Smoke. |Frerard|

Demise

Frank was ready for that day. Gerard wasn't. Mikey and Ray were oblivious to the situation around them. They just thought of it as another day, another hour, another minute on Frank Iero's porch. They had no idea what was happening, what Frank had been planning to do for the past three months.

Frank knew he had to plan it out to be three months. The same amount of time that he had Gerard.

He was at it again, thinking of Gerard, but he didn't find that too bad. No this time, at least. No, no. This time, it was a kind of happy feeling, as happy as he could get in Frank's current situation. It seemed the two switched roles, now Gerard feeling the dread and regret of everything.

Within a matter of hours, Frank was laying on his bed, his empty bottle of pills on the nightstand. The house was quiet where he was, the room filled with a dark and solemn vibe. The only occasional sound was Mikey or Ray's cheering when they won their game of Halo of whatever they were playing. Their minds were totally oblivious to what the scene had become in the room upstairs. The room that housed a depressed and sorrowful man who was now peaceful and quiet. Frank thought it was what he deserved.

The news wouldn't spread far, if it did, it would only say that some guy died and everyone would move on with their lives after a quiet, "so sad."

But, Frank wasn't sad anymore. That was the thing he wasn't. In fact, he didn't feel anything except peace and joy. There was a light and something pulled him into it. He saw a figure that he hadn't seen in a long while, only appearing in what had been his dreams or thoughts. And, he smiled. But, Gerard wasn't. He was curled up, in the corner of his vision, his knees pulled to his chest. When Frank tapped him on the shoulder, he turned around with tear filled eyes. His face was white and black. The area around his eyes was totally black, like his nose and the sides of his face. Frank almost thought it was makeup.

Frank knelt next to his lover, the smile fading no more than slightly. Gerard tried to smile, but it was quite impossible.

"You.."

"Me."

"You shouldn't be here, Frank."

Frank was confused. If anything, Gerard should've been happy. It was thought that the feeling would be mutual. Yet, Gerard hugged him, tightly. He was still sobbing into his shoulder, but Frank didn't do anything to change it. It was too late to change his sobbing for the time being.

"You should've listened to me." Gerard said, voice quiet, "If you loved me, you would've listened."

"I," Frank said, pulling apart from the hug, "I needed to see you again. I couldn't live without you any longer than I did. And, now I'm here. I'm with you, we're together again, Gerard. Be happy, for me."

Gerard smiled then. He smiled through his tears. Frank pulled a strand of hair from his eyes, pressing his lips against Gerard's for a moment before the older man pulled away. In a quiet whisper, he simply said, "Welcome to the Black Parade, Frankie."

And he grabbed his hand, their smiles now mirroring each other, eyes connecting for what seemed like ages, and they went. They began to walk further into the white lighting, and Frank was happy. Gerard wasn't quite yet, but he knew he would be.

He knew Frank would be okay, too. And that, that one piece of the puzzle, made everything better.