Envision The Magic [Frerard] [By innocent_wolves on LJ]

Chapter Thirteen

The next morning Frank stayed in bed for almost an hour after his alarm clock had gone off, just staring up at the wiry bottom of the empty top bunk. His shift didn't start until five in the afternoon, but as he was lying there and listening to the distant engine hum, he didn't really feel like leaving the cabin. The faint noise was enhanced by the total quietness of the room; no one was flushing the toilet, no one was rummaging about or getting dressed, no radio, no TV. All he could hear was the sound of being at sea. If he had been the only one aboard, this was the kind of silent noise he would have been left to deal with. That absurd thought sent a sudden jolt of needless fear through his chest, but it only took him a second or two before he realized that he was actually appreciating that feeling. That would've been kind of nice; to be completely alone on a cruise ship in the middle of an ocean somewhere. It would probably get a little boring with time but he'd certainly have something entirely else to worry about for a change.

His trail of thought carried him back to the real world and then slightly back in time, to the night before. He thought about Gerard standing in front of him, that sad figure that hadn't looked like Gerard at all. Imagining that scene still made his heart beat with some strange kind of bitter undertone, a dull pain that was hard to understand. Had turning him down been the right thing to do when he'd been pouring his heart out like that? Frank rolled over on the side, the bunk creaking. He stared out of the small porthole, seeing nothing but bright blue sky. Okay, so maybe it had been a dick move but he'd told himself that enough was enough.

And he stood by that, he really did; Gerard had been doing his own weird version of cry wolf all along, playing with all the levels of a person's emotional scale. He'd gone from making fun of him to kissing him. He'd been angry and threatening and sarcastic. He'd ignored him completely. He even left, with no warning whatsoever. In other words, he'd been acting ridiculous all along, and to top it all off, he had decided to turn everything completely around by saying he was truly sorry. The worst part was that he looked like he meant it.

Frank wasn't sure about anything and in the end it all boiled down to just that. He wasn't sure if Gerard was doing these things because he simply couldn't make up his mind, or because something was wrong with him. Maybe something in him had broken at one point, making him unable to act like any other rational, sensible person would; maybe this was, in his eyes, what it was like to be sensible. For all he knew it could all be just another trick; he certainly couldn't be sure that it wasn't. The guy was a good actor, he'd said so himself. Frank sensed how a wave of irritation washed over him and settled in his gut. He wallowed in that feeling for a while, allowing it to spread thoroughly, before he balled his hand into a fist and turned around to give his pillow an annoyed punch.

"Goddamned idiot," he muttered to himself. "Why are you making things so fucking difficult?"

He fell back against his pillow again and dragged his hand across his face. He didn't know who those words had been aimed at; Gerard or himself. Frank didn't have trust issues, but then again he was just a human being; wasn't every human being afraid of getting hurt? If he was to make a wild guess, he would guess that he just wanted to be able to put his trust out there without having to worry about any possible cuts and bruises. If only he could be sure.

He sighed. More than once he'd caught himself wishing that he'd fallen in love with Lisa instead. That would still have been a problem but somehow it just seemed like an easier one to solve. It was another one of those If only's in his life. But of course, of all the people in the world he had to go and fall for someone like Gerard Way. It didn't matter how angry or hurt or disgusted he was with him; he had fallen, there was no point in denying that. He could crawl his way back up if he wanted to but that would take him ages. It was just the aspect of being unsure that kept dogging his steps, keeping him from accepting the fact that he was stuck being in love with someone he didn't know if he even wanted to waste any more feelings on.

Frank went back to staring thoughtfully at the bunk above him. Somewhere deep inside he'd thought, maybe even hoped a little, that the love for Caden could replace what he felt for Gerard, but it didn't change anything. That was a different kind of love. His son had his own unique spot in his heart, nobody else could touch that. Still, just because that spot was already taken didn't mean that all the other places were heavily guarded; with a few clever combination guesses, anyone could get access, and Gerard was in the process of locking himself in. That didn't seem very surprising when he thought about it. When it came to love, you could have endless amounts of it to share. He guessed it was true that love was a fickle whore.

