It was one of those rare, almost perfect evenings in New Jersey, weather-wise at least. The temperature was balmy, but the accompanying breeze made it cool enough to be comfortable, and the setting sun turned the slightly rundown city into a more beautiful version of itself, the soft orange light bathing everything with its glow.
Frank and Gerard had decided they couldn't waste such a lovely night lazing around the house, which was basically all they had been doing for the duration of Frank's vacation; not that either man was complaining, but it was still nice to get out for a change.
Frank had insisted that they try out a new restaurant that had opened up about a month ago, and even though it looked a little upscale for their plain tastes, Gerard had to admit that he was enjoying the atmosphere of the place.
They had been seated on the outdoor patio, and Gerard's inner interior designer was having a slight fanboy attack over the way it had been decorated. The tables were covered in delicate white cloths, while colorful pots full of flowers were dotted along the edges of the large space, and the centerpieces gracing the tables were stunning, but it was the fairy lights draped over everything that really had Gerard ogling his surroundings with a look of awe plastered onto his face.
"See, I told you it was nice," Frank smirked at Gerard, which he probably deserved. He had been reluctant to come here, pushing for iHop instead, but Frank had insisted he wanted to take him out somewhere a little more upscale, and now Gerard was very happy he had allowed Frank to talk him into it.
"Well I can't be right all the time," Gerard chuckled back, pulling out Frank's chair for him before he took his own seat.
Almost as soon as they were settled, a friendly looking waiter approached them with a broad grin on his face.
"Welcome to Symphony, can I take your drink orders?" The man smiled down at them, holding his small notepad with his pen poised over it in anticipation.
"Just a bottle of champagne please," Gerard decided, because even though they weren't celebrating anything, it just seemed like the perfect occasion for it.
"I will be right back with that, and please let me know whenever you are ready to order," the waiter informed them after scribbling their drink request down and heading back inside.
"Frankie, I don't know what to get. Everything is so fancy," Gerard whined, finally pulling his gaze away from the scenery to actually try and decipher the menu. This was one reason he didn't like higher end restaurants, besides the price that is. They could make a cheese sandwich sound like the formula for nuclear fission with their habit of exorbitant word choices, and Gerard really didn't see the point in it.
"Well, a couple guys from work have been here before, and they recommend the chef's special and any of the pastas," Frank mumbled as he peered at his own menu.
Finally, after a little bit of help from their waiter, Gerard and Frank had both places their orders, and they were passing the time sipping the bubbly champagne idly.
"This is really nice," Gerard sighed out, scooting his chair closer to Frank's so he could grab his hand under the table, running the pad of his thumb over it lightly.
"I know, I don't take you out enough," Frank sighed in contentment, leaning into Gerard's side discreetly.
"You do plenty for me sugar, fuck - just you being with me is more than I could ever ask for," Gerard blushed slightly at his cheesy comment, but his head already felt a little fuzzy from the champagne, and Frank had the power to turn him into a mushy sap without any alcohol involved.
"I know...it's almost been fifteen years since I met you."
"God, I still can barely believe it has been so long. Sometimes it feels like just yesterday - you know?" Gerard murmured against Frank's hand as he brought it to his lips so he could kiss his knuckles gently.
"Stop being so cute," Frank squealed quietly, which of course just made Gerard pepper his hand with even more kisses.
"Make me," Gerard winked cheekily.
"Well I can't here," Frank groaned out.
"Exactly," Gerard grinned wickedly as he moved his lips to Frank's mouth instead.
"I swear, I will slap you," Frank threatened when Gerard pulled away, but he was giggling as he spoke.
"So aggressive Frankie." Gerard didn't let up on his actions, continuing to steal small kisses from Frank, who was blushing so red, Gerard was surprised that he couldn't feel the heat emanating off his face.
"Gerard! I -" Frank was cut off mid-sentence by a deep rumbling boom, followed by the soft sounds of screams somewhere in the distance.
