Work Text:
It’s that time of year again.
Leaves are falling off the trees and everywhere you look, there are pumpkins and plastic skeletons. It’s chilly, but not too cold. Gerard has always loved Halloween season.
Watching scary movies and hanging out at the cemetery with his friends. Even as an adult, he enjoys the smell of pumpkin spice and wearing his nice jacket every morning. This year he doesn’t have any plans, but he figures he’ll go see his brother and watch spooky movies with his nieces, or draw some monsters.
Right now, though, he needs to hurry up and catch the train or he’ll be late to the office. Again.
He’s only been working at this company for over a year, but he likes his job, and he doesn’t want to lose it. It’s not like getting another job, especially one he loves, is that easy right now. Luckily, he makes it just a couple minutes before nine.
And as soon as he leaves the elevator, his immediate supervisor is asking him about the file he’s supposed to submit for the meeting. ‘It’ll be in your inbox in five minutes,’ Gerard responds, and heads to his cubicle.
As soon as he transfers said file from his tablet to his work computer, and then emails it to his supervisor, he checks his folder one last time before the meeting. Those are his least favorite part of this job, because he hates public speaking, but nothing is perfect, he reminds himself.
On his way to the conference room, he stops at the kitchen to get more coffee. He only had one cup at home, and didn’t have time to stop at the café this morning, so he needs it to stay awake. ‘Morning, Gerard,’ Shaun Simon, one of the other designers for the magazine. ‘Going to the meeting?’
Gerard nods, as politely as possible. He never knows how to interact with other people. That’s why he’s forty-six and his only friend is his brother Mikey.
‘See you there, then,’ Shaun says, and walks out.
Apparently everyone must be at the meeting already, because the kitchen is almost empty. Only that guy from the writer team. Gerard doesn’t know his name, he’s only seen him a few times during meetings or passing by, but he seems kind. Once he’s done making himself some tea, he walks out of the kitchen, not without saying hi to Gerard.
It takes Gerard another minute to finish making his coffee, because he got too distracted by the guy, and almost runs into him as he walks into the conference room. ‘Shit, I’m so sorry,’ he cursed when he realized he had spilled some of his coffee on the hot guy’s sweater.
‘It’s cool, no worries,’ Hot Guy says, and he has the most beautiful smile. ‘I was –’
‘Mr. Way?’ his boss interrupts to get Gerard’s attention. ‘You’re ready?’
Gerard turns to him, embarrassed when he sees everyone’s eyes are on his. ‘Yeah, Ms. Peterson.’ Fuck. This isn’t how things were supposed to go, and now they’re all looking at him. Lucky for him, Ms. Peterson leads most of the meeting and explains the goals for the next publication., before she talks about Gerard’s idea. He only has to present the cover he designed, and go over the themes that inspired it.
‘Great job, Mr. Way,’ she says once the meeting is over. He just fakes a smile, and grabs his stuff. As they’re all walking out of the room, Ms. Peterson reminds them that since the next day is Halloween, they can all dress up.
Gerard sees a few people rolling their eyes, and hears Bob from the accounting department say, ‘We’re not ten anymore,’ and laugh. It’s the first time Gerard hears him laugh. Ever.
And he knows it’s kinda dumb, and yes, they’re not kids anymore, but he’s actually excited about Halloween and dressing up.
***
Halloween is one of those few days when Gerard can be himself and go as crazy as he wants without being judged. If he goes out in public dressed up as a ghost in the middle of March, people will think he’s weird. Which, might be the case, but that’s exactly why he loves Halloween.
He’s had this year’s costume prepared for months, got most of it at a thrift store and it’s been ready for the past week.
So, on Halloween morning, he wakes up early and gets ready.
He puts on his tights on, and then the suit, the skirt sliding up his thighs. It fits perfectly. The makeup is last. He’s had enough practice to apply the fake blood in a few minutes. He calls this outfit Zombie CEO.
Gerard knows he’ll get a lot of looks during his commute, but it’s a good thing he’s too old to care. Seeing a man wearing a skirt is not something people see every day, but Gerard thinks it’s about time things change. Besides, it’s fucking Halloween! They need to cheer up and have fun.
Just like he thought, he notices a few people staring. Mainly young kids, all scared because of the fake blood. But a few men keep staring at his legs, and that makes Gerard smile.
When he enters the office, he’s not surprised that almost no one is wearing a costume. He notices some of his lady coworkers wearing cat ears or funny hats, but no one is really in full costume, and now he feels stupid.
‘Oh – wow!’ Ray Toro, IT department, comments as soon as he sees Gerard. He’s wearing all white, face paint and all. Gerard assumes he’s supposed to be a ghost. ‘You look amazing!’
‘Thanks,’ Gerard replies with a shy smile. Ray is one of the few people he talks to, might even be his friend, Gerard isn’t sure. So, he knows he’s being honest.
‘Now you’re making me feel underdressed.’
‘Are you kidding me? Nobody else is wearing a costume. I got too excited.’
‘Bullshit. You look great. What are you supposed to be again?’
‘A zombie.’
