Sorry this update is so delayed!!

I should mention that the year is 1966. *wink* So, don't get too excited.

I'll also mention that I'm going to go through all my one~shots and put the era in, and I'll be putting them in from here on out. Just an explanation on why everything will be getting republished.

Gerard Era: TBP- I Don't Love You

Frank Era: TBP- Teenagers

Enjoy~~

----------

"Frankie...this was the perfect night. Thank you for everything," Gerard smiled, holding his boyfriend's hand across the table.

Frank had treated Gerard to a day full of shopping and then a romantic, cliché, candlelit dinner. The two kept making jokes and laughing in the restaurant, and had gotten threatened to be kicked out. But they were having to much fun to care.

"Of course, baby," Frank replied with a smile.

"I still feel bad. You spent so much money today," Gerard sighed. As if on cue, the check arrived. Frank snatched it away just as Gerard tried to reach for it.

"That's the point!" He said. He glanced at the check and slipped his credit card in. "I'm giving my prince exactly what he deserves."

"You're a crazy man, Franklin Iero," Gerard beamed. The waiter picked up the check and scoffed at their intertwined hands.

"Fags," He said under his breath.

The couple wasn't exactly shocked, but it was a little surprising. It was the 60's after all, but this was a more excepting part of Jersey. Nonetheless, they shrugged the comment off and Frank left a rather skimpy tip.

They decided to go to the dimly lit park. The couple held hands under the cover of the night and giggled as they walked around, talking about nonsense that would only make sense to them. They reminisced about the past, imagined the future. Frank brought up his earlier musical days and Gerard snorted.

"You played the saxophone a bit after I met you," He laughed. "I remember going to your "concert" a few weeks after we became good friends."

Frank gagged. "Ew, don't bring that up."

"Why'd you ever stop? You weren't half bad, babe," Gerard smiled.

"Because I found out you couldn't smoke and play the saxophone at the same time, so I quit," Frank said. He pulled out a cigarette and Gerard laughed.

"You're fucking wild," Gerard kissed his cheek. Frank blew smoke from his cigarette and stomped it out as he lead Gerard to a bench.

The two leaned their heads against each other as the air of New Jersey swirled around them. Ol' Jersey had never been clean, but it was the way to boys loved it. The grime of the city made it their home.

"Remember when you were in that stupid street gang?" Gerard giggled.

"Jesus...stupid is an understatement," Frank rolled his eyes.

"You were a little punk who just couldn't stay out of trouble," Gerard cooed.

"A little punk who got blitzed all the time and stole from rich kids," Frank shook his head. "Glad that phase is long gone."

"By "rich kids," do you mean me?" He asked. Frank blushed. "I always thought it was sexy how you threatened me."

"Oh, shut up!" Frank laughed.

"This night couldn't get any better..." Gerard sighed happily.

"I get I could make it better," Frank countered. He looked around cautiously at first, but soon got down on one knee. Gerard's hands flew to his mouth. "Gee, you've been my best friend for so long and we've been dating for so long too. Fuck, I'm not good at this. But, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't care if we'll be hated, I don't care how hard it'll be for us to get legally married, I'm willing to do whatever it takes. Gerard Arthur Way, will you marry me?"

Gerard shot up from the bench, his face damp with tears of happiness. His hands waved around excitedly. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Frank took Gerard's hand and slipped a simple black band on Gerard's left ring finger. He pulled Frank to his feet and embraced him tightly. Frank pulled pack and swept Gerard's short bangs from his face, kissing him gently. He placed his hands on Gerard's full hips and Gerard wrapped his hands around Frank necks. Gerard tugged lightly on Frank's hair, getting into the kiss. Frank pulled away with a smirk.

"Can't it wait until we get home?" Frank teased. Gerard shook his head. Frank wiped the last tear from Gerard's cheek and took his hand, walking home.

Once they were home, they turned the T.V. on. "Why're we turning that on?" Gerard asked as the blurry black and white image cleared.

"So the neighbors won't know," Frank said.

"About what?" Gerard questioned.

