PINK FEATHER BOAS AND CIGARETTES

9

'Honey! You're gonna be late!'

'I'm coming!' Frank yelled from the bedroom. A second later he came out wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. 'I couldn't find clean socks.'

'First of all – damn! You look hot!' That made Frank blush, as he came closer to hug his boyfriend. 'Second of all, babe, it's okay to use mismatched socks. Nobody cares.' Gerard knew how much he hated that, there was a reason why socks came in pairs, Frank always argued.

'I care.'

Gerard handed him his to-go coffee, and a sandwich he made for him. 'Good luck on your first day.'

'Thank you.'

Frank barely made it to the train that would take it to the city to his first day of rehearsals.

He got a part in a cabaret show off Broadway.

He didn't know how it happened, but after many unsuccessful auditions, he finally got one. It took him months, and taking more dancing lessons.

He tried not to think about it, or he'd start crying in the middle of the train.

It had taken him a while, a lot of work to get better. Getting back to dancing helped, even though it was different than pole dancing, which had got him into it in the first place. But he discovered what he was capable of, that he actually had a talent and enjoyed it a lot. He remembered being a teenager and wanting to be a musician, play guitar in front of people. He never thought he'd end up becoming a pole dancer and then in a cabaret.

But life worked in funny ways, he thought.

It was performing after all.

And he had to admit, Gerard had a lot to do in his getting better. He encouraged him to see a therapist, and was there every night when he felt like shit. He encouraged his dream, and took care of him. Gerard was the best thing that ever happened to him, and he was glad he'd met him.

When he made it to the dance studio, in the cold streets of New York, he got ready, and joined the rest of the cast as the director and crew welcomed them. Everyone introduced themselves, and Frank couldn't stop smiling the whole time.

They practiced for hours that day, until mid afternoon, and Frank made it home just in time for dinner. 'How was it?' Gerard asked first thing as he walked in.

'Exhausting.' Gerard pulled him closer for a kiss. 'I'm gross, let me take a shower first.' They had dinner, and then loud sex as a thank you for supporting Frank's dream. Then, the next day they did everything again, and again.

By the end of the week, they announced the parts everyone would be playing. It was an original show, and the director said they needed to see everyone's skills and personalities. Frank would be playing Ulyses, the non-binary emcee of a traveling circus where the main character ended up after dying, and basically the second most important character. 'We knew it the second you auditioned for us,' the director told him. 'You're just perfect to play Ulyses.'

And Frank loved every bit of it. Wearing lingerie and platforms always made him feel beautiful and confident, and he had many singing parts.

It was a few couple months of nonstop rehearsing, taking his body to the limit, but he only got better and better. He was excited.

***

'You can't sleep?' Gerard asked, seeing his boyfriend lying awake. It was the night before of the first show.

Frank just shook his head. 'I just – I'm happy.'

'I'm glad.'

He turned to Gerard and took his hand, looking at him. 'Thank you. For everything.' His boyfriend smiled at him. 'But especially for not stopping until I got my ass off and got my shit together. It really worked.'

'I knew what you were capable of.' He kissed his lips gently, his hands running down his back. 'And I missed seeing you in tights and women lingerie.'

'You know you could just ask, right?'

'I know – but I wanted to see you living your dream.'

'Thank you for that.' There was a second or two of silence while they just looked at each other, smiling. Frank was doing everything he could not to cry. 'I'm so fucking nervous.'

'You'll do great.'

'You think so?'

'I know so.'

***

When the lights went dim, and a single piano key was heard, Frank walked down the stage wearing a black Victorian dress and holding a bouquet of red roses, singing a song welcoming everyone to the show.

Gerard smiled proudly from his seat in the first row.

With every song, Frank's character would change outfits, going from fishnets and a corset to an all-black suit. And he looked beautiful in each one of them.

Gerard was genuinely surprised by his acting skills. He knew he could dance and sing like no one, but he could also act!

On the last number Frank was wearing a white suit with black tie, and was covered in fake blood, singing about blood and welcoming a new character to the afterlife.

After changing into normal clothes, and cleaning all the fake blood off his face, he put on some makeup, and went out to thank everyone. 

And Gerard was there, waiting for him, holding a single rose, just like that day outside Poison. 'You're gonna make me ruin my makeup,' he said trying not to cry.

'You did absolutely great,' Gerard told him, leaning his forehead against Frank's. 'I'm so proud of you.'

'I'm here thanks to you.'

'You did all this yourself.'

They kissed, before they had to take Frank away to talk to promoters and everyone who wanted to congratulate him. They were all surprised to learn he was a simple New Jersey guy with no training in musical theater, and he just mentioned he did lots of dancing without getting into detail. Some people told him he had a lot of promise and they were sure the show would do great and that he'd get a lot more roles because of it. Frank hoped so, because he had never been so happy.

At some point, Jamia and his parents showed up and told him how proud they were.

On their way back home, Gerard and Frank held hands and made plans to move to New York, and get another dog, and maybe one day get married.

THE END

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