♔ 𝔄𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔱 ♔
Sharla is a hopeless romantic always searching for her purrince charming. She is shy and timid in nature but can be easily swooned. Sharla has an eye for fashion and many consider her one of the top fashion designers/models. When she's not too busy with her royal duties she is often found reading in her library. She is secretly in love with a mysterious Vampire who often visits her palace during balls.
She lives in France and often visits Paris, her Favourite city.
♔ ℑ𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔰 ♔
Japanese fashion, Reading, Sewing, Goth Culture
♔ 𝔏𝔦𝔨𝔢𝔰 ♔
Vampires, Dark Romance, Paris nightlife, Cafes, Sweets, Bunnies
Feel free to follow me for more lore about Sharla, her main story, and her BG3 AU.
A/N: Hiiii! This is my first little one-shot. I originally wanted to write it for one for my OC’s but I figured it was generic enough for anyone! This is SFW and Y/N can be any gender, it doesn’t matter. Let me know what you guys think and if I I should continue. I also wasn’t sure if “sugar daddy” was the proper term to be used, I’m hoping this doesn’t trigger a lot of bots….ugh (●´ω｀●)
Tags: Pampering, age gap (Y/N is late 20s, early 30s so not too young), Current Gerard, fluff, Hurt/Comfort if you squint
Word Count: 4.5k
Also posted to AO3
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You met through friends of friends a few years ago and bonded over stationary, art, and other nerdy things. You didn’t think he would actually give you his number to casually text whenever you were in LA. Despite the fact you were a HUGE MCR fan, you preferred to talk about his other hobbies & interests.
You’re an artist yourself. You like to draw traditionally and digitally. You take custom commissions and sometimes sell at artist alleys at conventions.
The LA Pen show is coming up soon. Despite how broke you are, you have been saving for it all year, grinding away at your dead-end retail job because art alone isn’t enough to pay the bills. You miss him. You want a chance to see him again. You scrap together enough money for the flight. You don’t even know if he’s going, especially with his big tour going on.
You sigh and finally text him. He replies. He’s actually free and wants to meet up. Your heart races. You can’t believe it!
The day arrives, you stayed at a nearby hotel. You wouldn’t dare ask to stay with him in his home, especially since he’s married and has a kid. Since you’re in town for a few days you figured you would hit up other cool shops or events in the area. You have only been to LA once before.
Gerard offers to pick you up at your hotel but you refused and told him you’ll walk since it’s just down the street.
You two meet up just outside of the pen show. You walk together inside and slowly make your way through each of the aisles, stopping occasionally for him to chat with fans and get pictures with them. You don’t mind. After all, you can hardly believe it yourself that you two are actually hanging out. You are living every fans dream.
Gerard gets held up talking to a fan and you motion that you’ll be looking around. He nods and smiles and you continue your way up and down the aisles of the pen show. You stop and chat to fellow artists, admire there set-up’s and bond over art in general.
You didn’t realize that Gerard was standing right behind you while you were talking to one of the artist vendors for about 20 minutes. He listens and absorbs your conversation, admiring the passion you have for art and your small business. You even talk about how hard it is these days getting commissions and convention sales. You end up buying a few small stickers since it’s all you can afford, and thank the artist for there time. You turn around to see Gerard directly behind you which startles you. Your face goes bright red.
“Oh shit…I’m sorry I didn’t mean to keep you waiting! How long were you standing there for??”
He softly smiles and says “for most of the conversation”
You look down embarrassed, but he chuckles. He explains that he loves seeing people passionate towards art and loved listening in.
Your heart is thudding over the idea that THE Gerard Way was listening to you bitch about being a broke artist.
You both stop for a break and you show him the stickers you got. He shows you a pen he bought while you were talking to different vendors.
You guys make your way through to the end and decide to do one last lap to make sure you have seen everything you wanted to. You make your way to an artist selling the most beautiful handmade fountain pens. You start asking questions about the pen, the ink, etc.
You then look down and see the price tag. Feeling guilty for wasting the vendors time you start to slowly walk away before you hear: “Do you want it?”
”HUH?”
Gerard reiterates: “You seemed like you really wanted it. I’ll buy it for you”
You go pale. You start spitting out “no no no it’s ok! Really I’m fine”
But at that point he playfully rolls his eyes and buys it anyways. You are frozen in place but he grabs your upper arm and starts to usher you down the aisles. You feel like you can’t breathe. Did that really just happen??? The fact that Gerard is kind enough to spend time with YOU, someone he hardly knows, yet alone BUY you something with his hard earned money!
