"Mikey please - you have to help me!"

"I don't know what you want me to say bro...if you want to do it, then go for it. He's not going to say no, I can tell you that." Mikey peered over the rim of his glasses at me with a slightly bored expression on his face, completely unfazed by the internal breakdown I was having right now.

It had been eight months since Elena had died, and I was finally back to my old self again. I had gotten that job with Cartoon Network, and I loved it even more than I thought I would. Having a career in something I was passionate about had really lifted my spirits, and I hadn't had any need for the antidepressants lately. The money from my new job coupled with the large trust fund Elena had set away for me had given me an idea...

I wanted to propose to Frank - well I had always wanted to; Frank was the only person I could ever imagine spending the rest of my life with, but now I actually had the funds to buy him a proper ring and to afford a nice wedding as well, so I thought it was the perfect time to pop the question.

I knew we were young, but Frank and I had been through so much together that I thought we were ready for this step, and I was desperately hoping he felt that same way.

But getting up the nerve to do it was another matter entirely, I had already purchased the ring, but I hadn't managed to find the courage to utter the four words that had been floating around in my mind for the past few weeks, which was how I found myself at my younger brother's apartment begging for his advice.

"Of course I want to do it...I'm just scared." I threw myself down on his couch with a dramatic sigh.

"I'm not the magic proposal fairy who has all the answers. It's not like I have any experience with the matter," Mikey huffed out while taking a seat beside me on the sofa.

"You and Ray have only been official for a year, I'm sure it will happen sooner than you think." I nudged Mikey in the ribs with my foot teasingly.

"Well..."

"Oh my god - you are blushing!" I squealed, and Mikey covered his cheeks with both hands to try and conceal his reddening face.

"Shut up okay. I'm not going to do it yet...I've just been thinking about it - that's all." Mikey tried to keep his tone neutral, but I could hear his affection for Ray leaking through against his will.

"Aww...my baby brother is in love!"

"Seriously Gee, I will throw you out if you keep this up," Mikey pouted as I threw my arms around him in a hug.

"Fine - I'll stop, but only if you help me with my proposal." I pulled away from him with a giant smile plastered across my face.

"I don't know Gee, Frank isn't a super romantic guy, he isn't going to care what you say or how you do it. He loves you, so he is going to be ecstatic either way."

"I know...I just want to make it special." Frank deserved the most perfect proposal in the world, but he wasn't a flowers and candles kind of guy, and I was coming up blank on how I was going to make this something he would never forget.

"You will figure something out Gee, just...I don't know - do it somewhere that means a lot to the both of you." Mikey shrugged helplessly, but his words had actually given me the beginnings of an idea.

"Thanks Mikes! You are the best!" I squealed as I hurried to put my shoes back on so I could put my plan in action.

"Wait...what did I say?" Mikey shot me a confused look, but I didn't want to waste any time explaining it in case I lost my courage and chickened out at the last minute.

"I'll explain later!" I shouted as I rushed out the door, jogging lightly down the street while I pulled out my cell phone. Mikey had picked me up from work today, but where I wanted to go was definitely within walking distance, and it would give me some time to plan out exactly what I was going to say.

I finally freed my cell phone from my tight jeans, pressing the call button next to Frank's number with shaking fingers before I had a chance to change my mind.

"Hey love, what's up?" Frank's familiar voice filled my ears, and I couldn't help my smile at the phone, even though he couldn't see me.

"Hey Frankie, are you off work yet?" I tried to act casual, but my voice was obviously wobbling.

"I've got about ten more minutes left. Why?" I could tell Frank knew something was off with me, but I ignored it.

"Can you meet me somewhere after work?" I asked breathlessly.

"Yeah...where do you want me to go?"

"The intersection of Spring Peaks and Sable Valley, it's not far from Mikey's apartment."

"Can I ask why you are being so weird?" I could tell Frank was getting slightly worried, but I was a terrible liar, and I just wanted this phone call to end before I fucked this entire thing up.

