Before The Sun Goes Down

“Okay, another...” He pauses, sinking lower in his seat, grinning. “What is so fragile that saying it, breaks it?” Gerard's eyebrows furrow as he thinks, biting his lip. His face clears after half a minute, and he rolls his eyes.
“Silence?” Frank nods, half-smiling.
“Your turn!” Gerard hums, closing his eyes.
“Hmm... What has a foot, but no legs?” Frank fidgets, turning his body slightly so he's facing Gerard.
“That one is pretty lame, Gerard. It's a snail.” Gerard nods, sticking his tongue out at Frank. Gerard looks over his head, out the window.
“Look out the window, Frank... Jesus Christ...” His voice wobbles, making Frank grabs his hand.
“Hey, we're okay. Just pretend we aren't up here. Or just focus on the view, and forget about everything else.” Frank looks out of the window, a smile lighting up his face.
“Wuh-where do you think we are?” Gerard asks, clutching onto Frank.
“Well, we've been up for a while... and they look like mountains; probably the Alps, so I'd say we're over France, Italy, Germany or Austria... we don't have long now, Gerard” Frank smiles at him, reassuringly, nodding his head.
“How are you not bothered at all?” Frank shrugs.
“I think it's pretty awesome, you know with how high up we are, an-”
“Frank... shush?” Frank chuckles, nodding.
“Sorry!” Gerard pats his cheek, closing his eyes.
“No problem. Just don't mention anything about...” He winces. “How high we are...”
Frank rests his head on Gerard's shoulder, a small smile on his face.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we are thirty minutes away from landing. Thank you very much for flying with us today.”
They both open their eyes, and look at one another. Frank smiles, bright and happy, making Gerard smile, too, despite his situation.
“What shall we do for thirty minutes, then?” Gerard shrugs, his eyes trailing to the window. “Gerard, don't look out there, you idiot. How about I teach you some British words?”
Gerard swallows, nodding. He tries to smile, but his hand is gripping Frank's so hard, Frank feels like it might fall off.
“Sure, go ahead, baby,”
“They don't say trash can, they call it a bin,” Frank smiles. “They call chips, crisps, and fries, chips. And gas, petrol.”
“Interesting...” Gerard's voice is absent, so Frank carries on trying to distract him from flying.
“A cookie is called a biscuit. I can't remember any more right now...”
“Please put your seatbelts on, please. We are coming in to land shortly.” Gerard feels around for his seatbelt, but he's quite unsuccessful in finding it. Frank helps him, and then puts on his own.
For the next fifteen minutes, Frank drives the conversation, right up until they have to get off.
Gerard's legs shake, so Frank helps him off the plane.
“Have a lovely stay in England, and I hope you enjoyed your flight.” Frank smiles at the air hostess, nodding.
“Thank you,” They walk off the plane, hand in hand, and go collect their luggage. Gerard slowly recovers from the plane ride, his smiles coming easier. They both find their bags, and walk out to the front of Heathrow, where a cab is waiting for them, to take them to their hotel.
“I tried to get a hotel as close to the centre as possible, that wasn't too expensive or too shit.” Frank nods, looking out the windows.
“How much?”
“Two hundred and twenty two pounds a night... so two hundred and forty-something dollars a night. Not too bad, right? It's really near the centre, too.” Frank nods, shrugging.
“It's not like we don't have it, is it? What's the name of it?”
“The Bloomsbury Hotel,” Frank chuckles. “What's so funny?”
“It just sounds really... posh, that's all.” Gerard nods, smirking slightly.
“Yeah, I know. It'll fit us right, won't it?” Frank laughs, nodding.
“Sure will...”
For the rest of the car journey, the pair are mostly quiet, the cab driver not making any conversation, either. They look at the streets of London, comparing it to America. When it comes down to it, there aren't many differences between London and big cities in America. The stores are different, the people are a lot paler, and they drive on the opposite side of the street, but it's still a busy city with hundreds of rude and ignorant people rushing around the streets.
They arrive at the hotel, tired but unable to sleep. Gerard pays the driver, giving him a tip. They walk into the hotel, Frank lagging behind while Gerard checks in, looking at the Georgian décor. Gerard comes up behind him, throwing an arm around his shoulder.
