Soaring...
The wind rushing past so quickly - it almost hurt, but it was a good pain, an exhilarating rush that even the fastest jet couldn't reproduce.
Frank knew he was dreaming - sort of, at least, he was aware that this wasn't really happening, but he didn't mind. So far - this was a very good dream, and he didn't think he could wake himself up even if he wanted to, so he just enjoyed the sensation of being in the air.
Frank wondered what he was flying in to feel this way, because he had never experienced something like this before, and he had piloted many different types of aircraft, but for some reason, he couldn't see anything - just a fuzzy whiteness, but he could feel everything.
Something pumping behind him, but it wasn't a machine; it was part of him, like an arm or a leg.
With agonizing slowness, Frank's vision began to come into focus, and he realized that it had been clouds obscuring his view of the world around him.
The first thing he noticed was the lack of any contraption supporting him; he was aloft in the air without the metal body of a plane around him. Next, he took in the scenery - he was flying over a scorching desert, and under his feet, a heated battle was occurring.
Finally, Frank glanced behind him, and he couldn't help the surprised gasp that emitted from his mouth when he took in what was keeping him airborne, completely forgetting about the fighting below him in his shock.
Frank had wings - glorious feathered appendages that beat steadily against the sky, using the shifting air currents to hold his small body up. They were stunning; dark grey in color at the ends, but the shade progressively lightened to a pure white, and Frank wished he had a mirror at hand so he could examine them closer, but even from this awkward angle, they took Frank's breath away.
Frank had no idea how he had come by these pinions, but this was a dream after all, so he just brushed it off and continued to soar like he had been doing it his entire life.
He wasn't completely in control of his body, it seemed to be moving for him, and the Frank that knew this was a dream was lodged somewhere in the back of his brain - observing, but not participating.
A nagging sensation began to overtake Frank's joy at flying with no restrictions whatsoever, and even though he tried to brush it off, the persistent feeling wouldn't leave his head, and Frank was getting irritated at the fact that he couldn't just relax and enjoy the wondrous sights around him.
His eyes constantly scanned the battlefield, searching for something, but he hadn't figured out what yet. The people below had wings as well, some were similar to his, while others were skeletal and bony, and they didn't seem like they could support the weight of their owners at all, even though he was witnessing them taking to the air.
Red...a flash of red...where is it?
There was red everywhere - the red stain of blood on the ground, but not the exact shade that dream Frank was searching for. He was looking for something brighter - startlingly so...red hair?
Frank could sense his dream self's thoughts, but only faintly, as if he was looking through a fogged up glass at the images his other self's mind contained. Whoever the owner of the red hair was, he was very important to dream Frank, and he was panicking at the fact that he hadn't found him yet.
Suddenly, dream Frank banked right, flying even faster toward an unknown destination, and Frank was forced to tag along for the ride. Despite the sheer terror he could feel emitting from his other side, Frank couldn't help but let his heart soar at the way they glided through the air with more ease than he ever thought was possible.
They were getting close to whatever dream Frank was searching for; Frank felt their heartbeat speed up and their body was pushed to its limits as their surroundings whipped past them in a blur.
With a mighty flap of his wings, the Frank in control of their body halted their downward spiral, and the sight that met Frank's eyes made this pleasant dream into a horrible nightmare.
It was Gerard - Frank would recognize him anywhere, even though this version of him had bright red hair that hung lankly across his bruised face. His body was unhealthily thin, and his torso was crisscrossed in oozing wounds that made Frank wince, as if he could feel the pain that Gerard must be going through.
That wasn't the worst thing though - no, not by a long shot. Gerard was being held by two people with those odd skeletal wings, and another being stood in front of him. This man's pinions were as black as the starless night sky, and a twisted expression of glee contorted his handsome face as his eyes fell on Frank.
The dream Frank seemed immobilized in the air, and even though the real Frank was screaming in their head for him to do something - to swoop down and rescue Gerard, to save him, anything - neither of them had control over their body anymore.
"And so ends another pair of tragic lovers," the one with the pitch black wings spoke in a cruel tone of voice, meeting Frank's eyes as he pressed a slender knife against Gerard's pale neck.
Gerard tried to back away, but the strange men holding him blocked his movement, tightening their grip on his shoulders so he could barely even squirm.
Both Franks were still frozen in place, and for the first time, their emotions were exact replicas of each other's; stark horror and utter desolation combined into a deadly cocktail topped with just enough helplessness to make Frank want to throw up.
Frank didn't want to look at the strange man who was threatening his lover anymore, so he forced dream Frank to rip his gaze away from him so he could meet Gerard's eyes instead. They weren't filled with terror like Frank assumed his own eyes were. Instead, they seemed content, like Gerard was at peace with whatever was happening.
"It's okay Frank...I love you," Gerard whispered quietly, so quietly in fact that Frank shouldn't have been able to hear him from where he hovered in midair, but Gerard's voice reached his ears as if they centimeters apart.
