When he walked into the coffeeshop, Helena, he was greeted by two men sucking their faces off hungrily. Ray feared that they were close enough to start stripping and have sex right there in front of him. He would hope not - he was begging to God that he didn't dare to curse him. He had his morning cup of coffee in his right hand that he would rather enjoy without thinking about what Frank and Gerard would do if they were all alone. Heck, they might be tempted to do it in public if they so damn pleased.
Damn horny bastards, Ray thought with disgust. He could hear Frank's comeback in his head - "it's cause you're not getting any, Toro."
"Please, I don't want to throw up my coffee." Ray begged before sauntering to the other side of the room to remove his thick layers. Winter was here and that meant chilly weather in Belleville, New Jersey.
Ray nearly felt like an idiot for allowing Gerard and Frank to open up the shop first. He knew they would rather spend the extra five minutes in bed to snooze the clock and have a round of "mind-blowing sex" as Frank loved to put it. Ray tried to tune those details out since the two men were like brothers to him and hearing that about them was just wrong in so many ways.
Mikey felt the exact same about their PDA. Ray was proud that his husband had a temper nearly as shirt as Frank's. Mikey always threatened to throw a brick at Frank and Gerard's heads if they didn't stop their inappropriate make out sessions. Ray thought it was adorable whenever Mikey got pissed. As their beloved friend Jamia liked to say, "he looks like an angry cupcake." Luckily, if Ray ever used that pet name Mikey had something similar to say back.
It was right after Mikey and he married when Elena was on her deathbed. Her being family wasn't the only hard thing about losing her. She was so supportive of Frank, Gerard, Mikey and he. Ray remembered his own parents being onboard with his sexuality as long as he was happy. Donald and Donna Way, Ray's in-laws, took their time, but with Elena she gave them a little nudge in the right direction. Elena was their biggest fan who had all of their backs. Ray and Frank loved the little old woman and adopted her as their grandmother.
When she passed they all mourned, of course, but she surprisingly left something behind for them. Helena was a building at the end of Monroeville Ave of Belleville where there were neighboring buildings of average sized companies. Elena left four keys for each of them and a simple note saying how they could do whatever they wanted with the building since it belonged to the four of them. It was an average sized building and they didn't want to jump boundaries, but think rationally.
A coffee shop was Gerard's idea, so that settled the decision of what the building would be. It wasn't a horrible choice, probably the best one they could have made. None of them were wallowing in wealth, so it wouldn't be horrible to have more money coming in. Gerard was the successful one doing what he loved most - making comic books. Frank, Mikey and he yearned to make music which hadn't gone far. There were small gigs here and there, but most of the time they had quite an amount of free time making zero money.
Because of this, Mikey and he ended up sharing a place with Frank and Gerard. Ray was the type to love his privacy which is why if Mikey and he were ever being affectionate it was full vanilla. However, as much as Ray loved it just being Mikey and he, they couldn't afford a place on their own since they were both doing the same thing. Ray wondered if they should go back to school and pursue a degree in something to help with the bills. Helena was a lifesaver, but even Ray knew that wouldn't cover everything.
Gerard was the one who was over the moon about them sharing a place together. They decided to save money in order to find something bigger, but for now they were sharing an apartment with three bedrooms. Thank God all four of them were married couples. The third room was used as a studio for Frank, Mikey and he to practice in. Ray made sure to ask Gerard if he wanted to use it when he drew. His brother-in-law informed him that he could draw anywhere so it was fine. Ray loved Gerard. He also wished Frerard's room was soundproof so he didn't have to hear the moans and screams belonging to the redhead.