He puts his hands in his pockets and walks just behind you. He leans up to your ear and and whispers “if you see anything else you want, just tell me” You spin around to protest, feeling your ears getting red with shyness and embarrassment, but he sternly says “I know how passionate you are. And I know how hard you work. Consider this a gift. I know it’s not much but I have more money than I realistically need and I rather support small businesses and artists”
You sigh and say “what about for yourself? What about gifts for Lynz or…or…”
He cuts you off.
“I already bought them stuff! Look at these cute stationary note pads I got”
He opens his messenger bag to pull out a few pads of paper to show you. You nod in agreement. They are quite cute indeed.
You end up leaving the pen show with a few new pens, some new stationary, and new stickers.
You two are outside and as you’re walking you have your head hung low. You felt guilty but also…it felt good? You have never experienced this type of thing before. You have had friends buy you gifts for your birthday, or small gifts from your partner in the past, but nothing like this. You didn’t know how to feel. Grateful of course! But also guilty and loving every minute of it.
Gerard notices the gears turning in your head. He is quite observant. He gently puts a hand on your shoulder and asks: “Is everything ok?”
You nod and explain how grateful you are and you really love the stuff he bought you. But you also felt so guilty.
He stares at you for a moment. He remembers what it was like back in the old band days. Back when they had no money and living out of a old van to try and make ends meet. He remembers what it was like to have so much help from other bands and the people around him. He remembers the support he got and what it felt. He also remembers the shitty retail grind and how that can really wear a person down.
He looks at the sky while reminiscing. You can’t help but stare at his features. He’s just so pretty, especially in the natural light.
Gerard looks to you and he explains how he knows the feeling. He explains what it was like when he was just starting out and the guilt he felt as well.
You absorb every word. You really admire him. You admire the fact that he’s so humble despite everything he has. You mere the fact he made time for you and every fan that stopped him at the pen show. The fog clears from your head and you start to smile.
He pauses and turns to you and sees you smiling. “I have an idea” he says cheerfully.
”Do you have any other plans today?” He asks.
You shake your head no. You really didn’t. You did your field research by checking out a convention and networking with artists. Plus you don’t want to let on he’s the main reason you flew all the way to LA. You’re trying to keep it professional.
He grins from ear to ear. “Let’s go to my favourite card shop! I remember you mentioning how much you enjoy playing card games and Magic The Gathering!”
You light up immediately. You’d love that!
He starts to walk towards his car but you call out that you want to drop your stuff off at your hotel first.
”Oh right! Of course!” He said looking somewhat embarrassed. You chuckle because of how excited he is to get going.
You two walk down the street to your hotel, chatting about the pen show and other events like it in the area. You didn’t even factor in that there could be people taking pictures or paparazzi until you make it to the lobby of the hotel. Sure Gerard knows how to blend in to a crowd easily but he’s also peaking in popularity again due to the tour, surely this ought to raise suspicion??
You walk over to the elevator and slowly reach for the call button. Gerard notices your mood swing again and takes note.
The elevator arrives.
Empty.
Thank God.
You two enter and you hit the button for your floor. Gerard has his hands in his pockets and swaying slightly from side to side. After about 30 seconds of silence you finally speak up. “So uh. What if people take pictures of us? What if the paparazzi see’s you entering a hotel with some random person? Is Lynz ok with this? Does she know where…..”
Before you can finish the elevator comes to a stop and you two step out into the hall.
Gerard smiles sweetly. He reassures you it’s fine. He texted Lynz and she said to have fun and come home before dinner. He also points out that the paparazzi is busy with bigger fish to fry these days. You calm down and realize it’s not 2006 anymore.
“Ah…right…” you say looking embarrassed and shuffle your feet.
“Anyways…” you say turning down the hall towards your room.
You tap your key card to the door and hear it unlock. You walk in first and Gerard follows behind you but he stays in the doorway. He is more of a gentleman than he believes.
You take notice of this. In fact you’ve been noticing all day so far. The way he stays close but not too close to you. The way he absorbs every word you say. You didn’t realize how much you are enjoying it. But you can’t let this distract you. You unload your stuff onto the desk in the room.
