Delinquent [Extra 1]
Delinquent [Extra 1] by all_tattooed
Frank/Gerard [NC-17 - language, violence, crime, mentions of drugs & alcohol, sex ...etc.]
RPS. Don't know. Don't own. No harm intended.
~2773 words.
Summary: When Frank goes to Juvy, his counselor reforms him in a questionable manner.
Thanks to skelterellax for beta'ing. xo
Con-Crit welcome. Comments are nice.
Chapter 19
***
Extra 1
Friday had come a lot quicker than Gerard expected, considering since he and Frank had almost been caught by Mark on Tuesday, it caused the last two days to feel as if they’d been dragging on for more than ever. It was clear to both Gerard and Frank that neither of them could keep their hands off of one another since the following day, they did in fact have their hands all over each other. Gerard knew it was stupid; they shouldn’t have be risking themselves like they were, but it was hard for Gerard when all he wanted was to be fucked all over his office.
Despite his illegal desires, Gerard told Frank before the end of his counsel session on Wednesday that he wouldn’t need to come back the next day, simply because he doubted the threat of being caught was even enough anymore when the boy was just sitting there and somehow managing being the act of sex itself. Well, that’s how Gerard had so descriptively put it, or not descriptively, depending on how you look at it.
After three cups of coffee that tasted somewhat like the moldy ass coffee back at work, it was almost eleven am, and Gerard was showered, dressed and walking out the door to meet Bert as organized the afternoon prior, at eleven-thirty.
***
Approaching the cafe, Gerard didn’t expect it, but seeing his ex-lover’s long dark hair resting messily down his back, just made him smile a little. He paused behind Bert, who hadn’t yet noticed his presence, and breathed deeply through his nose before brushing the hair from his face and stepping forward.
“Gee!” Bert smiled, his eyes lighting up as he stood from his chair, arms wide open.
Gerard was hesitant at first, but he didn’t want to make this whole meeting uncomfortable, so he just half-heartedly returned the smile and gave Bert a quick hug.
“You look well.” Bert stated, both of them taking a seat.
“Thanks, you too.”
Bert nodded. “Thanks. So, how have you been?”
“Alright. What about you?”
Bert just shook his head, smiling a little a waving a hand. Gerard got the point.
“I ordered you a coffee,” Bert then said, peering inside the I through the large glass window next to them. “You still get the same thing right?”
Gerard nodded, pulling his cigarettes out and lighting one up. The pair were silent for a moment; Gerard didn’t really know what to say. For the past seven months there had been a lot he wanted to say, mostly just questions, mostly just wanting to know why Bert ratted Mikey out, but now given the opportunity, he couldn’t seemed to find the words.
“How’s your mom?” Bert asked, and Gerard knew that his question was genuine.
He nodded, blowing a stream of smoke into the air. “Good, yeah. She still has bad days, but she’s getting better. I think she just gets lonely.”
A small shadow cast over them and together, Gerard and Bert looked up. “Long black and a flat white?” The waitress asked.
“Yes, thank you.” Bert smiled at her as he made room on the table. She smiled back and placed the coffee down, wiping her hands on her apron then walking away.
The two occupied themselves with their coffee for a moment, the most obvious topic of conversation lingering around them still before Bert seemingly grabbed onto maybe the only excuse he could make and said, “They tricked me you know?”
Gerard coughed, and he wasn’t sure if he actually needed to or if he was simply covering up his disbelief. “How so?”
Gerard watched Bert rip open another sugar sachet and pour it into his coffee as he answered, “Told me I’d get out of it if I mentioned who else was involved and also that, whoever it was would get less time the quicker they were found-”
“-And you just fell for that?” Gerard cut him off, his voice rather cold.
Bert looked up at him briefly; face straight, eyes narrowed. “No, I fell for the part when they said it was inevitable anyway. They claimed to have already swept the place and that they found prints on the keyboard, but I forgot that unlike Ray, Mikey used his own computer; one that he took with him, one that they couldn’t possibly have.”
Gerard nodded. “What about your lawyer, didn’t you talk it through with him?”
“This was the same night. I didn’t have a lawyer.”
Gerard sighed, shaking his head and burying his face in his hands. “You should have refused to speak until you had one; it’s your right you know?”
