EARLY SUNSETS

14 .holding hands and life was perfect.

Frank didn't know exactly what to expect from a convention full of nerds playing D&D.

He was madly in love with one, but he never thought he'd be surrounded by thousands, talking about things he didn't understand.

Though next to Gerard, he didn't mind. They held hands and walked through all the aisles. There were people dressed up as wizards and in medieval gear. A few kiosks selling books and shirts and hats.

Gerard dragged him around, and tried to explain the basics to him, though to Frank it all sounded like a foreign language to him, but he knew it was important for Gerard, so he tried his best.

He listened to the rules, and participated. Gerard was there to tell him what to do, and that made it fun even if he didn't understand it at all.

They made friends, and they went for drinks at the end of the day.

On the second day of the convention, Frank at least knew what to expect, and played without Gerard's help.

They sat in the garden, which was filled with people dressed as elves and fairies. It was like a mini renaissance fair in the front lawn of the hotel. 'Thanks for doing this for me,' Gerard said out of nowhere while they were smoking. 'I know this isn't your thing, so it means a lot to see you play D&D and pretend you're having fun.'

'Who says I'm pretending?'

He laughs. 'I mean it.'

'Me too. Anything I do with you is fun.'

'Stop it! You're so fucking cheesy.'

'Well,' Frank says with a cigarette between his lips. 'That's your fault, motherfucker. You turned me into this!'

They kissed, Frank pushing Gerard to the grass. Just then, they noticed a bunch of people gathering nearby in some sort of ceremony in the middle of the lawn.

'Come and join us, lovely humans,' they heard a tiny voice say, almost like a child's. 'We gather here to celebrate love and the union of these lovely couples –'

'Is that like a fairy wedding?' Frank asked, interested.

'I think so.' They got closer to the crowd to get a better view. 'I had never heard of those.' They noticed the person talking was a short girl with pixie blonde hair dressed like a fairy. 'She looks like a real-life Tinkerbell,' Frank mentioned, before the fairy girl continued.

'If you and your significant other would like your union to be officiated in the fae tradition, please come forward to give us your names and get your crowns. Remember, we celebrate all kinds of love so don't be shy.'

Without saying a word, Frank looked at Gerard, and pulled him to the tent in the back.

'So this is how you proposing?' Gerard yelled.

'Shut up and hurry up!'

Inside the tent, another teenager in a fairy suit and wings told them to write their names down in their sheet to get a certificate, and gave them two flower crowns. 'We also have wooden rings for $5 each, in case you want them, and fairy wings for $15.'

Frank gave her a $10 bill, and they got two rings.

'You can just stand behind that couple, put your crowns on, and get ready. The ceremony should start soon. Congratulations!'

'Thank you,' Gerard said, and followed Frank outside.

They stood next to a couple in their thirties, both wearing full medieval costumes, while an older lady that seemed to be the leader of the fairies, was giving a speech. She told them what to do, while the girl with the pixie hair went around the circle. 'Lexi will pass around to tie your hands together, and will start the vows, but you can do your own vows if you want.'

Gerard noticed how Frank was starting to tear up, which made him cry too. 'You're such a dork,' he said.

'I'm emotional, okay?' Frank replied, wiping off his tears. 'I just – this might be the only way we can ever get married, you know. And fairies seem just as real as that guy in the sky, so – this is real to me.'

'To me, too.'

The girl approached them and tied their hands in a loose knot with a purple rope, and then the Fairy Mother started saying the words. It sounded like some sort of Nordic language, Frank thought. 'What if they're cursing us?' Frank asked, a little scared.

'They're not, stop it!'

'Fine.' He took a breath and then looked up at Gerard. 'I obviously didn't plan this, so I don't have anything planned. But I guess that's how this started, right?' They both laughed, already in tears. 'I never thought I'd fall in love with a guy who blew me in the middle of a party, while being high as fuck, or that I'd be with two people at the same time, let alone that I'd be getting married at a D&D convention by a bunch of fairies. But here we are, and it's the greatest day of my life because I'm with you.'

'For fuck's sake, Frank! How am I supposed to compete with that!'

'Well, aren't you a writer? And this isn't a fucking competition, just tell me how you feel.'

Gerard took a second. 'I love you. And I want to go to more D&D conventions and concerts, and I want to see more sunsets with you, and I want to grow old together.'

'Together 'til the end of time, huh?'

'Together 'til the end of time.'

***

Frank insisted on staying at the convention since he had paid a lot of money for those tickets, but Gerard said he wanted to go back to the hotel to celebrate, and Frank couldn't say no to that.

'Should I call you husband now?' Gerard asked as he pushed Frank to the bed, and he just nodded before Gerard started taking of both of their clothes.

'Wait – I want to do something,' Frank whispered in between kisses. 'Can you suck me?'

Gerard smirked.

'I just – that's how I fell in love with you, pretty much, so it feels like it's the best way to celebrate. You seriously give the best fucking blowjobs ever.'

'I know.' And then he put his lips around Frank's length, and took it all in, while his fingers started pushing in his entrance.

'Well, congratulations to me,' Frank said, once Gerard had come inside him. 'That was the best wedding sex I've had. You've officially taken my innocence.'

'You were never innocent to begin with.'

'You're right – hubby.' He liked the sound of that word coming out of his mouth. He wished one day they could make it official, but it was real to them.

'What now?' Gerard asked.

'I don't know. We can do whatever we want.'

'Whatever we want?'

Frank nodded, and kissed the back of Gerard's hand. 'We can go whatever we want, and do whatever we feel like. If we don't feel like going back to NJ, I don't see why we should. If you want to stay here and start from scratch, why not.'

'I like that.'