"What the hell was that?" Gerard lifted his head up rapidly, trying to figure out what the source of the noise had been.
"I have no idea..." Frank's eyes glanced around worriedly, but whatever it was seemed to have subsided by now.
The waiter arrived with their food right after that, and he didn't seem perturbed by whatever had just occurred, simply informing them to flag him down if they needed anything else.
"Oh wow - this is the best pasta I have ever eaten," Frank practically moaned around his fork as he shoveled a bite into his mouth, and Gerard couldn't help but grin at how cute he looked right now.
"Even better than mine?" Gerard pretended to pout, but he knew he didn't have any cooking skills to speak of; pancakes were about as far as he could get without some disaster occurring. Thank god Frank was a decent chef, otherwise Gerard would definitely be surviving on takeout.
"Yep, sorry baby," Frank grinned cheekily before digging back into his food happily.
Once Gerard took a bite of his own food, he had to admit that Frank wasn't over exaggerating, because fuck - this was good, even though he wasn't entirely sure what exactly the chef's special was.
But Gerard didn't even to get finish half of his plate before that strange rumbling sound came again, and this time, it was much closer, causing the tables to actually shake with the force of it.
"Frankie?" Gerard glanced at his husband nervously, trying to make sure that Frank had felt it too, and by the confused expression on his face, he had.
"I -" But Frank didn't get a chance to finish his sentence for the second time tonight, because another tremor wracked the area, and this was the biggest one yet, knocking down a few electrical poles in the process.
People began to panic, which was understandable. Earthquakes weren't exactly common in New Jersey, and this one seemed relatively large.
"Maybe we should go..." Gerard shifted in his seat as he spoke. From his vantage point on the balcony, he could see people running down the adjacent street, and he didn't want to be caught out in the open if anything else was going to start falling down.
"Yeah - that would probably be best," Frank agreed, his eyes roving around the restaurant in search of their waiter, but all thoughts of paying their bill were eradicated when the next wave of the earthquake hit, sending Gerard toppling out of his chair when the legs buckled underneath him.
"Are you okay baby?" Frank asked, pulling Gerard to his feet gently.
"Frank - I think we need to get out of here," Gerard whispered quietly, and it seemed like he wasn't the only one who had that idea. The entire restaurant was in an upheaval, and even though the staff was circulating around the tables in an attempt to calm people down, it didn't seem to be working.
"Should we even drive in an earthquake? Aren't we supposed to like - fuck - I don't know, hide in a doorway or something like that?" Frank asked.
"Maybe...I can't remember." Gerard grasped Frank's hand in his to give them both some comfort, and Frank squeezed it gratefully.
"Well, it seems calm now, it could be over?" Frank sent Gerard a hopeful look, but he had spoken too soon.
Just then, the ground actually rippled under their feet, the hardwood patio cracking under the strain. To his left, Gerard could see vehicles lifting into the air, coming back down with a loud crash and a blare of car alarms.
This time, it didn't stop though; the cement continued to writhe as if a giant beast was contained underneath it and it was trying to break free from the constricting concrete. Cracks appeared in the pavement, some were small, but larger ones were rapidly appearing, and even Gerard knew that this was no ordinary earthquake.
"Shit!" Frank screamed as the wood under his feet began to give way, and it was only thanks to Gerard's hand in his that he didn't fall through the floorboards.
"We need to get off the balcony!" Gerard yelled to be heard over the frightened cries of the other patrons, and Frank nodded to show Gerard that he understood him.
That was easier said than done though, because everyone else on the patio was trying to push inside all at once, effectively blocking the doors.
Instead of fighting through the frenzied crowd, Gerard tugged Frank over to the fence surrounding the open space, trying to judge if they could get down that way.
The street wasn't too far of a drop, maybe ten feet, but the sidewalk was full of people rushing by, trying to find a place of safety to wait out this disaster. The ground hadn't ceased its rolling, and it took all the balance Gerard possessed not to topple over.