“Yeah, I know, but I was in the holding room for six fucking hours and I had refused to talk, but they just kept badgering me and...” Bert paused and took a deep breath as he glanced sorrily up at Gerard. “...I don’t know, I guess I just ...gave in. I only gave them Mikey’s name because I thought they were going to get him anyway, so I said it was just him and I. Gerard, I would’ve taken all the blame myself, but they knew I wasn’t the only one involved. They lied about having substantial evidence, plus, we took two cars, it was fairly obvious.”
Gerard didn’t say anything at first. A part of him was feeling a little bad about assuming Bert and just blurted Mikey’s name to save himself, although that was half the case and it still could have been avoided; had Bert managed to just keep his mouth closed a little longer and not fall for the bullshit the cops had fed him with. Gerard never had to endure any confrontation with the police. He had avoided it completely, thanks to both Mikey and Bert. He just had to stand back and watch the court cases go on, hating himself for asking his brother to get involved, only to have him ripped away and hating his then boyfriend for both spilling his guts and leaving him at the same time.
“I understand if you never forgive me, Gerard.” Bert said, but Gerard was only half-listening. “Just know that I am sorry ...and I always have been. I lost more than six months of freedom for doing that job...” He paused and then Gerard looked up at him, curious as to what he was going to say next, but Bert turned away and looked across the street as he finished. “...I lost you.”
Gerard looked back down, whispering a short, ‘Don’t say that’, but Bert never heard it and Gerard still wasn’t too sure if he had wanted him to or not anyway.
“What happens now then?” Bert asked.
Gerard sipped at his coffee as he thought about it. It had been almost seven months since Mikey’s final court case, which also happened to be the last time he saw Bert. He remembers the looks on both their faces as he sat back and watched his brother receive his sentence and if looks could kill, Bert would have been dead a thousand times over; Gerard could have sworn he had never seen so much malice in Mikey’s eyes ever before. Bert was quite the opposite though. It was as if he couldn’t lift his head up, like, there was an invisible string connecting his forehead to his feet. His voice was so soft when he was in the witness stand giving his statement, at the time, Gerard just thought he was embarrassed with himself, which he probably actually was, and while Gerard couldn’t have given a fuck about just how terrible he was feeling, he couldn’t help but let a few tears fall at the sight. Bert was just sorry. He always had been.
“We walk away,” Gerard said softly. Maybe a little too softly, he stopped breathing for a second to try to work out if he actually did say it or not.
“I can’t just do that, Gerard.” Bert half-smiled, probably because hearing that kind of hurt and Gerard knew that smile. It meant he wasn’t going to take the words to heart, which was a smile Gerard used to love because he knew he was forgiven before he even said ‘sorry’, but right now, he didn’t need to be forgiven, he wasn’t planning on saying ‘sorry’.
Gerard took a deep breath, pulling out another smoke, he was probably going to make himself sick, but he needed the time it took to light up to think of the proper response to that. Bert had to walk away; it was that simple. Gerard knew over time he would be able to forgive Bert, especially now that he has a better idea of why he gave the police Mikey’s name in the first place, but things could never go back to the way they were, not now. It was too late. Gerard was moving on, Gerard had moved on. He hadn’t just forgotten about Bert and he knew he never would, but he couldn’t just take the guy back and he couldn’t just be his friend either. And Gerard knew Mikey would be crushed to find out things between himself and Bert were fine. He knew Mikey would never forgive Bert, regardless of how ‘tricked’ he claimed to have been. It wasn’t about going to prison, it was about breaking trust, something Gerard convinced his little brother to have for Bert, so when that ‘trust’ faltered, Gerard was aware that it wasn’t only Bert that Mikey felt had betrayed him, but Gerard as well and he didn’t want to do that to Mikey again.
“You have to, Bert, because I am. Mikey comes first, I’m not going to do this to him.”
Bert pulled a face. “Do what?”
Gerard wedged his cigarette in the side of the ashtray and rubbed his hands over his face. He didn’t want to explain himself and really, he didn’t think had to either, but he knew Bert could never read into things. Gerard didn’t know if it was because he lacked the ability or because he simply didn’t want to, but he knew that when he spoke to Bert the topic had to be ripped to pieces and handed to him bit by bit for him to understand.
“Things aren’t going to go back to the way they were. They can’t. Can you imagine how Mikey would feel if I was to tell him that we’re together again, or even just friends? I don’t even want to tell him that I’ve had this conversation with you.” Gerard raised his eyebrows as he retrieved his cigarette, his cheeks hollowing as he sucked hard on the filter, then blew the smoke out into the street and as he watched it float away, he wondered why the fuck he was even smoking anyway because it sure as hell wasn’t making him feel any better.