"No! You can't do this!" Frank screamed, but he still couldn't move, and there was absolutely nothing stopping this strange man for taking Gerard's life, even though he had no idea why any of this was occurring in the first place, and he was clueless about what Gerard - or himself - had done to make this man so angry with them.
Frank didn't want to watch what he knew would happen next, but he couldn't force himself to look away, so even though his eyes were blurring with tears, Frank kept his gaze firmly fixed on Gerard's face, trying to memorize every detail of the perfect man who stood before him. Gerard's expression was resolute, and even in this precarious position, he showed no fear, while on the other hand, Frank was a blubbering mess of emotions inside.
"Let this be a lesson to all that challenge the King of Hell!" the winged man bellowed loudly, and with those words, he swiped his knife across Gerard's pale throat, leaving an angry gash in its place.
Frank watched in horror as Gerard's face contorted in an expression of shock, his eyes widened and his face paled even more before pain overtook his features, and finally - panic set in. Gerard's hands fluttered up to his throat, hampered by chains that Frank had only just now noticed were shackled around his thin wrists.
Frank wanted, no - needed - to do something. His body ached to fly to Gerard and hold him in his final moments, or maybe he should attack the stranger who had just stolen Gerard's life and turn his own blade against him, but Frank was still frozen, and no matter how hard he tried to force his body to cooperate, nothing worked.
Gerard fell to the floor with a soft thump, and all Frank could do was watch as his life blood spilled rapidly onto the sands, staining the ground around him a grisly red.
In that moment, Frank forgot this was only a dream, because everything seemed so real. The pain in his chest was unlike any agony he had ever experienced before, and he thought his heart would explode from it.
When his vision began to slowly white out, Frank thought he was truly dying, and he didn't mind - what was the point in living if Gerard was no longer in this world?
His last conscious thought wasn't his own - it was dream Frank's, but the other Frank still meant it as well.
I love you...oh god...I'm so sorry, I failed you...I will find you again - I promise.
Frank was jolted awake by a torturous scream; the pitiful wail carried all of the sorrow in the world and then some - it was the cry of a broken man, and it was physically painful to hear. It took Frank a moment to realize that the awful sound was being produced by his own mouth, and he was shocked at his discovery.
"Frankie...Frankie baby - you gotta wake up okay? I'm here...I've got you." Gerard's voice cut through Frank's confusion, and that was all he needed to shake off the veil of sleep that had been clouding his mind and come back to reality.
He was in his bed, well actually - in Gerard's arms to be precise, and his husband was rocking him back and forth gently, whispering soothing words in his ear. Frank's body was coated in a thin layer of cold sweat, and his heart was beating rapidly against his chest.
"Gerard?" Frank croaked weakly, his throat was sore - from screaming he assumed, but he couldn't remember what had caused him to do that in the first place. He knew that he had been dreaming, but the visual pictures had drained away as soon as he had awakened.
"Oh thank god - you're awake. You scared me sugar," Gerard sighed in relief, ceasing his back and forth movements and drawing Frank even closer into his body.
"What happened?" Frank asked curiously, because he was aware that he had obviously yelled out in his sleep, but he wanted to know if he had done anything else.
Frank glanced up at his husband, noticing that he was fully dressed and there was a fresh cup of coffee on the bedside dresser. Bright daylight was pouring through the open windows, and Frank was surprised that he had slept in so late; he only meant to rest his eyes for a little bit longer, but apparently his body had other ideas.
"I think you had a nightmare. I woke up a while ago, but I wanted to let you get as much sleep as you could. I was painting when I thought I heard you crying, so I came in here and you were whimpering and twisting around. I have been trying to wake you up for a couple of minutes..." Gerard trailed off at the end of his explanation, a look of consternation contorting his perfect features as he continued to peer down at Frank anxiously.
"I was dreaming, but I don't remember what it was about. I think I was flying...but that's it. Everything else is blank after that." Frank searched his memory for what could have distressed him so, but he came up with nothing. He wasn't usually prone to night terrors - or day terrors in this instance - so this was something new to him.
"You can't recall anything else?" Gerard pressed, but try as he might, Frank had to shake his head no as an answer.
"I really don't...as soon as I woke up, I forgot it all."
"I have never seen you act like that before...except for - well - your time of the year." That was what they called Frank's odd fits of depression now, because Gerard had insisted they needed a name for it, and he hadn't been happy with Frank's suggestion of 'shut the fuck up - it's not a period'.
"I know, but it's not that. I'm fine now - promise." Frank tried to smile with conviction, and he really meant it. He didn't feel anything like sorrow or sadness, mostly he was just confused.
"I'm worried about you baby," Gerard mumbled into Frank's neck. He still hadn't released his hold on Frank, but he wasn't complaining.
"Don't be - it was just a bad dream, they happen." Frank tried to shrug it off, even though he was slightly concerned too. This was just another strange event to add to his ever growing pile, and he really didn't want to deal with this right now.