‘Oh. That makes sense.’ Gerard just nods. ‘Well, I’ll see you around, then.’ And Ray walks away. Why does Gerard have to be so awkward?
Giving up, he walks towards his cubicle and gets to work.
At least no stupid meetings today, so he can just focus on the fun part of his job. In fact, he gets so into it, he almost forgets to eat. Just past noon, he gets up and walks up to the kitchen to get something from the vending machine.
Just as he walks in, he sees the Hot Writer Guy by the corner, talking to Shaun. He’s wearing these skinny black jeans with a white shirt, so no costume. It’s not like it matters, Gerard is too embarrassed to even acknowledge his existence, anyway. So, he just heads to the vending machine on the other side of the room and gets himself a bag of chips.
‘Gerard?’ a voice says behind him, sounding surprised. They’re never going to get used to him wearing a skirt. Before he knows it, Shaun Simon is patting his back to get his attention. ‘I knew it was you!’
‘Oh, hey,’ Gerard says, faking a smile. Obviously, Shaun isn’t wearing a costume.
‘You look amazing, friend!’
‘Thanks.’ Gerard just wants to get out of there.
‘Who are you supposed to be?’
‘A zombie.’
Shaun doesn’t say a word. His friend does, though. ‘Nice!’ When Gerard turns to his right, he sees Hot Writer Guy standing there, smiling at him. And contrary to what Gerard believed, he is dressed up. His shirt fake blood splattered all over, and his hair is combed to the side. A single earing on his left ear, and he’s wearing LIPSTICK. RED LIPSTICK.
Gerard doesn’t get the reference, but he looks hot.
‘I’m Frank, by the way,’ he says, offering his hand to shake. Gerard notices he’s even wearing leather gloves and black nail polish.
‘Gerard,’ he replies in his best attempt to keep calm. ‘And who are you supposed to be?’
‘Guy from an 80’s music video who gets killed.’
Well, he’s definitely creative. And here Gerard thought he was the only one who had made up a backup story for his character.
‘I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who dressed up,’ Frank says.
‘Me too.’
‘I take Halloween very seriously –’
‘Me too!’
Before they continue this awkward conversation, a crowd of people enters the kitchen and interrupts them. Kate, also from the writers team, is holding a pumpkin-shaped cake and they all start singing Happy Birthday to Frank.
Oh.
That explains why he said he takes it seriously, Gerard thinks as he joins the crowd singing.
Frank seems flattered and thanks everyone, and Gerard smiles at him. Frank is not only hot and apparently obsessed with Halloween, which is the perfect combination in Gerard’s eyes, but he’s also kinda sweet. And Gerard knows that makes things worse for him, because now his crush is about to get serious, and most likely, Frank is married.
So, before he gets excited, Gerard grabs a piece of cake and sits at the table by the corner, away from everyone.
It seems to be working, for about five minutes, when Shaun comes and sit with him. And obviously, he’s not by himself. Frank is with him. They’re too busy talking about something Gerard doesn’t understand, so he just keeps quiet, and tries to finish his cake so he can get out of there. After a moment of silence, though, he only thinks of saying, ‘Happy birthday, by the way.’
‘Thank you!’
‘Is it really your birthday?’
Frank nods, genuinely smiling, and shows him his knuckle tattoos. They spell Halloween.
‘I see.’
Shaun interrupts. ‘Halloween is his whole personality, basically.’
‘But I get it,’ Gerard says. ‘If it was my birthday, I’d be obsessed, too. I’m jealous.’
‘Of course you’d say that.’ Shaun just rolls his eyes.
‘So, what’s your favorite scary movie?’ Frank asks, catching him off guard.
It takes him a moment to get the question, and then consider his answer. ‘Uh – I think Dawn of the Dead. The original one.’
‘Nice.’
‘You?’ It’s not that hard to talk to someone, but Gerard is Gerard, so –
‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre.’
He has taste, Gerard thinks, but doesn’t say out loud. He just smiles at him, hoping Frank can’t see through his nervousness.
‘Anyway, gotta go back to work, man,’ Shaun interrupts. ‘Enjoy your holiday, freaks.’ Before Gerard can say anything, Shaun is getting up.
Frank checks his watch. ‘Oh, shit. Me too.’ Then, turns to Gerard. ‘See you around?’
And Gerard doesn’t want to get excited, but he knows he won’t stop thinking about that smile.
He can’t even focus on his designs when he gets back to his desk. All he can think of is Frank with that lipstick smile, covered in fake blood.
He really is in trouble.
Five seems to take an eternity to come, but when it finally does, Gerard clocks out immediately and jumps off to his seat, eager to go home. He doesn’t even have the energy to go to Mikey’s this year, so he’ll just change into his comfy skeleton PJs and watch a movie.
He’s on his way to the second floor restroom to wash his face before leaving the building, when he hears someone calling his name.
‘Gerard!’
He turns around, and to his surprise, it’s Frank running up to him. ‘I’m glad I run into you –,’ Frank continues as they keep walking. ‘I forgot to ask you if you had any plans tonight?’
Is he –
Is he inviting him over to his birthday party?
‘I don’t know, really,’ Gerard starts to say, mainly because his plans are pretty pathetic.
