"Yeah, sure..." Rick walked to the door and opened it, staring at Hanson hard. "I'll keep that in mind. You have a nice rest of your day now, officer."
Hanson grumbled, frustrated, as he walked towards the door. He glanced back at Avery once before leaving. "Don't let him do something stupid." He said.
"I'll do my best." Avery said softly.
Hanson nodded then exited the apartment. Rick slammed the door after him, then mumbled something under his breath that Avery couldn't quite make out.
"Weren't you a little hard on him?" Avery asked.
"Not at all." Rick told him. "The cops around here are about useless. If they'd done their jobs Mikey wouldn't be out right now and we wouldn't even be having this conversation."
Avery sighed as Rick sat back down next to him. He didn't want to argue with Rick. He didn't have the strength to argue, or think, or feel. It seemed like all of his emotions had suddenly went on overload and short circuited. It wasn't just finding out that Mikey was out but a combination of that and the up coming concert. The news of Mikey had been what finally did it though. Avery was holding on by a thread before, but after Hanson's visit that thread had finally just snapped.
Avery didn't blame Hanson though, or the police department. He knew that they had done what they could. Rick was just frustrated. The last thing either of them planned on was Mikey being able to post bond, but it was what it was. It didn't mean that they'd lost anything. He'd still go to trial, and he'd still lose. Then he'd be out of their lives for good. Avery had faith in that. After everything he'd already been through, things had start looking up. They just had to.
_____
Rick didn't know what to do. He felt totally useless at this point, like he'd lost the ability to protect the man that he loved. It was a terrible, sinking feeling, like a dark cloud over his head and an impending storm that he couldn't escape from. He hated that Mikey still had this kind of power over him and Avery. He hated that they couldn't walk five feet from their front door without being afraid; and he hated that each and every time he left Avery alone he was terrified that he might come home and find him missing again. Rick knew that if Mikey got to Avery again, he wouldn't leave him half alive in front of some hospital. If Mikey got to Avery again, he'd never be found at all.
That was what scared Rick most of all, that Mikey might actually get the chance to finish what he started. That kind of fear was so crippling and so intense that it could inspire things in a person that they might never have felt or even thought of before. Rick wasn't a violent man, not really, but the fear of losing Avery made him seriously rethink his own moral constitution. What was considered unacceptable in normal circumstances was beginning to seem more reasonable in the current situation.
The police obviously weren't going to do anything. Rick couldn't rely on them for protection anymore than he could rely on them to keep that bastard locked up until trial.
So, that left the question, if the police weren't going to do anything who would? And, how far was Rick willing to go to keep Avery safe?
These questions rang in his mind as he entered shaggys that Friday before the big battle. He knew it was going to be a battle in more ways than just one and honestly, he still had no idea how they were going to pull it off. With Mikey out and about he was sure to be back with screaming metal and they would be there preforming right before Desire went on. How could Rick expect Avery to sing now, knowing that Mikey was going to be there?
Avery on the other hand was less worried about it than Rick. At least, if he was worried, he didn't show it. Fuck Avery was brave. Rick thought to himself. How someone could go through what he'd gone through and still come out on top, he had no idea. It's like there was something inside of that kid that just refused to let anything stand in his way. Something inside of him that kept him going through anything, through any obstacle, no matter how hard things got, he pushed through and refused to give up.
Rick admired that so much in Avery. He admired his strength as well as his heart and most of all, his determination. Avery was a fighter. There was no doubt in anyone's mind about that.
Even if Avery himself didn't see it, the others did. He inspired the same in them as well. His fighters spirit was something that gave strength and courage to those around him. Whether he saw it or not or was even aware of it, Avery was the foundation on which the band was built. He gave the others hope and inspired greatness in each of them.
