Epilogue 

Six Months Later

I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. It was weird to see myself wearing a shirt and tie, but I'd pushed the sleeves up to my elbows so that some of my new arm tattoos were visible. I'd also got some on my stomach, but they would remain hidden for the night. The scorpion on my neck was in pride of place though, beneath my messy mop of hair. 

There were a fancy selection of soaps next to the sink, and a bowl of popery - very different from my own apartment bathroom, which mainly consistent of some of Gerard's framed comic book prints on the wall. 

This was a pretty fancy art gallery though, so I guess they could afford to splash out. I washed my hands and then gripped the sink, taking a few deeps breaths. 

"You can do this" I turned to see Gerard stood in the doorway, looking amazing in his own suit and tie, black hair framing his face. 

"Well, I kinda have to at this point" I said with a gulp, and he pulled me into a tight hug. 

"I'm so proud of you Frankie" he breathed into my neck "it all looks so amazing out there - and the turn outs looking great." 

"Really?" 

"Yep - and they're all waiting for you" he stepped back "go knock em dead." 

I gave him a brief kiss and walked out of the bathroom, him following behind. We'd recently moved to the outskirts of London, into a small but homely apartment, and it was the best decision we'd ever made. It made sense for me to be close to the gallery ready for tonight's opening. It was an exhibition of young and upcoming artists, and my debut in many ways. I'd been working closely with Ryan's uncle to create the perfect exhibition space for my works, and also working in a bar round the corner of me a few evenings a week so I could cover the rent. Gerard, meanwhile, had started a counselling course and was also working part time at a comic store, so between us we weren't exactly rich, but we were managing. 

I walked into my part of the exhibition and could immediately see various art critics and reporters had already begun to circulate the space, but amongst them were also some familiar faces. 

"Frank!" Lynz pulled me in for a hug, immediately followed by Jimmy, Kellin and Vic "this is amazing!"

"Yeah Frank, your work looks so sick - if I was as rich as Kellin I'd buy it all" Jimmy had made a half hearted attempt to dress smart, but had retained his bright pink mohawk too. 

"Hey!" Kellin elbowed him before turning to me "but he has a point Frank - it all looks insane." Some of the works were new ones I'd created especially for the exhibition, and others were huge photo prints of my works from around town. 

"We better let you mingle, but we'll go out for celebratory drinks after, yeah?" Vic looked over my shoulder, and I too turned to see that James, Isabel, Ray and my parents had just walked in. 

"Good idea" I nodded "I better go get this over with."

"Are your uncle and aunt about to get a proper introduction to your boyfriend?" Lynz raised an eyebrow, and I just gulped and nodded. 

"Oh hell, now I'm really glad we came. I would not miss this for the world" Jimmy practically bounced with excitement. "If you need us we'll be over in that corner pretending we aren't listening but actually totally listening to every word." He steered the others a few meters away, leaving me to turn and face my family.  

"Frank" Ray immediately hugged me "congratulations."

"Yes" my mom smiled "it all looks amazing Frankie. We're so proud." My dad nodded, and I turned to James and Isabel. 

"It's er, certainly interesting" James said, not giving much away "certainly better in an exhibition than on local walls." 

"I'll take that" I chuckled. 

"You're very talented Frank" Isabel nodded "and what James means is that we're happy to see your artwork is getting professional recognition." 

"I am worried about how you're affording to live here though" my mom sighed "I mean, you said you and your boyfriend are both paying the rent, but we haven't even met him..." I knew she was hinting, and I also knew I couldn't avoid it forever. I looked at Ray and he just took a deep breath, knowing what was coming. 

"You're right, I should introduce you all" they smiled at that "hey Gee, come over here!" Gerard had been lingering near the doorway, but immediately walked over, much to my uncle and aunt's confusion. 

"Father Way?" Isabel frowned "what are you doing here?" 

"Actually, it's just Gerard now" He smiled politely "I left the ministry for good, I'm training to be a counsellor now." 

"Oh, lovely" she nodded "I'm sorry to hear you left the church though - I never did find out who the lucky woman was though..." she trailed off, and I could tell her mind was racing, but James was definitely clueless until I reached out and took Gerard's hand in mine. 

"Actually Gerard lives with me now" I made myself look them both in the eyes despite being very tempted to look anywhere else "and it's me he left the priesthood for. We're in love."

They both stood stunned and rooted to the spot, with James finally turning to Gerard with a wild look in his eye. 

"This is one of Frank's pranks or something, right?" 

"No" Gerard said firmly "we waited until he turned eighteen and I left my job to be with him, but I've loved him for a very long time. I'm sorry we couldn't be honest with you sooner." 

"Jesus Frank" my dad cursed, but then he couldn't seem to help himself - he let out a laugh "trust you to give your uncle and aunt a heart attack."

"I guess you were never going to be in a straightforward relationship" my mom mused, and then surprised me by hugging Gerard "it's lovely to meet you. Anyone who makes my son happy is in my good books." 

"Thank you, that means a lot" Gerard seemed to let out a breath. 

"Did you know about this Ray?" James turned to his very silent son. 

"Well..." Ray trailed off "I mean, it doesn't take a genius to see how happy they make each other..." 

"I guess you have't broken the law" Isabel sighed "my sanity maybe, but I'd rather you be with an ex-priest than some of the dodgy types you hang around with." I swear I heard Jimmy give a cough at that from where he and the others were all stood, obviously listening to every word. 

"James?" Gerard reached out a hand "I know it's a lot to come to terms with and adjust to, but it would mean the world to me if you could accept me and Frank's relationship." 

"You ask a lot of me" James gulped, visibly more pale than he had been moments before "I sent Frank to you because I trusted you to keep an eye on him and guide him, and now I'm questioning everything that I started in doing so." 

