Zoo: Frerard: Oneshot

We had just finished the show and all I can say is, I was sweating like a fucking pig. Now, I normally didn’t care about that kind of thing but I became extremely aware of how wrecked I looked when I caught a glance of myself in the small piece of mirror hanging on the wall.

My hair was matted with sweat. The skull make up on my face was running down it like raindrops on a window. One of the strings on my guitar had snapped (okay, that one I had noticed but still, it added to the messy look I had going on). In short, I looked absolutely terrible.

“Hey there Frankenstein,”

I stopped trying to fix my hair and whirled around, nearly spearing Gerard with my guitar. Luckily, he jumped out of the way just in time, smiling in that sexy-creepy way that he alone could.

“I hear there’s a cool zoo around here. Wanna go see it before we leave?” he asked, eagerly grabbing one of my hands.

I blushed at the unexpected contact but quickly looked away from Gerard, praying that it was dark enough back here that he couldn’t see how red I was.

“Uh…” I mumbled. I didn’t really feel like going to a zoo right now but one look at Gerard’s hopeful eyes was enough to change my mind.

“Sure but, I kinda need to shower and get rid of the makeup…” I sighed.

“Oh come on!” Gerard whined, his grip on my hand tightening, “Where’s the fun in that?”

He grinned fiendishly, a surprisingly easy thing to do when you have a skull painted on your face.

“Let’s go scare some little kids!”

I snorted, “Gerard Way, that is incredibly creepy.”

“But you know you love it,” he whispered, leaning so close that I felt his breath against my cheek. He rested his chin on my shoulder and just barely brushed his black lips against my neck, not really a kiss but not really not a kiss.

I sucked in a breath. It was at times like this that I loved and hated Gerard the most. He knew that I would do whatever the hell he wanted just so long as he said nice things or held my hand once in a while.

Well, not this time! I thought determinedly.  

There was no way I was going outside looking like this. No way. It might look cool on stage, after a really fun show, but out in broad daylight, I’d look like a demented clown.

“No way Gerard,” I sighed, shrugging his chin off my shoulder, “No way.”

***

Ten minutes later, Gerard was running around the zoo like an excited child and I was following about ten meters behind him. But because we were both wearing the same Black Parade uniform and make-up, I received just as many stares as he did.

“Gee!” I hissed as a woman gave me a particularly dirty look and pulled her daughter closer to her, “Could you calm down just a little?”

Gerard stopped making monkey faces at a llama and stared at me, smiling.

“Nah,” he shrugged, “I couldn’t possibly.”

And with that, he raced off into a crowd of people who all stared at him. I sighed heavily.

Well, at least he’s not always like this… just after shows, I thought, prepared to follow him.

But then, I stopped and instead flopped down onto a bench. Who was I kidding? Whether Gerard was running around from the post-show excitement or simply opting out of a night of clubbing with Mikey and Ray, I would follow him to the ends of the earth. It wasn’t him that needed to change, it was me.

So, as much as I wanted to chase after Gerard, I forced myself to lean back on the bench and just wait for him to come back to me. And wait I did.

I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And finally, just as I was going to give up and go find Gerard, he came.

Not only that, he came bearing ice-cream.

Wow, I thought, I should try that not-following-Gerard-like-a-puppy thing more often.

“Frank?” he asked quietly.

I patted the spot on the bench next to me and he came closer, holding one of the two cones in his hands out to me. I took it gratefully.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

We ate our ice-creams in silence for a while and I could tell that the excitement of the show had finally worn off Gerard. Thank god.

“We look kind of stupid, don’t we?” he said after a while.

“Yup.”

“And you really didn’t want to come to the zoo, did you?”

“Nope.”

Gerard turned to me, his face fully serious and slightly scary because of the make-up, “Then why did you?”

I stopped mid-lick and lowered my ice-cream cone.

“Because… because…” I stammered.

Why did I follow him around everywhere? I tried my best to put my thoughts into words but I couldn’t, so I looked around instead. My eyes fell on a peacock in its enclosure and I suddenly felt inspired.

“Because you’re a peacock feather!” I blurted.

Gerard nearly choked on his ice-cream.

“I’m a what?” he coughed.

But I was on a roll, “Yeah, a peacock feather! You’re beautiful and fun and you make other things look better but… um…” I trailed off.

Damn it, and I had been so confident when I started that metaphor!

“Look, the point is, I’m tired of always following you around Gerard,” I sighed, “And don’t say you don’t notice because you know fucking well that I’d follow you off a cliff and you always take advantage of that. I just wish sometimes you’d… Gerard? Are you even listening to me?”

“You think I’m beautiful and fun?” Gerard whispered.

He was blushing. Blushing.

I blinked.

Then I laughed. Typical Gerard. He hadn’t heard anything past the compliment… but he was blushing. Good sign. It encouraged me to try again.

“Gerard, why do you always make me go everywhere with you?” I asked.

If it were even possible, Gerard blushed harder.

“I um…” he cleared his throat awkwardly, “I… mfffm.”

“What?”

Gerard swallowed the bite of ice cream he’d taken and before he could take another, I grabbed his arm.

“Gerard! I’m trying to be serious here!”

“Okay…” he sighed and then stared at his lap, a forced-nonchalant look on his face, “I like having you around alright? The truth is, when I’m with you, even if the whole world is staring and thinking “Who is this freak?” I know I can always look at your face and see that same mixture of embarrassment and… something else.”

He looked up shyly, “You make it okay to be me, you know?”

For a few seconds, I was at a loss for words. He… needed me? Gerard Way needed me like a child needed a security blanket. Suddenly, I was grinning like Jack Skellington (I probably looked like him too, with my make-up and all).

“Oh Gerard…” I shook my head and I was suddenly filled with the same confidence that Gerard had been filled with shortly before.

I stood up slightly and dropped onto Gerard’s lap, making him stiffen uncomfortably. With a smirk, I squeezed his cheeks together with one hand and giggled at the surprised look he gave me.

Huh. This was pretty fun.

Heck, what was wrong with me following him around everywhere? We could go wherever he wanted because he needed me there. But from now on, we played by my rules. Starting now.

“So you’re not mad?” Gerard muttered, licking his lips nervously.

“Hell no,” I replied, shaking my head with a smile, “I just discovered I’m your security blanket, how could I be mad?”

Before he could ask what I meant, I pressed my lips against his and kissed him for as long as I wanted to.

And for once, Gerard Way followed my lead.