Calibrations

California 2019

At last, Figment was back in 2019. He looked around the room, admiring his shelves of comic books and action figures, and he heard Frank's dogs and the soft sounds of an acoustic guitar welcoming him back. He was home, he was safe, and he felt like he could be himself once again. There was no need for a nickname here. Here, he was just Gerard.

Gerard headed toward the living room, the guitar sound growing louder with every step he took. He glanced at the clock, and he saw that he was twenty minutes early. He hadn't quite made it to the right time, but he was close enough. All he had to do was wait, and everything would be right in the world again.

He entered the living room, and Frank was there, practicing his guitar. He stood in the doorway for a while, listening to his boyfriend's beautiful melodies. Over the course of his time travel adventure, he'd met versions of Frank from every era, and he loved them all, but he still thought the Frank that was right in front of him, working on a new guitar riff, was his favorite.

All of a sudden, Frank looked up and put his guitar down. "Hey Gerard," he said as Gerard sat down on the couch next to him. "I thought you were in the office. You were working on setting up your time machine, or something like that."

"Actually, I just got back," Gerard explained.

"How did it go?" Frank asked.

"Everything went according to plan," Gerard said. "I found all of my past selves, we kept you from dying in the crash, and we all got home safely." He paused and then added, "I don't know how you put up with me in the past though. All of my past selves were really fucking annoying."

"You know, even in your worst moments, you were still creative, sweet, and beautiful," Frank said as he cuddled up next to Gerard. "You still meant the world to me, no matter what."

"Sometimes, I seriously question your taste in men."

"Oh, come on," Frank said. "You know I love you."

"I love you too, Frank," Gerard said. "Now and always."

They kissed, slowly and passionately, and Gerard felt like he couldn't get enough. Even after over a decade together, he still felt sparks every time he was around Frank. So much had changed since they'd first met, but Gerard doubted that the way he felt about Frank ever would.

When they finally pulled away from each other, Frank said, "You look kind of tired, Gee. Do you want me to make you some coffee?"

"Yeah, that would be great," Gerard said. He took off his watch, transformed it into a coffee mug one last time, and handed it to Frank.

Frank got up and went into the kitchen to make some coffee, while Gerard lay down on the couch and closed his eyes. He was still trying to process everything, all of those old memories he'd relived. More than anything, he was glad to be home, to be back in his own time, to be with Frank again.

Frank came back with a mug full of steaming hot coffee, and he gave it to Gerard. "Thank you, Frank," Gerard said as he took a sip. It was just the way he liked it.

"You're welcome," Frank said as he sat down next to Gerard and rested his head on his boyfriend's shoulder.

"So what are we doing tonight?" Gerard asked as he took another sip of coffee.

"I think we have band practice later," Frank said.

Gerard smiled. He couldn't wait to see Ray and Mikey, to perform with them, to make music again. Back when he'd first started dating Frank - it felt like forever ago now - he'd thought that being in a relationship with him would tear the band apart. He thought My Chemical Romance would turn into Fleetwood Mac, but it never happened. He and Frank were still together, still hopelessly in love with each other, and the band was closer than ever.