Frerard OneShots (finished)

XLVI - Soda

[in this oneshot, it's G coming out to F as nb so they/them pronouns for G and both are 14 or something years old anyway enjoú]

Frank sat on the couch in the Way house, right next to his best friend of nine years. They watched some stupid series neither could name the title of; but they didn't have to, because they just wanted to make fun of the people.

"This is stupid," Gee said, throwing some of the popcorn at the screen, "I don't like that guy, he's weird."

"He's the bad guy, you're not supposed to like him, idiot," Frank said, laughing at his friend. He picked his can of soda up from the table while Gee pouted, then he noticed that it was almost empty. "Hey, Gee, can you get me a new soda?" He asked, elbowing them in the ribs.

They seemed to snap out of their thoughts and hummed in confusion, then instantly mumbled a 'yeah, sure' and got up to walk to the kitchen.

Something was wrong, even Frank noticed that. Usually, Gee would tell him to get whatever he wanted himself; after all, he had known the family for so long, this was his second home.

And when Gee re-entered the room; nose and eyes red and with tears filled, he knew something was definitely wrong.

"Shit, Gee," he said, rushing over to them and wiping the tears away with his sleeve, "what happened? Shit, what did you do? Do you still have all ten fingers?" Frank rambled, taking one of their hands, counting the fingers, and then doing the same to the other hand.

Gee chuckled through a few hiccups, wiping at their cheeks with their free hand. "No, I- I'm fine, Frankie, thank you."

He looked them in the eye for a moment or two, then slowly shook his head. "I don't believe you. What is it?"

Instantly, they got sad again and held onto his hand for dear life. "I'm just- I'm going through something right now."

Gingerly, he tugged them back over to the couch and sat them down. "But you don't have to go through it by yourself- you know I'll always be by your side, don't you?"

Again, they sniffled but sent him a small, tired smile. "Thanks, Frankie."

"You're welcome," Frank wiped the last tear from their cheek, "and this is clearly upsetting you, so please tell me?" Slowly, he rubbed his thumb over their knuckles. "If you want to, of course."

Silently, Gee nodded and let their gaze drop into their lap. "I think it's a good idea to tell you but I'm-" they glanced up at him nervously, "I'm scared, Frank."

Now, he knew this was deadly serious.

He gripped their hand tighter. "You don't need to be scared, okay? I've been with you for nine years and I'll stay with you for more."

Again, they sniffled, then held the pinky of their free hand out. "Promise?"

"Promise." Frank linked his pinky with theirs and sent them a smile that they returned hesitantly. "So?"

"I-" they took a deep breath, "Frank, I don't think I'm a boy."

"Oh," he let out a breath, "so, you- you're a girl, then?"

Instantly, Gee shook their head. "No, I don't think I'm a girl, either. It's- I don't know, Frank," they looked up at him, tears threatening to spill again, "I don't know, it's probably nothing- I'm probably just a boy with some weird way of thinking-"

He gripped them at their shoulders. "Gee, stop," he said firmly, "this is not 'nothing', it's a part of your identity. So, of course, it's important. Okay?" They sniffled and nodded. "Good. It's gonna take a while until you figured everything out but I'll be by your side all the while, okay? Until then; Do you want me to use they/them pronouns when referring to you?" Again, they nodded. "What about your name? Do you want me to call you by a different name?"

"Yeah, I- I think that would be good," Gee trailed off at the end but looked up when he took their hand again. The genuine smile on his face lifted a weight off their chest and they felt like they could finally breathe again. Instantly, they pulled him into a hug and held him so tight, they thought they had broken at least two of his ribs. "Thank you, Frankie."

With a small smile, he patted their back. "You're welcome."

"And, Frankie?"

Their words were muffled and shaky and Frank thought they'd say something along the lines of 'I love you' or 'thank you for staying with me' what made his heart leap in his chest.

What they actually said caught him even more off-guard.

"I'm sorry I didn't get you a soda."

[also i'm working on the short story for I Don't Think We Should See Each Other Anymore and i have like 4 chapters+ the prologue finished but im kinda drunk rn so i'll publish that later, cheers my dudes, have a good day]