fic: Carnival Lights
Title: Carnival Lights
Pairing: Gerard/Frank
Word Count: 1,400
A/N: So, burgaw had a really bad day yesterday - two days ago? hard to tell with the time differences - , and I offered to write her fic in an attempt to make her feel better, and this is what came about. Her only request was that it involve cotton candy.
It’s late afternoon when the bus pulls to a stop at the side of the road. Frank is groggy, definitely, and he’s been sort of dozing all afternoon, but he’s pretty sure they’ve stopped earlier than they were supposed to. He peers out one window, and all that’s there is the horizon. On the other side, though, there’s a carnival.
“We’re about an hour away from the city,” Ray says from behind him. Frank just blinks at him. “Gerard wanted to stop,” Ray continues with a shrug and an easy smile. “And we’re making good time, so.”
They all pile out of the bus, eventually, and they walk to the ticket booth. It’s a pretty old-fashioned carnival, really rustic looking, and Frank just knows that Gerard loved it immediately. It’s been cloudy all day, but now the sun is beginning to set and it’s sort of hazy to see everyone in the shadows.
“Want to win me a stuffed panda?” Mikey asks Bob, and he’s so deadpan with it that even Frank can’t tell if he’s kidding or not. Mikey might have a fetish for stuffed pandas Frank doesn’t know about; he’d kinda weird like that. Bob just shakes his head, and Ray says “I’ll try, if you want.”
“Just so long as you don’t let Mikey try,” Frank comments wryly. “He could seriously hurt somebody.”
“Fuck you,” Mikey replies genially, and he and Ray wander off to the booths.
“It’s just a rip-off,” Bob says, and Gerard grins at him.
“Have a little fun, Bob.” Bob rolls his eyes and follows after Mikey and Ray. Gerard turns his grin on Frank, bigger. “Probably Bob’ll win everything.”
“Yeah, probably.” He giggles. “Probably Mikey’ll poke his eye out with a dart.”
“Shut up,” Gerard says, but he’s still grinning. He gives Frank a half-hearted shove, and they start to walk. It’s not really crowded, but it’s clearly still an attraction. The dirt kicks up under their feet as they walk; the fields are pretty dry in every direction in this part of the country.
“We should go on the Ferris wheel,” Frank says, looking up at it. It looks safe enough, just a little old.
“I don’t know...” Gerard responds doubtfully, following his gaze and squinting upwards. “I’m not really good with heights, you know. Or, well, I get all freaked out getting on, like it’s going to start moving before I’m properly seated and then-”
“Dude, chill,” Frank cuts in with a laugh. He grabs Gerard’s arm, feeling his pulse through a layer of black, and tugs him along. “I promise I’ll keep you safe from the big, scary Ferris wheel.”
“That would be a lot more reassuring if you were, oh, I don’t know - Bob? And actually capable of holding me up,” Gerard replies, but he’s following behind Frank, just dragging his feet like he normally does. They stop to get tickets for the Ferris wheel - so there’s no going back - and then something catches Gerard’s attention. “Oh!” He says suddenly. “Frankie, can we get some cotton candy?”
“You’ll spoil your dinner,” Frank says, and grins when Gerard flips him off.
“I’ve never had it before, okay?” Gerard starts to walk towards the little hut, painted bright pink and advertising all sorts of ridiculously sugary things. Frank breaths in the smell of caramel and cinnamon and spun sugar.
“And you want to eat it on a Ferris wheel at an old carnival, because you’re all romantic like that.” Gerard gives him a sheepish look, biting at his lip a little.
“Maybe?”
“So predictable, Way,” Frank says, shaking his head. Gerard buys his cotton candy, just straight-up pink, and they start back in the direction of the Ferris wheel. Frank doesn’t have to pull Gerard along anymore, but he lets their arms brush as they walk. Gerard’s watching everything around them, utterly rapt like he always is by new people and places, but Frank is watching the way the dust rises in clouds and then settles on the bottoms of his jeans and his shoes.
“It’s really dusty,” he says, and Gerard drags his feet purposefully for a couple steps, shooting Frank a quick grin.
When they reach the Ferris wheel, Gerard starts babbling again. “What if I trip, or something? And then the little seat runs me over? Or I get caught on one of those hook-y things and then-?”
Frank clamps a hand down on Gerard’s mouth. “You’re being so irrational right now, dude, seriously.”
Gerard takes a deep breath and then licks at Frank’s hand. Frank lets out a startled laugh. “Not going to work, Gee.” He turns Gerard’s head so their gazes meet. “Don’t worry. It’s safe. And you’ll get to have your perfect moment when you get up the top, with the cotton candy.”
“Okay,” Gerard mumbles through his hand, and Frank lets his hand drop. They watch the slow revolution of the wheel, the other people trickling on in pairs.