Frank slammed his lips onto Gerard and pushed his small body onto the latter's. Tongues lashed out at each other, lips danced sloppily, and hands explored. The sounds of their lips smacking were only heard in their own ears as the T.V. covered everything else. Gerard had a firm hand on Frank's ass while Frank's hand was tangled in Gerard's hair. Frank's lips parted from Gerard's, and he didn't have even a second to react when Frank was latched to Gerard's neck. Gerard's mouth hung open as quick breaths escaped it. His grip on Frank's ass tightened when Frank nibbled gently on his neck.

"-3, 16, 7, 9, 2, 19, 12-" The T.V. blurted out. More numbers continued to be read. Gerard and Frank froze in their actions.

It was been called.

"-9, 2-"

It just kept repeating itself in Gerard's mind.

"-9, 2-"

This couldn't be happening.

"-9-"

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" Gerard cried. Frank was already off Gerard and hugging him tightly. "Frank, this can't be happening!"

"I know, I know," Was all Frank could say through Gerard's sobs.

"I won't survive out there! I'm not gonna make it!" He shouted. "I'm going to die, Frank!"

Gerard had been drafted. After the numbers were called, the draftees had 3 weeks to get things sorted out, and then they had to report to a military camp at a set time. There was nothing anyone could do about this. The boys could try and flee to Canada, but it wasn't worth it. The Vietnam war had been raging for over 10 years. Neither Frank or Gerard expected to get drafted. Everything was changing.

"You won't die, Gee," Frank denied.

"It's Vietnam, Frank!" Gerard screamed, hysterically. "I have had zero skill or practice with a gun or anything! I'm going to be fucking murdered out there!"

Frank buried his face in Gerard's neck. "You're not going to die! I'm not going to let you die!"

