“I’m feelin’ ice cream, guys,” Gerard mumbled. He lifted his gaze to the three other men in the room. All of them stared at him in different states of motion. Ray sat beside his laptop, his arm resting on one of his many guitars. Mikey sat a few feet away his thin legs crossed and his hands buried in the folds of his jacket looking for his iPod and Frank sat on the floor in the middle of the room, his legs spread in front of him as he turned the pages of a tattoo magazine and nibbled on a candy bar.

Gerard spun his chair around to fully face them tossing aside his doodle. His thick eyebrows rose at the blank expressions on the guys’ faces. “What?”

“Nothing, man, go for it,” Frank shrugged, tearing off a chunk of his candy. “Since you’re going to the machine can you get me another?” He waved the wrapper as the lead singer stood and made his way to the door.

“Sure.” He pushed the door open and stepped into the deserted hallway. Making the short way to the vending machine, Gerard took the moment to pull his phone from his pocket. He glanced at the screen and found the number he was looking for. Leaning it on his shoulder he waited for the line to ring before turning his attention to the vending machine.

He just wanted to hear her voice, listen to her breathe before he had to return to work. His breath became uneven with the anticipation. It caught in his throat at her groggy greeting. She’d been sleeping.

“Ugh, Hello?”

He tried to speak but nothing came out. His heart pounded in his chest as he listened to her groan. He could see her sprawled out on her bed; her hair messy and her lithe body clad in only a sports bra and gym shorts to sleep. She’d probably kicked the sheets to the end of the bed too, the fabric tangled around her long legs.

His throat went dry as his imagination ran away with the image. Dom groaned again and yawned.

“Gee? You there?”

He tried again to speak, clearing his throat. “Yeah, sorry, my voice is kinda shot, been singing for a few hours straight.”

“Oh, well, what’s up?”

“Did I wake you? It’s not important. Go back to sleep,” the words tumbled from his lips and her soft laugh filled his ears when he apologized again.

“It’s fine, honey, really.”

“I miss you.”

He mentally kicked himself. Why the hell would he admit that? But it was true. He missed her; he needed her. He could barely get through a recording session without thinking about her. He needed her warmth.

“I miss you too, Gee,” she whispered.

“You should fly out, hang out with us for a few days,” he chanced, his heart racing at the thought. It made his palms sweat and his breathing heavy just thinking about the possibilities.

“You know I can’t do that. Not now.”

Gerard slumped against the wall and tucked his hand below his elbow. Resting his head against the wall he heaved a sigh and closed his eyes. He didn’t want to admit she was right.

“Dom, I can’t live like this forever. These secrets are killing me. We need to tell them soon.”

Her sigh filled his ears. They’d had this conversation a thousand times before and she always won the argument. But somehow, Gerard needed to have it again. He desperately needed to win. Dom yawned again and he could hear her sheets rustling as she shifted her weight.

“Can we talk about this later? I’m exhausted.”

“No, I need to talk about it now,” he shook his head even though she couldn’t see the movement.

“Well unlike you, I have a real job and I have to work so excuse me for wanting to be well rested,” she snapped.

God, he loved her anger. He never really knew why, but pissing her off always excited him. He didn’t care if she hated him for a week afterward but fighting with her was always thrilling. He pictured her sitting up in bed, her hand shoved in her hair to keep it from her face, her cheeks flushed with annoyance. His body hardened at the image and he let out a low groan. This time there wouldn’t be any make up sex. She was on the other side of the country.

“Dominica, we have to tell Mikey. I know you think you’re not hurting him keeping this a secret, but you’re hurting him more by not telling him and I can’t do that to my brother. He’s my fucking brother and my best friend and I never wanted to betray his trust like this.”

His voice cracked and he cleared his throat, shoving a dollar into the vending machine to get a bottle of water. Dominica ‘s breathing filled the silence and he stuffed another dollar in the candy machine to get Frank’s candy bar. Finally Dom sniffed and sighed.

“You’re right. I can’t keep avoiding this. But can you at least give me some time? I need to do this on my own.”

“As long as you need. But I think we should do it together.”

“No, not at first, okay? I need to explain myself to Mikey before we do anything. He needs to know everything. From beginning to end,” her voice sounded resigned, pained even. The guilt crept up on him, closing his throat so he cleared it again.

“Okay, I understand,” he nodded, scratching the back of his head. “Do you want me to buy you a ticket to LA? You know I will.”

“No, but thank you. I’ll see you guys when you come back to the East Coast. Tell Frank and Ray I said ‘Hi’.”

“I will...Dom?”

“Yes, Gee.”

He paused. He was going to tell her he loved her. His throat clutched and he shook his head. He couldn’t love her. Not yet. But he felt like he did. Swallowing hard he coughed to fill the silence. “Um, nothing, never mind, I’ll see you in two weeks. Sleep well.”

“Thanks, I will,” she yawned. “I miss you, Gee. I can’t wait to see you again.”

“Me too,” he smiled. “Bye.”

Flipping his phone closed he leaned against the wall for a while, a crooked grin on his face. He’d made headway in their nearly six month argument. His heart froze. Had it really been six months? Before he could take a trip down memory lane the studio door squeaked open and Frank stuck his head out, his hazel eyes searching the hall before falling on Gee.

“Dude, what the fuck, it takes you ten minutes to get a candy bar?” The smile on his face gave him away and Gerard tossed him the sugary treat. Frank caught it, ripping it open with his teeth and taking massive bite out of it. He held it up with a smirk and disappeared back into the studio leaving Gerard alone again. Shaking his head with a sigh he swung the door open and rejoined the rest of the band.