Passing Looks and Disappointed Faces

[Frank's P.O.V.]

Suddenly, there came a derisive snort and the rustling of papers. "Not a surprise," a gruff voice murmured and again there was a silence. I lifted my gaze from where I had been contemplating my bare feet and calves. I shook my head slightly to clear my ears, trying to figure out if what I heard was correct.

"E-excuse me?" I stammered, staring at my grandparents who had contentedly gone back to reading the sheaves of paper before them.

"Well, we had already guessed it long ago and your 'friend' basically just sealed our suspicions," my grandmother informed me, looking as if she had just received notice that her grandson was named Frank Iero, not that he was a raging homosexual.

"Hold on a second; you don't care?"

"It's not that we don't care," she assured me, voice gentle, a soft purr. "You might think that we would be outraged and would shun you but we love you, darling. You're our grandson and we'll love you no matter what. What you do with your life is your business, not ours, anyway." She stood, striding over to engulf me in a warming hug, the sweet scent that always surrounded her clinging to my nostrils even as she pulled away. She lifted a hand to straighten the messy strands of my hair, brushing them out of my face. I smiled, wrapping my arms around her in another hug. It was so strange to come out to them and have it accept it as if it were no big deal. You would expect elderly people such as they were to turn sour and try to convince me that what I thought was just some sort of strange teenage phase or a cry of rebellion that needed disciplining. Their acceptance was somewhat shocking though not altogether surprising.

It was comforting, however, and I sighed in relief, sinking down in my former chair once I was released from her gentle hold. Gerard's hand sought my own, a grin stretching his lips, revealing his small white teeth. I couldn't help but smile as well, looking down at our intertwined fingers as he rubbed his thumb gently over my knuckles. "So, Frank; what is Gerard to you?" my grandfather asked, looking at me with a smirk on his face, leaning his elbows onto the table. The heat rose to my cheeks and I dropped my gaze, focusing on our hands instead of his amused expression, unable to answer.

"We're boyfriends," I heard to my right and immediately I turned my gaze towards him, glaring at him slightly. He chuckled at my expression and shrugged, looking back at my grandparents who wore smiles on their faces, small laughter pouring from their lips. I stood up, dropping Gerard's hand, motioning to the door with a mumbled excuse that I was going to go out. How do you react when your grandparents find out your gay? Obviously, I didn't know and the atmosphere in the kitchen was simply more than awkward for me. I needed fresh air; I needed time to think.

I walked out without any coherent thoughts buzzing through my mind; they were all melding into each other, confusing me. I needed a cold beer to get my mind off things; I needed to catch my breath. I needed this all to be over already so that I could rest easy, so that I didn't need to worry every waking minute. I needed a cigarette. Kicking mindlessly at the sidewalk, scuffing the shoes I had slipped into at the last minute, I realized that I wasn't alone.

"Go away, Gerard," I muttered, keeping my gaze locked on the sidewalk, wanting to brew over my own thoughts in solitude. There came no answer but I could still hear the gentle sounds of his footsteps against the pebble-ridden ground. I sighed, pausing in my steps to face the being walking beside me. As I had suspected, it was him, stubbornly following behind me again. "Do you have nothing better to do?" I asked, even though it was harsh, even though I didn't mean it. I was grateful to have him there; really I was. I just didn't appreciate the fact that he was driving himself down deeper and deeper into a hole he just didn't have to fall into.

"As a matter of fact, I don't," he said, a slight smirk on his face as he stopped, looking back at me.

"Go home, Gee," I whispered, crossing my arms over my chest, hunching my shoulders as a draft of cold air washed over me. "They're probably all worrying about you right now." It wasn't necessarily that I wanted him gone, far from it; I simply didn't want him to get in trouble for having spent the night at my grandparents' house.

"I don't need to go home. I can just call them and tell them you let me spend the night; it's not big deal." I looked pointedly at him before averting my gaze, walking down the sidewalk again; I wasn't going to argue with him so early in the day again. He sped up until he was beside me at which point he matched his pace to mine. I sighed, shivering as another rush of wind blew down the collar of my shirt. I didn't bother looking at him, even as I heard scuffling from his side of the sidewalk. In instants, his jacket was draped over my shoulders, the empty arms hanging limp over my chest. I paused again, looking at him. He smiled softly, motioning for me to continue walking, patting at the warm fabric over me.