The two cried. Their worst nightmare had come true, and they were helpless.

~~~

The day had come for Gerard to be taken to the camp site. They didn't know what would happen after he had been dropped off. They only knew that's where they had to be. As they pulled up to the full lot, Frank and Gerard noticed all the men kissing their crying wives and families goodbye. The biggest difference between Gerard and all these other men was that, one, all these men were straight, and two, all these men were heavy set. Gerard stepped out of the car with Frank. He immediately felt intimidated. Screw being killed in Vietnam, these guys would kill him first.

"You're going to do great," Frank said, looking at Gerard. What made matters worse was that they couldn't kiss, they couldn't hold hands. If they did, they'd both get hell and Gerard would get beat up before even getting on the plane.

"Don't lie to me, Frankie..." Gerard said. "Please."

"You're going to be okay," He said. He put a hand on Gerard's shoulder, weakly.

Gerard slung his small bag of belongings onto his back and hugged Frank quickly. They kissed each other's necks, wiping away what seemed like hundreds of tears.

"I love you, Frank," Gerard cried.

"I love you, Gee," Frank replied.

Gerard waved to Frank as he walked towards the group of men. He watched as Frank's car drove off, and he could feel his heart shatter. A few other men were crying, and other looked as if they were trying not to. But the general walked up, yelling and barking orders.

Gerard's hell started then and there. Multiple miles were ran every day, hundreds of pounds were lifted every day, and the least amount of calories were consumed every day. Gerard threw up every day for a month, passed out often, but yet he couldn't fall asleep at night. He could only think of Frank. Every night, Gerard sat up with his flashlight rereading the three comics he brought with him, writing letters that would never get sent out, and staring at the Polaroid of Frank.

One night, his comics didn't matter, the letters didn't matter. Only that single picture of Frank mattered. He had cried over the picture the first week, and it got easier. Now, he'd been at this camp for 3 months. He had muscles he'd never had before. Strength and bravery he hadn't ever had before. Gerard no longer cared about pain. Pain was only a message, he learned to ignore that message. But the only pain he couldn't ignore was the pain he felt without Frank. He couldn't ignore that. No matter how hard he tried. Gerard could only think about Frank. During training, during his few meals, during the night hours. Gerard considered drowning himself many times in the showers, shooting himself with the "practice" guns. But he didn't. He would stay alive for Frank.

"I'll stay alive for you," Gerard whispered to the picture.

"You hardly ever sleep," Another voice whispered from the bunk adjacent from his.

"W-what?" Gerard asked, fearful.

A boy turned to him, smiling in the dark. He turned his own flashlight on. "I'm Ryan."

"Uh, Gerard," He said shakily. This was the first boy he had ever really talked to besides the general.

"Oh, I know," Ryan said with a slight smile. "Everyone talks about you."

"What!?" Gerard exclaimed quickly. "What do you mean?"

"We heard that you had no training and no experience with any, well, physical really. And, dude, you're a natural," Ryan explained.

"I'm not..." Gerard blushed. He was no good. He just got lucky with all his thoughts. "It's like soccer back in middle school. I was okay in practice, but I was horrible when it came to the actual game."

"That's bogos, man," Ryan said. "I've seen how you are during training. It's incredible how quickly you picked everything up."

"Well, thanks..." Gerard gave in.

"Anyway, who's the picture of?" Ryan asked.

"Um-"

"Your lady? I see you looking at it every night, not to be creepy or anything. It's just, I've been dying to see what she looks like," Ryan rambled.

"I-it's not a lady," Gerard mumbled. He expected and hoped Ryan hadn't heard him.

"A friend?" Ryan cocked his head.

"Fiance," Gerard's voice cracked. The reality hit him again. He would've gotten married. He still could get married, but he could die in this war.

"Oh..." Ryan said quietly. "You're a homo?"

Gerard cringed and nodded.

"M-me too," Ryan said with some sort of hope in his voice. The next thing Gerard knew, Ryan was sitting across from Gerard on his bunk. He held out a Polaroid of a man. He had dark hair and...a strangely large forehead. "That's Brendon. He's my husband of three years, four in three months."

Gerard felt safer. He laid his own Polaroid in front of Ryan. "That's Frank."

"Aww, he's so cute!" Ryan giggled. "Definitely a twink though." Ryan winked. (A/N Listen, I don't care if twink wasn't a term used in the 60's! It is now!)

"A little bit," Gerard laughed.

"How long have you guys been engaged?" Ryan asked.

"We got engaged the day my numbers were called," Gerard answered solemnly.

Ryan put his hand over Gerard's. "You'll make it back."

Gerard smiled and nodded.

"Do you have the ring?" Ryan asked.

Gerard pulled a chain from around his neck. They weren't allowed to wear bracelets or rings. The chain had the black band on it. Ryan pulled his own chain from around his neck, his had two rings. A silver ring and a gold one. They didn't say much. The two admired each other's rings and pictures. It was a miracle for the boys, really. No one was really "out" these days. Finding someone who was gay was like finding....well, a gay boy in the 60's.

The boys parted after an hour of gossiping over their love's. And Gerard slept for the first time in three months.

~~~

"W-wait? Today's the day?" Gerard asked, his now best friend, Ryan as they boarded a plane in full gear.

"Today's the day," Ryan nodded.

Today was indeed the day. The group of men that Gerard and Ryan had been training with for four months were being deployed in Vietnam. They sat in the plane, chatting a bit. Everyone was nervous, but everyone was also ready to put their new skills to use; even if it meant death.

The plane had been in flight for hours now, Gerard had no idea they were just going to get dropped in Vietnam, guns and all.

"D-don't we get settled in a camp first?" Gerard asked nervously.

"Not us," A boy that Gerard remembered as Patrick. "They're incredibly low on troops, so they need us to go in as soon as possible."

"Isn't that dangerous? Don't we get rest?"

Patrick shook his head. "There's no rest in war."

Gerard looked at Ryan, who just shrugged and looked at the ground. Gerard was already feeling sick from being in the air for so long, this stress just added onto it. He had even begun feeling confident about making it back home to Frank, but his doubts only grew higher as they approached Vietnam.

The agony of anxiety was so thick, you could cut through it. Even some of the tougher guys started to shake a little. They been told they'd be landing in Vietnam in about two hours. A few people literally threw up at the thought of finally going to war. Gerard held his breath, feeling tears rising as well as bile in his throat. About an hour before they would land, Gerard felt shaking shoulders next to him. Ryan was crying as silently as possible. Gerard noticed Ryan clutching the rings and chain is his fist. Gerard's heart shattered. He wrapped his free arm around Ryan and held him close. Ryan leaned into him, trying to wipe his tears away.

