coffee dates and other things || frerard oneshots

coat and tie

The neck of his cello rested comfortably in the palm of his hand, the instrument vibrating gently as he carefully slid the bow across the strings. It released a low, mournful sound that drifted into the air like smoke and filled his room, reverberating in his bones with a familiar tingle. The tension in his chest and shoulders faded as he continued to drag the bow over the strings, moving his fingers to the correct places to change chords and adjust the sound. It rose and fell and swirled around him, filling his chest like a breath of air he hadn't realised he'd been missing.

He'd been dreaming about this all day, every class seeming to drag on the more desperate he grew for his beloved instrument. He'd fallen off his skateboard on the way home, having been too busy thinking about finger placements and chord names to pay attention to the pavement. Of course, his friends had laughed and shouted vaguely rude jokes at him as they rattled past on their own boards, but it was nothing Frank wasn't used to.

God, imagine if they found out about the cello.

He never had his friends over for that specific reason. Years ago he'd claimed that his mum just didn't want anymore teenagers in her house and they'd accepted that and since then, had never asked about coming over. Which meant they'd never seen his room, or the sheet music plastered over the walls between his band posters.

Part of him always wondered what the big deal was. Why it had to be such a controversy to be a skater and a cello player. Playing a classical instrument in an orchestra didn't minimise his ability to land tricks- but his friends were obsessed with their dumb masculinity. 

They weren't his friends though, not really, they were just the people he hung out with because they all skated. Other than school or the skate park, they didn't tend to hang out together much. 

Frank really only had one friend. 

He was first chair in the violin section and wore band shirts to practice and had the most incredible talent for art. He was absolutely Franks favourite person in the world, after his grandfather, and- he'd just texted.

The poetic groan of the cello came to a semi-abrupt pause as Frank felt the vibration of his phone in his thigh. Carefully holding the cello away from him, the skater slipped his phone out from under his leg and turned it on, smiling when he saw Gerard's name on the screen.

The violinist was asking if Frank wanted to hang out, but he'd added dorky instrument emojis afterwards which translated to - "do you want to play together?" which, of course he did. Quickly typing out his response, Frank threw his phone onto his bed to avoid any further distractions and laid the neck of his cello back onto his shoulder. With a slow drag of the bow, his room once again filled with the deep sound of his instrument, and his eyes fluttered closed.

When Gerard got there, Frank was too absorbed in playing to notice. Which Gerard didn't take offence to at all. Instead he quietly opened his case and pulled out his violin, delicately placing her on his collarbone and pausing, listening to what Frank was playing, before carefully lifting his bow.

When the higher tone of a violin joined his cello, Frank smiled, keeping his eyes closed as the separate instruments began to weave together. It was the piece they were learning for their recital at the end of the year, so it was very easy for Gerard to find where he needed to be playing as he looked over his friends shoulder and at the sheet music. 

It was a couple of minutes before they played the last notes, the air vibrating in the quiet. Frank blinked open his eyes and looked over his shoulder at Gerard. "Hi."

Gerard grinned, lowering his violin to his side. "Hey."

"How was school?"

He groaned, dropping down onto Franks bed dramatically. "Absolutely exhausting, I don't know what my teachers want from me. I show up, you'd think that would be enough!"

Frank laughed to himself, carefully standing up from his chair and laying his cello against it. "You do actually have to do the work Gee, you can't just draw in all your classes."

"I don't draw in all my classes-"

"Oh i'm sorry, all your classes except music."

Gerard was quiet for a moment, just staring at Frank, before sighing. "Okay, you've got me there. But what about you? How was your day?"

Frank sighed, ignoring the stinging in his leg from his fall on the way home. "It was alright I guess, got 98% in that test i was telling you about."

Gerard nodded, looking at Frank weirdly and making the other boy look down at himself. "What?"

"What about those friends of yours?"

Frank sighed again, walking over to sit next to the raven-haired violinist. "They're fine. Normal."

"I don't get why you hang out with them." Gerard was picking at his jeans. They were the ones Frank had helped him paint last weekend, the yellow sunflower on the knee already starting to crack.

Frank shrugged. "The same reason you hang out with all those art weirdo's- we have the same interests."

"Yeah, but my art weirdo's don't ditch class and make fun of me for getting good grades-"
"You don't get good grades." Frank interrupted with a sly smile.
"That is so not the point." Gerard laughed, shaking his head in amusement.

"They're fine Gee. I can handle them."

Gerard looked sceptical but relaxed when Frank leaned against him. "I just worry about you, y'know?"

Frank softened. "I know, but I promise I'm okay. If shit between us gets too bad though, I'll start eating lunch in the library again."

Gerard's shoulder moved as he wrapped an arm around Frank. "I guess that'll do."

Together, they both fell backwards, Gerard's fingers running up and down Franks arm subconsciously. They were quiet for a moment, simply basking in each others presence, and Frank felt himself smile when he remembered how they met.

"Welcome to your first band practice everyone!" Their conductor grinned, looking over the crowd of uncomfortable middle schoolers. They were all from from different schools, and different music classes, but Frank felt significantly more like an outsider due to the fact that he was the only one from his school. That, and everyone else seemed to be dressing the part, all decked out in their dress pants and button ups- meanwhile Frank was wearing skinny jeans and a black hoodie. 

"I know I'm missing one more person so we'll wait a few minutes, he's got an unfortunate habit of being late to every music lesson." There was no malice in the conductors voice, and Frank smiled at his knees. 

Somewhere in the distance, a door clattered, and Frank looked up with everyone else as someone came hurrying into the room, a violin case in hand. He was a bit taller than Frank, with fluffy brown hair and, much to Franks delight, he was wearing ripped jeans and an Iron Maiden shirt.

"Sorry for keeping everyone waiting!" He apologised brightly, quickly dropping into the seat across from Frank and clicking open his case. He looked up once he'd positioned his violin properly and caught Franks eye, grinning at him before looking back up at their conductor.

It was later, when Gerard dragged his bow across the strings of his violin for the first time, that Frank felt himself fall irrevocably in love. 

Gerard was another thing Frank kept hidden from his friends. He knew that if they couldn't handle the idea of him getting good grades, they'd never be able to handle the fact that he was dating a boy. 

"I love you." He murmured into Gerards shirt, feeling the steady rise and fall of the other boys chest. 

Gerard hummed happily and kissed the top of Franks head. "I love you too."