"It's cold, Gee; take your jacket back," I muttered, slipping it off my shoulders to offer it to him.

"Keep it," he muttered, walking down the sidewalk again, obviously headed for the guard station, ready to leave the neighborhood. Rolling my eyes, I set off down after him, thrusting the fabric into his hands. He blatantly refused me, pushing the material back towards me, growling for me to keep it, that he wasn't going to take it back.

"Why are you being so stubborn? Just take the damned thing."

"I'm not going to take it back. I don't care what you do with it; I don't want it anymore." There was a note of finality in his tone as he poked his finger into my chest before he walked away, slipping out of the neighborhood without looking back at me. Grumbling under my breath, I put on the jacket, jogging down the sidewalk towards his retreating figure.

"Gerard, stop," I called out, grabbing his arm as he continued walking. He stopped, looking back over at me.

"What do you want?" he growled, obviously frustrated by my protests and the way that I was treating him this morning. I was at a loss for words for a few moments, gaping idiotically at him as I searched my mind frantically for something to say.

"I didn't mean it. I guess I just wanted to be alone for a few moments; I'm really sorry, Gee." My hand traveled down his arm to link our fingers, the fabric of his jacket covering my palm, creating some friction between our skin.

"I understand; not easy, is it?" he smirked after a few moments, lifting his other hand to tilt my chin up, pressing his lips gently to mine. I shook my head, averting my gaze down to the floor again, even though his hand was still gently situated at my chin. He lifted my head again, forcing my gaze to his, searching in my eyes for a few moments with his gaze. With a smile, he let his hand drop, beginning to walk down the sidewalk again, tugging me along gently beside him.

"Where are we going?" I asked him after a few minutes of silence, his cotton pajamas rustling against the floor as he walked. He looked so strange that I couldn't help but giggle occasionally at his appearance, quickly looking away whenever he looked at me. Now was no exception, except this time I simply burst with laughter, unable to hold myself back when I saw his questioning glance.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Tell me where we're going," I demanded once my laughter had subsided, swinging our intertwined hands between us as we walked, pointedly ignoring his question.

"I'll tell you where we're going when you tell me what's so funny." I laughed a little while longer, shaking my head.

"You," I said once I could control myself.

"What's so funny about me?"

"You're walking around Jersey in fucking cotton pajamas; tell me that's not damned hilarious," I said, pecking his cheek with a kiss lightly before pulling away, a silly grin on my face as we walked. He looked down at himself, studying his appearance before he cracked a grin as well, shoving me lightly. After a brief stumble, I returned to his side, releasing his hand to wrap my arm around his waist.

"We're going to get some booze," he finally conceded, his arm going around my shoulders, pulling me even closer.

"Booze?" I asked incredulously, looking up at him as he walked. He flashed me a small smile.

"But of course, and then I'm going to go stop off at home, change, get some money and go myself a carton of cigarettes; I'm running low."

"So I'm going to accompany you on all your errands today?" I asked, shoving him lightly. He laughed, pulling me closer, pressing a small kiss to the top of my head.

"Whoever said you had to?" he smirked, leading me into a small store. I couldn't catch the name of it but I immediately recognized the long racks of liquor. James Cabel's place, I thought to myself, wriggling away from Gerard to make my way over to the front. He followed somewhat reluctantly, checking out the bottles as he passed them by.

"Hey, Cabel!" I yelled into the interior of the store, somewhat surprised that it was open so early. Cabel spent his life here, though, so it was to be expected that he wouldn't want to miss a moment away from his little liquor heaven. I waited a few moments, looking back at Gerard with a smile on his face.

"Have you ever met the owner?" I asked with a smirk on my face. "He's this really nice guy; domino games every week and shit." Just when he was about to respond, the man I had been speaking about walked out from the back, wiping his hands on a rag and a scowl already set in place. When he saw me, he let the scowl go, walking over to the counter and throwing the rag aside.

"Frank, my boy, how's your grandpa doing? And Gerard: I missed you at the game; where've you been?" Startled, I turned my head to look at him, cocking my head in confusion. He smirked, shrugging almost apologetically.

"You know him?"