Chapter Text
He's sitting in the same booth at the same cafe. It's the last day the Cellabration will be staying in LA, and Frank wants to spend a bit of it in here alone. Not that he doesn't like being with the guys. They're cool and fun and all. It's just that he'd like to rest a little by himself. This cafe must have some magic put on it in order to make it so quiet and unnoticeable in LA yet still run pretty well. Folks in here are surprisingly polite and considerate. Probably the magic again.
The same magic that brought him a certain alien with ridiculous red hair some time ago.
Frank doesn't know what'll come now that he and Gerard finally met in person after so long. Yeah he's still pissed at him. Not as much as he used to be, but enough to still be passive aggressive towards him. He meant what he said, that Gerard can try to fix them. It sure as hell won't be easy, what with the mistake(s) they both made back then and Gerard being the one to break up the band that meant the world to him- almost as much as the lead singer himself at the time and his beloved family. Frank's been pondering about this for- what, an hour now? His mind came back to his conversation/confrontation with Gerard from time to time, and someone would point out how out of it he seemed to be. Thankfully it never happened on stage, but that's obviously since he's doing something he enjoys. He doesn't like remembering what Gerard had said.
'I can't just leave Lindsey and Bandit behind'-
Frank's grip on his coffee cup tightens and he scowls. He knows that. He'd never leave Jamia, Cherry, Lily, and Miles. Not ever. So that fact shouldn't have hurt him. He understands that feeling, he really does. There's just so much left to resolve, and Frank's not willing to work it all out for Gerard like he used to back then when My Chemical Romance was not just an idea and was actually there. He's going to make Gerard face this for once, not avoid it or work his way around it. It's what made their relationship start to crumble in the first place, with 'stage gay' being the phrase the singer had used so often to excuse any indication that they (he) felt something more.
'-all for some stage gay relationship we made ourselves believe we had''
And there it is. That's what Gerard truly thought then? That everything Frank had done for him and said to him years ago was just in the name of their friendship and never amounted to anything more? Frank probably should have just accepted that a long time ago. Then maybe they'd be more than just barely acquaintances in the present. He's reluctant to even call Gerard an acquaintance.
Frank had known that what he felt for the older Way brother was changing as they continued with the whole 'stage gay' thing. They had unknowingly started to do it off stage as well, luckily out of sight of the press. Although Frank thinks now that perhaps that was what Gerard had hoped for- to do all of that out of the public eye. Of course, Frank loves Jamia dearly. He still cared and loved her as he went touring with My Chem for so long. But then Lyn-Z Ballato appeared, and from there it seemed that Frank and Gerard's friendship started to deteriorate. Frank knows it couldn't have been the woman herself, as they did get along back then. Gerard on the other hand had started to act different, not spending as much time with Frank and making more calls or texts to Lindsey. Mikey and Ray made note of it, but made no big deal about it, saying that they were actually a couple so of course they'd communicate.
But now Frank realizes that Gerard was trying to drive a wedge into their friendship and distance himself, mainly for his own sake. Frank was positive of what he had felt, while Gerard kept showing how insecure he felt regarding Frank and where their relationship stood. Frank had Jamia, and Gerard had Frank (in some way). Then came this beautiful woman named Lindsey and Gerard showed genuine affection for her after they met. It was then that Frank felt things shifting, eventually leading to Gerard saying, "We need to stop this, Frank." Ironically, this was after the famous kiss they had onstage, the one that Gerard had started. 'Magic and fireworks'. Frank thinks that that was a lie now. Then comes their wedding, and Frank prefers to keep what really happened under lock and key in the back of his mind. No reason bringing that mess out now, when there's no point.
He feels his phone vibrate in his pants pocket, which was set on vibrate so that it didn't disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the cafe that Frank really likes. He takes his phone out and sees that it's a skype call from Jamia. With a big grin, he answers the call, and Jamia's now on his screen waving at him and saying, "Hey Frank!"
"Hey Jamia. Kids aren't there?"
"Nah, they're still sleeping." Oh right, Frank has forgotten it's only 9 in the morning. "But we miss you a lot! I've been setting up plans for you when you get back here. How are things with the band?"
"They're going great really. We've been getting along fine and had some nice bonding time."
