Work Text:
One night after Miles went to bed, Alex stared at himself in front of the bathroom mirror, trying to see himself as others saw him.
During lockdown, he had let his hair grow out, as well as his beard and moustache, to the point that he had begun to look 'like a bloody pirate,' in the words of a bloke from Lincolnshire who had sent a DM to Matt on Instagram.
Alex didn't have anything to do with social media, didn't want to, but Matt did, and seeing that there was no other real way to get in touch with him, some of Alex's more ardent or vocal fans communicated with him through Matt.
If one could even call them 'fans.' Alex couldn't understand the whole mad obsession some folks had with the Arctic Monkeys in general, and himself in particular. Who he was seeing, snogging, sharing a bed with.
He had an old-fashioned notion that his private life should be just that. To a degree he appreciated the interest in his more mundane, quotidian affairs, but at a certain point the fixation and apparent lack of interest in the band's music and work on the whole sickened him.
"Ey up, what're you doin'?" Miles yawned and turned on the light. "Here I thought maybe the food was a little off and had given you the runs or summat."
Alex laughed and looked over his shoulder. "No, not quite. I only had some rice and a few dumplings, Mi. You're the one who ate them pork buns. How'd they turn out, by the way? Are you alright?"
"Yeah, grand. Thanks for asking." Miles covered his mouth and yawned. "So, what are you doing? I'd still kind of like to know."
Alex tilted his head to the side. "Do you think I look like 'a bloody pirate'?"
Miles blinked and shook his head, surprised. "No way," he said stiffly. "Why would you ask me that? Who told you that?" His tone was firm, bordering on anger.
"Oh, just a fan. A lad in year 10 from Spalding. He sent me a message through Matt's Instagram. Said he's really into rock n' roll, admires me for stepping up to be the Monkeys' front man, 'in spite of my introversion,' and concluded with a bit about me looking sorta piratical, 'worse than I had done since the release of our last album.' Ha, ha." Alex felt giddy when he spoke.
Miles narrowed his eyes. "Some 'fan.' What a…" He pressed his lips together, as if to calm down. "Wait, you said he's in year 10? Using words like 'introversion?' And he wrote to you through Matt's Instagram? Bollocks."
He cupped the back of Alex's neck in his hand. "You're right to stay away from that social media shite. We can't really be too angry about something a 14-year-old lad said. Good grief, do you remember being that age? Me balls had just dropped, and me mum let me stay up till half 10. Boy, those were some crazy times."
Miles sighed and rubbed his forehead. "If it's really summat you're going to obsess over, sit down. I'll find a razor and some scissors and take care of it."