ghosts and cigarettes ; frerard

we'll fly home [epilogue]

mikey still haunted gerard sometimes.

sometimes, he would wake up in the middle of the night, screaming his little brother's name.

sometimes frank wasn't there to comfort him.

most times, though, frank was there- there to hold gerard in his arms as he cried and shook with the grief of his little brother, screaming words frank had never heard before in his life.

that still happened, even three years later. gerard would still sometimes have nightmares and then shake frank awake, eyes scared and brimming with tears. frank, without hesitation, would pull him into his arms and kiss the top of his head, feeling the other boy's heart beating fast and strong against his ribcage.

most of their days together, however, weren't so full of tears- a lot of their time was sitting against gerard's bed, sunlight filtering through the small window at the top of the wall, passing a joint back and forth and lazily kissing each other whenever they so desired. either that, or gerard and frank working together at the tattoo parlor where frank started working after mikey died. frank practiced his tattooing on himself most of the time, and on fruits that gerard would pick up from the nearby grocery store.

they lived together now in gerard's small basement room. frank still frequently visited brian at his coffee shop and the little room upstairs. it was now brian's room because, little did frank know, brian had been sleeping in a small storage room adjacent to the kitchen. no wonder frank had never been allowed in brian's room.

"gee?" the nickname had stuck throughout the years together. frank had stopped using it for a while, thinking they had both outgrown it, but one night gerard brought up the fact that he missed the name and the next day, frank only referred to him like that.

gerard glanced lazily over at the tattooed boy sitting next to him on the bed, naked except for the boxers he wore over his pale legs. he himself was almost completely naked as well, though he wore only a shirt, his entire lower half exposed. the sun had not yet risen and the room was dark in the way 5am was dark- a hazy purple, grainy vision, and streaking lights from cars outside in shades of eggshell and crimson.

"yeah, frank?" gerard drawled, tiredness slurring his words. frank only held up a joint in response, a plain black bic lighter in his other hand, thumb playing with the ignition. gerard smiled as an answer. frank held the joint up to gerard's lips and flicked the lighter, the end of the blunt glowing with fresh fire. gerard inhaled the familiar thick smoke and leaned back, taking the joint into his own hands now and letting the smoke out of his nose.

frank only watched with wonder at the boy in front of him, somehow making what he was doing look elegant even though there was nothing elegant about the situation.

he observed as the taller boy held the joint up to his thin lips, face slack with relaxation. the first rays of the sun filtered through the window, it's brilliance muted by the early morning dew in the air. the sun struck gerard's face and lit up his skin, making it glow along with the tip of the blunt, illuminating all of his curves and his slants. his eyes turned a sharp green with the light filling them, making them shine as much as they could while full of smoke from the weed.

frank thought it was the most beautiful thing.

before gerard could breathe out the thick smoke, frank leaned over and kissed him, letting the taller boy exhale the smoke into his own lungs. he let the smoke out of his nose and continued to kiss his boyfriend, now clumsily clambering on top of his legs so he could straddle them. one hand weaved into the thick strands of gerard's hair, and gerard's fingernails scratched at frank's neck, leaving angry red lines that made the tattooed boy look startlingly pale in contrast.

they broke apart, saliva stringing between their lips, breathing hard. frank looked into the other boy's eyes, who's pupils were blown out with lust and the high of the weed. frank plucked the joint from between gerard's fingers and held it up to his lips, still straddling him. he inhaled deeply, holding the thick smoke in his lungs for a couple beats before blowing the smoke into gerard's face.

"i love you," gerard said, eyes still wide from the high, lips playing into a smirk.

frank smiled back, smoke furling from between his lips.

"i love you, too."

-

a lil epilogue type thing to leave it on a better note since everyone kept complaining.

x,
c.