***

Before lunchtime, Caden spent a couple of hours at children's camp. Frank decided to ask Lisa if she wanted to grab a cup of coffee in the meantime. They were standing on the top deck and leaning against the railing when a bolt of warm wind swept down and grazed their heads. Frank looked up, squinting at the sun. Because of job opportunities his father had moved the family from Jersey to Miami while Frank was just a kid, which meant that he'd never been used to snowy Christmases. Still he truly wondered how this, a tropical Caribbean Christmas, was like for the guests who actually came from places where they were used to cold winters.

"Hey, did you stop wearing your piercings?" Lisa asked, interrupting his holiday musings. "You don't put them back when you're at home."

Frowning, Frank reached up to trace the skin below his lips, and he could feel the slightest trace of a bump where the hoop used to be.

"Yeah, I guess I did," he replied, slightly surprised at the fact that he hadn't taken the time to notice that. "I must've outgrown them," he added. "I don't really miss them, to be honest. One less thing to worry about."

For about half an hour the two of them continued to talk about everything and nothing, touching upon all those empty nonsense topics that didn't get them anywhere, which was pretty much just another way of beating around the bush. Frank glanced at Lisa; she didn't quite look herself. It seemed like the closer they got to the end of the week, and the more waves that were crushed underneath the ship's belly, the more she allowed herself to become worried. And he knew what she was worrying about; he was worried too.

"What are we gonna do, Frank?" she asked in the end, looking at him with a tentative smile that quickly faded. Her hands were cupped around her coffee and the warm breeze passed them by in rough punches, weaving in and out of her hair. "What happens when we get back home? Christmases and birthdays are one thing, but what are we gonna do about the rest of the year?"

"Good question… " Frank stared out across the ocean, sucking on his lip and absent-mindedly twisting the lid on his coffee cup. "I honestly don't know."

"I think Caden's expecting you to move in with us," she then added. "He's been asking whether or not you're actually coming home for Christmas."

Frank looked away, feeling a little uncomfortable; he knew this was eventually going to be an issue. "I can't… I can't actually live with you guys. And I love you both," he added quickly, "I really do. It's not that. I just don't think we can have that normal family life. We can't live together as Mom and Dad if we're just gonna be, y'know, friends."

He shrugged awkwardly; the words felt harsh no matter what he added to them. Lisa looked down at the water far below, her elbows resting on the paint chipped railing.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. 'Friends' is all we'll ever be anyway, I figured as much," she said, nodding. "And I totally agree with you of course. We can't force anything more out of this. I just don't know if Caden understands that."

"I really meant it when I said I loved you both," Frank repeated sincerely, suddenly afraid she would think he was going to disappear. "I'm not leaving or anything."

"And I don't want you to leave," she said quickly. "I really want you around and Caden definitely wants you around. I'm just worrying about all the arrangements, that's all – you know, with weekends and family gatherings and all that. I don't like the idea of splitting things up but I really can't see any other way to do it." She sighed. "It's gonna feel like we're just another divorced couple. It'll look like it, at least."

"Yeah," he muttered, nodding. He gazed at the horizon. "I don't like it either. But I'm sure we'll figure it out and just... get used to it. After all, we got this far."

They stood there in silence for a while, just admiring the view and sipping their coffee. It took him a while but eventually he noticed that Lisa was looking at him, a crooked smile playing at the corners of her mouth. She cocked an inquiring eyebrow at him.

"What?" he laughed.

"You're not really here right now, are you? You seem a little more distant than usual… I don't know. It's like you're thinking about someone else." Then her eyes widened and she grinned knowingly. "Wait, you're thinking about a girl, aren't you? Frank, did you get a girlfriend?"

Frank pulled a face, moving uncomfortably on the spot. Was he really that obvious?

"Not exactly. But yeah, you're kinda on to something." He turned his back on the sea, regarding the guests enjoying themselves by the pool. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back to feel the sun on his face. "How do you girls usually say this… Oh yeah; there's this guy…"

He left his sentence suspended in midair and opened an eye, giving her a sideways glance. He smiled slightly. It took Lisa no more but a split second before she caught up and her face lit up with comprehension.

