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Gerard felt like he was the lamest person on planet earth, and his brother was probably willing to agree completely with him on that matter. He was awkward and embarrassing and it seemed like his life purpose was to make a complete idiot out of himself. Of course, especially when there were other people around.
Or well, to be more specific; one person in particular. Frank Iero.
It was completely stupid of Gerard to have a crush on someone like Frank. Frank was famous. And he was hot, talented, friendly and funny, not to mention so far out of Gerards league that it made him cringe just to think about it.
Gerard worked as a waiter on a mediocre hotel in L.A. and had done for the past 5 years though the shifts were sometimes directly inhuman and the salary was far from fair. But he’d take what he could get, and Mikey had gotten him the job without further struggle, and he got to drool over Frank Iero now and then, so who was he to complain?
The lead singer of Leathermouth had stayed at the hotel countless times through the years when he happened to have a show in town and the first few times Gerard had served for him when he showed up in the hotel restaurant for dinner. But after endless times of falling over, dropping plates and knocking drinks over himself because he panicked whenever Frank spoke to him, looked at him or even just were near him, he’d started running far away everytime he showed up. By now, he forced Mikey to serve him whenever he showed up, though Mikeys area of tables to serve was in the other end of the restaurant. And every time, Mikey would sigh and tell Gerard that he was a pathetic excuse for a functioning human and go out and bring Frank his food as if it weren’t the hands down most attractive guy ever sitting there right outside the door between the kitchen and the restaurant. And meanwhile Gerard would just stand in the door, creepily watching the scenario without being seen himself; Mikey handing Frank his food, Frank smiling and saying something and Mikey vaguely smiling back and then heading for the kitchen again. He made it looked so easy, but then again, Mikey wasn’t Gerard, completely socially disabled and unable to act smooth around angelic people like Frank.
So of course the next time Frank showed up (Gerard just happened to know, not because he checked the dates for Franks tour or anything, he just knew), it had probably been the worst shift in the history of ever.
It had been busy and the best chef had called in sick that morning so the food was slowed down and everything was stressful and everyone was angry, and suddenly, as Gerard was handing a thin lobster soup to a man in a suit, he noticed Frank taking seat at his usual table. It was over by the corner and in Gerards area, though Gerard hadn’t served that table when Frank sat at it for a very long time.
Gerard had known that Frank would show up tonight, but he still panicked and couldn’t keep in a low “Oh shit” as he left the rich guy’s table and ran back for the kitchen.
When he opened the door to the sanitized rooms with waiters and chefs all dressed in white, everything was absolutely chaos. Someone had knocked over a pot full of hollandaise while Gerard had been gone and it was just about everywhere. This was just bad fucking luck.
“Mikey! Mikey, he’s here” Gerard whispered franticly and Mikey just shot him a burning glare since he was the one in position of coordinating the cleanup of the mess on the floor while still having tons of table to serve outside in the restaurant.
“I’m kind of in the fucking middle of something” he hissed and Gerards eyes widened.
“But, Mikey h-“ Gerard started but his brother cut him off with another evil stare.
“Gerard stop being so overdramatic, fucking go out there and talk to him. He’s a customer” he said angrily before yelling at a couple of scared chefs to get a fucking mop and bucket. Mikey could really be intimidating and slightly terrifying when he was angry, so Gerard slowly walked out of the kitchen again. He eyed Frank at his table for a long while, with an awful feeling in his guts, before heading over there.
Frank was leaned back in his chair, looking calm and cool as always, wearing a tight t-shirt and skinny jeans, fitting his body absolutely perfect. His hair was hanging a bit in his face and his hands were steady behind his head as he waited. Gerard might just have a stroke, because, God he was so hot, unlike Gerard who was sweaty and basically shaking and smelling like various spicy dishes that wasn’t necessarily a good combination. Christ, he was such a failure at life.
“Hey” Frank greeted him as he approached his table, sitting straight up in the chair and giving Gerard one of his absolutely killer-smiles. “Long time since I’ve seen you around”
Fuck, Frank remembered him. There was a serious risk of him passing out right now.
“Um, yeah, I’ve been- Uh waiting tables, uh, um- Over there” Gerard stuttered and made an absolutely ridiculous motion towards somewhere behind him where there probably wasn’t even any tables. Frank just smiled more.
“So, uh, what can I do for y- I mean, what can I- Fuck, sorry” he just kept stumbling over his own words and he wished that the ground would just swallow him whole around now.
“You okay man? You sound a little out of it?” Frank asked, and shot him a concerned look. Gerard knew that his face probably looked flushed and the color of a tomato right now and his shirt was almost sticking to his back from sweating. He reminded himself to go home and lock his door and never go outside again ever, because Frank wasn’t just hot, he also wasn’t an asshole unlike most of the musicians or other celebrities that stayed at the hotel. He looked genuinely worried about Gerard, which made everything worse.
