TONIGHT WE'RE GOLD

THIRTY-NINE

'Good morning, sunshine!'

It's still too early, Frank think as soon as he opens his eyes. He sees Gerard sitting there, holding a Starbucks coffee and a muffin. 'What time is it?' he asks, his eyes not quite open yet.

'Five minutes 'til seven.'

'And why are we up so early?'

'We're going on a road trip.' Gerard can't even contain the excitement.

'Where?'

'It's a surprise. Now get up and get ready.'

He pulls the blanket, leaving Frank exposed, and causing him to yell. 'I'm cold!'

'I don't care, we need to leave. It's a six hour drive.'

Frank has no choice but to get up, angry and cold and walks to the bathroom, completely ignoring his husband, who just laughs at the tantrum, and continues putting all their stuff back in their bags. Five minutes later, Frank walks out, having brushed his teeth and his hair is semi decent. He grabs his jeans, which he must have taken off at some point in the middle of the night, and puts them back on. 'Let's go, then.'

They get their stuff in their rental car, and drive off. Gerard does the first half of the drive, considering Frank hasn't woken up yet, which also means complete silence except for the radio. They stop at a café for breakfast, and it's until then that Frank finally says something. 'So – where are we going?'

'It's a surprise.'

'Then how am I supposed to know where to go?'

Gerard hadn't thought about that, and now he looks disappointed. 'Oh – I guess you're right.' Frank just laughs. 'Fine. We're going to Napa. Kind of like a honeymoon.'

'What? Are you kidding me?!' Frank says excited.

'Surprise!'

Frank gets up from his seat, not caring if he gets looks from people, and plants a kiss on his husband's lips. 'Have I told you how much I love you?'

'Yes, but please keep saying it.'

'I will. I fucking love you.'

***

Soon, they're on the road again, and Frank puts on his punk playlist to stay awake while he makes the rest of the drive, and keeps eating chocolates.

'So –,' he starts. 'Last night was fun.'

'You enjoyed it?'

'Hell, yeah! I mean, I enjoy seeing your dreams come true more than anything. Even though you made it way before I showed up, I like being part of it.'

They joke about the episode they watched, and Frank not getting some of it, but he promises to read the comics. At some point, Gerard is the one who falls asleep in the passenger seat, so Frank follows the GPS, until they arrive at the destination.

It's a winery.

Frank knew that would be the case if they were going to Napa, but he doesn't want to mention. He knows Gerard doesn't mean any harm, and he doesn't want to ruin the surprise. They park outside the resort, a fancy mansion in the middle of the vineyard, and Frank takes a deep breath before waking him up. 'Honey, we're here.'

Gerard opens his eyes, and still half asleep, he helps Frank with their bags. In the meantime, Frank doesn't know if he should be mad at him, but he knows Gerard would never do that on purpose. Someone probably recommended him the place and he thought why not. So he just walks in and follows Gerard to the desk where he's checking in. 'Room for Iero-Way,' he tells the lady, and she quickly gives them their keys, and tells them how to get to their room.