SUPERSTAR

MAGICAL NIGHT

They made it to the venue just before nine, and as soon as the bus was parked, Frank jumped off from his seat, and ran to Gerard's bus.

They'd been texting all morning since they woke up, sharing jokes and emojis. And Frank asked him out on a breakfast date.

'Good morning, boyfriend,' Gerard greeted him as he walked in. He was a regular by now, and they just let him in without any questions.

'Ready to go?'

They found a café nearby, and got bagels and lattes. 'Fancy,' Gerard said looking around.

'Anything for my boyfriend.' Frank leaned in for a kiss.

'Oh, I like the sound of that.'

'And I love saying it.' They sat by the corner, and kept the conversation they were having over texts. Something about the last time he went home to Jersey, and how he missed his parents. 'I spent like a month or two living in my parents basement after the divorce, but then had to go to a lot of meetings and events for Dark Horse, so I moved back to LA.'

'Wait – divorce? You were married too?'

'Yeah. I thought you knew.'

'No.'

Gerard looked at him for a minute. 'Does that bother you?'

'No, why would it? Just surprised cause I didn't know.'

'Yeah, that was pretty much the reason the band broke up. When I got married, she became possessive and controlling, and I didn't know how to take it.' He paused, and turned to Frank. 'I haven't really talked about this with anyone other than my therapists. Not even Mikey or my parents. But my mental health got pretty bad, and the tours got too intense. But she wanted to be the wife of this rockstar, and I was tired of it. When I came home after tour, we got in a fight, and I moved out that same night.'

Frank didn't say anything and just reached for his hand.

'That's why I enjoyed being away from the spotlight, and why it took me so long to do music again. She just wanted the fame, the name. It just made me want to stay as far away as possible.'

'I'm sorry.'

'I'm okay now,' Gerard said with a smile. 'I'm glad to be making music again, because that led me to you.'

Frank kissed him. 'You're so fucking cheesy, but you're lucky I love you.'

'I love you too.' They kept talking for a while, and an old lady walked by and told them they made a cute couple. 'Shit,' Gerard said after checking his watch. 'I need to go! I got an interview and then the acoustic show.'

'Look at you! All rockstar!'

'Shut up! I'm fucking nervous! I haven't done radio shows in a while.'

'You'll be fine. You're Gerard Fucking Way. Show them!' They walked back to the venue, and kissed goodbye. 'But I'll miss hanging out with you,' he said with a pout.

'I'll be back soon enough.'

While Gerard was busy with the interview, Frank went back to his bus, and tried to clean up and do everything he hadn't done in the last couple days. Then, he facetimed the kids. 'Hey, monsters!' he said. He sat in the back lounge by himself, his laptop in front of him.

'Hi, dad!' the girls said. Miles was too busy playing with Lois.

He asked them how they were doing and they talked about school and homework and Lois, as usual. Then, the kids asked where he was, and if there was anything fun to do, or how he was doing. 'That's why I call you, guys,' he said. 'I have something important to tell you. I wanted you to be the first ones to know, okay? So – dad has a boyfriend.'

'Is it the black parade man?' Cherry asked.

'Yeah.' Frank couldn't help laughing at that. 'Gerard, he is my boyfriend now.'

'Cool,' Miles said.

'I'm happy for you, dad,' Lily said. 'He seems like a nice guy.'

'He is.' He paused, nervous. 'You have any questions?'

Miles started. 'So boys can have boyfriends?'

'Yes, and girls can have girlfriends. As long as both like each other and they make each other happy. And Gerard and I like each other a lot and he makes me happy.'

'That's good,' Cherry added.

That's all Frank wanted. He knew the kids were smart, and he and Jamia had raised them well. They'd understand.

'So Gerard, huh?' Jamia said when the kids got bored and left to play videogames.

'Yeah,' he said, blushing. 'You think I'm crazy, huh?'

'No, I'm just surprised that you ended up with him. Remember when you were obsessed with The Black Parade?'

'Shhh!'

'I'm happy for you, really. It was about time.'

'Thank you.'

They didn't have much time before the show, except for a quick smoke with Adam, and then Gerard had to get onstage.

And after many technical difficulties, Frank and his band played too.

'You look hot when you're that sweaty,' Gerard told Frank backstage after his set. 'I wanted to take you on a date, but everything's closed by now.'

'You can take me to the restroom stall and call it a date, and I'll be fine.'

So he did that. And after that, they went to the rooftop of the venue, which apparently had a nice view. Frank got his phone and took pictures of the buildings, and the stars, and Gerard, just standing there smoking and watching and looking at the street below. Frank approached him and took his hand, locking their fingers together, and took a picture of it.

'I'm gonna start a collection of these,' he said, looking at his phone.

Then, he posted the picture on his Instagram. The caption read, nights with you are magical.

He then turned off his phone, and kissed his boyfriend.