"So you mean…?" Her eyes were urging him to confirm her suspicions before she actually said it out loud.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I mean," Frank admitted, his ears burning slightly. "I don't know, I do like both. Kind of. At least I've told myself that I like both," he corrected, sighing. "I think I have preferences though."

For a moment, Lisa almost looked offended by the fact that he hadn't told her before. Then she started laughing.

"Okay," she giggled, shaking her head. "Honestly? It's not like I can say that this was completely unexpected or anything; you sure enjoyed testing the waters back in high school as far as I remember. I also remember that you sometimes had the tendency to be very thorough. I thought that was just you going against the currents though. For whatever reasons I always figured you'd eventually end up with a girl."

"Hey, I still can," Frank shrugged. "There's a lot of untested water out there. I didn't say that this was it."

"But that's what it feels like, doesn't it?"

"Yes… And no. I don't know." He hesitated, rolling his eyes. "I can't believe I'm saying this – but it's complicated."

"Well?" Lisa gave him a nudge in the ribs. "Tell me who it is! Do I know him?" she added, and her voice suddenly dropped, like she was afraid someone might be eavesdropping.

Frank told her that the person in question was actually the one who had tried to make a move on her in the bar the other day. Then, before he could stop himself, he started filling her in on what had happened between them since he started working for Envision, about everything they'd been struggling with over the past few months. Finally, he told her what had happened last night. It was strange but as he was talking, Frank felt immensely relieved. To begin with he wanted to leave out parts of the story but soon realized that it felt good to confide in someone, so he poured his heart out. He hadn't really been aware of how much this had been weighing on him, how much it had been gnawing away on his mind, before he actually started talking about it.

When he was finished, Lisa had folded her hands around her coffee cup, her fingers intertwined as if committing to a silent prayer. She looked at him, slightly worried.

"You think the two of you will be able to work it out? Despite everything?"

"I have no idea," Frank sighed, shrugging again. "I still need to figure him out. I don't get him sometimes."

"What I don't get is why the both of you keep complicating things," she replied bluntly, and she suddenly sounded impatient, even a little angry with him. "You have a right to be skeptical and all, but who knows? He might be for real this time. Either way you'll both be miserable if you keep this up. You told him you wanted to stay sane for Caden's sake and that you couldn't deal with heartbreak. Well, maybe you already are heartbroken, Frank. Maybe you're just making it worse. Give the guy a chance. I think that's what you really need to do."

"But you have no idea what he's actually like," Frank replied, getting slightly defensive. "And I have tried giving him a second chance."

"Sounds to me like you haven't. If you had given him a second chance you would have handled last night differently; you wouldn't have turned him down. Some people just need to be given the benefit of the doubt before they start pulling themselves together."

He bit his lip thoughtfully. There was no doubt that he was annoyed with what Lisa had said, but that was just because he knew she was making perfect sense.

"Okay," he sighed eventually. "Maybe you're right. Either way, the whole thing is fucking stupid and pointless. I should just talk to him."

"I think you should," Lisa agreed, nodding. "From what you're telling me, the two of you are obviously crazy about each other. I can't see why else you guys would bother going through this crap."

Frank could feel himself staring at nothing and zoning out a little as he was trying to imagine how that would play out. He wasn't even sure what he was supposed to say. How would you start a conversation like that anyway? With an "I changed my mind" or an "I was wrong"? Both sounded equally awkward. A rough, short gust of wind ran through his hair, yanking him out of his contemplation, as though reminding him that there were other things to deal with first.

"Well, Gerard will just have to wait for now," he added at last, almost as an afterthought. "Caden's our main priority at the moment. Obviously we're gonna have to do like you said; live like most divorced parents do, except that his family will be way different from everybody else's. I mean, his Mom might get a new boyfriend but that goes for his Dad as well. Caden's in that awkward situation of having two possible stepdads; he's definitely not gonna have a typical nuclear family. What we need to figure out is how we're supposed to explain that to him."