"And what about Gerard? How'd that go?" He notices she's a little hesitant in bringing it up. He had been texting her before Gerard had shown up before, and had notified her of his sudden appearance. She'd wished him luck with a couple of lovey-dovey emojis afterwards and some sappy but affectionate goodbyes that made him smile. Of course he had to face Gerard soon after, so he hid his happiness quickly.
Frank sighs before he answers. "He tried."
"Oh... and did you give him a chance?"
"Yes. He made it clear how he feels. He does seem genuinely sorry, unless he's just trying to get rid of the guilt and then leave me out of the loop all over again."
This time, she sighs. "Frank, I'm certain that he does feel bad. You may have a ton of doubts about it but if he seriously wants to change things between you two, he'll definitely try. Gerard's still a friend you know, even if you're not as close as you used to be."
"I guess."
A few seconds pass, and Jamia says with a little smile, "You know, they called him 'Uncle Gerard' again. I didn't think I had to tell you before, but now seems like a good time. You remember when he would visit us sometimes and see the kids, and when sometimes we'd get to see darling little Bandit Way?"
Yeah, Frank remembers. Back when they still talked and My Chem was still together. While Jamia doesn't hold any animosity towards Gerard, she is aware of how Frank feels about their past and what never worked out. Frank is very open to her regarding such matters, and she's so understanding about it that it still surprises him. He never expected her to be fine with his old 'relationship' with Gerard, but it's most likely because she knows that he's moved past it... Well, he's tried to. He is mostly over it, but he thinks that the only reason why he even felt like he still held some feelings for Gerard when they met up again was because of the fact that he left so many issues between them unresolved, and their relationship had ended up being tangled up in those problems. Frank's positive though that (almost) all of his 'love' for the lead singer has now become directed at Jamia. Didn't mean that he forgot good times though. For instance, as Jamia mentioned, Gerard's rare visits to his home years ago. The kids were definitely fond of him, constantly calling him Uncle Gerard. Gerard in turn was definitely fond of the kids, and was in good terms with Jamia as well. Frank could remember looks that the other man gave him sometimes during those visits, and if Frank was still blinded by his feelings, he would've thought that he'd seen something akin to longing in his eyes. But he's not blinded now. His feelings had actually been misguided in the end. Those visits were from a 'friend' and nothing more. They were pleasant and nothing more.
"I do. It was fun."
"They miss him too. They don't say it a lot, and it's mostly at random moments but it's still rather cute." She stares at him when she doesn't get a response and sees the somber look on his face. "Hey, don't look so glum. Things will work out Frank, I promise you. Gerard may have made mistakes in the past, but you and I both know that when he says he'll try, he will."
Frank manages to form a smile from her uplifting words. "Thanks, sweetheart. Hate to cut this short but I do have to go meet up with the guys again. We're doin' a little bit more browsing before packing the rest of our stuff up and getting out of here."
"No problem, Frankie. I'll call later when the kids are all awake. See you later!"
"Bye, my dear," he says before grinning at her. He ends the call and throws away his now empty cup, then exits the cafe for the last time. He's gonna miss this place.
Frank wants to get to the others soon so that they can get started on their last minute shopping, even though they're really just window shopping until something real nice catches their eyes and they browse the store for a long time. Honestly, he isn't as close to the Cellabration as he was with MCR, but he is fond of them. Touring with them is a lot of fun, all of them acting like children off stage and away from the press and just having a good time being around each other. The bond between them all is not as strong to Frank, but they're still good friends in the end.
Frank gets the sense that he's being watched, but doesn't bother looking around, since just up ahead are Evan, Matt, and Rob waiting in front of a record store. He calls to them and they all greet him when he reaches them. They all start talking about checking out this store, since some old vinyls and tracks caught their interest and they wanted to wait until Frank showed up to go inside. Once they've finished talking up the place, they enter the shop, Frank being the last to go in. He turns around and quickly scans the street, but it's hard to tell who could be looking at him since the street they're on is crowded as hell. He thinks he sees a blur of bright red and blue disappear behind a corner far up the block, but he's probably just hallucinating or something. Ignoring the return of the feeling of being watched again, Frank opens the shop's door to get back to his bandmates.