Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > The Planets Bend Between Us
Chapter 1
“Daddy! Time to wake up! Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!!!”
Gerard and Frank groaned simultaneously, stretching out their limbs and rubbing their sleep-deprived eyes.
“One day, they’ll learn to appreciate sleep.” Gerard said groggily.
“Daddy!” Cherry shrieked again, throwing her three-year-old body onto Frank. Frank grunted as the heavy toddler crashed into his face.
“Alright, alright! I’m up!” Frank exclaimed, sitting up in bed.
“Good morning, love.” Gerard said to him, leaning over to give his husband a peck on the cheek.
“G’morning.” Frank replied with a yawn.
“Daddy! I want breakfast!” Lily demanded, climbing on Gerard’s lap and beating her tiny fists against his chest.
“Then let’s go eat!” Gerard swung the child over his shoulder and fireman carried her to the kitchen of the penthouse apartment. Frank followed suit, Cherry clinging to his leg and giggling.
“You little hitchhiker,” Frank said fondly, detaching Cherry from his calf and depositing her into her booster seat.
“Good morning, sweetie.” Gerard said to Bandit, who was sitting in the middle of the living room, surrounded by books.
“Morning,” she replied vaguely, not even lifting her head from the encyclopedia in her lap. “Did you know that the Great Barrier Reef is over 2,000 kilometers long?”
“Well, now I do.” Gerard chuckled at his five-year-old daughter’s wisdom. She’d learned to read at age 2 and hasn’t stopped since. Bandit never failed to amaze her family with her uncanny intelligence.
Frank plugged his iPod into the surround sound system and put on Bowling For Soup. Gerard began to bounce around the kitchen, singing along to the music and mixing pancake ingredients into a bowl.
“Do you even know what you’re doing?” Frank laughed.
Gerard stopped dancing and looked down into the bowl. “Not really.” he admitted.
“I figured. You don’t use flour in pancakes.” Frank took the bowl from his husband.
“Stick to coffee, Dad.” Bandit said, entering the kitchen. She climbed onto a chair and took a box of Bisquick out of a cupboard.
“Will do.” Gerard replied, putting a filter into the coffee maker.
The twins devoured their pancakes. Bandit ate slowly, eyes trained on the Planet Earth documentary she was watching. Gerard smiled proudly. Seeing his daughter learning about her world was one of the most rewarding things he’d ever felt. Bandit was going to change the world one day, he just knew it.
After breakfast, Gerard and Frank attempted to dress the twins. Getting Bandit dressed was easy because she never cared about what she wore. Cherry and Lily, however, never wanted to wear what their dads picked out for them.
“Cherry, you can’t wear pajama pants and a tutu.” Frank said, exasperated.
“But I want to!” Cherry shouted, crossing her arms in defiance.
“Maybe if she wore her pink boa it would…” Gerard started.
“Gerard, you’re not helping.” Frank groaned.
“Geward, you not helping.” Lily echoed.
“Just let her wear what she wants.” Gerard said, patting Frank’s leg. “After all, our band is all about self-expression. So who are we to tell our daughter she can’t wear pajama pants and a tutu?”
Frank smiled. “I guess you’re right.” He turned to Cherry. “You look very nice in pajama pants and a tutu.”
Cherry beamed at her dads.
--
“I’m home!” Gerard called as the elevator doors slid open into the penthouse. He’d just gotten back from dropping the twins off at preschool and Bandit off at kindergarten.
“Hi.” Frank replied, barely audible. He was sitting on the loveseat, his skin frighteningly pale in contrast to the black leather.
Gerard was instantly filled with anxiety. “Frankie? What happened?” he rushed over to his husband.
Frank closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I just got a call from Mikey.”
Gerard’s heart skipped a beat. “Oh god. Is he hurt?”
“Not Mikey.”
“Ray?”
“Not Ray.”
Gerard frowned. “Then who is it?”
Frank stood up and clasped Gerard’s hands in his own. “It’s… it’s your mom.”
Gerard’s expression hardened. “What happened.” it came out sounding more like a statement rather than a question.
A tear ran down Frank’s cheek.
