Biblical-Sequel to TMIAA (Frerard)

23: Keep Your Friends Close And Your Enemies Closer

Frank landed toward the front of the large group of angels and demons that had flown out to halt Lucifer's approach before he could get into the main part of the camp, his knees aching a bit from the force he had hit the ground with, but he was too pent up to be graceful at the moment.

They had chosen to stop at a raised rocky area that overlooked the beach, which would force Lucifer and his troops to position themselves on the sand below, giving them a serious disadvantage if a fight did indeed break out, but knowing Lucifer, he wouldn't let that slow him down much if he was truly determined to reach them.

Bob stood stiffly on Frank's left, his hand still clutching at his weapon as he glared at the rapidly approaching demons. Brendon and Ryan were also close to Frank, both of them looking grim and tense, which was an accurate representation of most people present.

Frank turned away from the horizon for a moment, meeting Gerard's eyes before motioning him to move forward so he could stand next to him, his face scrunching up in a quizzical expression when his husband shook his head vehemently in response, even going so far as to back up as much as he could without bumping into the row of people behind him.

"Baby...come here, there is plenty of space," Frank spoke in a hushed tone of voice, not wanting to disturb the heavy blanket of silence that was smothering their group with an intensity that felt almost sacred.

"Frank...I - I don't want to see him, I can't do this," Gerard whispered softly, his body trembling erratically even though Frank could tell he was trying to hide how much this was affecting him beneath his arms which were crossed over his chest.

"You don't have to be afraid Gee, I swear to god, I won't let him touch you this time."

"I know, but I - if I see his face, it will make me remember everything, and I can't...I'm so fucking scared," Gerard admitted, his gaze roving everywhere except toward the group of demons that were drawing closer with every passing second.

"It's okay love, I've got you." Frank pulled Gerard into a fierce embrace, allowing his husband to bury his face in Frank's shoulder as he exhaled heavily.

A part of Frank wanted to take Gerard away from Lucifer, to hide him somewhere that the one-time angel would never be able to find, but at the same time, he couldn't stand the thought of giving Lucifer the satisfaction of knowing that he had run off and cowered at the mere thought of him, and he wasn't going to let Gerard out of his sight for a second.

"I'm sorry," Gerard whimpered quietly. "I shouldn't be this fucked up, I mean - it happened ages ago, but sometimes it still seems like it was yesterday that I was trapped in the Wastelands with him."

"Baby," Frank choked out, his own emotions going haywire as Gerard began to sniffle quietly, "don't apologize. I won't force you to stay if this is too much for you, in fact, we can leave right now, just say the word."

Frank immediately pushed his stubborn pride away, because Gerard was more important than presenting a brave face in front of Lucifer, and Frank did empathize with his husband. Although they hadn't seen Lucifer in over fifteen years, with the way their memories had been restored, they hadn't been given any time to process or move on from the physical and mental wounds they had received back then, they had just stuffed them away in the dark corners of their minds to be dealt with at a later date, so it wasn't a surprise that Gerard was starting to snap under the strain.

"I'm okay," Gerard finally spoke after a brief period of nothing besides shaky breathing and whispered words of comfort, his hold on Frank loosening slightly. "Can I stay behind you though? I'll head to the back if it gets to be too much for me."