Gerard took a deep breath. “Yeah I just, it’s um, been a long day and, y’know… Stuff, I guess”. Wow, for someone who sometimes wrote poetry in his very few spare hours (and was maybe sort of proud of it), he was really the worst person in the world when it came to expressing himself.
“Know the feeling, sometimes everything just comes crashing down, I mean, even though I love what I do” he said casually and Gerard nodded approvingly and still felt like he was going to pass out. He was actually, really and literally conversing with Frank. Or well, Frank was saying things and Gerard was mumbling half-sentences through shaking lips. Close enough.
“So, can you recommend anything from the menu? Like, vegan?” Frank asked and Gerard shivered lightly. His voice was so soothing and it was so nice to look at his mouth moving, though he had to try and not be staring completely obvious when he was standing right in front of Frank.
“Uh, well” he said and took a deep breath. He really needed to get himself together. “We have this really delicious vegan steak with, um, pepper sauce”
“Oh, you’ve tried it?” Frank asked and Gerard could feel him blushing so hard that his ears started to burn.
“Uh, no” he confessed, and expected Frank to scoff at him and roll his eyes, but instead he just laughed. His laugher was really light and it made Gerards stomach flutter and Jesus Christ, he was so far gone. It was so far beyond a celebrity crush, because first of all he had never even been to a Leathermouth show (though he really, really wanted to experience Frank on stage, but he couldn’t afford it and he worked most nights anyways), and also because besides being the most perfect guy on planet earth, Frank was also a customer. So it was kind of, sort of also a customer crush. Only once had he presented that theory to Mikey, who had just rolled his eyes so hard that Gerard had been afraid they might pop out of his skull, so he’d stopped trying to justify his miserableness towards Mikey anymore.
“It’s a line?” he grinned and Gerard blushed more if even possible. God, he was so embarrassing.
“Sort of” Gerard muttered. “I mean, they don’t teach us, but we learn”
“Does it work?” Frank asked and his genuine interest was back. He was so adorable and very, very kissable that Gerard could basically feel his insides twisting and he was still on his absolute highest level of blushing. At least he hadn’t knocked something over yet.
“Sometimes, I guess. I mean, most people already have decided when they ask” he explained and luckily with a bit more control in his voice. Okay, he could totally handle this. Sort of.
“Well, then I might have already decided that I want that delicious vegan steak of yours. Oh, and a beer too” Frank said and Gerard was startled by how incredibly sexy he could sound for someone who was just ordering a meal, but that was another one of Franks talents, apparently.
“Great, uh, I’ll be right back with it” he said and caught another one of Franks breathtaking smiles before turning around from the table. Jesus fucking Christ. He often wondered if Frank had a girlfriend (or boyfriend, but he didn’t even want to get that hopeful) who waited for him wherever he lived and got to see that smile every single day, even got to be the reason of that smile. If there was, he would envy them so much that he would probably die from it and then hate himself in his grave for being pathetic.
Mikey had gotten a hold of most of the mess in the kitchen when he came back, and everyone was a little less infuriated. Gerard passed on Franks order and then proceeded on to pick up a tray full of desserts for a family at a table near Franks.
When he headed back out in the restaurant with the food, he kept glancing over at Frank while he served for the other table, and of course Frank turned around and caught Gerard eyeing him. Gerard got so startled and eager to seem like he hadn’t just been staring, that he accidentally pushed an empty glass and he could only watch as the glass dropped to the floor in what seemed like slow motion and broke in a billion pieces. Great, this was just what everyone needed, more messes to clean up.
He blushed again and apologized to the family for breaking the glass, before looking up and seeing Frank smiling at him. Not laughing or anything like he would’ve expected after the stunt he just pulled, just smiling and Gerard could feel his cheeks go burning again and he tried to smile back but probably only just ended up grimacing, before hurrying back in the kitchen.
“Mikey I’m an idiot” he complained to his brother and Mikey just sort of shrugged and continued filling a tray with dishes. When he didn’t reply Gerard continued. “I just dropped a glass in front of Frank and I keep looking like a complete dork and he is so nice he doesn’t laugh or anything, he just smiles and smiles and smiles”
“Well maybe he doesn’t find you as ridiculous as you do” Mikey suggested and Gerard sighed.
“I’m going to die”
“Maybe you brain will explode from all the blood rushing to your head every other minute” his brother said distantly.
“That’s very helpful, thanks” Gerard replied sarcastically before getting out a broom to clean up the shattered glass and heading out the kitchen door again. Mikey snickered behind him.