Bert shook his head, turning away for a moment then looking back at Gerard again. “I can’t believe you’re blaming this on me,” he said, a gentle but harsh tone.
Gerard looked back at him almost incredulously. “I’m not blaming anything on you. I know it was my fault, I know the job was for me, Bert, I remember clear as fucking day and Mikey knows that too and I’m sure there’s still a part of him that hates me for it, but you were the one that gave his name and that’s all he’s going to see.”
Bert brushed his long fringe out from his face and swallowed. “What about you? What do you see?”
“I see what he sees. I just have a better understanding is all.”
Bert scoffed and Gerard could tell in that one release of breath that he was getting pissed off. “Oh great, a better under understanding, yeah. Well I hope you also fully understand that if you had fucking bothered to just get a job and save for school, rather than ask us to steal it for you, none of this would’ve happened in the first place.”
“Don’t give me that shit; we’d done it plenty of times before. That time just happened to have a motive behind it.” Gerard sat back in his chair and looked across the street. He hated that they had to talk about this, but he knew it was inevitable when he agreed to meet up with Bert in the first place, but now he just wanted to get it over with.
Gerard knew he fucked up and he wasn’t going to lie or be ashamed to admit it, so he didn’t need anyone to rub it in his face. What’s done is done, it can’t be taken back and therefore the outcome cannot be changed. He put himself first with that job, his father passed away, there was no chance he would be able to afford art school without his help. Art was his closest dream, although it wouldn’t have shown at the time, but the death of his father was a wake-up call; he needed to start getting on with his life and he needed money the quickest way he knew how to get it. Now however, he was putting Mikey first. Any kind of relationship with Bert would simply not work out; Gerard knew this for the sake of his brother. So even if he wanted to get back together with his ex, he wouldn’t because that would only push Mikey away and at the end of the day, his younger brother is more important that Bert could or would ever be, it had just taken him getting locked up for Gerard to finally realize it.
“So, tell Mikey it was a mistake. I fucked up, Gerard. I shouldn’t have said anything, I know that. Talk to him, tell him, or otherwise ...let, let me tell him.” Bert looked at Gerard with pleading eyes, but Gerard didn’t know what it was exactly the man was begging for. To get him back, or have Mikey’s forgiveness? Either way, there was no chance. Gerard knew Mikey would not forgive him; he wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t even hear him out at all and Gerard was in a relationship, even if it wasn’t official, he was still committed.
“No, Bert. He won’t care.” Gerard said simply.
“Do you care?”
“Bert...” Gerard looked at his lap; he really didn’t know what else to say. Of course, he still cared about Bert, but it just wasn’t enough.
Gerard could tell that Bert sensed he wasn’t going to say anything more because he heard the man sigh before he asked, “Are you seeing someone?” and that was really a topic he did not want to get in to.
Gerard stayed quite. Not the best cover up, but he didn’t want to tell Bert that he was and he didn’t want to say ‘no’ and lie behind Frank’s back either.
Bert took deep breath as he scrutinized Gerard in silence. Gerard didn’t want him to ask any more questions, he wasn’t sure he had anymore answers left to give. He mostly regrets agreeing to this meeting now because Bert’s eyes are still burning into him and he is almost certain of what the younger man is going to ask next.
“Do you love him?”
Gerard looked up then. He hadn’t asked what he was expecting him to, mostly because he didn’t think Bert would catch on to the fact that his lack of response to the first question meant he was with someone. He was surprised to say the least, but that wasn’t because of what Bert had asked, it was because he smiled and simply said, “Yes”.
Bert nodded. “Okay ...so, that’s it then? We just, walk away?”
Gerard stood up, brushed down his clothes and stepped closer to his ex as he just nodded. Bert just mimicked his action. It was a strange situation, but right now Gerard didn’t mind. He pulled Bert in for a quick hug, patting his back a couple of times, but leaving his hands of the smaller man’s shoulders and said, “Take care, okay?”
Bert smiled. “Yeah ...you too.”
Gerard gave a short nod, letting his hands fall and stuffing them into his jean pockets. He was grateful for Bert’s maturity, something of which he never used to witness often and that was probably why they once had gotten on so well; because Gerard could be just as childish as him sometimes. So, as Gerard walked away, he inwardly thanked Bert because there had been answers left to give, they just weren’t to the questions he had thought of.