“She has cancer.”
“Daddy! Time to wake up! Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!!!”
Gerard and Frank groaned simultaneously, stretching out their limbs and rubbing their sleep-deprived eyes.
“One day, they’ll learn to appreciate sleep.” Gerard said groggily.
“Daddy!” Cherry shrieked again, throwing her three-year-old body onto Frank. Frank grunted as the heavy toddler crashed into his face.
“Alright, alright! I’m up!” Frank exclaimed, sitting up in bed.
“Good morning, love.” Gerard said to him, leaning over to give his husband a peck on the cheek.
“G’morning.” Frank replied with a yawn.
“Daddy! I want breakfast!” Lily demanded, climbing on Gerard’s lap and beating her tiny fists against his chest.
“Then let’s go eat!” Gerard swung the child over his shoulder and fireman carried her to the kitchen of the penthouse apartment. Frank followed suit, Cherry clinging to his leg and giggling.
“You little hitchhiker,” Frank said fondly, detaching Cherry from his calf and depositing her into her booster seat.
“Good morning, sweetie.” Gerard said to Bandit, who was sitting in the middle of the living room, surrounded by books.
“Morning,” she replied vaguely, not even lifting her head from the encyclopedia in her lap. “Did you know that the Great Barrier Reef is over 2,000 kilometers long?”
“Well, now I do.” Gerard chuckled at his five-year-old daughter’s wisdom. She’d learned to read at age 2 and hasn’t stopped since. Bandit never failed to amaze her family with her uncanny intelligence.
Frank plugged his iPod into the surround sound system and put on Bowling For Soup. Gerard began to bounce around the kitchen, singing along to the music and mixing pancake ingredients into a bowl.
“Do you even know what you’re doing?” Frank laughed.
Gerard stopped dancing and looked down into the bowl. “Not really.” he admitted.
“I figured. You don’t use flour in pancakes.” Frank took the bowl from his husband.
“Stick to coffee, Dad.” Bandit said, entering the kitchen. She climbed onto a chair and took a box of Bisquick out of a cupboard.
“Will do.” Gerard replied, putting a filter into the coffee maker.
The twins devoured their pancakes. Bandit ate slowly, eyes trained on the Planet Earth documentary she was watching. Gerard smiled proudly. Seeing his daughter learning about her world was one of the most rewarding things he’d ever felt. Bandit was going to change the world one day, he just knew it.
After breakfast, Gerard and Frank attempted to dress the twins. Getting Bandit dressed was easy because she never cared about what she wore. Cherry and Lily, however, never wanted to wear what their dads picked out for them.
“Cherry, you can’t wear pajama pants and a tutu.” Frank said, exasperated.
“But I want to!” Cherry shouted, crossing her arms in defiance.
“Maybe if she wore her pink boa it would…” Gerard started.
“Gerard, you’re not helping.” Frank groaned.
“Geward, you not helping.” Lily echoed.
“Just let her wear what she wants.” Gerard said, patting Frank’s leg. “After all, our band is all about self-expression. So who are we to tell our daughter she can’t wear pajama pants and a tutu?”
Frank smiled. “I guess you’re right.” He turned to Cherry. “You look very nice in pajama pants and a tutu.”
Cherry beamed at her dads.
--
“I’m home!” Gerard called as the elevator doors slid open into the penthouse. He’d just gotten back from dropping the twins off at preschool and Bandit off at kindergarten.
“Hi.” Frank replied, barely audible. He was sitting on the loveseat, his skin frighteningly pale in contrast to the black leather.
Gerard was instantly filled with anxiety. “Frankie? What happened?” he rushed over to his husband.
Frank closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I just got a call from Mikey.”
Gerard’s heart skipped a beat. “Oh god. Is he hurt?”
“Not Mikey.”
“Ray?”
“Not Ray.”
Gerard frowned. “Then who is it?”
Frank stood up and clasped Gerard’s hands in his own. “It’s… it’s your mom.”
Gerard’s expression hardened. “What happened.” it came out sounding more like a statement rather than a question.
A tear ran down Frank’s cheek.
“She has cancer.”
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