Gerard's POV

I check the clock for the millionth time. 7:38pm. The same number it said two seconds ago.

I wonder if Frank is as anxious as I am. If he stared at the ceiling thinking about me like I thought of him.

I stand in front of the mirror and try to straighten out my already straight shirt. Still in my boxers after trying on several pairs of pants and not being satisfied with any, I search through my drawers in the hopes of finding some that'll work.

Frank's POV

7:38pm. If I want to reach Gerard's place in time I'll have to leave in 12 minutes. That gives me just about as much time as I'll need.

I know I should have started getting ready earlier, but I was honestly just still stunned that all of this was happening.

I roll out of my bed and grab my only dress shirt. Of course, it's black. I fix the collar and attempt to fix my hair. I'm already wearing my pants — black ripped jeans (don't judge me, they're all I have that's clean) — so I only had to put on shoes

Then I walk out to my car, deciding to make a quick stop before going to pick up Gerard.

~~~

I stand, nervously shifting between my feet, in front of the door. It's 7:59, exactly one minute before 8. I've never been this punctual before.

The house is silent and there are only a couple lights on. I check my watch again and count down the seconds.

3.

2.

1.

Knock knock knock.

Gerard's POV

I jump off the couch and open the front door, my heart racing.

"H-hey," I say, my breath gone.  Frank stands on the porch holding a rose and blushing softly.

"Hi."

"Who's at the door?" Mikey yells from his room.

"Uh, my ride," I reply, not breaking eye contact with Frank.

"'Kay. See ya."

"Okay, love you."

"I love you. Have fun."

"Sorry," I say to Frank, grabbing my keys and patting my back pocket to make sure I have my phone. I walk out and close the door behind me.

"It's fine," Frank says, "uh, here." he hands me the rose and I take it. I admire the red petals as Frank walks me to his car. He opens the passenger-side door for me with nervous hands and I notice a red tie thrown in the backseat.

"So, where are we going?" I ask once he sits down.

"It's a surprise," he answers with a smile.

Frank's POV

He looks out the window like he did on the night we first kissed. I admire him silently, the only sound being the engine and soft music playing through the speakers. Suddenly, he turns his head to face me and notices me staring. My cheeks burn and I smile. He sends me one of those adorable smiles with one side of his mouth pulling higher than the other. 

I almost miss the turn.

Gerard's POV

"Close your eyes," Frank instructs me as we turn into a parking lot. I laugh a bit.

"What?"

"Close them!"

"Fine, fine," I say, playing along. I feel the car slow to a stop and hear Frank unbuckle his seatbelt and open the door. He shuts it with a click and I hear my own door open. I feel his body heat near me as he suddenly leans over me and unbuckles my seatbelt, surprising me a bit. He takes me hand in his and I carefully step out of the car. It's cold outside but his hands are warm and comforting.

The light changes as we enter what I can only assume is a restaurant. I smell strong spices and hear low chatter around us while Frank checks us in.

"Iero, table for two."

I squeeze his hand a bit to get his attention as we slowly walk through the room to our table.

"What?" Frank whispers to me.

"Can I open my eyes?" I whisper back. He chuckles.

"Not yet. Just hold on until we sit down."

I internally roll my eyes.

We stop walking and Frank seems to almost let go of my hand, but reconsiders and keeps it there. I feel around with my free hand and slide into the booth. Our hands rest atop the table near something hot—a candle?

"Your server will be right with you."

Frank thanks the lady and I hear her heels clack as she walks away. He squeezes me hand and whispers "okay, open."

Slowly, I open my eyes. The first thing I see is Frank grinning, which makes me smile. I look down to our hands next to a small candle and around the room. It's an incredibly high-end and fancy restaurant, like the ones I would imagine celebrities go to. My breath catches and I think about how much this must be costing Frank.

My head shoots back to him smiling expectedly.

"I... Frank," I breathe out, unsure of what to say.

"Do you like it?" He asks sounding almost scared that I won't.

"Do I— yes! But Frank, how muc—" I start to say, but am cut off.

"Don't worry about the price. Just relax and have a good time," he says, smiling and squeezing my hand again. My breath is still taken away.

~~~

"Dessert?" The waitress—a kind woman with an even kinder smile—asks us. Frank looks at me questioningly and I shrug with one shoulder.

"Sure," he answers, not taking his eyes off of me. "What do you have?"

