You're So Dark

Gerard's skin is tingling and his lower back aches but it's a good ache, like when taking a nap after a long day of work. He's feeling slightly lightheaded because the air in the basement is thick and Frank's smoke is making it worse, but he's happy. He's just... really happy.

Frank's fingers are in his hair and his head is on Frank's chest, his arm draped around his waist. It's still too early to sleep, and Gerard is too blissed out to care about anything anyway.

"Y'know, there are only two things I love more than cigarettes. One more than the other, though," Frank blows the smoke out and Gerard can feel it on his skin.

"And those are?"

"Nice metaphors and this one kid. The kid beats the metaphors by far, though."

"Oh?" Gerard smirks fondly.

"Yeah."

"And what makes that kid so special?"

Frank breathes slowly. "Hm. Tough one. Probably the way he looks at me. Gets me everytime. If he wanted to, he could make me kill a man just by saying the word. And I'd do it without too much remorse."

Gerard smiles widely, happily. "I bet that kid loves you more than you think. Maybe you're all he thinks about before he goes to bed. Maybe he's realized that your arms are the only thing that helps him smooth out the flaws in him, even if it's just by little. Maybe you're all he's needed to realize how fucking much he loves to live, even though he wanted to die just months before he met you. Maybe you've helped him see that he isn't actually worthless, and that you make him feel like a princess, even though he'd never admit that. Maybe he loves you just as much as you love him." With that, Gerard looks up at him, and sees that Frank is looking at him with his lip between his teeth.

He breaks the eye-contact just long enough to squish his cigarette against the antique ashtray Gerard has on his nightstand. He turns his head around slowly and grabs Gerard's shoulder, pulling him closer until they're both lying sideways with Gerard's face in Frank's neck.

"Yeah, maybe you do," Frank shakily says.

"Maybe," Gerard kisses his throat and snuggles further into him. He falls asleep peacefully, and that's actually real good fucking news.

*

When Elena enters the Ways' kitchen on a Saturday morning, she doesn't expect what she finds.

She expects Donna or Mikey, maybe even Gerard if some devil got him out of bed before noon [which is really unlikely, as you've probably supposed].
What she doesn't expect is to see Gerard sitting on the counter, his arms around a shirtless, heavily tattooed man she was vaguely introduced to a while ago in a slightly foul occasion.
AKA, her grandson was dying in the company of fever moans as the said man, Frank Iero, brought him home.
She isn't sure if she's impressed, pissed, amused or just plain proud.

She knocks on the door subtly. "I'm sorry to interrupt..."

"Grandma!" Gerard's face is pricelessly shocked, and Frank's is just plain terrified. "It's not what it seems, I swear-"

Elena smirks. "So, you're saying you weren't just kissing the boy you've been in love with for months in your kitchen?"

Frank looks relieved, and Gerard blushes fiercely. "Well, no-"

"May I have a word with you, Frank? Don't worry, I'm not going to beat you up."

The truth is that she probably could if she wanted to, though. Frank seems well aware of it, and that makes her like him even more.

"Sure," he seems uncertain.

She leads him into the hallway. "You know what you're doing, right?"

Frank gulps, and then shakes his head. "I have no idea what I'm doing. I just know that I love him, honest to both God and Morrissey."

She eyes him suspiciously. "You forgot Jarvis Cocker."

"Shit, sorry, him too."

She smiles. "Then we're fine. If you hurt him, though, I'll beat you up."

Frank nods frantically. "I'll help."

"Go tell him you have my blessing. I'm just here to pick up my sweater," she winks and motions at the kitchen door.

Frank nods and smiles, quickly walking into the kitchen and closing the door behind himself. She sighs in content and looks at Gerard who's still sitting on the countertop and peeling the nailpolish off his fingers. Frank walks over to him and kisses him softly, like he means it- because he really does.

"She says we have her blessing," he smiles into Gerard's shoulder as he's hugging him.

"She threatened to kick your ass, didn't she?"

"Yeah," Frank sighs and Gerard just laughs, running his hands down Frank's back. "She's pretty badass."

"Yeah." Gerard grimaces. "Genetics."

*

"You had sex," Brendon says as soon as Gerard and Mikey enter his room. Gerard looks at Mikey with a cry for help in his eyes but he just ignores it and grabs the pop-tart Patrick's currently eating.

"What makes you think that?" Gerard uses his [ridiculously weak and unflattering, just like his entire personality] defense mechanism.

"You have so many hickies on your neck, you're flushed red and you're wearing this aura of happiness around yourself only people with good sex lives can spawn. And you're currently smiling," Brendon deadpans.

Gerard starts to formulate a comeback in his head, but at that moment Ryan walks out of the bathroom and looks at him. "Hey Gee, did you and Frank fuck?"
"I give up," he sighs in defeat and mentally prepares for reciting detailed descriptions.

Notes

Just a few more chapters, ay. But there will be a sequel. Because I'm a bad person who puts plot twists at the very end. Oops, spoiler alert much!?

I suck almost as much as this chapter. xo