“Come on, baby, let's go to our room.” Frank sighs tiredly, nodding. He picks up his luggage again, wheeling it beside him. They take the elevator up to their floor.
Gerard unlocks their door, taking Frank's case off of him and pulling it for him.
“I really wish we could fucking sleep, you know?” Frank says, collapsing onto the bed. Gerard smirks, coming to lie next to him. Slotting his hands under Frank's arm, Gerard pulls Frank onto him.
Frank props himself up using his elbows, his head resting in the palms of his hands.
“I know something that we could do that's better than sleeping...” Gerard winks, his smirk growing. Frank plays dumb, smiling innocently.
“Like... unpacking?”Gerard sighs, shaking his head.
“Not exactly what I had in mind...” He pushes Frank off him, getting on top of him and pinning him to the bed.
“Ah, you meant wrestling! I don't know why, though,” Frank pushes Gerard's chest, making him fall backwards. “Because you'd know I'd win,” Gerard frowns at Frank, who is getting up from the bed.
“Not fair, baby,” Frank laughs, shrugging.
“Do I look like I give a shit?” He points to his face, which is totally passive. Gerard shakes his head.
“No, not really.”
“And there you have it. You're really fucking smart aren't you?” Gerard rolls his eyes, a small smile gracing his lips.
“Smarter than you, baby.” Frank scoffs, bending down and unzipping his case. Gerard watches him, biting his lip.
“Are you going to help or are you just going to stare?” Frank looks over his shoulder at Gerard, raising an eyebrow.
“Fine, I'll help,” He sits next to Frank, his arm folded. “What do you want me to do?”
“Put all of the toiletries in the bathroom. They're all in a bag in your bag, so it shouldn't be too hard for your little brain, okay?” Gerard flicks Frank's ear, making Frank groan. “Jesus, Gerard. Have you suddenly turned into a child or something?” He says, sternly, but he's smiling.
“Yes.”
Gerard unzips his case, pulling out the bag. He opens the drawstrings, looking inside.
“There are normal bits and pieces in there, Gerard. Toothpaste, toothbrushes, shower gel, shampoo. You know, what we use daily?” Gerard rolls his eyes, getting a little annoyed by Frank's quips.
“Yeah, I know, Frank.” He says, probably a bit too sharply. He stands up, making his way to the bathroom.
Getting the things out, he puts them in their places, deciding to take a shower. He undresses, stepping in. The hot water relaxes him, making him less crabby. The flight was long, and he was tense and pretty scared for most of it.
Wrapping a towel around himself, he holds it in place while he steps out of the bathroom.
“Thank for the help, Gerard. I guess the floor's wet, too?” Gerard sighs, shaking his head.
“No, it isn't. Everything is in it's place, and the floor is completely dry.”
“Oh, so it's just at home that you soak everything and leave it for me to clean up?” Gerard groans, trying to keep his cool.
“Frank, just relax. I know the flight was long and you're tired, but stop taking it out on me. Go and have a fucking shower and relax. I'll do the rest of the unpacking, okay?” Frank's shoulders drop, and he rubs his forehead.
“Thank you, and I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong, and I'm really sorry, okay?” Gerard nods.
“I know you are. Just have a shower, get into your pyjamas, and we'll cuddle and watch movies for tonight.”
Frank grins, wrapping his arms around Gerard's neck and kissing him.
“You're the best, thank you. I love you so much.” Gerard smiles back, pushing hair out of his eyes.
“Good. I love you, too.”
Frank pulls away, crouching down and pulling out some pyjamas from his organized case. He enters the bathroom, and Gerard dries himself and puts some clothes on. He dries his hair using the hair dryer the hotel have supplied, and then Frank shouts him.
“Gerard?” Gerard stands by the bathroom door, so he can hear better.
“Yeah?” Frank chuckles.
“This shower is awesome! Did you know that you can change the modes and shit on it?” Gerard laughs at Frank, answering back.
“Yeah, I did. God, you're such a kid, aren't you?”
“No, I'm not, you are!” Gerard scoffs, shaking his head.
“And that proves my point.” Frank laughs, continuing with his shower.
He comes out a few minutes later, his hair dripping onto the carpet. Gerard is searching through the drawers, out of some sort of morbid curiosity.
“What are you doing exactly?” Frank asks, a few minutes later, when he has his clothes on. Gerard sits on the bed, shrugging.
