I'm the Last One That You'll Ever Remember

The following afternoon, Gerard and Frank had to order a late breakfast due to all the activities they had exerted themselves into last night. The staff had not only granted their wish in what felt like minutes, but had also gone above and beyond with setting up an outdoor beach daybed on their private beach for them to enjoy their breakfast while overlooking the clear blue waters, and sunny skies.

Clad in a white towel robe, Gerard had gawked at the romantic serene set up sprinkled in red rose petals while Frank had squealed like a girl in his cocoon of blankets and raced over to it like a child charging straight through the entrance of Disney World for the first time.

With their staff’s assistance, the newlyweds were seated with coffee and orange juice filling their glasses and their meals uncovered before them. With warm smiles, the staff bowed in farewell to the couple before walking away to return to the resort to tend to their other customers.

Reaching for the silver platter with the mountain of pancakes first, Frank forked him half a dozen onto his plate, smeared some butter on top of them and then drowned them in syrup. His mouth watered as he took his first bite and then a couple more while moaning in delight, making his husband chuckle.

Fishing his phone out of his pocket, Frank scanned his parent’s text messages for updates on his kids when he spotted his cousin’s text message from last night. Suddenly remembering their conversation, Frank let out a gasp, almost causing himself to choke on his pancakes. Pressing a hand to his mouth to finish chewing, he swallowed the mushy delicacy before looking to his hubby. “Gee, guess what my cousin texted me about last night? Go on, guess!”

Uh…what to do when you get bitten by a shark and pulled underwater?” Gerard guessed mildly as he made his coffee first and foremost, the breeze flicking through his ebony hair and moving the long strands over his eyes.

“No, dummy!” Frank giggled, nudging him with his arm. “He sent me a link on some article about a murder. A murder that happened in OUR neighborhood on MY birthday! Can you believe it? I didn’t hear shit about any of this on the news, did you?”

Choking on his coffee, Gerard set his mug down to cough a couple of times.

“Babe, are you okay?” Frank asked with concern, his hand coming up to pat his husband’s back.

Gerard nodded though the panic in him was multiplying to a critical level. He held up a hand to console his husband. “Yup, I’m good. Went down the wrong pipe is all.” Having no way of camouflaging his concern at this news, Gerard allowed it to show on his face as he looked down at his blanket cocooned pregnant lover. “Did you seriously just say someone was murdered?”

“Yeah, in our own neighborhood!” Frank recited, jabbing more pancakes into his mouth.

Searching Frank’s face painstakingly, Gerard felt a wave of alleviation wash over him. His husband hadn’t made the connection yet that he was out on that very same night trick or treating with their twins. Shaking his head, Gerard looked away to start compiling his own breakfast on a clean plate. “No, I haven’t heard anything about murder. That’s a shame that happened.”

“You’re telling me!” Frank seconded, gorging more pancakes in his mouth. With his eyes infatuated on the banquet before him, he steered his fork to impale some fruits and transport them onto his plate. “No one and I mean NO ONE should be murdering anyone on my birthday!”

Hearing the sting muffled in his lover’s voice, Gerard couldn’t help but wince with shame. He had done just that. He had taken two lives on his husband’s birthday and with his children waiting outside for him near the crime scene! He hadn’t thought about it at the time when he committed it. All he could see were a couple of murdering trouble-makers impersonating Killjoys and knew he had to do something about it or else. If he hadn’t, his family would have been the ones dead instead!

Curious again how he heard about the case, Gerard inquired after taking a sip from his coffee followed by some scrambled eggs. “I’m sorry, where did you hear about this murder again?”

“My phone.” Frank answered back, holding up his device to wave it at him. “My cousin sent me a link last night. Not exactly the kind of thing you’d want to hear on your honeymoon, am I right?”

“Definitely not!” Gerard conceded with a nod. Still, he was curious. Gandering at Frank’s phone, he inquired as casually as possible. “Would you mind if I read it? I want to see how close it was so that I can avoid that direction when I start teaching the kids to ride their first bikes.”

Falling for that ruse, Frank gave him a nod and handed his phone over. His mouth was filled to bursting with his first plate and he was gonna need his other hand for making up the second one anyway.

Taking the phone from his side, Gerard got to researching. He had to know what information that article had and if it could be used to trace him. Feeling slightly anxious, he reached out a hand to rub his husband’s belly through the blankets Frank used to wrap himself in when he ran outside. Stroking his hand there helped lessen his anxiety as he read through quietly, the sounds of utensil clinking, Frank slurping and the ocean waves the only sounds being heard.

Gerard read and read.

And found nothing.

Exhaling quietly, Gerard’s stiff body relaxed.

The article had nothing on him.

Feeling much better than before, Gerard set Frank’s phone beside him again and had to do a double take at his husband who was fixing himself a third plate. His light brown eyes went wide with awe as his jaw dropped. Then a smile found it’s way on his face as he watched his little pregnant husband gobble his food down like he was Jabba the Hutt. Gerard had yet to finish his first plate, much less get started on it, and Frank was moving rapidly through his third one!

Without warning, something caught Frank’s eyes. Turning his head to Gerard’s plate, he noticed a beautiful brown buttery croissant that was left unscathed. With heart in his eyes, he inquired to his astonished husband with a finger pinpointing the bakery goody. “You gonna eat that, hubster?”

Struck speechless, Gerard couldn’t help but laugh at the young man who had food on his face and cheeks bulging like a squirrel. The guy was acting like this was his first or last meal on earth! According to his parents, this was Frank’s typical appetite when he got pregnant. Not willing to refuse his husband and the mother of his babies anything, Gerard plucked the croissant up and set it down on his husband’s plate. “Here you go, baby.”

“Thank you, Gee!” Frank praised him before tearing into the croissant like a feral wolf. He moaned, lifted his lips, slurped, burped, chewed and swallowed unbeknownst to the man he married watching him with amusement sparkling in his eyes.

“Are you sure there is only one baby in that stomach of yours?” Gerard inquired tenderly, reaching out to rub his belly again.

Frank paused from finishing off the very end of the croissant to stare at his husband inquisitively. With a mouth covered in food, he said. “Yeah…why?”

Gerard gestured to the three plates his husband had just finished on his own with a sweep of his hand. “I mean…it looks to me like you’re eating for six, if I gotta be honest with you.”

“SIX!?” Frank exclaimed, nearly spitting out the chunks of food from his mouth. Needing his next words to be understood clearly, he began to chew as fast he could.

“Yeah, six.” Gerard confirmed with a nod, going back to his own breakfast and coffee.

“Gerard Arthur Iero-Way!” Frank proclaimed loudly for him to be heard now that his mouth was finally cleaned of food. Giving his husband a stern look, he ordered him. “You better not have jinxed me!”

“Alright, alright! I'll take it back.” Gerard resigned with his hands up, an elated grin on his face. “My dear husband.”

Frank grinned right back at him before producing the fourth plate his pregnant belly desired and felt it necessary to have. Morning sickness might throw it all up, but he honestly didn’t care. He was starving.