When it’s finally their turn, Gerard stiffens up, bag of cotton candy clenched tightly in his hand. Frank sighs and grabs at his shirtsleeve, tugging him along. They slip into their seats - theirs is yellow, paint faded and peeling - and Gerard clutches tightly at the bar when the guy pulls it down and locks it in. His knuckles start to turn white before they’re halfway up.
They get to the top after what seems like forever, moving up in slow, jerky increments - the worst of which make Gerard shudder - and Frank pulls the bag of cotton candy out from between the two of them. “Do you want some now?” He asks, untwisting the tie at the top. Gerard nods, but his hands don’t move from the bar. “Gerard, I’m not going to feed it to you.”
“Please?” Gerard asks, and he looks so pleading, so hopelessly desperate - “Fine,” Frank gives in, but not without an eye roll.
He tugs at a piece of the cotton candy and holds it up to Gerard’s mouth. Gerard just sucks Frank’s fingers into his mouth, licking off all the sugar and making pleased noises. He bites down at Frank’s fingers, lightly, and then releases them.
“That’s just gross,” Frank says, wiping his hand on Gerard’s shirt.
“You’re gross,” Gerard replies, and Frank resists the urge to say something disparaging about Gerard’s mother. Instead, he leans forward and whispers “I want a taste”, and then presses his lips to Gerard’s. Frank doesn’t move too much, afraid that it’ll scare him, break the moment. Instead, Frank fits his hands over Gerard’s on the cool metal of the safety bar and licks across his lips, tasting sugar and smoke.
It’s a brief kiss, because the lights of the carnival suddenly flicker on all at once, and they both pull back to look, breath still mingling sickly sweet between them.
The carnival’s not very big, but its lights are bright and many, and it stands out against the darkness of the surrounding fields, just this tiny little patch of flickering colour in the nothingness.
“Wow,” Gerard says, looking down for the first time. “That’s really gorgeous.”
“Yeah,” Frank murmurs, and he doesn’t want to be a cliché, really, but he’s watching Gerard when he says it. There’s still the faintest glow from the sunset tinting Gerard’s skin, adding to the colour of his flushed cheeks, and the blue and red and green and yellow lights from the carnival below are reflected in his. “Yeah, really gorgeous.”
And then Gerard turns to him and smiles really softly, suddenly shy, and Frank just stares as Gerard’s blush deepens and he lets his hair fall in his eyes as he ducks his head. Frank squeezes Gerard’s hand and places a quick kiss to his cheek - his lips are sticky, and they leave the faintest glistening imprint on Gerard’s skin - as the Ferris wheel lurches into movement again.
Pairing: Gerard/Frank
Word Count: 1,400
A/N: So, burgaw had a really bad day yesterday - two days ago? hard to tell with the time differences - , and I offered to write her fic in an attempt to make her feel better, and this is what came about. Her only request was that it involve cotton candy.
It’s late afternoon when the bus pulls to a stop at the side of the road. Frank is groggy, definitely, and he’s been sort of dozing all afternoon, but he’s pretty sure they’ve stopped earlier than they were supposed to. He peers out one window, and all that’s there is the horizon. On the other side, though, there’s a carnival.
“We’re about an hour away from the city,” Ray says from behind him. Frank just blinks at him. “Gerard wanted to stop,” Ray continues with a shrug and an easy smile. “And we’re making good time, so.”
They all pile out of the bus, eventually, and they walk to the ticket booth. It’s a pretty old-fashioned carnival, really rustic looking, and Frank just knows that Gerard loved it immediately. It’s been cloudy all day, but now the sun is beginning to set and it’s sort of hazy to see everyone in the shadows.
“Want to win me a stuffed panda?” Mikey asks Bob, and he’s so deadpan with it that even Frank can’t tell if he’s kidding or not. Mikey might have a fetish for stuffed pandas Frank doesn’t know about; he’d kinda weird like that. Bob just shakes his head, and Ray says “I’ll try, if you want.”
“Just so long as you don’t let Mikey try,” Frank comments wryly. “He could seriously hurt somebody.”
“Fuck you,” Mikey replies genially, and he and Ray wander off to the booths.
“It’s just a rip-off,” Bob says, and Gerard grins at him.
“Have a little fun, Bob.” Bob rolls his eyes and follows after Mikey and Ray. Gerard turns his grin on Frank, bigger. “Probably Bob’ll win everything.”
“Yeah, probably.” He giggles. “Probably Mikey’ll poke his eye out with a dart.”
“Shut up,” Gerard says, but he’s still grinning. He gives Frank a half-hearted shove, and they start to walk. It’s not really crowded, but it’s clearly still an attraction. The dirt kicks up under their feet as they walk; the fields are pretty dry in every direction in this part of the country.
“We should go on the Ferris wheel,” Frank says, looking up at it. It looks safe enough, just a little old.