For a second or two, Lisa just looked at him. Then she reached out and squeezed his hand. "You have no idea how happy I am that you're Caden's Dad," she said gently, an expression of genuine sincerity on her face. "Really. You have no freakin' idea. Of course I've always thought he was a beautiful person, but now that he's got an actual father in his life he's just blossomed so much. I think boys his age needs a father to look up to and I couldn't have dreamed of anyone better to take that place. You said you were new at being an adult and everything but you know what? Most adults aren't even like you. I bet someone with twenty years of experience in raising children couldn't have been better than you. I just wanted to tell you that," she added, giving him another smile and a half-shrug. "You should know that you're amazing."

Frank didn't know how to respond to that at all. His throat closed up tightly, an immediate lump forming in his windpipe, and he didn't dare open his mouth to speak. He was sure that if he so much as parted his lips his reply would come out as something unintelligible, squeaky and high-pitched. In the end he just reached out and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I'll talk to Caden afterwards," he muttered into her hair.

"Are you sure?" Lisa pulled away slightly, looking at him. "Because I can go with you?"

"Nah." He shook his head. "You've done everything else alone so far, so let me handle this one. I think you should take some time off and relax; go check out the spa or something. Don't forget that you're here on vacation. Let me worry about Caden."

***

It was right after lunch and the cruise was about to arrive at Philipsburg, where everything was set for shore excursion and a waterskiing Santa show. Frank picked Caden up at the camp and discovered that the boy was still bubbling with an enormous amount of energy; he kept running and skip-hopping three steps ahead of him, and more than once he forced Frank into a jog just so he wouldn’t lose him out of sight. He knew Caden had to eat something but at the same time he didn't want to waste any time on making him sit still. In the end he took him to the diner's kitchen instead, where he'd gotten to know quite a few employees over the months; that place was noisier and filled with a lot more action. Besides, he knew it wouldn't be difficult to find someone who was more than willing to fix his son a quick sandwich.

After Caden had proclaimed that he was full, he wanted to check out the top deck. Frank went willingly along with that request, thinking that maybe the view of Philipsburg in the distance would provide him with some inspiration on how to draw his son a good enough portrait of his possible future family.

"Hey, Caden," Frank began, having no idea how he was supposed to approach this issue in a way he would understand. Sure the kid was quick and grown-up for his age, but there were always limits. "Dad needs to talk to you about something."

Caden didn't respond; he'd lost some of his energy now, starting to look a little tired. He was leaning his forehead against the top metal bar of the railing and peering curiously down at the deep blue mass beneath them. He clutched the middle bar carefully with both hands while his feet were planted firmly on the ground. Frank was proud to see that the boy had listened to him when he'd strictly told him that none of the railings aboard the ship were for climbing.

"Moms and Dads usually live together. And you know that, right?"

"Uh-huh," the boy nodded.

"Well, sometimes…" Frank continued. "Sometimes they don't."

"I know that, too," he replied, still not looking up. "Like Thomas in my class. His parents won't live in the same house. They're…" He paused, searching for the word he was looking for. "Thomas says they're sep-rated."

Frank felt slightly relieved; at least now he had a somewhat clearer picture of his son's knowledge about this.

"Okay. Well, it's almost the same thing with your Mom and me," he continued tentatively. "The reason why I haven't moved in with you guys yet is because we're not going to live in the same house. We'll be separated."

This time Caden took his eyes off the sea and looked up at him with a mild sense of wonder. He squinted against the sun, trying to find his father's face in the bright light. It made him look utterly confused and Frank felt how his heart immediately received a stab of pure bad conscience.

"Why?"

He'd dreaded that question. That simple why. And this why in particular broke his heart. He knelt down to get on the boy's level, looking into his big, hazel eyes. It was like staring at a much younger version of himself.

"Alright," he said. He put his hands on Caden's shoulders, giving him a sincere look. "Before I tell you why, you need to know that I might say some things you're not gonna like. So if you get angry or annoyed with me, you just let me know and I'll try to explain everything a little better. Can you do that?"