A boy snickered. "Faggots."

He was roughly elbowed by the people next to them. He muttered an "ow" as he rubbed his sides, sending glares around the plane.

In Gerard's mind, this war was no longer about fighting and winning, it was about getting Ryan home to Brendon. Yes, of course, Gerard would do his best to gun down the enemies, but he would protect Ryan first. The problem was; he still wanted to go home to Frank. What if protecting Ryan costed him his life?

~~~

None of them had ever felt this kind of fear. There was only one sound: gun fire. Only one feeling: sweat. Only one sight: jungle. And it all fed their fear. Out of the 45 men that had been deployed, 10 were already dead. They hadn't even been out in this humid jungle for 3 hours.

Gerard ran through the trees as fast as he could. Ryan was was close behind. Gerard tripped, landing in a puddle of mud. Ryan pulled him up and they kept running. The two ducked behind a thick wall of vegetation, catching their breath. The rapid gun fire was muted by the distance.

"I think we lost them," Ryan panted.

"I know, but we have to be on the look out," Gerard responded. He sat on his heels, gun at the ready. "Take a sip of water while you can."

Ryan quietly pulled out his canteen. Gerard scanned the landscape, but could only see green. He had caught a glimpse of the Vietnamese uniforms, which matched the scenery with perfection. Gerard looked for any odd, out of place movements.

Gerard couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself. Gerard Way, a chubby, little, gay boy from Belleville, New Jersey, was now a muscular, tough, man fighting in Vietnam. Frank would be so proud of him...wouldn't he?

"Gee, to your left!" Ryan whisper yelled. Gerard was pulled from his thoughts and snapped his head to the left. An enemy solider's gun was fixed on the two boys, but the closer Gerard looked the more soldiers he saw. There were at least six. Gerard cursed but knew better than wait any longer.

Gerard started firing rapidly. Ryan popped up next to him, shooting along side his friend. A pit of anxiety and dread built up in Gerard's stomach. He just killed a man, two now. More American troops were running to their aid, but that only meant there would be more Vietnamese troops. Gerard kept firing, the only thought in his mind was survive. He remembered Ryan, but a little too late.

Ryan was shot in the chest, screaming and cursing. Gerard yelled and ran in front of Ryan, shooting anyone who would dare to come anywhere near him.

"Brendon! Brendon!" Ryan sobbed. He clutched his chest, blood pouring out like a faucet. A medic came up behind Gerard and started dressing the wound.

Gerard yelled, ambushing the enemy with blind rage. People yelled at him to get back, but he just kept running. An extreme pain lodged itself in Gerard leg, knocking him down. A man grabbed his collar and started dragging him back. Gerard cringed at the pain, but he knew it wasn't nearly as bad as Ryan's. He was laid next to Ryan, who was still crying loudly. The next thing Gerard knew was that he was being dragged back to where they had landed. The thing was, Ryan was being left behind.

"No, no, no!" He yelled. "We need to get Ryan!"

The man dragging him ignored him. Gerard ripped free of him and ran, as fast as he could, back to his friend. Ryan stared at him wide eyed. He pleaded for Gerard to go back, but he protested.

"I'm not leaving you behind!" He cried.

"You don't have a choice! I'm going to die anyway," Ryan said.

Gerard shook his head. He picked up Ryan and threw him over his shoulder and limped away from the battle field. Ryan begged Gerard to put him down, but Gerard kept pushing. Ryan was pretty light so it wasn't too difficult to carry him.

They burst through the thick wood and made it to the open field where the other troops were. A few helicopters were already there. Gerard ran as fast as he could (which wasn't very fast) before setting Ryan down, who was unconscious by now.

"Way!" Someone shouted. "Where the fuck have you been!?"

"I wasn't leaving Ryan behind," He sobbed. He didn't look up to see who it was.

"Don't be such a queer, get in the heli," He said.

Gerard limped to the helicopter with the help of one of the medics. He sat with his head in his hands. He knew he'd survive, but would Ryan?

