Break the Law For Me [completed]

f o r t y t h r e e

Eventually, they stopped to breathe, but Frank rested his forehead against Gerard's, closing his eyes. "Promise there'll be a lot of that on our date?" He chuckled quietly.

"Of course, sugar."

-

"What?" Frank furrowed his brows.

"Nothing." Gerard rested his head on one of the cushions, keeping his gaze on Frank, who's cheeks were tinted pink because Gerard had been staring at him for the past two minutes. "I'd like to draw you."

"Why?" He was confused, but flattered.

"You have the perfect bone structure for it." He traced his jawline with his finger. "Really handsome."

Frank laughed, "You've gotta stop saying that, or one day I might believe you."

"You should believe me." He pouted, taking his hand and squeezing it comfortingly. "It's true."

"Maybe." Shuffling around on the sofa, he sank back in to Gerard's arms, which always instantly made him feel safe. He leaned against his chest, able to hear his heart beat, and feel Gerard's long hair tickle his nose.

Really, neither of them didn't ever want to move, however Gerard's phone started ringing and he had to shift to snatch it off the table. "Hello?"

"Gerard?" Ray's voice sounded odd.

"Hey." He perked up, glad to hear from him after so many weeks. "How are-"

Pure panic laced through his tone, he blurted out, "Mikey's in the hospital."

"What?" Taking a deep breath, Gerard quickly sat up straight, gripping Frank's hand so hard he might have broken it. "What? You better not be fucking with me." Though he knew Ray wasn't the type of person to do that, neither was Mikey, he just wished they were joking.

"I'm not." Ray sounded like he was crying now, and there was a lot of background noise that he couldn't make out -various conversations, wheels gliding along polished floors, doors creaking open and closed.

"What happened? Why's he in the hospital?"

At that, Frank sat up too, a little alarmed. He looked at Gerard, who was shaking slightly, and made it so he was holding his hand instead, running his thumb along the back of it to ground him a bit.

"I-I don't know. He'd been feeling ill for weeks, but he'd never tell me what was wrong." Ray stuttered, barely audible. "He refused to go to a doctor. And-and then last night. . . he-he just collapsed."

"Last night?" Gerard's voice cracked.

"I tried to phone you as soon as it happened, but there was so much going on-"

"No, no, it's okay." Tears welling up in his eyes, making everything all blurry, he glanced at Frank. "I'll be there soon, alright?"

"Yeah." Ray paused. "And if you could hurry? I can't deal with this on my own."

Gerard nodded despite the fact Ray couldn't see it. "Text me where you are. I'll see you later." With that, he hung up because he didn't think he could say another word before he started crying, and Ray didn't need to hear that.

"What's wrong?" Frank asked quietly, searching his expression for answers.

Rubbing his eyes, Gerard sucked in a deep breath to try to calm himself. "Mikey is, uhm." They didn't know if anything was seriously wrong yet, and he hated that he was already crying. "Mikey's in hospital."

"Your brother?"

Gerard nodded once.

Frank wrapped his arms around him, pulling him in for a hug. Gerard buried his head in the crook of his neck, dropping his phone to grip him tightly like he'd slip away if he didn't.

They stayed that way for some stretched out minutes, allowing time to settle down somewhat. Frank's shirt was damp with tears that had escaped his eyes, but he didn't care.

Finally, Gerard swallowed the lump in his throat and sat back, though he still kept a hold of Frank's hand. "I, uhm." He wiped his nose. "I have to go. I have to see Mikey. I'm sorry-"

Frank shook his head, "It's fine. I know. You really don't have to apologise for anything."

"What if there's something seriously wrong? What if he's-" Gerard put a hand over his mouth because he really did not want to finish that sentence.

Shifting to sit beside him, Frank put an arm around his waist, and Gerard rested his head on Frank's shoulder. "Try not to think like that." He murmured softly. "I'm sure it'll be okay. I've never met Mikey, but if he's anything like you, then I bet he'll be alright."

"Thank you." Gerard whispered.

[Published 10 February 2020]