When he came back, Franks food were ready, and though Gerard tried to persuade Mikey into bringing it, his brother just said that since he had been to one to take the order, he should be the one to bring the food. Standard rules, and Gerard sighed. If he dropped anything while around Franks table he would go right out in the back and bury himself next to the trash cans.
He picked up a beer along with the steak and headed for the table where Frank patiently was leaned back, just like before when Gerard had taken his order. He looked so smooth and oh god, Gerard would really like to know what it was like to slide his hands up underneath that t-shirt.
“Oh, thank you” Frank said with a grin when Gerard carefully put down the meal in front of him. “I was getting really hungry – I’m still exhausted from last night’s show. I think every inch of me is sore”
He smalltalked so casually and Gerard really wanted to converse, though it was kind of hard when he was definitely the lamest person on planet earth.
“Uh, that’s a shame, um” he muttered and regretted the words in the second he’d said them because, fuck, there were so many ways to misinterpret that. “I mean, being sore and all that, uh, I-“ he continued and that just made everything worse. Frank just looked up at him with a cocked eyebrow and Gerard prayed silently that Frank didn’t think he was trying to flirt. Because he wasn’t. He would if he could but he was way too awkward to do that.
“Yea, it really is. I should get someone to massage me, I suppose. But hey, maybe a good night’s sleep will cure it” Frank smiled and Gerard had to take a deep breath to not faint from the sudden thought of massaging Frank. God, he was so creepy.
“Hopefully” Gerard said and felt like he really needed to say something. “Is there, uh, anything else I can get you?”
“Not unless you can bring a bed down here that I can eat in” Frank laughed and took a sip of the drink he’d placed before him. Gerard pretended that he didn’t consider how much trouble it would get him in to actually do that.
“Well there is roomservice. Just call and we’ll bring anything that you can enjoy in your bed” he blurted. Of course he then started blushing again, because he was fucking king of saying everything wrong and making it sound perverted and oh fuck, did he really just say that to Frank Iero. Frank Iero. Fuck. It wasn’t even intentionally; he just lost every sort of sense in situations like this. He didn’t even drop anything but he would probably go and bury himself anyways in a matter of minutes.
“I’ll… Consider that” Frank said and for the first time today, he sounded sort of taken aback. Gerard cringed. But then, he sort of smiled again with a thoughtful look and Gerard just hurried back to the kitchen.
“Mikey please kill me” he uttered as soon as he found his brother at a counter, pouring soup into small bowls.
“I’m sort of busy and homicide would just make my schedule even tighter” he said flatly and Gerard sighed and leaned on the counter. He could almost feel Mikey mentally preparing for his whining.
“I think I accidentally came on to him” Gerard confessed.
“How do you accidentally come on to someone?” Mikey asked without taking his eyes from the soup.
“First I told him that it was a shame that he was sore, and then I said I’d bring anything to his bed for him to enjoy and ohmygodIwanttodie” he complained so fast that the words were almost incomprehensible, and he scowled as Mikey snorted loudly in laughter beside him.
“You really said that?”
“I panicked. Shut up”
“Well maybe he secretly digs that kind of desperateness and takes you up on the offer”
“As if. I hate you by the way” Gerard muttered and closed his eyes for a long while, just trying to fathom how talented he was at sounding like a retard.
“You can hate me all you won’t but I’m not clearing his table when he’s done”
Gerard made a resigned whimper.
“Go get him tiger” Mikey said before heading out the door with the soup.
He had been watching Frank for a long while from the kitchen entrance before finally building up the courage to head over to him again. Frank had been done with his meal for a while and was waiting for Gerard to hand him his bill.
“It was delicious” Frank said when Gerard reached him. “You should really try it sometimes”
“Maybe I will. Can I get you anything else?” Gerard asked and made a mental note to never eat anything but vegan steak ever again.
“Nah, I’m good, but I might go for your roomservice later, y’know, if I suddenly want anything” he said and if Gerard hadn’t been so busy staring at his fiddling hands, he could’ve sworn Frank winked at him.
“I’ll, uh, keep that in mind” Gerard said before taking the money Frank handed him and picking up the empty plate. Frank got up from his seat and brushed close past Gerard when he left the restaurant. Gerards knees went weak and he staggered back to the kitchen. Maybe he wasn’t going to kill himself just yet.
The rest of the night went by quite uneventful, busy, but not unusual for a Saturday night. Mikey kept on catching Gerard staring dreamily into thin air and nudging him while snickering. Gerard had started to feel nauseous by now. There had only been two calls for roomservice, and one had been an elderly couple and the other one a mom whose child was too sick to drag into a somewhat fancy restaurant.
Not that he was going to be the one to head for Franks room anyways, if he even called at all, his mental health wouldn’t be able to bear that, no, he would make Mikey go and then bug him until he told everything he’d seen in Franks room. That was incredibly creepy, but whatever.
