Chapter Text
“Fucking hikers,” Frank said with a scowl. He grabbed onto the nearest boulder and pulled himself up with some difficulty, his feet scrabbling against the stone as he hauled himself over the edge. “Can’t people die someplace that’s not a thousand feet off the ground?”
“You mean a thousand feet above sea level?” Gerard asked. Frank rolled his eyes as he helped him up onto the boulder.
“You know what I meant, fucker. They’re just so determined to make our jobs difficult.”
“It’s not that bad.” Gerard scanned the area around them, looking across the surface of the mountain for some sort of sign. He knew someone had died nearby; he just wasn’t sure where. “Help me look for them, come on.”
Frank leaned against his shoulder as they both gazed out over the mountainside. The view was amazing. The mid-day sun shone brightly over the lush forests and rocky peaks, and somewhere in the distance, Gerard could hear the rush of water.
“This is kind of awesome,” he said.
“Mm-hmm,” Frank agreed. “Better than the last trip, that’s for sure.” Gerard winced at the thought. Mere minutes ago, they’d been smack in the middle of a war zone, collecting one soul after another. He was used to that sort of thing by now, but it was never pleasant. He could still feel traces of adrenaline in his system.
“You know,” Frank mused, “Sometimes I think the Middle’s a lot better than the Above.”
Gerard stared. “You say that right after mentioning our last trip?”
“Okay, a lot of it sucks,” Frank conceded. “But the views are nicer.”
Gerard grinned. “Heaven’s too picturesque for you, huh?”
“God, absolutely. It’s like something out of a magazine, it’s gross.” Frank made a face.
Gerard couldn’t help but laugh. “You didn’t say that the first time you went.”
The first time Frank had visited the Above, he’d been utterly spellbound. Gerard couldn’t blame him. It was a pretty magical experience, and visiting the place he was once destined for had to have been intense. He had totally teared up. Gerard hadn’t been stupid enough to mention it at the time, as he didn’t have a death wish, but now was a perfectly acceptable time for teasing.
“Shut up, you,” Frank said with a grin, shoving him toward the edge of the boulder. Gerard squawked, and his feet nearly slipped off the edge, but Frank tugged him right back before he could fall. “You’re still so clumsy,” he tutted. “Remind me why anyone trusts you to guide souls?”
“Because I don’t throw people off cliffs,” Gerard said crossly. “You’re the worst reaper in the world, you know that?”
“Am I? You’re the one who got distracted by the scenery,” Frank said, smirking.
Gerard huffed. “Shut your mouth. We’ve got souls to pick up.”
He sat down and slid off the rock. If he concentrated, he thought he could feel a path leading off to the left. Frank followed close behind him, his footsteps crunching on the pebble-strewn ground. Gerard resisted the urge to look over his shoulder and smile at him.
He fucking loved having a partner.
Most reapers nowadays had one. It didn’t take much to earn reaper status, and due to that fact, the population was growing rapidly. Any deceased human could apply; all they had to do was get approved by Gerard or one of the first few original reapers, visit each of the three realms, and bam. The abilities would appear within half an hour.
Unless they didn’t.
Nobody was really sure how the process worked. There were some ideas floating around, though. Some theories were more rational than others. One cited the fact that deceased souls had once been confined to the Above or the Under, but once they returned to the Middle, they defied death. Visiting all three realms was said to bring them to the next level, or something. Like enlightenment. They weren’t human, angel, or demon; they were something more.
And then others claimed that reapers were God’s newest creation.
Gerard had no idea what to make of it all, honestly.
All that mattered was that he wasn’t alone. He had a team of hundreds behind him, and that number increased every day. He didn’t have to guide the world’s dead by himself; instead, he could do it with his best friend.
Gerard looked back over his shoulder, this time unable to stop himself from smiling.
“What’re you grinning about?” Frank asked, smiling right back. “We’re hunting for dead people, you morbid fuck.”
“Nothing,” Gerard said airily. “Just thinking.”
“Thinking about what?” Frank quickened his pace so he could walk next to Gerard. “Me? No, don’t make that face, motherfucker, you know you’re obsessed.” He bumped Gerard with his hip, and Gerard rolled his eyes.
“More like how you almost pushed me off a cliff.”
Frank pouted. “I wouldn’t have let you fall! What, don’t you trust me?”
“I trust you to be a pain in my ass,” Gerard retorted.
“Oh, believe me, I could be,” said Frank, and his grin was devilish.
Gerard groaned. “Oh my God, Frank-”
“But you’re usually the one who gets to -”
“Shut up, you’re going to mentally scar some poor dead hiker!”
Frank giggled. Gerard tried to keep a straight face, but it was impossible not to smile when Frank sounded like that. It was like sunshine made audible, or something equally cheesy. Gerard loved it. It made him feel all light inside, and sometimes, when Frank wasn’t busy being a little shit, Gerard would catch him looking and know he felt the same.
“Hey, Frank?” he said softly.
“Yeah?”
Frank reached his hand out automatically, and Gerard took it, their fingers lacing together. “You know I do trust you, right?”
Frank scoffed. “Of course you do, I’m…” His eyes widened just a fraction. “Oh. Oh, wait, you’re serious?”
Gerard nodded.
“Oh,” said Frank, sounding a little breathless. “Okay. Cool.”
Fuck, had Gerard never said it before?
He’d thought it was obvious. It had taken a while, sure, but now, he would’ve trusted Frank with… Well, his life wasn’t exactly a relevant metaphor, but he would trust Frank with anything. They’d spent enough time together, popping back and forth across dimensions, sneaking kisses on the edges of battlefields… Maybe he hadn’t explicitly said it, but it was true.
“I trust you,” he said firmly.
“Cool,” Frank repeated, smiling widely.
Gerard couldn’t help but lean in and kiss him, gentle and chaste. Frank made a pleased noise.
“You think people are gonna get mad at us for taking too long?” Gerard murmured.
“Why should we care?” Frank whispered back.
Gerard smiled. “Good point.”
So, maybe they slacked off a bit. Maybe a few souls would have to wait an extra minute or two before their guides showed up. Maybe they were stupid, but all Gerard wanted to do was chase the feelings that overwhelmed him whenever Frank smiled. He'd finally found something - someone - who made him happier than anything else in the world.
He didn’t think he’d ever felt more alive.