‘Oh, then you should totally come over to my place to watch scary movies.’
Uh –
What?
Gerard is still in shock as Frank keeps talking. ‘Unless you have to take your kids trick or treating. Shit. You probably are, aren’t you?’
What is he going on about? ‘I don’t have any kids,’ Gerard stutters.
‘Oh, yeah. Me neither.’
Why is Frank acting like this?
‘I thought you’d be spending time with your family,’ Gerard tells him.
‘No. My parents live out of town, and everyone else has kids or something, so –’
That’s sad. No one should be spending their birthday alone. Even Gerard has loved ones to celebrate it with. ‘Oh –’
‘So – you want to watch movies and scare children?’
It sounds tempting. And Gerard would hate for Frank to be alone on this day. ‘Yeah. Sounds great.’
‘Perfect.’
‘Should I go in costume, or –’
Frank gives him a smile, and Gerard can swear he’s checking him out. ‘I think you look great. No need to change.’
Gerard is flattered, but also confused. Did he –
He doesn’t know how to react. He’s waiting for Frank to say he’s joking, but when he doesn’t, a thought comes over him, and Gerard’s not sure he’s ready to accept it.
‘Great,’ Frank says. ‘So, I’ll see you then.’ He’s already walking away, and then remembers Gerard doesn’t know his address. ‘Oh, yeah – I almost forgot.’
He holds out his hand, asking for Gerard’s phone, and while he types his phone number, Gerard’s heart start beating faster and his breathing increases. He watches as Frank calls himself from Gerard’s phone, and then sends Gerard a text. Hey J
Gerard can’t help smiling. As dumb as it may be. Hey J , he texts back.
‘I’ll text you my address, then. You can stop by at any time.’ And then, Frank is gone, almost skipping to the elevator.
Don’t get excited, Gerard thinks to himself. But it’s too late.
***
After stopping by his apartment to fix his makeup, and wasting about an hour just sitting and overthinking the whole think, considering if he should go, he finally grabs his stuff and walks to the train station.
Now he’s standing outside Frank’s tiny home in Belleville. It’s not hard to miss. There’s a 12ft skeleton in the front lawn, a plastic zombie on the roof, and about a dozen fake tombstones all over. The guy really loves Halloween.
Gerard takes a breath and walks up to the door. Frank opens right away, and Gerard feels bad for making him wait. ‘Hey!’ Frank says, really excited to see him. ‘Come on in. I have dinner ready.’
Dinner?
‘Oh, you shouldn’t have – that’s really kind of you!’
‘Well, we gotta eat, so – oh, you’re still wearing those shoes?’ Frank says. The heels aren’t that bad, Gerard thinks, and he doesn’t have other shoes that go with his outfit. ‘Kudos to you, man. I tried heels once, and that was it for me.’
He tried heels?! That’s a lot of information in a single day, and Gerard can’t take it. ‘I mean, it gets easier the more you practice.’
‘Yeah. I’m not going to do that.’ The giggle that comes out of his mouth is the most adorable thing ever and Gerard is about to faint.
‘Nice house, by the way,’ he says in an attempt to change the subject.
‘Thanks. It’s my childhood home. I moved in when my mom moved to Florida.’
‘And I love your front lawn decorations.’
‘I told you. I take Halloween seriously. Now, let’s eat.’
They sit down at the small kitchen table to eat Frank’s pasta, which is delicious, and get to know each other better. Most of the basic stuff – what was their dream job when they were kids, what schools they went to, Frank’s dogs, and the backstory of Gerard’s zombie character.
Afterwards, they set up the candy for the children who come trick or treating, and every time they come to the door, Gerard growls at them to scare them away or runs after them. He and Frank just laugh their heads off, having too much fun.
This is definitely the best Halloween ever.
As it starts to get dark and there are no trick or treaters outside, they finally sit down to watch a movie. Frank brings out the warm blankets and makes popcorn, and they go over his movie collection until they find the right one. They choose Nightmare on Elm Street.
They’ve both seen it many times, but it’s been a while. So, they still scream at the scary parts. And Gerard can’t help noticing Frank keeps getting closer and closer, snuggling closer to him as the movie goes on.
Gerard feels the urge to wrap his arm around him, but doesn’t want to get ahead of himself, because what if he’s wrong? But while he’s overthinking about all the things that might happen, Frank leans in and presses his lips on his.
Gerard doesn’t even have a second to react. It’s happening too fast, and Frank’s hand is holding his face, ruining his bloody makeup. Frank is so gentle, it takes his breath away. ‘I’ve been wanting to do that for a while,’ Frank whispers right in Gerard’s face.
Gerard can’t help smiling. This is too good to be true. ‘Me too.’
‘I was scared you didn’t realize I was flirting with you the whole time.’ That giggle again.
‘To be honest, I was surprised when I realized, and thought I was just seeing things.’
‘Are you kidding me?! How could I not? You’re stunning! And those legs really did the trick, by the way.
‘Glad that worked.’
The movie is immediately forgotten, because they’re too busy making out.
‘Can I suck you?’ Frank asks, panting.
‘Only if you put that lipstick on again.’
Halloween is still the best holiday ever.