“I don't know. Seeing if there was anything in the drawers and shit, I guess.” Frank laughs.
“You never cease to surprise me, Gerard. Did you find anything?”
“No, only a Bible.” Frank rolls his eyes, nodding.
“Interesting find. Shall we read it?” Gerard smiles, shaking his head.
“I'd rather not, perhaps tomorrow.”
Frank rubs his hair with the towel, smiling at Gerard. He sits next to him, resting his head on Gerard's shoulder.
“Movies? I'm so tired that I might even defy the laws of being a vampire and actually sleep,” Gerard chuckles, looking down at Frank.
“I somehow don't think that will happen, my dear. I brought a few movies with me, so chose out of them.”
“Isn't there any already on the television or something?” Gerard shrugs, making Frank's head fall off his shoulder.
“I really can't be fucked to look,” Frank lies down, his legs dangling off the end of the bed.
“Okay, just put a random one in, then.” Gerard stands up, messing up his case a little bit more by finding the DVD's.
“I wish you'd have let me pack for you, Gerard.” Gerard smiles mockingly at Frank.
“Shame... now my clothes are going to be all crumpled up!” He slides a disk into the player, not even checking which one he put in and continuing to look at Frank.
He leaves the cases on the television stand, then he lies on the bed, next to where Frank is. He slides under the duvet, pulling Frank closer to him.
“What have you put in?” Gerard shrugs, looking at the screen.
“Oh... Spirited Away.” He grabs the remote, pressing play.
“English subtitles?”
“I'm not sure yet, but I think it's the English voice-over one.” Frank nods, pulling Gerard's arm around him.
The films starts and ends, neither of the watching it really, but slowly regaining their strength and becoming more energized the longer they lie there.
“I'm kind of bored...” Frank twists round, resting his hands on Gerard's chest and looking up at him.
“So am I... I mean, the movie is brilliant, the art is beautiful, but I've just watched it so many times... and we're in a different country..” Frank nods, sitting up.
“I'm not even that tired any more,” Gerard sits up fully, swinging his legs out of the bed.
“Come on, get dressed. We're going for a walk around London.”
Frank grins, excitedly jumping out of the bed.
“Where are we going to go?” Gerard shrugs, pulling off his shirt and putting a different one on.
“Beats me, we'll just walk.”
They get dressed, then head out. The receptionist looks at the pair strangely, her eyes flicking to the clock at the far end of the lobby, seeing that it was indeed just past three AM. She smiles, thinking about her younger years with her husband, and the crazy things they did.
Gerard and Frank smile back, holding in laughter.
They exit the hotel, the streets of London still pretty busy as they walk through them. Cars drive past them, the drivers paying no heed to them. Lights glare at them both, advertising shops, restaurants, hotels. Frank looks up to the sky, and sees no stars, only clouds and the moon, half-hidden.
They walk, talking quietly amongst themselves. Sights and smells bombard them both, seemingly stronger than what they were earlier. They reach some gardens, and they enter.
Squirrels run up trees as they go past, the creatures startled by the late night visitors. Frank smiles at them, nudging Gerard and speaking to him in a low voice.
“We scared them,” He chuckles, sitting down on a bench.
“You scared them, don't you mean.” Gerard smiles back at him, looking around.
Street lights bathe the gardens in a soft light. A soft breeze blows through the air, making the plants and trees brush against each other, making a soft noise.
“This is nice,” Frank says, tucking his hand into Gerard's. “Thank you.” Gerard smiles at him, brushing hair out of his eyes.
“No problem, baby,” Gerard kisses him, softly, making Frank smile.
Frank kisses back, his hand pulling itself away from Gerard's and finding a place on the nape of his neck. His thumb moves slowly up and down, making Gerard shiver. Their lips move slowly until they pull away.
“There was a girl, in the hospital,” Frank whispers, his eyes locked with Gerard's. “I don't even know if she was real, I can't remember. But we kissed, and then I just never spoke to her again,” Frank's voice breaks.
“Why has that gotten you so upset?” He says softly. Frank shrugs, sighing.
“I don't know... I just feel bad. Guilty because I kissed her and I still loved you, but guilty also because I kissed her and never spoke or even thought about her again until now.” Gerard nods, grabbing Frank's hand.
