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That day, there was another show on The Black Parade Tour, they were passing through another city that night, this time Los Angeles was the beneficiary. They were at the hotel, resting, in the background he could hear Ray and Mikey fighting on the Wii over a bowling game and Gerard couldn't care much, all he could think about was Frank...
They had once again crossed some boundaries and kissed on stage last night and just thinking about it happening again made the older Way feel his blood heat up in specific places in his body in a way he couldn't control, especially when he was caught so off guard and well... Not that he didn't like it...
His thoughts were interrupted when their reason invaded the room with a Dunkin Donnuts bag full of junk food and laughed at Ray and Mikey arguing in front of the Plasma TV, because yes, their band was doing well now and they could get a good hotel with a good TV, but it didn't mean they would have separate rooms, after all it was only one night, it wouldn't make any difference whether they slept together or not.
"Hey losers, haven't you gotten off the Wii yet?" Frankie says, throwing the bags on the coffee table and then takes one of the donuts out of the box and eats it right away. Gee stays quiet, watching everyone, distracted by his thoughts and doesn't notice Ray coming closer to him and shouting:
"Boo!" He shouts in his ear and Gerard, like the good exaggerator that he is, screams again at the top of his lungs, feeling his soul leave his body and return, after all he was drowning in thoughts, he didn't know what to do with the whole situation.
"AH! Son of a bitch!" He curses after shouting and puts his hand on his chest over his heart while he hears everyone laugh, however a curious look in his eyes makes him fully conscious and he returns to his concentrated posture — You should scare the whores you fuck around and leave me alone — Gerard says a little nervous about being interrupted and sees Ray laugh even more, knowing that exactly what he wanted had fallen into the pile.
"And you should try to eat someone, ridiculous" Ray walks away laughing and leaves a bitter taste on Gerard's lips, who does think about someone, his bandmate and guitarist who floods his dreams every night with completely tempting images: Frank Iero.
"Go shit Ray" Gee answers too late and before he realizes, Frank is next to Bob talking, too close, but talking, he swallows the bile rising in his throat and decides he needs to smoke and drink something before he goes crazy "I'll be right back" He announces to his colleagues who are distracted again in their own bubbles, well, he thought that was how it was but he didn't notice someone watching him.
He left the room they shared and walked to the hotel bar area. He ordered a nice cold beer and couldn't help but thank him for always carrying his pack of Marlboros in the pockets of his worn-out jeans. Gerard didn't want to bother anyone so he took his longneck to the pool area, which was empty. It was autumn and obviously no one was crazy enough to stay out of their rooms, except for himself, of course. He looked around even though he knew that all his fans already knew about his bad habits and lit a Marlboro Light, watching the smoke escape from his lips and float in the wind, blurring his vision.
Gerard wasn't thinking about anything other than finishing his beer and cigarette when he heard footsteps. He put the cigarette aside with his arm, not hiding it of course, but out of habit of being caught smoking, it was still embarrassing. However, it was none other than the reason for his thoughts, also smoking, those black cigarettes that he didn't know the brand of but found so chic and charming on his lips that he had to take a deep drag to calm his spirits and his anxiety.
"You weren't upset with Ray, were you?" He heard Frank's voice close to him and looked away, finishing his cigarette in one last deep drag. He put it in the ashtray and looked at the murky water of the pool. No, he wasn't upset with Rey, on the contrary, he felt like giving himself to Frankie without thinking about the consequences that this would bring to the band.
"Of course not, Frankie, I'm used to your stupid jokes, many years on the road with you guys, you have to try really hard to get me upset" Gerard says in a compassionate tone and takes a sip of his beer that has already warmed up while he remains staring at the pool, because if he looked at Frank... he didn't know what he could do.
"Could you at least talk to me while looking at me?" God, what temptation from the devil is not possible "I know that yesterday..." He stopped and Gerard looked at him to know the reason and he was staring at a third person who was recording them in the pool and Gerard was outraged, everything had limits!