"Come on baby, I'll lower you down first," Gerard motioned for Frank to step up on the shaking railing, which he did without any protest.
Once Frank had swung his legs over so he was hanging on the opposite side of the balcony, Gerard grasped his hands and slowly let Frank's body drop until he was forced to let go. Gerard watched nervously as Frank fell the rest of the way, landing on his feet safely.
"Come on Gee!" Frank shouted up at his husband, holding out his arms in encouragement as he tried his best not to be jostled by the fearful crowd surrounding him.
"Okay - shit," Gerard hissed out, hooking his feet in the wood while willing his limbs to stop shaking. He didn't like heights, and even though the drop was relatively small, he was still scared.
And just when Gerard was about to gather his courage and jump, another tremor knocked him off his feet, and he fell back onto the balcony with a painful thud.
"Gerard!" Frank screamed, trying to scramble back up to make sure his husband was okay, but he was too short to reach the edge of the railing from the ground.
Gerard was relatively unhurt, besides a minor bruise or two, but when he tried to stand up to let Frank know that, the entire patio began to crack, the wood splintering around him as Gerard scrambled backward in an attempt to avoid the largest holes.
With one last defeated groan, the balcony gave up the fight to stay together, and the floorboards collapsed inward with a crash and an explosion of dust.
~~~
"Billie?" Brendon called out softly as he entered the Holy Library. His friend hadn't been in his room, and this was the only other place he could think of to look for him.
"Back here," Billie answered in a quiet tone of voice, and Brendon followed the sound of pages turning until he stumbled upon his old friend.
"Hey," Brendon waved before slumping down in the chair next to Billie Joe, who didn't even look up from the book he was reading, but that was normal behavior for him.
"What's wrong?" Billie asked after an awkward minute of silence, and Brendon blushed lightly at how easily his friend could read his distress.
"What - I can't visit a friend without something being wrong?" Brendon tried to brush Billie Joe's concern off, because even though he was upset, he hadn't come here just to bitch about it. He had actually wanted some company that wasn't Ryan for once, and he had been so busy lately that he hadn't been spending time with Billie as often as he used to.
"You don't have to talk about it, but that doesn't change the fact that something is bothering you." Billie raised one eyebrow at Brendon before burying his head back in his book as if it didn't matter one way or the other to him, but Brendon knew he cared.
"Fine - I guess it's a lot of things. It's Ryan, and Frank, and this prophecy, and I'm scared. Everything is happening too fast, and I feel like I'm losing control of my life," Brendon sighed loudly.
"Okay - well start with Ryan. I thought you two were happy?" Billie actually put his book down and gave Brendon his full attention.
"We were, but I don't know; he's changed, or I've changed, and we can't even go an hour without arguing about something. I'm trying to work things out, but I am so stressed, and Ryan doesn't even seem like himself anymore..." Brendon trailed off, burying his face in his hands with a groan.
"Have you tried sitting him down and talking to him about how you are feeling? He's been given a lot of missions lately, so he is probably just tired and on edge - similar to you."
"Sort of, but he always insists that everything is fine, even though it's not. He doesn't even seem to love me anymore Billie -" Brendon cut himself off before he started crying, because he really didn't want to embarrass himself in front of his friend.
"Brendon - I'm sure he does. You and Ryan are more in love than any couple I've ever seen, well, besides Frank and Gerard, and everyone goes through rough patches, you just need to stick it out okay?" Billie Joe awkwardly patted him on the back as he spoke, because even after all these years, he hadn't gotten comfortable with physical affection just yet.
"I guess...I just miss him - you know? He always used to want to be around me, and we could barely keep our hands off each other when he first became an angel, but now...I don't know. It's like he came into his own, and he doesn't need me anymore, or maybe he found someone better," Brendon heaved in a shaky breath, trying to push back the unruly tears that were attempting to force themselves past his eyelids.