"I hope so..." Gerard didn't look like he believed Frank, but he dropped the topic and reached around him to grab his abandoned coffee mug, and for that, Frank was glad. He didn't want to spend the day debating his oddities with Gerard, not when they could simply be enjoying each other's company instead.
"What time is it?" Frank asked before a yawn drowned out his words.
"Almost two in the afternoon. I never thought I would see the day when I woke up before you," Gerard giggled.
"Shut up - I was making up for all the sleep I miss on a regular basis because of you." Frank nudged him with his shoulder lightly as he spoke.
"Hey - it's not my fault you decide to stay up so late! You can go to bed whenever you want to," Gerard teased.
"Oh yeah - I'm going to turn down my horny husband because sleep is so much better. I'm not an idiot," Frank scoffed in an over exaggerated manner.
"That's right Frankie - sex before sleep, you have your priorities straight."
"Damn right I do," Frank smirked proudly.
"So what do you want to do today?" Gerard asked, obviously trying to change the subject to something not involving Frank's weird dream, and Frank was more than happy to oblige him.
"Some food would be nice, I'm starving," Frank suggested, stretching his stiff muscles before getting out of bed, tugging his husband along with him as he went, clearing his mind of all lingering effects of his nightmare, because whatever it had been about, it wasn't real, so it didn't matter either way.
~~~
Frank and Gerard ended up lazing around the entire day, just because they could, and they hadn't done nothing together in far too long. Gerard cooked Frank breakfast - even though it was well past lunch time, and they wiled away the afternoon watching movies and cuddling like they were teenagers again.
"I think you would look good with red hair," Frank announced out of the blue after their second movie had ended. He wasn't sure why he had said that, even though it was true. The thought just popped into his head and out of his mouth before he was even aware of it.
"Really?" Gerard replied skeptically. He held up a strand of his black hair as if to examine it, and Frank imagined how it would look if it was a bright red - yes - it would definitely suit him.
"Yeah, it would be hot, and kinda artsy you know - not that I don't love your hair now," Frank reassured his husband, because he knew that he still got insecure over his appearance at times, and Frank didn't want him to go out and dye his hair just because Frank had casually brought it up.
"I never thought about it before..." Gerard mumbled quietly, twisting the piece of hair in between his fingers. As long as Frank had known him, Gerard had sported his dyed black locks, even though Frank knew his natural color was a shade of brown, but he had never seen it.
"Sorry, the thought just kind of came out of nowhere. You look sexy just the way you are." Frank pressed a quick kiss to Gerard's lips to prove his point.
"You are just saying that because you are married to me," Gerard fake pouted.
"Oh no - is it really that obvious?" Frank smirked to show that he was obviously kidding, and he could tell Gerard was holding back a grin.
"I knew it...my husband isn't attracted to me anymore," Gerard sighed dramatically and collapsed back onto the couch, throwing a hand over his face as he did so.
"You are such a dork," Frank grinned, climbing on top of Gerard so he couldn't get up without throwing Frank off his lap.
"Yeah, but I'm your dork."
"That was so cheesy Gerard...oh my god," Frank snorted, lying down so his chest was pressed against Gerard's.
"So not only are you not attracted to me, but now I'm a cheesy dork! What else do you think of me?" Gerard finally broke character and let out a high pitched giggle.
"I think you are perfect," Frank whispered, leaning up so he could attach his lips to Gerard's in a slow kiss.
"Aw sugar," Gerard blushed slightly, and Frank loved the fact that he still did that even after all these years.
"I love you," Frank snuggled up against Gerard, making himself as comfortable as possible.
"I love you too baby," Gerard exhaled happily, and Frank was beyond content in this moment.
He wasn't worried about bad dreams, or strange bouts of sorrow, or his fucked up head - no, he couldn't even think about that, not when Gerard's arms were wrapped around him in a protective gesture that made Frank's heart flutter like the wings of a hummingbird. Gerard would keep him safe from the unexplained terrors his mind held, and everything would be okay as long as he had his husband by his side.
I meant to update HTTH, but then this happened instead lol.
I really like this story so far, and it seems like you guys do to, so thank you for all the nice comments.
So I have an idea, but I wanted to hear your guys opinion on it. Idk if any of you have read So Little Time (and if you haven't, I don't blame you - it sucks ass), anyway - it was the first Frerard I ever wrote, and even though I hate it, I was thinking about rewriting it and uploading it as a separate book. I don't think the plot was too bad, but twelve year old me's writing style was terrible. So I kind of really want to do it, but I don't know if anyone would be interested in reading it, so some opinions would be nice.
This chapter is dedicated to GDB123 because she is one of the biggest fans of this series. Btw, you should totally go check out her book called Theater 12. It's such an adorable Frerard and I am in love with it.
Thank you guys for reading this, all of the support is awesome, and I love you all to pieces ^_^
<3 starr