The clock above the stoves said 1:25 AM, and in another thirty minutes they got off and were free to go home. The restaurant was long closed and the bar facing the lobby was emptying out, the last few people asking to pay and leaving.
The chefs had left a long time ago, so there was only Gerard, Mikey, a couple of other waiters, the bartender and a handful of janitors left. Gerard was putting away a bunch of wine glasses when the phone rang, so Mikey answered it and Gerard didn’t think more of it. There were usually a few very drunk people by now who called because they either needed more to drink or a janitor to clean up puke.
He heard Mikeys muffled conversation with whoever was on the other line of the phone, and shortly after his brother hung up and headed back to the back room where all their clean plates, glasses and cutlery were kept, and where Gerard currently was working. He looked back over his shoulder at his brother when he entered.
“So” Mikey sleazed with a grin that was way too big at the end of a 10-hour shift. “I just talked to Frank Iero”
“And?” Gerard asked and tried to stay in a normal tone of voice, turning back to the glasses.
“He asked if we could bring him champagne”
“Well, then bring him his champagne, he probably has someone up there” Gerard said and his stomach tightened a little by his own harsh words. But he knew very well that this crush was ridiculous and he had to face that Frank probably had tons of (female) groupies who he would rather spend the night with. He couldn’t let himself get hopeful, no matter how much Frank had smiled and talked at the table.
“Shush, idiot, you’re not letting me finish” Mikey said with a snicker. “To be more specific, he asked if you could bring him champagne”
“What?” Gerard said and spun around, facing Mikey. It was dim in the room but Mikeys expression wasn’t ambiguous in any way. “He did?”
“Well, he asked if the cute waiter with the nametag ‘Way’ could bring him champagne, and I assumed he wasn’t talking about me, though I’m very cute” Mikey grinned and Gerard could feel his stomach loosen up again, and a smile crept onto his face.
“You’re also married Mikey” Gerard reminded him when his brother batted his eyelashes in an attempt to look adorable.
“I’m married and very cute” he said smugly and pushed Gerard away from the glasses and taking over his work. “Go get a bottle from the fridge Casanova, I can handle the shift from here”
“Really?”
“Really. Oh, and it’s room 514” Mikey said and Gerard couldn’t help but smile uncontrollably to himself as he headed for the refrigerated storage and grabbed a bottle of the finest champagne they served. Maybe it was okay to let himself get a tiny bit hopeful.
He had to catch his breath before he knocked.
“Roomservice” he called with shaky voice and he heard movement behind the door. It took a minute or so before it was opened, and in that minute every horror scenario made it through Gerards head. What if it hadn’t even been Frank on the phone and some old dude with his young affair opened the door, or what if Frank had meant Mikey after all, or what if Mikey had misinterpreted everything and the champagne was really for Frank and a woman, and oh god he was going to throw up.
But then when the door was opened, it was Frank standing there, alone in the hotel room, his torso bare with a towel slung across his shoulder, hair wet and messy and the edge of his jeans digging slightly into his tattooed hips, and oh god, if that wasn’t the sexiest thing Gerard had ever seen in his life.
“Hi” Frank said, voice low and making Gerards stomach turn.
“Um, hey?” he tried, a little questioning and Frank smiled at him.
“Come in, I was just getting dressed” he said and Gerard followed him inside and put the bottle down on the nightstand.
“I don’t mind” he said breathlessly, letting his eyes run over Franks skin and though anything he’d said until now definitely wasn’t an attempt to flirt, maybe this was.
“Y’know, I’m still kind of sore, I could go for some massage”
Gerard looked down at his hands. His fingers were slender and white and he would really like to let them slide over Franks tanned shoulders, getting a closer look on all those tattoos.
“Does that classify as roomservice too?” Franks voice was teasing and smug and Gerard was probably setting a new world record in blushing.
“I guess I could, uh, make an exception?” he said and his sentences were still more questions than statements. “Just for you?”
“I like that” Frank said and moved closer. God, he was so smooth, both his words and his movements and his skin (or at least it looked that way and Gerard would really like to find out about it) and Gerard had to take a couple of deep breaths and remember how exactly he ended up in just about his favorite wet dream. This wasn’t something that happened to him at all. Mikey, maybe, but not Gerard. He just wasn’t that lucky.
Except that he apparently was, because moments after, there was only a tense couple of inches between him and Frank, Frank Iero, his unreachable crush who was kind and good looking and talented and right here in front of Gerard without much of his clothes on. This was insane, and he couldn’t help but reach out and run his fingers over Franks skin, solely because he could. It was allowed. It was possible.
And then Frank grabbed Gerards waistcoat and closed the space between them.