Still Breathing

Untitled Part 3

Gerard woke up early, almost forgetting where he was. It still seemed so surreal to him, being hospitalized. He looked all around, Frank being the first thing he noticed. He was still curled up next to him, fast asleep and clinging onto him. It was endearing, really. He was loyal, more loyal than anyone he'd ever met. He figured Frank would make a great boyfriend to someone lucky one day.

Seemingly on cue, Frank's eyes fluttered open and looked around the bright room. His eyes dilated beautifully before he looked up at Gerard and grinned groggily. "Mornin', Gee." His sleepy eyes smiled as well, making his whole face light up wonderfully.

"Morning, Frankie." Gerard beamed back, ruffling Frank's messy, brown hair. He had refrained from dying it for a while, much to Gee's delight. He loved Frank's natural hair, it was softer and shinier than when he gooped it up with dye and hairspray. "Did you stay here all night?"

Frank nodded, moving his arms to stretch them above his head. "Mhm." He groaned, his back popping. "Full homo, but I couldn't leave you here alone, that would make me a dickhead friend." He giggled the familiar, dopey laugh that made Gerard's heart flutter.

"You're a dickhead anyway." Gerard laughed back, struggling to sit up without tugging at the IV. Frank shifted up to help him, propping him up on the already flat pillow. "Frank, kiss me."

The words stunned Frank for just a short moment, his heart seeming to stop along with time. "O-Okay." He nodded before leaning down, confidently pressing a kiss to Gerard's chapped lips. The heart monitor connected to the latter sped up, the beeping sounds coming rapidly. They pulled apart, only an inch, and smiled against each other. Soft, lighthearted chuckles left both of them for a second before Frank leaned back down and reconnected with him.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." Frank grinned, keeping himself close to Gerard. "Years, Gee. Years. I hadn't realized it until now... But I'm in love with you." The words came spilling out, faster than he could control them. He shut himself up finally, nearly shaking as he looked at Gerard. He hoped to god that he wasn't being weird, he didn't want to make the next six months awkward and uncomfortable for either of them. It sounded more romantic in his head, quite honestly.

Gerard giggled in response. "Do me a favor, Frank." He lied down, pulling the other boy down with him and wrapping his arms around him. "Make these next few months worth it. Okay? Because I'm going to miss you the most when I'm gone." He kissed Frank's forehead before smiling at him adoringly. After everything, all the trauma, he was beginning to accept that it was almost over for him. He was okay with it, he knew that rightfully, death is just a step along the way. But, in the meantime, he was going to make the best of this crazy coincidence of life.

The two boys were pulled from their thoughts when the nurse from the day before came into the room. "It's moving day!" She said with seemingly false enthusiasm before explaining that Gerard was going to have to be taken to a different hospital. This was obvious anyway, but Gerard was irritated. He swore the next place better let Frank stay with him, especially that he was going to be on chemo to keep himself up for as long as possible. To Frank's dismay, he had to get out of the uncomfortable bed to help Gerard stand up and get ready.

He could have stayed there with Gerard all day, just holding him and talking about how much they meant to each other. In fact, he would have enjoyed that a lot. He looked over at his best friend and sighed. He looked so bad, he wasn't himself. Despite it, he was going to stay with him until he left first.