"I doubt he's cheating on you, and as for the rest...I - I don't know what to say Brendon. He loves you, but I am not the best with relationship advice," Billie said with a helpless expression on his face.
"It's fine, just getting it out helped a little, and I know it's not something that can be magically fixed with a few words anyway," Brendon smiled at his friend to show that he was indeed feeling a bit better.
"It's going to be okay Brendon, it's a difficult time for everyone with the prophecy looming so close and all. We just need to do our jobs and get through it, and then everything will fall into place afterward."
"Ryan thinks Frank will refuse, he says he is selfish now that he is a human," Brendon mumbled quietly, even though he wasn't entirely sure why he had brought it up. Brendon didn't believe that Frank would turn his back on the world, but he hadn't been able to get Ryan's words out of his head.
"Well - I don't think his human status has changed Frank, not from what I have observed anyway, but you do have to factor in Gerard."
"What do you mean? Gerard won't have a say in the decision, just Frank." Brendon shot Billie Joe a confused expression, but he should have known better than to doubt his friend's logic.
"Frank is a naturally kindhearted person, but when it comes to Gerard and his wellbeing, he can become slightly narrow minded. Don't forget, he started a war to save him, even though that wasn't his intention, so is it so implausible to believe that he would turn us down if he thought he was protecting Gerard?" Billie tapped his fingers against the spine of his book idly as he spoke.
"I - I didn't think about that."
"I still believe he will say yes, but we have to consider every possibility, and I think it would be wise to leave sooner rather than later. The quicker we can procure his answer, the better." Brendon could tell that Billie knew he was crossing onto delicate ground here given his hesitant tone, because Brendon had been very adamant about giving Frank more time, but that was one thing they didn't have right now, and deep down, Brendon was aware that he was only making everything worse by putting this off.
"I guess you are right, Ryan said the same thing last night before he disappeared to fuck knows where," Brendon grumbled sullenly.
"I am not trying to push you into anything Brendon. In the end, this is your mission, which makes it your decision when to go to him, I'm just along to help restore his memories."
"I won't wait too much longer..." Brendon sighed out, leaning back in his chair tiredly as he spoke.
"As much as you might not want to hear this, I think hiding down here so you don't have to face Ryan is almost as foolish as avoiding the inevitable confrontation with Frank," Billie Joe remarked casually when Brendon showed no signs of moving anytime soon.
"He doesn't want to see me," Brendon huffed in irritation.
"I'm eighty-nine percent positive that he does," Billie rolled his eyes discreetly, which Brendon chose to ignore.
"Just let me stay here and pout for a little while longer," Brendon pleaded, a soft smirk tugging at his lips when Billie Joe realized he wasn't going to win this argument, picking his book back up and beginning to read where he had left off instead of continuing to pester Brendon like he had half expected him to.
And even though no more words were exchanged after that, Brendon was content with the silence, because the thoughts in his head were loud enough to drown out everything else, and despite how hard he tried to sort through them, he couldn't come to a decision on anything.
He wanted to apologize to Ryan, even though he hadn't really done anything wrong, not to mention he knew he had to get this whole Frank thing over with, because dragging it out wasn't helping anyone, but he was so scared.
This was all too much, too fast, and Brendon didn't think he could deal with the pressure. He wanted nothing more than to go curl up in Ryan's arms until all his worries had melted away, but he couldn't take rejection right now, so like the coward he was, he stayed in the library long after Billie had retired for the night, wasting the hours away by trying to figure out how his life had gotten so fucked up in such a short amount of time.
I didn't think I would finish this tonight, but I still can't sleep, so you guys get an update.
This chapter is dedicated to totalitarian for blowing up my notifications with all of your comments on the last chapter. Seriously - I love it when you do that.
And I know I have already promoted this before, but it would mean the world to me if you guys could check out my newest fic called Here's to the Heartache. It's a teacher/student Frerard, or it will be when I get to that part of the story lol, and I am actually really proud of it, so yeah ^_^
((((still dying of strep throat vibes))))
<3 starr