“When the dust has settled on everything, we can go and visit her if she's still in there, okay?” Frank nods, squeezing Gerard's hand once, as a silent thank you.
“This place is so pretty.” Frank's eyes scan the gardens, taking in every little detail.
“Yeah, we came at a good time. The flowers are blooming, and the weather isn't that bad.” Frank nods, his head resting on Gerard's shoulder.
A squirrel comes close to them, curiosity making it want to check them out, even though it can smell danger off of them. Frank accesses its mind, letting it know that it's safe. The squirrel comes closer, almost near their feet.
Frank bends down a little, his palms facing the squirrel. It runs towards his hands, sniffing them. Gerard smiles at them, appreciation and love in his eyes. The squirrel makes a noise, looking directly at Frank and then runs off, back to the trees.
Frank laughs, his face lit up.
“That was awesome!” He laughs again, out of disbelief. “Can I do that to every animal?”
Gerard nods, grinning back at Frank. Happiness is contagious.
“In theory, yes, you should be able to. If the animal wants to listen, you should be able to communicate with it.”
“Wow... I could hear its thoughts, as primitive as they were. He needs to gather nuts for the winter, find a mate, things like that. It was amazing.”
“You looked cute,” Gerard pinches his cheeks, smirking.
“I always look cute,” Frank pouts, swatting Gerard's hands away from him. Gerard laughs, standing up.
“Come on, let's go and look around some more.” He offers his hand to Frank, who takes it and stands up.
They start walking again, Frank still gushing about the squirrel.
They walk around the streets of London around their hotel, and when the sun starts to come up, they go back.
They watch a few more films, spend a while making out, and then go for a shower together. Once finished, they go out again.
“Please?” Gerard shakes his head.
“No way! It'd be terrifying!” Frank pouts, shaking his head.
“Please, Gerard. Please? For me?” Gerard looks at Frank, his resolve crumbling.
“Fine,” Frank grins, kissing him.
“I'll get the tickets, you wait here.” Frank runs to get the tickets, and leaves Gerard looking up at the London Eye.
“I can't believe I agreed to this...” He mutters to himself, clenching his hands. After a while, Frank comes back, waving two tickets around. “Be careful with them, you might... drop them,” Frank rolls his eyes at Gerard's sarcastic tone, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the line.
The cue goes down slowly, and after an hour and a half, they're finally near the front.
“We should be on the next cycle!” Gerard groans, making Frank smile. “We'll do whatever you want next, okay? Anything at all.” Gerard can't hide his smile down at Frank's attempts to make him feel better about this.
“Okay, whatever. I'm going to pick the most boring thing I can, okay?” Frank rolls his eyes, but nods anyway.
“Okay. It's your choice.” Gerard smirks, already thinking about what he might make Frank do.
They both get ushered into a pod, Frank dragging Gerard to the glass windows before other people can take their places. Gerard swallows, his eyes automatically closing as the pod rises upwards.
It takes a while before they're up quite high, with Gerard standing still and tense with his eyes closed tight, and Frank making appreciative noise as he takes in the view of London inch by inch.
Soon enough, they're at the top.
Gerard opens his eyes, thinking that perhaps it won't be that bad. As soon as he looks downwards, he starts shaking and feels dizzy. He holds onto the metal bannister to keep steady, and tries to think of something else. Anything else.
Frank, meanwhile, can't take his eyes off of the view. He doesn't feel bothered at all as the pod sways and his vision shakes for a second as it does. Everything looks so beautiful, bathed in sunlight and busy.
People walk past, tiny, not paying any attention to the people in the glass pods of the London Eye, but going about their day. Frank yearns for the crush of people and the sounds and the smells. He begins to fall in love with the city, from up there, high and oblivious to the grittiness and reality of living in the middle of a huge city.
All he can see is the way the light glistens off the skyscrapers, reminding him of Gerard's eyes last night. His eyes can't seem to spot the way people push past you and the pressure of living in a city, from the abuse people might hurl at him and Gerard, to the millions of ways people might discover what he really is.
He sees tiny little rainbows in the streets from where rainwater or booze or bile has mixed with car oil to create them. He sees kids playing below him, happy just to be given a balloon. He sees thousands of people having conversations, laughing, sitting, eating.
