coffee dates and other things || frerard oneshots

hot and cold

soulmate au  -  you get warmer the closer you are to your soulmate and colder the further away you are from them.

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Gerard shivered and pulled his knees closer to his chest, wiping his nose on the back of his hand before adding another few messy lines to his sketch. Mikey was down the hall, talking on the phone while their mum was somewhere vacuuming, listening to Queen while she did so. He rolled his shoulders to loosen his movements and added a few more rough lines before tilting his head to examine his work. Gerard nibbled on his lip and decided it was coming along fine.

Now, he thought with a weary look towards his artliners. Line Art.

Mikey's voice faded in and out as he walked out of his room, across from Gerard's, and down the hall. A few moments later he heard the vacuum stop and murmured voices. He sniffled and carefully swept the artline across the page, watching the ink cover the messy pencil sketch and checking for any wobbles. So far, so good.

"You're brothers just gone out." His mums voice startled him and he looked up from his drawing to see her leaning against the door frame, regarding his room - or rather, his multiple space heaters and overwhelming collection of winter gear scattered over the floor - with a sad smile. He gave the room his own halfhearted glance before he looked back at her.

"Where'd he go?"
"Just into town- i'm actually about to head out as well if you wanted to come?"

Gerard thought about it and then looked down at his half-lined sketch. Maybe a break would be good. Besides, he needed a new sketchbook anyway. "Yeah, sure, just let me grab my wallet."

-

Later that night, Gerard woke up in a peculiar situation. His hands were feeling clammy beneath his winter gloves and he'd ended up having to take one of his jumpers off. He stayed up for the rest of the night, slowly peeling layers off until he was only wearing his track-pants, two hoodies and a pair of finger-less gloves. He tapped his pencil against his lip in thought, a weird feeling in his tummy. Gerard never felt stuffy. He was just... cold. All the time. In fact, he'd gotten so used to being cold that he'd forgotten there was a reason he'd be warming up.

By the time morning rolled around, Gerard had turned off some of his heaters, only leaving one running. His room had become stifling overnight, but now it was back to its regular, comfortable, warmth. Of course, for his mother, it was usually like a sauna so she was rather surprised to discover the sudden gentle touch to the heat. It was bearable for the first time since he was a kid.

"You okay bub?" She asked, watching her oldest pull on an oversized hoodie over less layers than he would normally be found in. He nodded, though his face was twisted into a look of vague confusion that Donna almost wanted to laugh at.

"Just got a bit... warm last night."

His mums eyebrows lifted in surprise. Gerard? Warm? The words just didn't seem like they belonged together after 17 years of cold.

"Pete says he's got new neighbours and his mum made him go over there with cookies." Mikey appeared in the doorway beside his mother, looking down at his phone in amused delight. Pete was Mikey's boyfriend, and he lived three streets down from their own house. Gerard snickered and walked over to his brother, leaning forward to read the text upside down, a talent he'd acquired from snooping in on Mikeys texted conversations.

"God i love his mum." He commented, as their own mother rolled her eyes and walked away, feigning offence.

"Oh, mum? Can you please make me coffee?" Gerard called after her, leaning past his brother to look down the hallway. She didn't say anything, but a moment later he heard her flick the kettle on. "Thanks! Love ya!"