Gerard promised him, reaching out to take his hand in his to shake on it. There was no way he’d ever let his brother fight his own battles while he sat at home drinking coffee and reading a newspaper. As long as his brother needed him, he’d plan to always be there, former Killjoy or not. “I’ll protect her and come help you whoop some ass at the same damn time!”

“Even if it’ll make your husband mad that you’re choosing me over him?” Michael challenged him, curious as to how his brother would handle a situation like that if it came down to it. Gerard was literally whipped when it came to Frank. As in ball and chained, ‘locked up and throw away the key’ kind of whipped. If Frank simply asked his husband to make Pluto a planet again, by god, Gerard would find a way to do it or die trying.

“I’m hoping by then he’ll be fast friends with Masika so it won’t matter what the two of us get ourselves into when the time comes. He’ll be able to accept it easier and not put up much of a fight, maybe.” Gerard shared with a selfish shrug. A guy could hope!

“Well, even if Frank and I don’t ever become friends like you want us to, at least he’ll warm up to my girl.” Michael shrugged the possible future of his relationship with his brother-in-law off. He didn’t know if they’d ever be able to work out their differences in the end, but what he did know was that he’d never be out of his brother’s life. And when he finally met his nieces and nephews, he planned to never be out of their lives either. He would be the dutiful Uncle he should’ve been from the start, that he couldn’t be unless he also gave up his life as a Killjoy.

“Right? Thank god she’s so easy to get along with and isn’t as awkward as we are or else we’d be fucking screwed!” Gerard chuckled to himself, an elated grin on his face. His husband may be doubting Michael and Masika for now, but soon enough, he’ll be so engrossed in Masika that he won’t remember she was a Killjoy once upon a time.

Michael couldn't resist laughing along. “Masika will have your husband wrapped around her finger in no time, Iron Man, and likely will sprinkle in a good word about me from time to time.”