Baby, You're a Haunted House: A Multiship Fic

Chapter Thirty

Hi! Yes, it's been a year since I updated bc school and personal life got really hectic, and my interests have changed a lot since I started writing this as a 14 year old! Anyways, here's the conclusion and I hope y'all like it! Have a lovely day!

It was 4am and Gerard couldn't sleep, as usual. 
Someone was on his mind. 
Someone whose guilty tears and heartbroken face was burning in his recent memory. 
Of course, he should've been sleeping, but instead he decided to make a quick call. 
"H-hello?". 
"Hey, Patrick?". 
He flinched as he heard a tearful gasp from the other end.  "Gerard! Look, I'm so so so sorry! I should've told you about Pete and Mikey, a-and then maybe all this could've been avoided-". 
"'Trick, it's okay.  It's okay, I promise.   Look, please don't blame yourself for this, yeah? You're doing your best for everyone else, but you're being really hard on yourself about this". 
"Your brother could've died, Gee. And it would've been all my fault," Patrick replied shakily. 
"It wouldn't have been.  And he's not dead, so that's a plus!".  Gerard sighed a little before continuing, "Just, I know we haven't really been close friends for that long, but I know how much you try to be a parent for everyone else.  Frank constantly tells me that you're, like, his second mom.  But I wish you could forgive yourself and treat yourself nicely like you do to everyone else, okay?". 
He could hear Patrick crying before he whispered, "Th-thank you.  That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me. D-do you want some cookies tomorrow?   They're chocolate chip, Frank says those are your favorite". 
Gerard laughed and replied that he would love some, before hanging up and curling back up next to Frank in bed. 
Now...now everyone was gonna be okay.

The grey-pink sunrise ushered forth an eerily familiar late-autumn chill that whistled through the trees and sent shivers through Gerard's body as he begrudgingly walked to school, his hoodie wrapped tightly around him. Part of him regretted wearing such a short skirt on such a cold morning, but he knew the look on Frank's face was going to be worth the goosebumps.
Mikey, after spending his weekend crying and blaring sad music from his bedroom, seemed much more bubbly, more so than he'd been in months, excitedly telling Gerard about the new comics he'd convinced their mom to  buy the other day.
"And they have some really cool art! It kinda looks like the stuff you like to draw!" he was saying.
Gerard laughed lightly, his breath visible in the cold morning air. "I doubt I'll ever draw anything as good as that, much less ever make a comic that cool". He stopped in front of Frank's house, and gestured toward the dark haired boy waiting on the porch. "Frankie! Over here!" he called out loudly, grinning broadly as he waved.
Breaking into a bright smile, Frank ran down the driveway and into Gerard's arms, burying his face against his neck.  "I missed you so much, Gee".
"Frankie, I missed you too but isn't your dad right there?" Gerard whispered, his voice low enough so only Frank could hear him, suddenly remembering all the times Frank refused to hold his hand or even make any kind of suggestive eye contact with him until they were away from the porch where his dad watched them walk down the block with a judgmental eye. 
"Hmm...I don't care anymore," Frank replied, turning around to wave at his dad, who'd decided to lean against the threshold of the front door, observing the boys with a forcibly calm expression, before they began to continue down the street. "My mom gave him a talking-to while I was at the hospital with you and Mikey, and he's trying to be chill about the whole thing. He's definitely pissed, but he's going to deal with it, whether he wants to or not, cuz this is just who I'm going to be".
Gerard gazed down into his boyfriend's eyes. The barren grey branches above them were reflected in them, pierced only by a few tears glittering against Frank's lashes.
He's so beautiful, isn't he?
"And I love you so fucking much for that, y'know?" Gerard beamed, pulling Frank in for a kiss against his cold, blushing cheeks.
"Damn, cute skirt, by the way. Hey,  do you want to finish what we were doing on Friday?" Frank muttered mischievously, smirking and nudging Gerard.
"Wait? What were you guys doing on Friday?" Mikey chimed in as he jogged to keep up with the older boys, sounding surprised and mildly mortified.
"Shut up, Mikey," Gerard replied, flushing.
"I mean, you looked stunning in those thigh highs, Gee...".
"What?! You stole Mom's clothes again?!".
"You shut up too, Frankie," Gerard mumbled, playfully shoving Frank away, feeling his face heat up despite the chilly air and turn a bright pink.
Frank rolled his eyes, crinkling his nose at Gerard and squeezing his arm. "Anyway, how are doing, Mikey? Is your arm healing up alright?".
Mikey shrugged, showing off the cast that Gerard had spent the weekend doodling on. "It's okay. Doesn't hurt as much as it did a couple days ago, but kinda sore, I guess".
Frank offered a sympathetic smile, replying, "Ugh that sucks. I almost got my ribs broken, y'know? That also happened to be the first time I kissed your brother". 
Gerard couldn't help laughing as he watched Mikey pull a face of mock disgust.
The boys walked up the back steps of the school, and, upon noticing his little brother's dramatic change in expression, the way his eyes widening with a sudden longing as he hugged his books close to his chest and shrunk into himself as he walked, a concerned Gerard pulled away from Frank to lean against Mikey. "Hey, you okay?".
Offering a curt nod, Mikey responded softly, "Y-yeah. It's just, I miss sitting here with Pete before class. I miss it so much. I miss him too. I just don't miss what he did". Gerard looked up just in time to see Pete standing against the building, taking a drag of a cigarette with a bitter expression on his face, before he turned and disappeared into the sea of students.
"I know, Mikes, but it's going to get easier. And, if he ever breaks your heart again, those guys over there will definitely break his arm," Gerard added, pointing to the motley group of boys sprawled across the stairs, all of whom seemed tired but pretty happy with each other's company all the same.
"Frank! Gee!" Brendon called, turning away from the group, and Ryan, who was sitting in his lap, deeply engrossed in his book, and excitedly ushering them over. "And Mikey! My boy! We missed you!".
Gerard looked over at Mikey, wincing at how sad and lost he initially looked, as if he didn't recognize his friends.  Then, Mikey finally let out a heavy sigh and offered a tiny smile and shy wave as Josh ran over to tackle him in a hug. 
"Be gentle with him! He's tiny and fragile!" Patrick cried out from the stairs, rushing to pull Josh away before he accidentally shattered Mikey's other bones.  Tyler, on the other hand, was laughing unabashedly as his boyfriend's excitement. 
A delicate kiss from Frank and the sound of his brother finally laughing again was enough to finally pull Gerard out of his thoughts.
And there they all were. 
A bunch of broken kids who still managed to find and save each other in their own little way. 
Kinda beautiful. 
"It's kinda funny, isn't it, Frankie?" Gerard asked after a second of silence.  "We're all full of ghosts and demons and shit, and yet we're still all here for each other despite them". 
"Heh, you think I'm full of ghosts?" Frank laughed, wrapping his arms tighter around Gerard's waist. 
"Baby, you're a haunted house," Gerard smiled back, pulling Frank in for another kiss.  Every kiss with Frank felt like lightning, like Halloween lights, like magic.  "And I wouldn't have it any other way". 
He really wouldn't. 
And he supposed that, despite how ugly the world seemed to get, love among all the other haunted houses was some spark of hope and beauty that he could hold onto. 

And that's it!  Remember that you're all beautiful and deserve to treat yourselves with love and kindness <3