“I don’t know...” Gerard responds doubtfully, following his gaze and squinting upwards. “I’m not really good with heights, you know. Or, well, I get all freaked out getting on, like it’s going to start moving before I’m properly seated and then-”
“Dude, chill,” Frank cuts in with a laugh. He grabs Gerard’s arm, feeling his pulse through a layer of black, and tugs him along. “I promise I’ll keep you safe from the big, scary Ferris wheel.”
“That would be a lot more reassuring if you were, oh, I don’t know - Bob? And actually capable of holding me up,” Gerard replies, but he’s following behind Frank, just dragging his feet like he normally does. They stop to get tickets for the Ferris wheel - so there’s no going back - and then something catches Gerard’s attention. “Oh!” He says suddenly. “Frankie, can we get some cotton candy?”
“You’ll spoil your dinner,” Frank says, and grins when Gerard flips him off.
“I’ve never had it before, okay?” Gerard starts to walk towards the little hut, painted bright pink and advertising all sorts of ridiculously sugary things. Frank breaths in the smell of caramel and cinnamon and spun sugar.
“And you want to eat it on a Ferris wheel at an old carnival, because you’re all romantic like that.” Gerard gives him a sheepish look, biting at his lip a little.
“Maybe?”
“So predictable, Way,” Frank says, shaking his head. Gerard buys his cotton candy, just straight-up pink, and they start back in the direction of the Ferris wheel. Frank doesn’t have to pull Gerard along anymore, but he lets their arms brush as they walk. Gerard’s watching everything around them, utterly rapt like he always is by new people and places, but Frank is watching the way the dust rises in clouds and then settles on the bottoms of his jeans and his shoes.
“It’s really dusty,” he says, and Gerard drags his feet purposefully for a couple steps, shooting Frank a quick grin.
When they reach the Ferris wheel, Gerard starts babbling again. “What if I trip, or something? And then the little seat runs me over? Or I get caught on one of those hook-y things and then-?”
Frank clamps a hand down on Gerard’s mouth. “You’re being so irrational right now, dude, seriously.”
Gerard takes a deep breath and then licks at Frank’s hand. Frank lets out a startled laugh. “Not going to work, Gee.” He turns Gerard’s head so their gazes meet. “Don’t worry. It’s safe. And you’ll get to have your perfect moment when you get up the top, with the cotton candy.”
“Okay,” Gerard mumbles through his hand, and Frank lets his hand drop. They watch the slow revolution of the wheel, the other people trickling on in pairs.
When it’s finally their turn, Gerard stiffens up, bag of cotton candy clenched tightly in his hand. Frank sighs and grabs at his shirtsleeve, tugging him along. They slip into their seats - theirs is yellow, paint faded and peeling - and Gerard clutches tightly at the bar when the guy pulls it down and locks it in. His knuckles start to turn white before they’re halfway up.
They get to the top after what seems like forever, moving up in slow, jerky increments - the worst of which make Gerard shudder - and Frank pulls the bag of cotton candy out from between the two of them. “Do you want some now?” He asks, untwisting the tie at the top. Gerard nods, but his hands don’t move from the bar. “Gerard, I’m not going to feed it to you.”
“Please?” Gerard asks, and he looks so pleading, so hopelessly desperate - “Fine,” Frank gives in, but not without an eye roll.
He tugs at a piece of the cotton candy and holds it up to Gerard’s mouth. Gerard just sucks Frank’s fingers into his mouth, licking off all the sugar and making pleased noises. He bites down at Frank’s fingers, lightly, and then releases them.
“That’s just gross,” Frank says, wiping his hand on Gerard’s shirt.
“You’re gross,” Gerard replies, and Frank resists the urge to say something disparaging about Gerard’s mother. Instead, he leans forward and whispers “I want a taste”, and then presses his lips to Gerard’s. Frank doesn’t move too much, afraid that it’ll scare him, break the moment. Instead, Frank fits his hands over Gerard’s on the cool metal of the safety bar and licks across his lips, tasting sugar and smoke.
It’s a brief kiss, because the lights of the carnival suddenly flicker on all at once, and they both pull back to look, breath still mingling sickly sweet between them.
The carnival’s not very big, but its lights are bright and many, and it stands out against the darkness of the surrounding fields, just this tiny little patch of flickering colour in the nothingness.
“Wow,” Gerard says, looking down for the first time. “That’s really gorgeous.”
“Yeah,” Frank murmurs, and he doesn’t want to be a cliché, really, but he’s watching Gerard when he says it. There’s still the faintest glow from the sunset tinting Gerard’s skin, adding to the colour of his flushed cheeks, and the blue and red and green and yellow lights from the carnival below are reflected in his. “Yeah, really gorgeous.”
And then Gerard turns to him and smiles really softly, suddenly shy, and Frank just stares as Gerard’s blush deepens and he lets his hair fall in his eyes as he ducks his head. Frank squeezes Gerard’s hand and places a quick kiss to his cheek - his lips are sticky, and they leave the faintest glistening imprint on Gerard’s skin - as the Ferris wheel lurches into movement again.