"Red velvet cake, premium brownie, and strawberry shortcake. All come with a side of ice cream."

"Red velvet?" He asks me. I nod. He smiles at me and looks to the waitress.

Before he has to say anything, she says "one red velvet, coming right up."

"Thanks, Agnes," Frank says.

"You know her?" I ask.

He shrugs. "Name tag."

We each take a sip of our drinks and I look to the candle, where our hands once were. We let go a while ago and, though I was thankful to have two hands again, I kind of hated it.

The lady returns a few minutes later carrying our cake.

"That was fast," Frank jokes.

"Ah, we actually made it early for y'all."

"What?" Frank and I say in unison

"Oh, uh," she stutters, realizing what she said. She accepts defeat with a sigh and starts to explain. "We had a bet going on on what you guys would do after dinner. A few of us said you'd get red velvet, so we made it early."

I can't help but laugh. "That predictable?"

Frank laughs with me.

"Enjoy," the lady says, holding back a laugh, and walks away.

After a few jokes, we dig into the delicious cake.

Frank's POV

Gerard thinks the night is over as we exit the restaurant.

How cute.

It's about 9:45pm. We hop in the car and Gerard looks out the window again. I want to ask him about it, but he looks so peaceful and happy that I can't bring myself to disturb him.

"What?" He says softly.

"Huh?"

He turns his head to me with a tired lopsided smile. "I can feel you staring."

My cheeks burn. "Oh."

He looks at me for a few moments then laughs softly and looks away again. I drive along the mostly empty road.

"Where are we?" Gerard asks as I turn into a small plaza.

"You'll see," I wink at him and get out of the car, going around to open his door. He steps out into the cool air and shivers a bit. I grab his leather jacket from the backseat and hand it to him. He gratefully slips it on and we walk through the sidewalk next to a plot of grass and trees. I check my watch. Five minutes until 10:00pm.

We find a bench under the bower of a nearby tree, not that there's any shadow this late, and sit together. Gerard looks up and admires the stars above us. I admire him. His eyes almost sparkle and he looks like a young child, absolutely mesmerized by the stars.

I guess we sat like that for five minutes, because suddenly the lights turn on and we see the early-halloween decorations that line the street. All the small shops are illuminated with artificial lights and faint spooky music plays nearby.

Gerard looks even more mesmerized and happy.

"Do you like it?" I whisper, bumping his shoulder with mine.

"It's so rad. I didn't know they did this." He barely looks at me, too preoccupied with the fancy lights, like a moth.

"Yeah," I mutter, thinking about how my mom used to bring me here for my birthday each year when I was a kid.

I mindlessly lean my head on Gerard's shoulder and sigh, pleased. He rests his own on my head.

We sit for I don't know how long.

~~~

I park in front of Gerard's house. He looks at me with a sad smile.

"I had an awesome time," he says. I smile.

"Me too."

He looks to his house, Illuminated by only one light coming from inside and the dim driveway light, and sighs. He takes off his seatbelt and gets out. I follow after him, holding his hand. Just before we reach the front door, I stop him.

"Hey, so," I trip over my words, nervous. "Do you, uh, wanna, ah."

"Frank?" He giggles.

I smile. "Do you want to be my boyfriend?"

His smile must reach his ears as he rolls his eyes playfully. "Yes."

Trying to contain my excitement a bit, I stand on my toes and kiss him passionately. He smiles a bit and kisses back.

Someone clears their throat in front of us. Gerard pulls away so fast, I can still feel the ghost of his lips on mine.

"M-Mikey," Gerard stutters out. My cheeks flush and I look anywhere but to him.

"Gerard. Frank," he answers in a monotone voice. I feel his eyes on me.

Gerard chuckles uncontrollably. "I'll be in in a sec."

Mikey doesn't move. I hear him sigh as I look to the dark sky.

"Mikey," Gerard says, hoping he'll take the hint.

"Fine," he says finally, shutting the door. Gerard exhales a laugh and places his palm on my cheek, turning my head and pulling me into another kiss.

"You didn't kiss me all night," he says when we pull apart.

"I was, uh, trying to be a gentleman?" This time we both laugh.

He bends down once more and kisses me quickly. "Goodnight, Frank," he says, opening the door and standing in front of the frame.

"Goodnight, Gerard."

I see that lopsided grin again as he walks in and shuts the door behind him.

———
:)