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The face that stared back at you from your bathroom mirror was indeed your own. Only it was with the addition of a nasty black and blue puckering up around the skin of your eye.
"Ah shit" you hissed, poking and prodding at the wound, annoyed.
You heard footsteps in the hallway, closing in on the bathroom. Soon enough another reflection joined yours in the mirror.
A young man, your age, with black hair and more than a few piercings, stared at your reflection. His expression read somewhere between surprise and concern. "Woah, they really did a number on you, huh?"
"Well" you sighed, eyes shifting towards his in the mirror. "It didn't seem that bad last night"
He cocked an eyebrow up at you, leaning up against the door frame. "Not that bad? Your shirt was soaked in blood"
"Fuckin' hell" you grumbled.
You hadn't been trying to get punched in the face, but avatars of The Slaughter didn't take well to be cornered. All it took was one distraction and the next thing you knew you'd been knocked on your back, staring a knife in the face. You worked your way around it after Gerry had kicked them off of you, managed to "unalive" them as it were. You just hadn't meant to leave with evidence of the scuffle. Well, best laid plans and all that.
"At least it's nothing a little makeup can't cover up" you sighed, deciding that spending your entire morning fretting about it was a morning wasted. You turned to face your partner in crime, smiling fondly once you noticed what he was wearing. It was an oversized, black night shirt that hung on his thin form like a dress. It was your oversized night shirt.
"Stealing my clothes again?" you teased, earning a half smile from him.
"What? Did you think I was going to sleep in the same clothes we'd been in while rolling around in a graveyard?"
You threw up an eyebrow suggestively, lips curling into a half smirk. "That sounds oddly sexual."
"Wish it were" he smirked. "Would've rather that than then the murder club we had to deal with"
"Yeah, can't blame you on that one" you agreed, crossing your arms across your chest. "I did tell you you didn't have to come with, though"
"And let you go alone? Look at what happened when you had help" he gestured vaguely to your black eye.
"I mean..." you paused, trying to justify yourself but very quickly coming up with nothing. "Okay, fair, but I would've figured it out. I always do"
"And the day you don't?" he asked, voice dropping in a way that made your heart ache.
"Well…" you started, somehow at a loss. "Hopefully we're old and crusty by then" you finished softly, reaching out to take his hands in your own.
He looked down at your hands, gently sliding his fingers into the spaces between yours, watching how they fit, before looking back up at you.
"If that's the case, then you're not allowed to leave before me" he smiled, running a finger over your thumbs.
"Aww" you couldn't stop the adoring expression you wore when you looked at him. "You're too cute"
"Yeah, yeah" he rolled his eyes, cheeks reddening ever so.
"Love you too, by the way" you grinned, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek.
A fond smile crept up on his face. "Yeah, yeah" he mumbled. "Love you too"
In a tender show of affection he leaned down and pressed a kiss to your forehead, gently knocking his own against yours afterwards.
"I am stealing your makeup though" he declared, looking into your eyes with the slightest hint of mischievousness.
"Fine" you laughed. "Suppose it's only fair, but come eat something first"
You pulled him gently into the kitchen, just a little ways from the bathroom. You began going about your morning routine, the one you had when you could be bothered to actually get up, and threw some bread into the toaster, some eggs into the frying pan. The morning went along in a peaceful serene as the two of you talked quietly, joking and bickering as you did.
Gerry had grown to be someone you couldn't picture your life without, someone you loved unequivocally. The piece of your heart that was reserved for him would always be, and you knew it was the same for him. He was the one person you knew, without a shadow of a doubt, had your back for everything. You could've gone months without seeing each other, the hectic life of each of you owning your own businesses running you dry, but the minute he was in your sights again you felt like you were home. Had either of you been one for monogamy, or anything traditional, you were sure you'd be married by now.
After breakfast had ended you sat on the floor in front of the full length mirror on your closet door, packing concealer and foundation over your black eye. Thankfully you had just enough left of the brand Julia had bought you for your birthday the year before. The stuff was extremely full coverage, practically painting on a whole different skin - and you vomited a little bit at that concept to be honest, thoughts of a particular circus invading your mind. Shaking your head of it, you reached for some eyeliner and proceeded to do the best you could, with your damn hooded eyelids that practically absorbed the wing the minute you made it. A cute, metallic pink lipstick and one everyday barista get up later, you were ready to assimilate into normal or "mundane" life, as Gerard had often referred to it.