~~~

Gerard woke up in his hospital bed on the fifth day this week. He was still in the army hospital after being shot. He would be released in a week, they said. Gerard got out of bed, reaching for his crutches. He was told not to walk on his leg, they didn't want his stitches to tear. He walked down the hall and stopped at a specific room. He knocked.

"Come in," A voice said.

Gerard pushed the door open, putting a smile on his face. "Hey, Ry."

Ryan smiled back at Gerard. He survived, even though the doctors said it should've been impossible. Ryan was bed-bound for the moment, but he should be able to start walking soon.

"Hey, Gee. They still got you locked up here?" Ryan said, sitting up with a wince. Gerard limped over and sat in a chair next to his bed.

"Kind of," He chuckled. "I can walk wherever I want with my crutches."

"At least you get to walk," Ryan grumbled. Gerard frowned.

"You've been doing P.T., right?" He asked.

"Well, yeah, but it's so slow," Ryan complained. "I'm so much stronger than they think I am."

"I know, they just want to make sure you're okay. Do they let you walk at all?"

Ryan shrugged. "Only around my room."

Gerard nodded. He wanted to help Ryan go on walks and get even stronger. But he wasn't strong enough himself. The bullet went far into his leg. Miraculously, it didn't hit anything vital, but the surgery was difficult. It took a bit of digging around to get it out.

"A few weeks, the said. They want to admit me to a general hospital in Belleville," Ryan said .

"Wait, Belleville, New Jersey?" Gerard clarified. Ryan nodded. "You live there?"

"I live just north of it," Ryan said.

"Dude, I live there! I gotta visit you and Brendon sometime!" Gerard exclaimed.

"Hell yeah you should!

Ryan wrote his address and phone number down for Gerard. They only lived about an hour away from each other. They agreed that Gerard would take Frank to see Ryan and Brendon in the hospital.

Gerard left Ryan to rest and headed to the lounge-style room. Other recovering soldiers sat and talked here. Gerard took a seat in a recliner, putting his leg up. He felt awful. Not just because his leg hurt, but because his leg hurt. There were soldiers in here without arms or legs, soldiers who were paralyzed, who lost their eyesight, who lost their hearing. Even Ryan should've died. Gerard felt like a cheater.

"Try not to dwell on it too much," A nurse said. "You still fought in a great war. You're still a hero. You don't need to lose a limb to prove that.

Gerard gave her a confused look.

"I've seen that look hundreds of times," She pulled up a chair. "You're thinking that you haven't done enough, that you got out easy, right?"

"I-I did," Gerard said.

"It's okay to think that," She said. "But you still fought. You still made an impact. And if I'm putting the faces and names together, you saved Ryan Ross's life."

Gerard blushed. I guess I did, he thought. The nurse put a hand on Gerard's knee and looked at him with the same comforting eyes Frankie always gave him.

"Don't doubt your greatness, Gerard," She smiled. It was identical to Frank's...

"Wait...Linda?" Gerard asked. The nurse smiled wider.

"Hey, Gee," Linda said.

Gerard sat up, crying, and hugged her. This was Frank's mom. He hadn't seen her in forever, years. Shit, he didn't even recognize her.

"Do you know how Frank's been?" Gerard asked shakily, pulling away. Linda gave him a pain-filled smile.

"It's been rough, he misses you so much," She said.

"And how did you even get here?" He asked.

"I just decided to do some volunteer work while I could," She explained. Gerard gripped her arm.

"Is Frank really okay...?" He asked warily. She nodded. Gerard sighed in relief.

Frank was never good at handling his emotions. He always had to turn to some sort of substance, he said he learned it from his grandmother. Not in the way Gerard thought, Frank had assured. His grandmother never directly said, "If you're feeling down, toss back a bottle of whiskey." He had just always seen her drinking while she cried. She usually stopped crying after drinking, so Frank tried it one day. Upon meeting Frank, Gerard taught him how to manage without turning to alcohol. But Gerard wasn't there now...

"He's a strong boy," Linda said. "I know you know this."

"I just want to get home to him," He sniffled.

"I'll get you out as soon as I can," She ruffles his hair and stands up. "Rest easy, Gee."