What he really craves isn't to live in a big city and be part of things, it's normality. Having friends and going out for food and being able to live his life without the shadows of Miles and the Council looming over him and Gerard.
He doesn't see this, however. He looks sideways at Gerard, who is cringing and hunched over, and smiles.
The pod moves slowly back down, where it stops, and Gerard and Frank are the last to get out. Gerard's legs shake, as do his hands, so Frank helps him walk. They sit on a bench, waiting for Gerard to recover.
“Oh, Gerard, that was so beautiful,” He sighs, almost inaudibly, turning his head away from Gerard. “I'm sorry for making you go on it, but the view was amazing.” Gerard shrugs, rubbing his forehead.
“I'm glad you enjoyed it, baby.” Frank half-smiles, his head resting on his shoulder, looking over everything.
“What have you chosen to do?” Gerard doesn't answer for a minute, thinking about what they could do.
“Shall we go to the zoo?” A smile appears slowly on Frank's lips, who nods. He turns to face Gerard, one leg crossed under the other.
“That'd be pretty cool, yeah. How do we get there?” Gerard shrugs, smiling.
“We'll get a cab.”
They spend a few more minutes sat down, until Gerard's legs have completely stopped shaking, and then go find a cab. Gerard hails one, the only one left parked, and they get in.
They get driven to the zoo, getting dropped off a few minutes away form it. Gerard pays the driver, giving him a tip.
“Off to the zoo we go,” Gerard grabs Frank's hand, putting both of their hands in his coat pocket, and they walk to the entrance to buy the tickets to get in.
“This is huge, Gerard. We might have to come back tomorrow to see all of the animals.” Gerard nods, walking them both to a big map of the park. He points at a spot.
“This is where we are,”
“How do you know?” Frank interrupts him, confused. Gerard laughs at him, circling some big, yellow words.
“It kind of says that 'we are right here', right there?” Frank looks away, trying to hide a smile.
“Shut up,” Gerard laughs again, shaking his head.
“You're an idiot. Anyway, as I was saying, we're here, so if you chose what animals you really want to see, we'll go see them and then see if we have the time left to see the others today, and if not, we'll come back tomorrow if you would like.” Gerard flashes him a grin, winking.
“Okay, we'll do that. But you have to chose the animals, because it's your thing that you wanted to do.” Gerard opens up a booklet, looking at all the animal exhibits that the zoo has.
“I don't know, though. You chose, I don't want to.” Frank looks at the booklet, too.
“Okay, well... the gorillas, the tigers, the pygmy hippos, the penguins, the meerkats and the African exhibit, then. He points to each box of information as he says them, and Gerard nods.
“Okay, cool. I think the butterfly exhibit would be pretty cool, too.” Frank nods.
“Okay. Shall we go and actually see them, or shall we just stand around?” Gerard sarcastically laughs, flicking Frank's ear. “What's with you and flicking my ear? It's irritating.” Gerard smiles, nodding.
“I know it is, that's why I do it,” Frank rolls his eyes, flipping Gerard off.
“Fuck off, dickhead.” Gerard chuckles, grabbing Frank's hand and joining it with his own.
“You love it really, darling.”
“Yeah, sure. I love you flicking my ear, more than I love you.”
“Ouch.” Gerard laughs, flicking his ear again.
“I can be a lot worse than that, my dear.”
They starts walking to the first exhibit, bickering playfully between themselves. They find the penguins first, with ten minutes before they get fed.
“Hey, Gerard? Shall I try to communicate with them?” Gerard rolls his eyes, shaking his head.
“No, you dipshit. Just watch the show and leave the penguins alone.” Gerard smirks, looking away.
“You're smiling.”
“And?” Frank hears the amusement in Gerard's voice, making him smile, too.
“Come on, I wouldn't do much, just make them do a trick or something.” Gerard shakes his head.
“No. No way, they're basically wild animals.”
“They're in a zoo. They've had human contact since the day they were hatched, Gerard. I think they're pretty domesticated by now.” Gerard shuts up, knowing Frank had won. Frank grins to himself, hooking his arm around Gerard's.
The zoo keeper comes into the enclosure, holding a bucket of little fish. The penguins jump out of the water, sliding around a little, making the kids in the crowd laugh.
“Good afternoon, guys. Welcome to London Zoo, and Penguin Beach. Today, we're going to feed them some fish.” She announces, smiling out into the crowd, mostly for the benefit of the children. The kids laugh excitedly, making their parents smile.
