BEING EDITED - Remove the dark - Frerard

Five

Just after Mikey had entered the bathroom, the frontdoor gently closed after Gerard entered the studio apartment in his white button up, tie, jeans that (surprisingly) aren't ripped and the white converse he purchased especially for this occasion. I put the glasses I'm holding in the sink and make my way over to him.

"Welcome home," I wrap my arms around his waist and give him a soft peck on his lips. During the embrace I can feel the buckle on the back of his waistcoat came loose once again, as it has every day for the past three days. I offered him to sow it stuck so it'd stay in place, but he declined. "How was your third day teaching, Mr. Way?" I send him a teasing smile.

Happily unaware of his brother's presence in the bathroom, he replies by saying "You only get to call me that in the bedroom, sir." I smirk at the thought of another sexual encounter with this magnificent man. When I want to retort with a comment that's edging on sexual, the bathroom door unlocks and Mikey stepped out.

"I heard that," he grumbles. "You're telling me not to sleep with Alicia after one week, but you're screwing him after two days? Man." He has a slightly amused, but mostly unimpressed look on his face as he walks over to the couch and makes himself comfortable again.

A few minutes of silence follow in which Gerard stares at his brother uncomfortably, Mikey is comfortably scrolling through his Twitter feed and my curious eyes are looking back and forth from them, eagerly taking in the situation.

Finally, Gerard speaks up. "So. I see you two met?" his voice sounds rough, like he actually needed to scratch his throat before speaking. Mikey lets out an amused snort.

"Yeah, auntie said you permanently declined the offer of staying at hers so I thought I'd check in on you, see how things are with the new job."

"Good! Really good. Sorry I haven't been in touch with you as much as I usually am, I've been busy with preparing lessons and maintaining this almost-one-week relationship." He adds the last part proudly. "The kids are incredibly nice to me, but they are still feeling me out, see how much of the school rules I know and if they can get away with making up new ones." He drifts off, thinking about his students and thinking of what to expect from tomorrow's classes. Apparently he's one of two art teachers of a rather large school and each class has art once a week. He has a pretty full schedule, almost constantly teaching from 9 to 4. The first and last classes are always the most difficult, he tells me. Suddenly, he pipes up again. "Mikes, do you want to have a pizza-Friday here this week? You can bring Alicia." I give him a confused look. "Pizza-Friday is when we eat pizza on the couch, watch cheesy romcoms and make snarky comments." he explains.

"Oh, that sounds like fun!" I exclaim excitedly.

"Alright, G-bear." Mikey immediately grabs his phone and texts Alicia to inform her. I make a mental note of the nickname and store it for later use. A few minutes later, we get an affirmative reply. Pizza-Friday is on.

After a few more minutes of talking and getting to know each other, Mikey announces his departure. Gerard's hopping in the shower after having hugged his brother good-bye, to refresh quickly.

As soon as we hear the water running, Mikey starts talking to me. "Frank, I very much appreciate you for being in my brother's life. He seems happier than he has been in a while," he says in an incredibly serious tone. "But he hit a dark spot recently, and he's still recovering from it. I don't doubt you've heard what happened with your father recently. G's incredibly delicate and I'm afraid he'll crack again, soon." He looks very serious, worry clear in his eyes and in the wrinkles on his forehead. "Please, be gentle with him and take good care of him. If you're ever lost, I beg you, contact me." I nod in reply, he gives me a manly bro-hug and we, too, say our good-byes.

The rest of the evening is spent making dinner, making lesson plans and making out. Evening well spent, I can tell you. Though for the rest of the following days, Mikey's words kept echoing through my head.

***

Finally, Friday rolls around.

Gerard comes home from work later than usual, picking up four pizzas on the way here. When he does finally enter, rather clumsily, he's holding four steaming cardboard boxes and wearing a big grin on his face.

Before he came in, I got to know Mikey a little better and he introduced me to his (now official) girlfriend, Alicia. They met at the Starbucks where she works as a barista. She's a cool kid, proper taste in music and a seemingly good match for Mikey.

The pizzas are gone within minutes, all four of us starving after all having had shifts at work and the movie, Legally Blonde, is surprisingly good and empowering. The Way tradition is to make snarky comments all throughout, but Elle working hard to achieve her dreams and then not even wanting the man she worked so hard for anymore was a real power move.

Having Alicia and Mikey over in the studio was incredibly fun, but after this week I just had, I was exhausted and glad to see them leave. Seeing them leave meant that I could strip down to my boxers and crawl into bed. As soon as Gerard returns from walking them to the downstairs frontdoor, he joins me. He has bags under his eyes and looks utterly exhausted. Teaching is hard, but going full time in your first week is just rough. His lips meet mine and I feel the lustful hunger behind them. Any other day, I would take it, but not today.

"Can we please just sleep?" I ask him, actually suppressing a yawn. He gives me a quick peck on the tip of my nose and then my forehead. He quickly pulls back and looks at me, exasperated.

"Frank! You're burning up!" Ah good, now I've seen both Way brother worried. They look the same. I'm quickly tucked into the bed and given some paracetamol and water. He gives me tiny kisses again and again, asking me why I hadn't told him I was ill. To be fair, I get ill so often, I'm used to coping with it and keeping it under the radar. After I've assured him I'm okay, he strips as well and gets comfortable next to me.

When I asked him about it, later that Saturday, he told me he slept heavenly well, but from being awake most of the night due to a headache, I knew that he was awake, too. He was holding me and one of his cool hands was stroking my hair. It wasn't until 3am when he finally fell asleep.

***

Saturday morning I felt a lot better already. When I woke up, the separation curtain around the bed that was usually always open - honestly, I never use it, but it came with the studio and I'm not supposed to alter things that were already there - were drawn shut and I heard some mumbling voices from the living room area. Next to me, a pyjama set neatly folded on the pillow. Gerard's voice was one of the two I heard, the other a woman's. I slipped into the pyjamas and walked out behind the curtain, stretching my back on the way to the sink.

After having downed a glass of water and having my head feel a little clearer, I turn around There's a woman with dark hair and red lipstick sitting across from Gerard. She has a beautiful face, good posture and a slim figure. She shoots upright when she sees me and gives me one of the most polite smiles I've ever seen. "Hi! I'm Lindsey Ballato, Gerard's fellow art teacher." she introduces herself. I give her the nicest smile my sleepy face can muster and introduce myself as well.

After she lets go of my hand, I look over her shoulder and meet Gerard's gaze. "I'm hopping in the shower." I tell him. "Feeling better yet?" He asks me, looking worried again. The terrible night sleep and full-time work week has really taken a toll on his face and the circles beneath his eyes are darker than ever. "Very much, all thanks to your great care." I tell him. I turn to Lindsey again. "It's incredibly nice to meet you."

After this week and last night's fever, a shower has never felt this good before. I hear laughter from the other room and I'm glad to know Gerard gets along so well with his co-worker, but the happy thoughts are quickly droned out by my worry. Business at Annie's isn't what it used to be and the only customers we really get are in the morning rush. It's not enough to keep the business going. And Mikey's warning has been zooming around my brain a lot as well. What if Gerard's job gets the better of him and he gets a burn out or goes dark again already?