"Thanks, Linda," Gerard smiles.

~~~

The week had passed, and Gerard would be released. He was still on crutches, but it was better than being dead. He packed his few belongings just as Ryan hobbled into his room.

"I hear you're leaving me," Ryan says with mock sadness.

"Oh, hush! I'll be seeing you soon enough," Gerard chuckles. He turns around sees Ryan propped up against the wall without an aid. "Whoa, did you walk here by yourself?"

"Yeah, it felt great," Ryan grinned. Gerard looked at him quizzically. "Seriously, I've been feeling amazing. I'm so glad to get out of bed."

"Just be careful. No use in getting more hurt," Gerard said.

"Yeah, yeah," Ryan waved him off. "You excited about getting home to Frank?"

"I am, but I'm more nervous," Gerard admits.

"Why?"

"I don't even know. I feel like the ugly girl at prom...I just feel like he won't be proud."

"How can he not be!? You fought in a war, dude. You killed two people, that takes so much strength to do. And I'm not talking abut physical strength," Ryan assures.

Gerard tried not to focus on the whole killing people thing. "I guess..."

Ryan smiles weakly and limps over to his friend. He puts a hand on his back and looks at Gerard's small bag stuffed full with clothes and unfinished letters. There was a knock at the door.

"Uh...Gerard Way?" A boy spoke. Gerard walked over.

"Yes?"

"This is yours," The boy said. He handed Gerard a helmet and walked away. His helmet.

"Damn," Was all Ryan said. Gerard frantically ran his fingers through the inside of it. He made a choking sound when he found the Polaroid tucked deep into the lining.

"Thank God," He mumbled.

"Oh, nice," Ryan said. "Good thing the found it."

Gerard smiled and walked over to his bedside table, grabbing his ring and throwing it around his neck. He looked at the clock and sighed.

"The bus is leaving soon," He said turning to Ryan.

"Don't worry. We'll see each other soon," He smiles.

The boys embraced and Gerard walks Ryan to the main room until walking himself to the pick-up area. He waits nervously with all the other soldiers. They all board the bus. Everyone was shocked to hear that they were being dropped off at their own houses. But it turned out that everyone on the bus lived in Belleville.

Gerard was one of the last people to be dropped off. The sun had started to set, and tears pricked at his eyes as the bus pulled up to his apartment. He got of the bus, backpack on his back and crutches by his side. The bus didn't even pull away before Frank came tearing down the stairs and across the front lawn. Gerard didn't hold back his tears and dropped all of things. He didn't care about his leg, he didn't care if anyone saw them. He ran towards Frank and hugged him tighter than he'd ever hugged him before.

They didn't say anything, the boys just cried. Eventually, Frank pulled away and looked Gerard up and down.

"I could hardly recognize you," He said, running his hand over Gerard's newly defined jawline.

Gerard didn't know what to say. "I g-guess."

"Let's get inside so I can kiss your pretty face," Frank smiles wiping his tears away. Gerard wipes his own as he limps over to grab his bag. "No, no! Just get your crutches."

Gerard didn't oppose. He picked his crutches up, but didn't use them. Frank was about to lecture him, but Gerard shot him a glare.

They were settled inside on the couch, making out obviously. It had been literal months since either of them had kissed anyone, since they'd seen each other, since they'd touched each other. A good hour of just making out had passed before the pulled apart, resting their foreheads on each other's.

Frank giggled. "Why are you wearing the ring on a chain?"

"We can't wear them during training, or anything other time, on our hands," Gerard responded. Frank slipped the chain over his head and took the ring off, sliding it back on his fiance's finger.

"I can't believe we're going to get married," Frank marveled.

Gerard's lip quivered. "You were right...I-I made it back."

Frank kissed him again. "You made it."

----------

Woo hoo! It's finally done, fuhking finally! I've been working on this for so long. Thank you SOOO much to crawlinginfrerard for recommending this prompt to me. I loved writing this, and I hope it's what you hope it would. (Also this shit was no proofread, I just had to get it out)

I'm also trying my very best to finish the other one~shots I have. I'm so sorry about how late they're coming out, but they are coming out. I hope you enjoyed this fanfiction!

Thanks (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