You turn to him. “If you need to use the washroom or rest for a minute you can if you’d like”
”Naw I’m ok” he says. “But thanks”
You nod. “OK lets go.”
You two head back down to the lobby, down the street and back to his car. You start asking yourself if it’s ok to sit in the front or if you should sit in the back. But before you can make a decision he opens the front passenger door for you. “Oh thank you!” You say surprised. He closes the door and walks to the drivers side. You notice how clean his car is. Surprised actually. But then you remember that Gerard isn’t a depressed young adult anymore and he’s changed a lot for the better. You like the smell of the interior as well. It smells like leather from the seats with hints of coffee and a faded pine air freshener.
Gerard gets in and you hear him buckle his belt which snaps you back to reality. You can feel your heartbeat start to slightly speed up over the idea that you are in the front seat of Gerards car. He’s just so cool. He’s so chill and casual as well. You are really glad you two are becoming friends.
As you’re driving to the card shop you’re staring out of the window admiring LA. The insane traffic, the people, and the palm trees. You’re from the Midwest after all, this is quite foreign to you. You don’t even notice Gerard constantly glancing over at you and smiling while he drives.
A series of text notifications keep popping up on the Apple CarPlay screen which breaks your concentration and you subconsciously look over to the dash board. You see Lindsey’s name pop up and Gerard swipes to dismiss it. You quickly glance back to the window. You don’t want him to assume you’re snooping.
After about 45 minutes of driving (which is nothing in LA traffic) you guys arrive to your destination. A small Mom & Pop card shop in a area you have no familiarity with.
You exit the vehicle first, followed by Gerard who then walks up beside you. He proceeds to walk a few feet in front of you with his head buried in his phone and he abruptly stops. You walk up to him not even realizing you’re glancing down at his phone. Before you quickly turn your head away you notice he’s blushing.
You happened to accidentally read a text before you do (you’re surprised he doesn’t have a privacy screen protector on his phone)
”Have fun with your sugar baby ;)”
It was from Lindsey.
You go pale. It’s none of your business and you’re reading something out of context. But are they talking about YOU???
You can’t think such things. You pretend to not notice. But your mind is racing. He’s just a nice guy. And you two are only friends. I’m sure it’s just playful banter between spouses. Not to mention he just bought you some gifts as a friend, that doesn’t automatically make you a sugar baby! Or does it?
”So this is it?” You ask
Gerard snaps his head up, still blushing but trying to play it off.
“OH shit…yeah…sorry…I was replying to Lindsey…dinner stuff…ya know?”
You nod your head and smile. But you knew he was lying. You decide to play it cool. You don’t want to ruin a blossoming friendship with some weird fantasy. But admittingly you…like the idea.
Gerard opens the door for you as you guys walk in. You say thank you and head inside first. Your eyes adjust from the harsh LA sun quickly inside the warmly lit shop. You glance around and see walls of dice, booster packs, playmats, and Warhammer Minis. You love it.
”I come here all of the time!” Gerard says excitedly behind you. You grin. “This place is cool, I love it! Thanks for bring me here”
Gerard smiles and says ”Well have a look around. I’m going to go look at the mini’s over there”
You nod and proceed to slowly make your way through the store. It’s not huge by any means but big enough and with a lot of stuff to look at. You make your way over to the dice. You don’t like to admit it but you’re a bit of a dice goblin. They have so many cool sets! All sorts of colors, patterns, and sizes. You can’t help but admire a nice opal colored set. You pick up the package and shift it around in your hand so the light hits it at different angles. It’s quite pretty.
You don’t even notice Gerard right behind you. He shops quickly. He knows what he wants and he gets it.
”That’s a nice set isn’t it?” You jump. At this point you should be used to him sneaking up behind you but you’re not. He’s just so stealthy!
“Y-Yeah I-I love it. The colors are really pretty. Especially the little bits of glitter” you reply back.
”Do you want it?” He asks’s, almost too excitedly. ”This brand is really good I have a few set from them that I use in my D&D campaigns.”
You love seeing him nerd out. You two have a lot in common when it come to stuff like this. But you’re conflicted. You do really want this dice set. But at the same time Gerard has already bought you enough. You seriously shouldn’t let him buy you more. You start to piece together in your mind where this is going. You are quickly thinking about the reasoning behind this. Does he want something in return? Will you or him regret it? You are really worried about potential consquences. You have never been in a situation like this before. But at the same time…you are loving this and you decide to play into it a bit more.
