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Ray sleepily sat up in bed with a yawn, turning to look fondly over at the little Gerard-shaped lump curled up in a tight ball under the fluffy duvet. He’d pulled it up and over his head to block out the sun streaming in through the windows, and all that could be seen of him was a little of his mop of soft brown hair. Ray chuckled. “Morning, sweetheart.”
“Mm…” Gerard sleepily poked his head out, his eyes half-open. “‘S early…”
“Gee.” Ray couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s nearly eleven.”
“Mm-hmm. Early.”
“What, you just want to sleep all day?”
“Mm-hmm.” Gerard rolled over, falling onto Ray’s chest and tucking his head under his chin like a sleepy animal. “Oh, you’re warm… ”
“Gee.” Ray tried and failed to make his voice sound firm. “What about the honeymoon?”
“I’m honeymooning.” Gerard’s fingers curled into the neckline of Ray’s shirt. “Honeymooning so good…”
“You’re being lazy,” Ray attempted to scold.
“Damn straight,” Gerard said contentedly.
“Tell you what.” Ray cleared his throat. “You let me up, and I’ll bring you some coffee. You can have your coffee in bed. Then, when the caffeine demon has been satiated, we’ll get up and go explore.”
“Best view ever right here,” Gerard pouted.
“Gee.” Ray chuckled disbelievingly. “We did not fly to England so you can look at my face you see at home every day for free anyway.”
Gerard sighed and rolled off of him. “Fine. Coffee, please…?”
“As you wish.” Ray leaned in and kissed him, not even minding the morning breath, and went to the kitchen.
For the honeymoon, they had found a small gray-stone cottage in rural England that had been repurposed into an Airbnb. Finding it hadn’t been easy, but it had been worth it for the privacy and solitude it afforded them. Ray was more than grateful for their fans, truly; it blew his mind every day that legions of people around the world chose to spend their time and money and energy on them and the art that they made. But sometimes, he would have really liked to be able to get dinner with his boyfriend – no, he reminded himself blissfully, husband – without being engulfed in a horde of autograph-seeking teenagers.
He made coffee – black for Gerard, cream and sugar for himself – and carried the two steaming mugs back into the bedroom. Gerard had managed to drag himself into a sitting position, still completely entangled in the duvet. His hair was rumpled and unkempt, a little crust clinging to his eyes. Ray reached out and flicked it away. “Coffee.”
Gerard sighed happily and took his mug. “You’re an angel.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Ray replied easily. “Come on, now. What do you want to do today?”
“There’s an art museum in the city,” Gerard offered. “I’d like to see it.”
“Good idea.” Ray blew on his coffee to cool it. “Maybe we can find somewhere to stop for breakfast first?”
Gerard opened his mouth. Ray shot him a stern look that made him close it immediately. “ Yes, Gee, you need to eat breakfast. Toast, at least.”
“Fine.” Gerard folded his arms. “I just want to walk around for a little bit, too. I mean, we’ve been all over the world, but it’s always such a whirlwind. I’ve been to seventy-five countries and I barely saw anything that wasn’t the inside of a venue. I want to just…you know…be in England, for a little bit. Walk the streets, look at some shops, talk to some people.”
“That sounds really nice.” Ray sipped his coffee thoughtfully. “This is the most unstructured time we’ve had in years. I hardly know what to do with myself.”
“It’s nice.” Gerard slurped up some coffee. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love what we do. And the band gave me you, which makes it the best thing I ever did. But sometimes it’s just so much work. I feel like I’m on-call twenty-four/seven.”
“Then let’s change that,” Ray said impulsively.
Gerard blinked. “What?”
“Well, you know…” Ray shrugged. His cheeks were going a little pink. “We’re married now. That’s a pretty significant before and after, right? Well, we loved the before. But now it’s the after, and we have the opportunity to change how things are. So let’s change ‘em. More privacy. More time for us to just be…you know. People.”
Gerard squinted at him thoughtfully. “You think we can stick to it?”
Ray leaned in and kissed the taste of black coffee off of his lips. “I know we can.”