"Let's get out of here" He pulls Frank out of the pool area, not before giving the middle finger to the ridiculous guy who was recording them without his consent, he took a deep breath and threw the rest of his beer in the trash, it was a Cyber-shot so the recording was probably shit and there would barely be any audio, however he could see Frankie apprehensive and that revolted him
"Hey wait here, I need to call someone."
He picks up his Motorola Razr and dials their manager's number. It doesn't take long for him to answer with his usual impatient tone, that of a busy man. They exchange greetings and Gerard gets straight to the point:
"The hotel breached the privacy clause, one of the guests recorded Frank and I talking, I thought it was important to let you know in case anything leaked to the media"
"He says and hears his manager sigh, he was afraid he would think it was something compromising and not that it wasn't, but the hotel promised they wouldn't let guests record them during their stay, it was one of the rules and he just broke the agreement."
"When you get back, we'll have a serious talk" That's all Tim says before hanging up on him leaving him high and dry and with a stomachache.
"What did this asshole say?" Frank asks, going back to smoking and not giving a damn about the rules of not smoking indoors, well, they didn't care about keeping the privacy rule either.
"When we get back to Jersey we'll have a talk" Gerard shrugged even though he was worried and leaned against the wall, from there he saw the sauna and thought maybe it would be a good place to distract himself.
"He's just bluffing, he's probably as pissed off as we are, don't worry, he doesn't care about what happens between us on stage" Frank says nonchalantly, but for Gerard this generates anxiety and makes him nervous, wanting to run away, as always, so he changes the subject completely:
"Hey, I'm going to the Sauna for a bit, maybe I'll forget about this there, are you coming?" He asks politely and hopes Frank says no, since he won't be able to handle being in a closed space with him, but that's not what happens, because he quickly hears:
"Sure, I really need to relax before the show!"
And now he's screwed.
•••♡•••
It wasn't what he expected. There were two or three people in the men's sauna too. It wasn't that Gerard had a problem with nudity. He did absurd things on stage, like moaning and faking orgasms. So being in a towel in front of strangers wasn't a problem. What really made him nervous was being half-naked in front of Frank. They were in a part of the cabin while they talked and exchanged ideas about some songs and arrangements that would be cool. They didn't have a rehearsal until 4 hours before the show because it was a tour and everything was already rehearsed and ready. All they needed to do was test the equipment, the positioning of the members, and how everyone was physically prepared that day. It was a warm-up.
"No, seriously, I think that on our next tour we should include Bullets songs again, I feel like we didn't give them enough attention" Frank rambled and Gerard agreed because of course, their first album was made independently, they didn't have a label or a name, so they could only really promote it to their fans like My Chemical Romance did with Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, they included some on the tour for their debut album and their fans liked it but it was to promote the new one and not the old one, it didn't make sense.
"Do you think the record company would let us?" Gerard asks doubtfully and when he looks at Frank he catches him looking at his bare skin, this makes him hyperconscious and embarrassed of how much skin was showing, when he looks around, the two men are gone and it's just them left.
"I don't know... I think so" He says mysteriously and they get closer, sitting on the wooden bench in the corner of a sauna, they feel attracted so deeply that they let their interest blossom, without thinking about the previous incident, they bring their faces closer and Gerard is too shy to initiate something but Frank is not, he holds his face with his hand and kisses him with a superficial peck, but they feel that it is not enough. It never is.
When they are on stage, there is a desire for it to deepen, beyond the peck, they let this desire grow with the memory of the stage in their minds, so Frank takes the initiative once again to deepen the seal for a kiss, joining their lips in a calm kiss where they explore each other without fear, but the adrenaline of being caught there kissing, makes the intensity increase and they hug each other, without feeling the towel slip from their bodies and that their still hands now explore each other's bodies, squeezing and pressing the places they have always been curious about, while their lips slide over each other.
They separate reluctantly due to the lack of air and panting and look at each other with affection and shyness, realizing the state they left each other: hot, excited and messy, as they were also on stage.
"Shall we go back?" Frank asks and Gerard nods embarrassedly, tying his towel around his waist again.
"Let's go!" And so they return to the room dressed, clean and relaxed, ready for another night of adrenaline together.