You knocked on the door to your bathroom, the one that was still closed as some form of metal music you'd yet to hear blared out from behind it. "Come on pretty boy, I've gotta get to work!"
Gerard called something from beyond the door but whatever it was he said got drowned out by the music. You just laughed, rolling your eyes, and decided to wait for him in the kitchen.
Thankfully a few moments later Gerard emerged, wearing an outfit he'd left at your flat the last time he'd been there. All black of course. Though, there was a new addition to his look - a dark matte of color on his lips. Not that it was so much new as it was infrequent but it always caught you off guard.
"You really should wear lipstick more often. It looks so good on you" you grinned, sending a wink his way, which earned you an awkward shuffle and a crooked smile.
"I guess it must if that's your reaction every time I do" he replied.
"It does!" you nodded, definitively. "Now c'mon pretty boy, I'm gonna be late" you chuckled, gesturing towards your front door as you pulled your keys out of your jacket.
He followed you out, the two of you climbing down the steps of your apartment complex. A short walk later and the two of you arrived at the underground.
“Need some help setting up?” the goth at your side asked as you waited for the tube.
You looked at him with a cocked eyebrow. “Sure but don’t you have your own shop to open up?”
“Shop doesn’t open until ten. I thought you knew that” he snorted.
“Well excuuuuse me for asking” you chuckled, elbowing him in the side. “But sure, if you have time I’d love the help. It’s just me until eleven”
"Sounds good, then"
At that moment the train pulled into the station and the two of you made your way on. You knew it wouldn't be a long ride but you couldn't help making yourself at home on Gerry's shoulder, resting your head there.
"Tired still?" Gerry asked.
"Kinda yeah" you yawned, wrapping your arms around him. "Didn't sleep all that well"
"I imagine not after getting punched in the eye" he chuckled, leaning his head against yours.
"Well quite" you chuckled back.
"I'll wake you up when we get there" he offered.
"Thanks darling" you smiled, nuzzling closer to him.
As expected, the ride on the metro didn’t last too long after that and soon enough you were in your shop, pulling down chairs and setting up as you would.
Gerry pulled out whatever supplies you needed and got the machines running for you. It wasn’t for very long but he’d had a small stint working at the coffee shop before he’d taken over his mother's old bookstore after her "death". So he knew a little bit about what needed to get done.
The morning continued on much that way until your boyfriend took his leave at about half after nine. You sent him off with a coffee and a breakfast sandwich, warning him that if he didn't eat it you would "stomp his kneecaps backwards"
"Ouch" he laughed as you ushered him to the door.
"Well, eat it and I won't have to get violent" you laughed back at him.
"Yes your majesty" he teased with that playful smile of his.
"You're damn right" you answered. "Now go get a move on, the books are waiting"
He rolled his eyes at that. "Oh, I'm sure they are. I'll see you later"
"You better" you smiled. "Have a good day, Gerry"
He hovered over you for a minute, just looking into your eyes in a way that made your heart weak. He leaned down and pressed his lips to yours, stealing your breath for his own. You pressed back, lifting your hands to cup his face within them, holding him there tenderly.
It felt like days had passed before the two of you parted, looking into each other's eyes like a pair of lovestruck teenagers, a gaze that was only broken when Gerry coyly looked down at your lips.
"Guess this lipstick isn't non transferable" he snickered.
You rolled your eyes, letting go of his face to flick him gently in the forehead, to which he just laughed at. "You knew it wasn't you big idiot"
"Maybe" he teased back.
"Gee, thanks" you laughed. "Now I've gotta wash this off before we open"
"Or you could just leave it on" he raised his eyebrows suggestively.
You rolled your eyes again, playfully. "Maybe another time. Now get out of here you crazy boy"
He chuckled softly at that. "Alright, alright. Have a good day, love"
"You too, darling"
He waved as he left, leaving you with a fond smile that never ceased to make your whole being just the slightest bit happier.
You weren't sure what you had done to deserve having someone like him in your life, but you were thankful he was.