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That's The Way We Get By by softlyforgotten (NC-17)
Fandom: BANDOM
Pairing: Gerard/Frank
Length: 10,080 words
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
softlyforgotten
Author Website: fic masterlist
Why this must be read:
This "after the band breaks up" story is one of the classics of the fandom. The trope easily lends itself to heartbreaking sadness but while this story does a have a certain bittersweet quality - particularly the first part - it's also hilariously funny and sweet and uncompromisingly real. It's a celebration of life and change with a wonderful atmosphere and great characterisations.
Excerpt from the story:
It's winter in Portland, freezing, and there's no snow but there's ice on the streets some days, which Gerard likes. He goes out in Mikey's grey coat which he kind of forgot to give back at the end of tour, and Frank's skeleton gloves, and he thinks the socks he's wearing might be Bob's just because Gerard hasn't ever owned socks of his own, but he's not sure. The band (is he even allowed to call them that anymore? - and no, Gerard thinks, no matter what else happens, they'll always be the band) is a kind of tight knot in the pit of his stomach, and he misses them both more and less than he thought he would. Nevertheless, he doesn't miss the idea of playing anymore that much, and he skips past the live tracks of them that he'd put on his iPod in a slightly egotistical moment.
He goes down to the artsy market he saw a flyer for when he was out grocery shopping the other day, and finds a really good art supply store next to it, picks out new paints and canvases. At the market, he lingers over a stall of paintings and odd, metallic sculptures, and ends up picking out a tiny copper one of a person pulling their shirt open so you can see their heart shattering inside them. It's meticulous and tiny and brilliant, and it kind of reminds Gerard of Frank, in that there's no sense of sadness but only release and joy and you don't think for a second that the sculpture's heart is broken. He buys it and puts the brown paper package in his pocket, wonders whether to send it on to Frank or keep it himself, and then he gets distracted by the scarves at the next stall (he buys two bobbly pink ones, one for Alicia and one for him).
When he gets home, he calls Mikey. "You sad?" he asks by way of greeting, yawning a little into the speaker.
"No," Mikey tells him, and he doesn't sound it, either. Besides, Gerard knows Mikey isn't actually capable of lying to him. "Ray and Bob are here. We're making cupcakes."
"Really?"
"Well," Mikey amends, sounding a little crestfallen, "Ray and Bob and Alicia are making cupcakes. I'm sitting on the table and watching, because Alicia says she wants to eat them, and she can't if they're burnt."
"Okay," Gerard grins, "Put Ray on."
There's a shuffle of feet, and Gerard hears Ray's voice rising and falling unevenly in the background. When he gets on, his voice is somewhat confused when he says, "Gee? Is something wrong?"
"We did the right thing, didn't we?" Gerard asks. "With the band?"
"Hey," Ray's voice softens. "Yeah, sure we did. I think so, anyway. Don't you?"
"Yeah," Gerard says, surprising himself only a little, "Yeah, I do."
That's The Way We Get By
Pairing: Gerard/Frank
Length: 10,080 words
Author on LJ:
softlyforgottenAuthor Website: fic masterlist
Why this must be read:
This "after the band breaks up" story is one of the classics of the fandom. The trope easily lends itself to heartbreaking sadness but while this story does a have a certain bittersweet quality - particularly the first part - it's also hilariously funny and sweet and uncompromisingly real. It's a celebration of life and change with a wonderful atmosphere and great characterisations.
Excerpt from the story:
It's winter in Portland, freezing, and there's no snow but there's ice on the streets some days, which Gerard likes. He goes out in Mikey's grey coat which he kind of forgot to give back at the end of tour, and Frank's skeleton gloves, and he thinks the socks he's wearing might be Bob's just because Gerard hasn't ever owned socks of his own, but he's not sure. The band (is he even allowed to call them that anymore? - and no, Gerard thinks, no matter what else happens, they'll always be the band) is a kind of tight knot in the pit of his stomach, and he misses them both more and less than he thought he would. Nevertheless, he doesn't miss the idea of playing anymore that much, and he skips past the live tracks of them that he'd put on his iPod in a slightly egotistical moment.
He goes down to the artsy market he saw a flyer for when he was out grocery shopping the other day, and finds a really good art supply store next to it, picks out new paints and canvases. At the market, he lingers over a stall of paintings and odd, metallic sculptures, and ends up picking out a tiny copper one of a person pulling their shirt open so you can see their heart shattering inside them. It's meticulous and tiny and brilliant, and it kind of reminds Gerard of Frank, in that there's no sense of sadness but only release and joy and you don't think for a second that the sculpture's heart is broken. He buys it and puts the brown paper package in his pocket, wonders whether to send it on to Frank or keep it himself, and then he gets distracted by the scarves at the next stall (he buys two bobbly pink ones, one for Alicia and one for him).
When he gets home, he calls Mikey. "You sad?" he asks by way of greeting, yawning a little into the speaker.
"No," Mikey tells him, and he doesn't sound it, either. Besides, Gerard knows Mikey isn't actually capable of lying to him. "Ray and Bob are here. We're making cupcakes."
"Really?"
"Well," Mikey amends, sounding a little crestfallen, "Ray and Bob and Alicia are making cupcakes. I'm sitting on the table and watching, because Alicia says she wants to eat them, and she can't if they're burnt."
"Okay," Gerard grins, "Put Ray on."
There's a shuffle of feet, and Gerard hears Ray's voice rising and falling unevenly in the background. When he gets on, his voice is somewhat confused when he says, "Gee? Is something wrong?"
"We did the right thing, didn't we?" Gerard asks. "With the band?"
"Hey," Ray's voice softens. "Yeah, sure we did. I think so, anyway. Don't you?"
"Yeah," Gerard says, surprising himself only a little, "Yeah, I do."
That's The Way We Get By