Extra 2
Frank/Gerard [NC-17 - language, violence, crime, mentions of drugs & alcohol, sex ...etc.]
RPS. Don't know. Don't own. No harm intended.
~2773 words.
Summary: When Frank goes to Juvy, his counselor reforms him in a questionable manner.
Thanks to skelterellax for beta'ing. xo
Con-Crit welcome. Comments are nice.
Chapter 19
***
Extra 1
Friday had come a lot quicker than Gerard expected, considering since he and Frank had almost been caught by Mark on Tuesday, it caused the last two days to feel as if they’d been dragging on for more than ever. It was clear to both Gerard and Frank that neither of them could keep their hands off of one another since the following day, they did in fact have their hands all over each other. Gerard knew it was stupid; they shouldn’t have be risking themselves like they were, but it was hard for Gerard when all he wanted was to be fucked all over his office.
Despite his illegal desires, Gerard told Frank before the end of his counsel session on Wednesday that he wouldn’t need to come back the next day, simply because he doubted the threat of being caught was even enough anymore when the boy was just sitting there and somehow managing being the act of sex itself. Well, that’s how Gerard had so descriptively put it, or not descriptively, depending on how you look at it.
After three cups of coffee that tasted somewhat like the moldy ass coffee back at work, it was almost eleven am, and Gerard was showered, dressed and walking out the door to meet Bert as organized the afternoon prior, at eleven-thirty.
***
Approaching the cafe, Gerard didn’t expect it, but seeing his ex-lover’s long dark hair resting messily down his back, just made him smile a little. He paused behind Bert, who hadn’t yet noticed his presence, and breathed deeply through his nose before brushing the hair from his face and stepping forward.
“Gee!” Bert smiled, his eyes lighting up as he stood from his chair, arms wide open.
Gerard was hesitant at first, but he didn’t want to make this whole meeting uncomfortable, so he just half-heartedly returned the smile and gave Bert a quick hug.
“You look well.” Bert stated, both of them taking a seat.
“Thanks, you too.”
Bert nodded. “Thanks. So, how have you been?”
“Alright. What about you?”
Bert just shook his head, smiling a little a waving a hand. Gerard got the point.
“I ordered you a coffee,” Bert then said, peering inside the I through the large glass window next to them. “You still get the same thing right?”
Gerard nodded, pulling his cigarettes out and lighting one up. The pair were silent for a moment; Gerard didn’t really know what to say. For the past seven months there had been a lot he wanted to say, mostly just questions, mostly just wanting to know why Bert ratted Mikey out, but now given the opportunity, he couldn’t seemed to find the words.
“How’s your mom?” Bert asked, and Gerard knew that his question was genuine.
He nodded, blowing a stream of smoke into the air. “Good, yeah. She still has bad days, but she’s getting better. I think she just gets lonely.”
A small shadow cast over them and together, Gerard and Bert looked up. “Long black and a flat white?” The waitress asked.
“Yes, thank you.” Bert smiled at her as he made room on the table. She smiled back and placed the coffee down, wiping her hands on her apron then walking away.
The two occupied themselves with their coffee for a moment, the most obvious topic of conversation lingering around them still before Bert seemingly grabbed onto maybe the only excuse he could make and said, “They tricked me you know?”
Gerard coughed, and he wasn’t sure if he actually needed to or if he was simply covering up his disbelief. “How so?”
Gerard watched Bert rip open another sugar sachet and pour it into his coffee as he answered, “Told me I’d get out of it if I mentioned who else was involved and also that, whoever it was would get less time the quicker they were found-”
“-And you just fell for that?” Gerard cut him off, his voice rather cold.
Bert looked up at him briefly; face straight, eyes narrowed. “No, I fell for the part when they said it was inevitable anyway. They claimed to have already swept the place and that they found prints on the keyboard, but I forgot that unlike Ray, Mikey used his own computer; one that he took with him, one that they couldn’t possibly have.”
Gerard nodded. “What about your lawyer, didn’t you talk it through with him?”
“This was the same night. I didn’t have a lawyer.”
Gerard sighed, shaking his head and burying his face in his hands. “You should have refused to speak until you had one; it’s your right you know?”