Rick wasn't entirely comfortable with leaving Avery alone but Kat had offered to stay with him while Rick went to Shaggys. Trash had gone with him, giving Kat and Avery time to have an unofficial "girls day". What that meant Trash wasn't sure. He figured they'd probably do each others nails and watch sad movies. The fact that Avery had a penis didn't exactly cement his place in the proverbial "man's club". More times than not he was actually more like a girl than a guy. It wasn't an insult, just more like fact. That was Avery and everyone accepted it. In some ways, it was even a bit endearing.
Rick could honestly have cared less if Avery was male or female. Gender wasn't a condition upon which he based his love for him. It helped to have the physical attraction and there was no issue at all with that. Avery was dead sexy and Rick couldn't get enough of him. Sure he was a bit apprehensive at first when he thought about what it would be like, being with a guy. It was more or less just knowing what was acceptable, and how to respond appropriately. Rick's only real sexual experiences had been with women and he was uncertain of how to act with another man when it came to the romantic stuff.
Surprisingly though, he discovered that it really wasn't all that different. Not saying that Avery himself was more female than male because he wasn't, not really, he was more of an equal balance of the two. But, being with him emotionally was really no different that any other relationship that Rick had had in the past. The struggles they faced at first was Rick wondering who should open the door for whom and who should pull out who's chair. Thankfully though Avery had no issues with allowing himself to be somewhat pampered, he even seemed to enjoy it, and so the roles within their relationship were quickly defined.
Though Rick really didn't like when someone questioned them, who's the man and who's the woman, and he was certain that Avery disliked such questions as well. They were both men and they had an equal partnership in the relationship. It was unfair to define one as the weaker sex or the stronger one because in reality, even straight relationships don't always follow such norms. Avery didn't really see the need for labels anyway, nor did he like to be defined.
True he was slightly more effeminate than Rick, and there was no denying that he looked better in a dress, but that didn't automatically mean that he had a vagina. He just wished more people would realize that when speaking to him. There was nothing about him, or inherit in his personality, that made him weaker in any sense. That's not to say that women are weak either. Kat certainly proved that when she beat the shit out of Mikey.
When it comes right down too it, it's what is in the heart of the individual that defines who they are, if they must be defined at all. Gender, sexual orientation...none of that really plays a role in deciding what type of a person someone will become, and it shouldn't be a deciding factor in how they will be treated by others.
That was what Rick had learned since meeting Avery. Everyday was a new learning experience for him and everyday he found himself growing as both an individual, and as a lover. Rick wanted to spend his life with Avery. He knew that now more than ever. The very thought of losing him only made him want to hold on that much tighter. Avery was smothering though, Rick could see it. He knew that he had to loosen his grip a little. Just enough to give Avery room to breathe. He could shelter and protect Avery all he wanted but he couldn't force him to live in a cage. As much as that thought had its appeal, Avery couldn't survive that way.
Rick needed help. He needed advice. And the one person who's advice he trusted more than anyone else was Boomer, his surrogate father. If anyone could lead Rick in the right direction it was Boomer, so Rick had called Trash and Kat and asked for their help as well. Kat to stay with Avery, so that Trash and Rick could visit Boomer without Avery worrying about what Rick was up to. It wasn't that he wanted to lie to Avery, he just felt that Avery was better off not worrying about things. That's where Kat came in. Her job was to keep his mind occupied with something other than Mikey and his untimely release from lock up.
While Kat and Avery were busy doing whatever it was they had decided to do, Trash, Rick, and Boomer, would see to the more pressing issue at hand. What to do about Mikey, and how to keep Avery safe when they all showed up together at the band stand where Rick knew that Mikey was sure to be, ready to take one final stab at destroying Avery and crushing Desire. Rick already knew that he would be willing to do whatever it took to get Mikey out of their lives for good. Even if that meant killing the bastard himself. Rick only hoped that if worse came to worse, Avery would understand, and not hate him for what he felt he had to do.
_____
"Personally, I think you're blowing the whole thing out of proportion." Trashed picked up the half empty bottle of beer and downed the rest of it in one quick, gulp. "Mikey's nuts but he's not stupid. He's out on bond, he won't fuck up or he'll end up right back behind bars."