"To be honest, it was probably the best thing you ever did for me" I tried "I mean, me and Gerard may be together now, but he's helped guide me through so much and he saved my life too. I know this probably all seems to strange, but if you give us a chance I promise you'll see." 

"Go on dad" Ray smiled encouragingly "they aren't doing anyone any harm, they're just happy together. And you know Gerard is a good person - you've said it yourself so many times." 

"Fine fine" James held up his hands "I'll tolerate this, but it's going to take me a while before I'm comfortable with it." 

"That's all we ask" Gerard sighed, the tense atmosphere dissolving a little. 

"Yeah, no big family Christmas just yet" I joked, and Ray let out a snort of laughter. 

"Come on dad" he put his hand on James's shoulder "let's go look at the artwork." James nodded and let his son steer him away, my aunt following behind them. 

"It's nice to meet you Gerard" my dad shook his hand "don't worry about James - we'll work on him."

"Thank you" Gerard placed arm arm around my waist "it's lovely to finally meet you both." 

"Likewise" my mom smiled "anyway, we better go look at all this artwork, but perhaps we could all have dinner before we fly back to New Jersey?" 

"Sounds good" I nodded, and watched them walk away. "Well, that went better than I thought." 

"I can't believe James took it better than Brian did" Gerard mused "I thought I might get punched or something." 

"You and me both" I giggled.

The two of us started to walk round the room, as I showed him some of my older works that he hadn't seen before. I loved how he studied each one in detail, eyes darting around each aspect of the piece and asking me loads of questions about it. I could've stayed talking to him all night, but I noticed Ryan's uncle, the gallery curator Marcus, beckoning me over. 

"Frank" he smiled "there are some people I want you to meet. This is Damien, my boss." 

"Nice to meet you" I shook his hand. 

"Likewise" he beamed "I have to admit, your work is some of the best i've seen in a while. Me and the board here are very keen to encourage you with it." 

"Thank you" I glanced behind him at his colleagues, who were all looking at one of my pieces. 

"That's why we'd like to offer you a job" that made my head snap up "I've got some connections at the council, and there's a series of new murals that are being commissioned in central London. It's going to get huge media attention, and we'd like you to take charge of the whole operation. You'd be working alongside me, organising it all and helping design it. It's an ongoing project, so you'll be on a decent wage too. What do you say?" 

"Yes, of course" I didn't have to hesitate "that sounds amazing." 

"Brilliant, I'll have Marcus here contact you with more details, but I look forward to working with you." 

I felt giddy with adrenaline and pure joy. It look everything I had not to jump around and yell out. My dreams were finally coming true - I was going to do what I loved and earn money from it. It seemed so surreal, and Marcus seemed to see this because he put a hand on my shoulder. 

"Go tell your loved ones the good news, and then go out and celebrate properly. You deserve it."

That's how I ended up in the bar across the road a few hours later, surrounded by Gerard and my friends, as everyone raised their drinks. 

"To Frank!" Ray cheered "and his new job. We all know this is only going to be the start of your art career, and we can't wait to see what you do next!"

"To Frank!" everyone echoed, and I met Gerard's eyes across the room as everyone clinked their glasses together. He was watching me with his head cocked slightly to the side, quietly taking in every detail like he'd been looking at my artwork earlier. I blushed a little, even after all this time, and he must've noticed because he winked at me. 

I got distracted then, pulled into conversation with Kellin and Lynz, but I could still feel him watching me for a few more moments following. As much as I wanted to talk to him properly, I knew it was important to spend time with my friends whilst they were here, and so it was only when we got back to our flat that we finally got a proper moment to ourselves. 

We stumbled in, and he immediately went to put the kettle on. Once it had begun to boil he turned back to me, shrugging off his jacket. I reached forward and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, pulling him towards me. Our living room was small and cosy, so we sort of bumped into the wall in the process, but neither of us really noticed. 

"I better get your autograph before you become a world famous artist, you know" He spoke softly, running a hand through my hair. 

"You can have it any day of the week" I chuckled, kissing him. 

"You know, it's been nearly a year since I met you" he mused, still toying with the ends of my hair. 

"It's weird to think of my life without you in it now" I admitted as I thought back to that first meeting over a Metallica CD, me snooping where I shouldn't be and him lying to cover me in front of James despite having only just met. It's weird that we had no idea what was to come from that first meeting, that now a year on we were living together. "So much has happened, I feel like we're both completely different people to who we were back then."

"We're certainly both happier" he nodded "and a lot more free."

Every now and then I'd have the odd nightmare about Ian and everything that happened in Bert's flat, but on the whole we had both recovered pretty well from the whole ordeal. I guess I was mainly just relieved that it was over, and even in my dreams I think I knew subconsciously that he was dead, and couldn't get to me anymore. 

"I love you" I grinned. 

"I love you too" he kissed me "wanna coffee?" 

"Of course." He headed back into the kitchen and I collapsed onto the sofa, just listening to him humming as he moved round the little kitchen, and feeling truly happy and content. Everything had worked out in the end, and now I had a future that I could actually be excited for instead of worrying about. 

THE END

Ahh, what a rollercoaster this was! 

thank you thank you to everyone who has read these books, especially those who read them the first time around before I re-uploaded the finished version! It means the world to me! 

Sorry they took literally forever to finish but I hope the happy ending makes up for it! There were a LOT of loose ends to tie up but hopefully you all enjoyed it. 

If you love priest!Gerard as much as I do I throughly recommend reading the unholyverse series if you havent already (my favourite fanfics everrrrr) and also I recently read Against The Works Of The Flesh on AO3 and that's really good too. I'm sure there are other good ones out there too but they're the ones that come to mind :)

H xxx