“Yeah, I know, but I was in the holding room for six fucking hours and I had refused to talk, but they just kept badgering me and...” Bert paused and took a deep breath as he glanced sorrily up at Gerard. “...I don’t know, I guess I just ...gave in. I only gave them Mikey’s name because I thought they were going to get him anyway, so I said it was just him and I. Gerard, I would’ve taken all the blame myself, but they knew I wasn’t the only one involved. They lied about having substantial evidence, plus, we took two cars, it was fairly obvious.”
Gerard didn’t say anything at first. A part of him was feeling a little bad about assuming Bert and just blurted Mikey’s name to save himself, although that was half the case and it still could have been avoided; had Bert managed to just keep his mouth closed a little longer and not fall for the bullshit the cops had fed him with. Gerard never had to endure any confrontation with the police. He had avoided it completely, thanks to both Mikey and Bert. He just had to stand back and watch the court cases go on, hating himself for asking his brother to get involved, only to have him ripped away and hating his then boyfriend for both spilling his guts and leaving him at the same time.
“I understand if you never forgive me, Gerard.” Bert said, but Gerard was only half-listening. “Just know that I am sorry ...and I always have been. I lost more than six months of freedom for doing that job...” He paused and then Gerard looked up at him, curious as to what he was going to say next, but Bert turned away and looked across the street as he finished. “...I lost you.”
Gerard looked back down, whispering a short, ‘Don’t say that’, but Bert never heard it and Gerard still wasn’t too sure if he had wanted him to or not anyway.
“What happens now then?” Bert asked.
Gerard sipped at his coffee as he thought about it. It had been almost seven months since Mikey’s final court case, which also happened to be the last time he saw Bert. He remembers the looks on both their faces as he sat back and watched his brother receive his sentence and if looks could kill, Bert would have been dead a thousand times over; Gerard could have sworn he had never seen so much malice in Mikey’s eyes ever before. Bert was quite the opposite though. It was as if he couldn’t lift his head up, like, there was an invisible string connecting his forehead to his feet. His voice was so soft when he was in the witness stand giving his statement, at the time, Gerard just thought he was embarrassed with himself, which he probably actually was, and while Gerard couldn’t have given a fuck about just how terrible he was feeling, he couldn’t help but let a few tears fall at the sight. Bert was just sorry. He always had been.
“We walk away,” Gerard said softly. Maybe a little too softly, he stopped breathing for a second to try to work out if he actually did say it or not.
“I can’t just do that, Gerard.” Bert half-smiled, probably because hearing that kind of hurt and Gerard knew that smile. It meant he wasn’t going to take the words to heart, which was a smile Gerard used to love because he knew he was forgiven before he even said ‘sorry’, but right now, he didn’t need to be forgiven, he wasn’t planning on saying ‘sorry’.
Gerard took a deep breath, pulling out another smoke, he was probably going to make himself sick, but he needed the time it took to light up to think of the proper response to that. Bert had to walk away; it was that simple. Gerard knew over time he would be able to forgive Bert, especially now that he has a better idea of why he gave the police Mikey’s name in the first place, but things could never go back to the way they were, not now. It was too late. Gerard was moving on, Gerard had moved on. He hadn’t just forgotten about Bert and he knew he never would, but he couldn’t just take the guy back and he couldn’t just be his friend either. And Gerard knew Mikey would be crushed to find out things between himself and Bert were fine. He knew Mikey would never forgive Bert, regardless of how ‘tricked’ he claimed to have been. It wasn’t about going to prison, it was about breaking trust, something Gerard convinced his little brother to have for Bert, so when that ‘trust’ faltered, Gerard was aware that it wasn’t only Bert that Mikey felt had betrayed him, but Gerard as well and he didn’t want to do that to Mikey again.
“You have to, Bert, because I am. Mikey comes first, I’m not going to do this to him.”
Bert pulled a face. “Do what?”
Gerard wedged his cigarette in the side of the ashtray and rubbed his hands over his face. He didn’t want to explain himself and really, he didn’t think had to either, but he knew Bert could never read into things. Gerard didn’t know if it was because he lacked the ability or because he simply didn’t want to, but he knew that when he spoke to Bert the topic had to be ripped to pieces and handed to him bit by bit for him to understand.
“Things aren’t going to go back to the way they were. They can’t. Can you imagine how Mikey would feel if I was to tell him that we’re together again, or even just friends? I don’t even want to tell him that I’ve had this conversation with you.” Gerard raised his eyebrows as he retrieved his cigarette, his cheeks hollowing as he sucked hard on the filter, then blew the smoke out into the street and as he watched it float away, he wondered why the fuck he was even smoking anyway because it sure as hell wasn’t making him feel any better.