Frank reaches out to them using his mind, finding one in particular that seemed strong and intelligent. The two communicate for a minute, Frank letting her know that he isn't a danger to her and her group.
She quickly gets used to him, and scans the crowd, her eyes settling on Frank. They share a few seconds of eye contact, the penguin making noise to him. He smiles, breaking the eye contact. She gets her fish, playing with it for a few seconds before throwing it up in the air and eating it.
The crowd laughs at her, making the group make a pleased noise.
“They seem to know when they're being appreciated, don't they?” Gerard whispers to Frank, and Frank nods back.
“They're intelligent birds, and when they get a good response to the crowd, the keeper gives them more fish.” Frank notes, making Gerard nod.
“Yeah, I noticed. Still, pretty awesome, though.”
Frank notices some little kids by the glass, looking into the water and trying to spot penguins underneath the surface, so he asks the penguin to come down ad say hello to them. She somehow understands, jumping into the water and swimming down, before hovering in the water by the children. She opens her beak a few times, probably trying to communicate with them, and does some back flips in the water before swimming back up to the surface and getting more fish.
Frank smiles, laughing under his breath at the kid's excited faces.
“Did you just make that happen?” Gerard asks, smiling, too. Frank nods, leaning into Gerard's side. “That's very nice of you, Frank.” Frank smiles to himself, happy that Gerard's happy.
The show ends, and the crowd disperses.
Frank and Gerard hang back, going to where the children were standing. The penguin comes swimming down, making noises to Frank. She looks at Gerard, swimming backwards and forth between the pair.
She sends Frank images of fish, making him laugh.
“What are you laughing at?” Gerard wraps an arm around Frank's shoulder.
“She just sent me pictures of the fish she just ate,” He laughs, sending picture back of different fish.
They communicate back and forth for a minute or two, and then another penguin swims over to her. The two penguins talk back and forth to each other, before swimming off.
The girl penguin swims back a little bit, putting a flipper on the glass. Frank puts his hand on the glass, in the same place as her flipper. She makes a few more noise, then swims off, following the other.
“Wow, that was really cool.” Gerard sounds taken aback, with a small smile unintentionally finding a place on his face.
“Yeah, I know.” Frank beams, pulling Gerard away from the enclosure.
They get to the pygmy hippos next, spending some time looking at the hippos before moving onto the next exhibit, then the next, then the next, until they reach the butterfly exhibit.
They walk through, watching all of the butterflies fly around them. The smell of flowers is overpowering to them both, but they walk through anyway.
Frank opens his mind to all of the butterflies, making sure they know that the pair aren't a threat so that the butterflies fly closer to them. One of them, a particularly gusty one, flies onto the top of Frank's head, without Frank realizing.
“Hey, Frank? Did you know you have a butterfly sitting on you?” Gerard chuckles, pointing at it. Frank smiles, trying to look upwards.
“Can you get it off for me?” Gerard nods, slightly unsure. He sends out signals that he's not any danger, and then he puts a finger flat on Frank's head for the butterfly to get onto. It does, slowly, and Gerard lifts his finger away from Frank.
The butterflies antennas search around Gerard's finger for while, its almost transparent wings fluttering every so often. It eventually gets bored and flies away, sitting on a purple butterfly-bush. Gerard watches it for a few seconds, his hand still in mid-air, in amazement.
They walk through the exhibit, a few butterflies being brave enough to fly over to them and sit on different part of their bodies.
They get outside, the only exhibit left to visit from their list being the African exhibit.
They take a slow walk to it, both of them still in quiet amazement of their influence over animals. Gerard had never really gotten excited over it before, but seeing how excited Frank is has made him infused over it, too.
Slowly they start talking again, laughter and disbelief in their words.
They walk around, looking at the elephants and the giraffes and the other African animals. They don't try anything with these animals, with both of them unsure of how they might react to it. Penguins, butterflies and squirrels were dwarves compared to elephants, giraffes and lions.
It starts to get pretty late, and the zoo closes soon, so they leave, and walk around the streets for a while, just talking and laughing and joking and having a good time.

Notes

Wow, I'm sorry the lack of updates, I'll try to make the next one snappier and a lot better than this