"I'll explain once you get here okay? Please just trust me?" I put on my best pouty tone, and I had to hold back a giggle when I heard Frank sigh against the phone.

"Fine...I'll head out right now, the store is dead anyway."

"Okay, see you soon." I hung up quickly before Frank could ask any more questions.

It only took me a few more minutes to reach the aforementioned intersection, my heart was already pounding at a ridiculously fast pace, and Frank wasn't even here yet. He should arrive soon though, he had the car for the day, and Mikey's apartment wasn't too far from the bookstore where he worked.

I used the last few minutes I had to repeat my preplanned words over and over again in my head, but when I heard the familiar engine of my Trans Am pull up, everything flew out of my brain, including my speech.

"Gee - what are you doing here?" Frank asked in exasperation after he had parallel parked the car and gotten out, his arms were crossed over his chest and he looked slightly pissed off.

"Do you remember this place?" I ignored his aggressive posture, instead plowing ahead with my original plan.

"No...should I?" Frank questioned warily, his arms falling to his side as he glanced around quickly.

"This is where I found you again after all those years...well you sort of found me, but still you get what I mean." I snapped my mouth shut before I could start rambling even worse than I already was, and I could tell by the look of surprise on Frank's face that he had finally realized where we were.

"This is the street...where I crashed into your car isn't it?" Frank looked to me for confirmation, and I nodded slowly.

"Yeah it is. This place is where my entire life changed for the better, and I could think of no other location to do this." I dropped down to one knee in front of Frank, freeing the small box from my jacket pocket before holding it up in front of me.

"Gerard..." Frank gasped out before his hands flew up to cover his mouth.

"Frank Anthony Iero...I love you more than I ever thought it was possible to love another person, and I want everyone to know that. You have literally saved my life, and without you...I wouldn't be here. You make me a better version of myself than I could ever hope to be on my own, and I would be honored if I could call you my husband...that is, if you will have me?"

I popped open the lid of the box to reveal the ring I had chosen for him; it was a simple silver band decorated with black x's that were crisscrossed together; to me they represented our unbreakable bond, and hopefully he would see it in the same way.

"Oh my god Gerard -" Frank whimpered quietly, his hands were still pressed tightly against his mouth, and I glimpsed a single tear streaking down his cheek.

"Baby...please don't leave me hanging?" I needed to hear him say yes, it had taken all the bravery I possessed to do this, and his lack of an answer was figuratively killing me.

"Fuck yes Gerard...oh my god - I love you," Frank cried before throwing himself against me eagerly, almost knocking me down with the force of his embrace.

"Hey - I didn't even get to put the ring on you," I chuckled softly as Frank pressed small kisses all over my face.

"Oh yeah..." Frank giggled sheepishly before holding out his hand so I could slip the ring onto the appropriate finger.

"I love you so much Frank," I whispered as he admired the new adornment his hand now carried.

"I love you too baby...more than words could ever say," Frank mumbled before pressing his lips to mine happily, and I lost myself in the feel of his mouth against mine. Even though we had kissed thousands of times before, this one was different than all the others. I could literally feel the love shining in-between the two of us, and I had to blink away my own tears of joy as Frank pulled me even closer.

Everything that I had been through to get to this point was insignificant now: all the pain, and heartbreak, and despair was worth it to be able to have Frank here in my arms, and to be able to call him my own.

We had overcome every terrible event the world had hurled at us, and we had survived. I knew we would face even more obstacles in the future, but we would make it through everything together, I had no doubt of that.

So this is pretty much it guys, I have decided that this is the last chapter of this book. I was getting slightly bored of writing this story, and it has dragged on way longer than I originally intended it to.

There will be an epilogue posted within the next few days, but it will be pretty short, similar to how the prologue was.

My question of the day isn't really a question, but I want you guys to recommend to me some good Frerard fics to read. My library is running a little low and I am curious to see which ones are your favorites.

This chapter is dedicated to all of you wonderful people that have read, commented and voted on this story. I am going to write a big thank you author's note after the epilogue is up so make sure you check that out once it's up.

((((good vibes))))

<3 starr