The six year old regarded him contemplatively. Then he nodded a couple of times, looking slightly wary.

"Good," Frank smiled. "I'm not going to live with you guys because your Mom and I, we don't love each other like Moms and Dads should."

"Why not?"

"It's been a really long time since I talked to your Mom. You know how when you guys came to visit me the first time, I almost didn't recognize her? And you know that I didn't know who you were? Well, sometimes, when grownups don't talk for a while, they forget about each other. And sometimes, things happen in the meantime. It doesn't mean that they stop being friends, but when they meet again, it's just not the same anymore."

"Is that what happened to you and Mom?" Caden asked, searching his face.

"That's right," Frank nodded. "When you get older you'll understand what I mean a lot better. But for now, all you have to know is that Mom and I are good friends, even though we don't want to live with each other. And just because I can't live with you guys doesn't mean that I don’t love you."

"I know, Dad," he nodded earnestly. "And it's okay. You have to live on the ship, too, and you're away a lot, but I think you have the coolest job of all the Dads in the world."

Frank laughed. "You really think so? Well, when I get back we're still gonna hang out and do lots of super cool stuff, right?"

"Yeah!" the boy grinned. "You and me, Dad."

"You and me, buddy," he repeated, beaming back at him and reaching out to ruffle his hair.

Caden laughed, his face shining gleefully. Then his expression changed and took on a shade of seriousness, making it seem like he'd remembered something of a far more troubling nature.

"But… when you're not on the ship and when you're not with us, you'll be alone," he frowned, and for a moment he looked worried. "I don't want you to be sad."

"Awh, Caden." Moved to the very depths of his heart, Frank couldn't help himself and spontaneously pulled his son into a hug. "I'm not sad or anything like that. I'm very happy. I got you, remember?"

When he let him go, Caden still looked a little skeptical.

"Yeah, but you're alone. It’s sad that you don't live with anybody when you're not with me or with Mom. No one's gonna be there when you go home."

"See, that's just the thing," Frank began, hesitating slightly. "I don't think I'll be alone. Maybe I'll live with someone too."

"Who will you live with?"

"Okay, uhm." He bit his lip, realizing that he was suddenly approaching the most complicated issue. "Sometimes, a girl can love another girl, and a boy can love another boy, just the same way Moms and Dads do. And, uh, sometimes, children can have two Moms or two Dads. But there's nothing wrong with that. It's okay to be with whoever you like."

Frank almost expected the boy to react with "yuck, cooties!" or something like that and pull a face at him, but instead his face lit up.

"Hey, Dad – guess what?" he exclaimed, his voice reduced to an excited gasp. He drew his breath, eager to let him know what was on his mind. "Once, I was at a birthday party for a boy in my class – his name's David – and when we were at his house his big sister was there too, and she had a girlfriend. Someone asked her how come she had a girlfriend and not a boyfriend, because it was weird that she'd have a girlfriend when she was a girl too, and then she said that sometimes faces can work like a spell on people, just like in fairytales. She said that falling for the spell is the same thing as falling in love. And Dad – it can happen to anyone because you don't get to decide for yourself who it's gonna be. That's why sometimes, boys and boys are together and girls and girls are together, because that's just the way the spell worked. It's just different, that's all."

Frank stared at him, caught in a moment's loss of words. It was so strange to hear all those sensible words come out of the childish mouth of a six year old. It made perfect sense; falling in love was the result of a spell cast by someone's face. How come he hadn't thought of an explanation like that? Whoever this David kid's sister was, she was a genius.

"Oh." He blinked, surprised. "Okay, well, uh… David's sister is totally right," he added hurriedly. "Totally. That's exactly how it works. And I think… that maybe I fell for a spell like that. But the spell didn't come from a girl."

Caden seemed to give this some very thorough consideration.

"So are you going to have a boyfriend instead of a girlfriend, Dad?" he asked.

Frank simply nodded.

"Are you going to live together with him? Is that why you won't be alone when you go home?"

"Maybe," he replied, shrugging. "We'll see. We're still just friends."

