Arrangements

The band had taken a few more days off, and Frank wouldn't be returning to the band until June, for the Warped Tour. I would have Gerard for only a couple days before he went with the band to do some shows and interviews. We spent a lot of time reconnecting, in a way, and doing what normal couples do. Another thing we had done was get down to what was bothering us both.

Gerard is an addict. He will always have that little monkey on his back, wanting the taste of drugs and alcohol. I wanted him to rid himself of all want of those things, to give himself a better life. I didn't want him to be tempted anymore, I wanted him to know that I was there for him. I knew it would be hard, since I couldn't be there 24/7 to help him.

His brother and his friends can help too, but Gerard is a grown man and you can't tell a grown man what to do. Getting him to a point that he could resist the temptation would be hard, but I had to be done. I just didn't know what he needed.

"Should you be smoking that?" Gerard's voice caused me to jump in my place.

I had been painting and smoking absentmindedly, "Gee!" I groaned at him, "You scared me!"

He smirked at me from the door way, "Stormy, should you be smoking that?"

I looked at the cigarette, "Why? What's wrong with them?" I snubbed out the butt quickly.

He gave me a quizzical look, "Aren't we trying to have a baby? You should really give up the cigs."

I tried to hide my obvious smile, "I'm not addicted to them, it just helps me clear my thoughts."

He hummed softly and walked over to me, taking the pack of cigarettes from my desk, "Come with me." 

I followed Gerard out of the room and to our living room. He went over to the coffee table, taking two thick envelopes and my cigarettes, he turned to me, "We're burning these."

I raises my brow, "Aside from my cigarettes, what're those?"

"The annulment papers and the unsigned petition to change your name." 

I chewed at the inside of my lip, "Oh."

"We're burning them so they won't be a factor in our lives anymore. C'mere." 

I walked over to Gerard, and he took my hand. We both got on our knees, he turned on the gas and tossed the cigarettes in the fireplace and then unfolded the envelopes, pulling out the folded sheets. He handed me half; "Rip them up."

I did as he said and held them up; he grabbed his funny green lighter and flicked it, setting the ripped up papers on fire. He nodded his head towards the fireplace and I tossed the burning papers in. He did the same with his half, the pack of cigarettes caught fire too. I sat back on my knees, watching the fire burn up all my troubles, in a way, and took Gerard's hand in mine. He looked over, scooting closer to me, and kissed my cheek.

"Now it feels like weight has been lifted off our shoulders," his lips pressed to mine, "we can have our baby and live happily ever after."

"Are you getting cheesy on me, Gerard?"

He smiled against my lips, "Just a little."


At the end of the week, I was back in LA, without Gerard. He had to get some thing settled, and would be leaving once again before I had a chance to get back. We both dealt with it, and surprisingly well.

When I got to LA, the first thing I had done, after settling in my suite, was to visit with Alex. He and I had to go over our latest shipment of his band's merchandise. I visited him at his studio; to get a real look of it so I could start my outline of the design he wanted.

I showed up at his place, late in the afternoon. He lived in a small community, in a village almost, like Astrid and I used to. His home was nice and the neighborhood had a lot of arty weirdos that I was used to.

"Hey," Alex opened the door, smiled down at me, "come in."

"Hey, nice place. I love it." I told him, "I used to live a couple of streets down with the weirdo artist."

He chuckled, leading me further into his home, "Yeah, I live with the weird musicians."

His home with filled with instruments, random ones. Some were broken and some were painted oddly. I liked it; it would be my kind of home.

"Your place is awesome," I told him as we entered the studio, "it's my kind of place."

He smiled, "Thanks, I am no interior designer, but I did put a lot of what I liked here."

I nodded; taking a look around the studio. It was plain, but there was a big beige wall that was dying to be painted. I grinned, walking over to it, surpassing his mess of keyboards and guitars, and even a dismantled drumset.

"We usually leave the drums up against the wall, but it's the one I want painted." He stood behind me as I looked it over, getting a visual in my head.

"It's like a playground," I mumbled, "I can't wait to get started."


Alex helped me paint for the next few hours. We talked, as we usually did, and the barrier of tension had gone down. I never brought of Gerard, neither did he, we were just two people working -painting.

It was getting late, and the wall was nearly finished, we decided to call it a night. The heat lamps were turned off, and I sat for a moment with him.

"What time do you want me to come over tomorrow?" I asked, wiping paint off my finger.

"Anytime in the afternoon; my schedule is free all day."

"Alright, I have to meet with Dave tomorrow morning, so I'll come after."

He nodded, "Yeah, sure."

We both stood, and for a moment we just looked at each other. I feeling a burning sensation in my cheeks; my crush for Alex had made its presence known. I think it was because we had so much carefree time together.

And, Alex could feel it too. 

He stepped closer to me, one hand cupped my jaw, his head tilted to the side and he kissed me. I didn't stop myself like I would have, I kissed back.