Bert shook his head, turning away for a moment then looking back at Gerard again. “I can’t believe you’re blaming this on me,” he said, a gentle but harsh tone.
Gerard looked back at him almost incredulously. “I’m not blaming anything on you. I know it was my fault, I know the job was for me, Bert, I remember clear as fucking day and Mikey knows that too and I’m sure there’s still a part of him that hates me for it, but you were the one that gave his name and that’s all he’s going to see.”
Bert brushed his long fringe out from his face and swallowed. “What about you? What do you see?”
“I see what he sees. I just have a better understanding is all.”
Bert scoffed and Gerard could tell in that one release of breath that he was getting pissed off. “Oh great, a better under understanding, yeah. Well I hope you also fully understand that if you had fucking bothered to just get a job and save for school, rather than ask us to steal it for you, none of this would’ve happened in the first place.”
“Don’t give me that shit; we’d done it plenty of times before. That time just happened to have a motive behind it.” Gerard sat back in his chair and looked across the street. He hated that they had to talk about this, but he knew it was inevitable when he agreed to meet up with Bert in the first place, but now he just wanted to get it over with.
Gerard knew he fucked up and he wasn’t going to lie or be ashamed to admit it, so he didn’t need anyone to rub it in his face. What’s done is done, it can’t be taken back and therefore the outcome cannot be changed. He put himself first with that job, his father passed away, there was no chance he would be able to afford art school without his help. Art was his closest dream, although it wouldn’t have shown at the time, but the death of his father was a wake-up call; he needed to start getting on with his life and he needed money the quickest way he knew how to get it. Now however, he was putting Mikey first. Any kind of relationship with Bert would simply not work out; Gerard knew this for the sake of his brother. So even if he wanted to get back together with his ex, he wouldn’t because that would only push Mikey away and at the end of the day, his younger brother is more important that Bert could or would ever be, it had just taken him getting locked up for Gerard to finally realize it.
“So, tell Mikey it was a mistake. I fucked up, Gerard. I shouldn’t have said anything, I know that. Talk to him, tell him, or otherwise ...let, let me tell him.” Bert looked at Gerard with pleading eyes, but Gerard didn’t know what it was exactly the man was begging for. To get him back, or have Mikey’s forgiveness? Either way, there was no chance. Gerard knew Mikey would not forgive him; he wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t even hear him out at all and Gerard was in a relationship, even if it wasn’t official, he was still committed.
“No, Bert. He won’t care.” Gerard said simply.
“Do you care?”
“Bert...” Gerard looked at his lap; he really didn’t know what else to say. Of course, he still cared about Bert, but it just wasn’t enough.
Gerard could tell that Bert sensed he wasn’t going to say anything more because he heard the man sigh before he asked, “Are you seeing someone?” and that was really a topic he did not want to get in to.
Gerard stayed quite. Not the best cover up, but he didn’t want to tell Bert that he was and he didn’t want to say ‘no’ and lie behind Frank’s back either.
Bert took deep breath as he scrutinized Gerard in silence. Gerard didn’t want him to ask any more questions, he wasn’t sure he had anymore answers left to give. He mostly regrets agreeing to this meeting now because Bert’s eyes are still burning into him and he is almost certain of what the younger man is going to ask next.
“Do you love him?”
Gerard looked up then. He hadn’t asked what he was expecting him to, mostly because he didn’t think Bert would catch on to the fact that his lack of response to the first question meant he was with someone. He was surprised to say the least, but that wasn’t because of what Bert had asked, it was because he smiled and simply said, “Yes”.
Bert nodded. “Okay ...so, that’s it then? We just, walk away?”
Gerard stood up, brushed down his clothes and stepped closer to his ex as he just nodded. Bert just mimicked his action. It was a strange situation, but right now Gerard didn’t mind. He pulled Bert in for a quick hug, patting his back a couple of times, but leaving his hands of the smaller man’s shoulders and said, “Take care, okay?”
Bert smiled. “Yeah ...you too.”
Gerard gave a short nod, letting his hands fall and stuffing them into his jean pockets. He was grateful for Bert’s maturity, something of which he never used to witness often and that was probably why they once had gotten on so well; because Gerard could be just as childish as him sometimes. So, as Gerard walked away, he inwardly thanked Bert because there had been answers left to give, they just weren’t to the questions he had thought of.
Extra 2