"What about me?" Caden then continued. "Am I gonna have two Dads?"

"Hey, don't forget that I'm your Dad," Frank laughed, amused by how genuinely puzzled his son sounded. "But maybe you can – "

He was about to suggest that 'uncle' or 'stepdad' could be suitable alternatives for this 'other Dad', but he was interrupted by a shadow that suddenly appeared beside them and blocked the sun out.

"Hey, guys," a voice said, and they both looked up; Caden just turned his head automatically towards the sound, while Frank immediately recognized the voice.

Gerard was towering over them, his thumbs hooked in the pockets of his worn jeans. He had a dark blue and white leather jacket on, zipped halfway up over a grey t-shirt with an unintelligible red print. He reached up to remove his aviator sunglasses and hid them in his inner pocket. It was like a real blow to Frank's stomach when he realized how effortlessly gorgeous he looked; he stood there as though he was an anime character and rock star crossover, just waiting for a set of photographers to come running and take his picture. He looked infinitely better today than he had yesterday.

"Gerard," he said, nodding shortly at him as he got to his feet. He wasn't quite sure how to acknowledge his presence, so he chose the formal way.

Caden edged slightly away, reaching out and grabbing his father's leg in a one-armed embrace. He was retreating back into his usual shyness, like he always did when complete strangers were involved. He peered up at Gerard and the familiar look of suspicion clouded his face. Frank put an arm around the boy's skinny shoulders.

"Who's this little fella?" Gerard asked, tilting his head at Caden and smiling questioningly.

"Come on, buddy," Frank said gently. He gave his shoulder a careful, encouraging squeeze. "It's okay to tell him your name. Let's not be rude."

One half of the boy's face was in the shadows, while the other half was bathing in sunshine, one big, hazel eye turning slightly amber. He wasn't responding, but then again he wasn't shaking his head either.

"Caden," he eventually replied shortly, after another moment of hesitation.

"Caden? Wow, that's a pretty cool name," Gerard said. "Sounds like a real rock star name, if you ask me. My name's Gerard, which isn't that cool, so if you like you can just call me G."

Frank could feel the corner of his mouth twitch in an upward motion, creating a little smile on his lips. He couldn't help it.

"G's actually a magician," he told his son, playing along with what Gerard had started. "Maybe he can show us a trick?"

He looked inquiringly at Gerard, who slightly raised his eyebrows at him. Is that a challenge? he seemed to ask. Nonetheless he shrugged and began searching through his inner pocket. At last he pulled out a pen.

"Okay then," he said, kneeling in front of them. "Let's see."

Caden was still clinging to Frank's leg but he watched Gerard curiously, his eyes darting from his face, to the pen in his hand, and then back to his face.

"You like comics, Caden?" Gerard asked him. "Did your Dad tell you about X-Men yet? Or maybe you're too young for that?"

"No, I'm not," the boy insisted, almost indignant, replying more properly now that they'd touched upon a topic of interest. "I like comics, and Dad likes comics too. And X-Men is on every Sunday morning; Mom says it's okay for me to eat breakfast in front of the TV on a Sunday, so I can watch it," he added, as if he really wanted to confirm once and for all that he wasn’t too young for X-Men.

"Oh, so you watch the cartoon, huh?" Gerard replied, sounding a little impressed. "That's great, then you know who Magneto is, right?"

Caden nodded yet again. He edged a little closer this time, still making sure that he didn't let go of Frank's leg, although his grip had loosened considerably.

"I actually got magnets in my hands," Gerard admitted, with the world's most convincing voice, as if that was just natural for some people. "So I'm kinda like Magneto, but mine aren't very strong. Plus I can't actually control electromagnetic fields, like he can. Okay, so it doesn't really make me like Magneto at all, but anyway; what I can do only works on small things, like this pen."

The boy's eyes were wide open and shiny, looking like little marbles. He seemed awed by the fact that a little piece of super villainess was possibly kneeling right there in front of him.

Gerard carefully put the pen on the deck floor. He let his right hand hover above it, spreading his fingers wide, while his left hand was grabbing his right wrist. He pressed his hand down gently, and as he lifted it up again, the pen appeared to be sticking against his palm, almost hovering stiffly above the ground. He shook his hand slightly, demonstrating that it was indeed stuck. For a moment, Frank wondered how he did it, but then he noticed that the hand clutching his wrist was missing its index finger. Since he knew Gerard had all his fingers intact, his missing finger had to be what kept the pen in place. It was a simple trick but his hands were skilled. He did everything so subtly, quickly and with such a convincing facial expression of concentration that it all looked real. It actually looked like it cost him a considerable amount of energy to do it.

Caden was buying it, one hundred percent. He had let go of Frank's leg completely and was staring at the pen, fascinated.

"Wow," he whispered, tilting his head in a curious manner, "how did you do that?"

Gerard suddenly let the pen go, pretending that his magnetic powers were suddenly failing. The pen fell to the floor with a sharp clatter and the boy almost jumped, surprised.

"I told you I had magnets in my hands," he winked cleverly, hiding the pen away in his pocket as he got up. "But as you can see, they're getting kinda rusty. What I'm really good at is finding things though, like this."

He reached out towards Caden's ear, and when he pulled back he was holding a card in his hand.

"Whoops," he exclaimed, pulling a face and acting like he'd actually found the card sitting somewhere in the boy's ear. "That wasn't what I was looking for, I'm sorry. Best put that back where it belongs…"

His hand brushed the child's ear again and the card vanished. It made Caden giggle, and Frank couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction.

"Okay, wait," Gerard frowned. "Nobody move..."

His eyes were scanning the empty air, pretending that he'd spotted something whizzing around his head, like an invisible mosquito. Then he suddenly slapped his hands together, making both Caden and Frank twitch with surprise.

"Gotcha!"

He smiled satisfactory as he parted his hands, revealing a coin in his palm. It gleamed in the sunlight and Frank was relieved to see that it was just a regular dollar and not one of his custom made phone number coins.

"It's not much, but these ones are real fast and not easy to catch," he said, throwing the dollar up in the air before catching it again. "I've knocked it out though, so it won't go anywhere," he added, placing the coin in the boy's small, cupped hands. "Here you go."

"Wow, thanks!" Caden responded, holding the money as though it was a national treasure. He beamed up at him; he was definitely over his skepticism now, his entire face radiating with boyish admiration. He almost had stars in his eyes.

"Sure thing," Gerard grinned. "Hey, I think there's a vending machine with toys down at the other end of the pool. I bet with a magic coin like that you might get a toy you like. Maybe you should check it out? Oh, but you better be quick," he added seriously. "That coin's gonna come back to life any second."

Caden turned to Frank and grabbed his hand, tugging at it excitedly.

"Dad, can I go find it? Please, please, please?"

"Yeah, you can go find it," Frank nodded. "Just get back here when you're done. Don't play around by the pool or anything – watch where you're running, okay?"

"Okay!"

He smiled as he watched him run off. Then he turned back and shrugged apologetically at Gerard, who responded with a facial expression that seemed to say Kids, huh?

A hesitant and slightly awkward silence settled between them. Frank wanted to tell him thanks and that he really appreciated that he'd been attentive towards Caden, but he wasn't quite sure how to form the words. At the same time he was a little suspicious; he had no idea what had made him perform those magic tricks. Strictly speaking, this was hardly considered Gerard's style; he hadn't exactly pictured him as a very child-friendly person. Again, Frank felt he couldn't be too sure; he almost found it necessary to be aware of some possible hidden agenda. However, doing these things for Caden was cool of him. He also wanted to apologize for last night and tell him that he knew it couldn't have been easy for him to come clean like that. To people like Gerard, acting humbly was almost the same as embarrassment. Maybe he deserved to be given the benefit of the doubt this time, like Lisa had advised.

Just as Frank opened his mouth to speak, a young woman suddenly approached them, killing his sentence off before it even reached his lips.

"Gerard Way…" she began, a hint of a smirk attached to the corner of her mouth. "What a pleasant surprise." The tone in her voice indicated that it was no surprise at all; pleasant maybe, but not surprising. It was apparent that their paths had crossed once or twice before.

It seemed like both Frank and Gerard had fallen into the trap of outright staring at her. Then again, she really was a head turner. There was an exotic touch to her appearance; something Western Asian, maybe. He didn't know. Either way, she was like a walking magnet for long gazes.

"What?" The woman smiled wryly at Gerard, an unlit cigarette dangling between her fingers. "You forgot my name already?"

"Tara," he replied immediately, and the slightly breathless tone in his voice caught Frank's attention. He glanced at him; judging from the look on his face it seemed like he was finding himself face to face with someone he hadn't seen in a while, and hadn't really expected to see again. "I had no idea you were on this cruise. It's – it's been ages."

"Obviously," she snorted sarcastically. "What's wrong with you anyway? Still feeling bad about ditching me?" She arched a perfectly drawn eyebrow at him. Then she smiled again. "Now don't just stand there like some idiot; be a gentleman and take care of this for me." She nodded towards her cigarette.

"Well, excuse me and my surprise," Gerard retorted and reached into his pocket, pulling out his purple lighter, "but I haven't seen you in – what? – a year? Two years? And don't say I ditched you," he added, giving her a sideway glance that said her comment had been un-called for. "I didn't, and you know that."

Tara put the cigarette between her lips and leaned forward, her dark, chocolate brown eyes fixed on Gerard's face during the quick second he spent to light it.

"Oh, I know, honey," she grinned, and as she straightened up she sent a cloud of smoke towards the sky. "I just love the look on your face whenever I claim that you did."

"I thought you were in Paris?" he continued, ignoring her last statement. "You said you were better off managing your perfume business from there?"

"So you remember that, huh? No, business can take care of itself right now." She shrugged indifferently. "It's Christmas; people buy perfume like crazy when it's Christmas. I figured I'd take a break and as I was looking at brochures, I realized that a cruise vacation had to be… perfect."

"You look good, Tara," Gerard said earnestly. "It's nice seeing you again."

She smiled at him, taking another drag of her cigarette. Frank moved awkwardly on the spot, unsure whether he should be leaving them or not. It appeared Gerard had forgotten all about him standing there. He wanted to clear his throat and remind him about his presence, but couldn't bring himself to do it. He suddenly realized that Gerard was actually talking with a woman who reflected his own personality, spot on; this definitely wasn't one of the easily impressed girls he usually seemed to go for. Their little conversation looked like a strange and subconscious battle for dominance which Gerard eventually allowed himself to lose.

"So, are you busy?" Tara looked at him questioningly.

"Oh, right..." It finally seemed to dawn on Gerard that Frank was still standing there. "I was just talking to my, uhm… friend here."

She flashed a look at Frank, regarding him with no apparent interest, as if she'd just noticed him. Then she raised her eyebrows at Gerard, something in her eyes saying Okay – and so what? She was clearly signaling that the conversation with Frank was over and that she certainly wasn't going to leave without him.

"Uh, Frank," Gerard began awkwardly, "would you mind if I just – ?" His voice trailed off as he gestured at some vague spot behind him, indicating that he was leaving.

Even though he had to admit to himself that he was slightly offended, Frank picked up on the hint. There was no point in arguing or making this moment more awkward than it already was. Besides, she was a guest; it didn't matter if he was off duty or not, she still had the upper hand.

"No, not at all," he replied, immediately putting on his work mask and smiling politely at the both of them. "I have to find Caden and get ready for my shift anyway."

Gerard bit his lip hesitantly and for a moment it seemed like he wanted to add "See you around", but he swallowed the words in the last minute, leaving it at that.

As he made his way over to the vending machines, Frank glanced over his shoulder. It went unnoticed; Gerard had put his sunglasses back on and was cupping his hand protectively around the flame of his lighter, with a contemplative frown tending to the cigarette he'd put between his lips. Then Tara hooked her arm into his and he turned around, allowing himself to be led away.