“Hmmmm I don’t know…It feels…too cheap. I want something more expensive” you playfully banter back.
FUCK FUCK FUCK why did I do that?? You think to yourself. He’s going to think you’re a freak! He’s going to block your number and never speak with you again. You don’t know what him and Lynz were talking about, you can’t assume. You’re toast.
Gerard looks away quickly and his face goes red.
Fuck.
You quickly turn away. Your heart feels like it’s going to hammer out of your chest. You pretend to look at more dice. Thank god there’s only a few people in this store. The air feels so thin it’s suffocating you. You try and calm down before you have a panic attack.
That’s when you feel Gerard press up behind you. He gently places his hand on your hip. This time you didn’t jump. You try and remain calm. He bends down towards your ear. You feel his hot breathe as he whispers “G-get whatever you want sugar. I mean it. You deserve it”
That does it. All walls are broken down now.
Before you protest he continues to whisper “ Lynz said I could. She gave me permission.”
You proceed to walk around the store with a newfound confidence you didn’t think you had. The idea of this older man spoiling you was a new hobby you are excited to try, but you don’t want to push it too far. You value his friendship more than whatever this is.
You start piling stuff up into his arms. You make sure to pick stuff you actually want and not just because of the price tag. You also factor in how much space you have in your baggage for the flight home.
You stop at the MTG booster packs. Gerard points at one of them and goes “ I have bought a few of this set and it’s actually got quite a few nice cards in it, unlike the other sets, the art for this series is really cool.”
”Yeah actually I saw the drops for this online and I quite like them” But before Gerard could tell you he will buy a few packs for you, you already put some in his arms. At this point he’s running out of space to carry things.
”Do you want me to…” you stay while holding your hands out
Gerard shakes his head no while trying not to blush. Oh. You get it now. He loves this. He loves spoiling his younger friend. He loves seeing how excited you are darting all over the store picking items out. He watches you with a warm smile.
“OK. I think I’m done” you say proudly and make your way over to the checkout in a confident stride.
Gerard slowly shuffles behind you.
You get to the checkout first and then realize that this probably looks weird. You step aside while Gerard unloads your loot onto the counter. The store employee recognizes him and they chat as he is scanning his items through.
But you notice Gerard watching the register. Watching the price slowly increasing. It gets him excited. You wonder when this became a thing for Gerard. You remember him talking about finding “good deals” on guitars and Star Wars collectibles a few years back like he wasn’t loaded. But I guess it makes sense, to have money you must save it first. You find that charming about him. He doesn’t flaunt luxury. He doesn’t wear designer clothes. He dresses for comfort and supports small businesses. It makes you feel a sense of pride for being friends and a fan of such a genuine person.
“Your total comes to $503.26”
Holy shit. You realize just how much that actually is. You didn’t realize how carried away you got. You start sweating. Your face goes pale.
“Card please!” Gerard cheerfully sates while pulling his wallet out.
You glance over at the employee with a look of shame, expecting the employee to be judgmental but you notice that they couldn’t care less. You wonder how many times Gerard has done this with other people. You wonder IF there is other people.
As Gerard is paying the employee loads everything into bags.
“Do you need the receipt?” The employee asks.
”Yes please.” He grabs it and quickly tucks it into his wallet. You have a feeling he is going to show Lynz.
You wonder what his accountant would think. You go to reach for the bags to help him carry them out to the car but you’re too slow. Gerard is carrying bags in his arms like he just did a girls day shopping at the mall, looking proud.
You do end up beating him to the door so you can hold it open for him.
”Thanks” he says and you nod.
Gerard manages to open the car door while holding all of the bags. Impressive. He’s quite skilled at this. You slip into the front passenger seat again while he loads everything into the back.
The car is silent expect for Gerard nervously tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to a song playing on the radio. He is driving you back to your hotel but now it’s rush hour.
You finally break the silence by speaking first.
“I’m really excited to crack open those booster packs. Thank you for buying them for me. Actually thank you for everything. Words can’t describe how grateful I am”
You go to place a hand on his thigh without even thinking about it. It causes him to nearly jump out of his car seat. Shit. Too far?
His face once again goes bright red. But you see the corner of his mouth perk up into a smile. He really likes this.
”Y-You’re W-Welcome. I really like seeing you happy”
You turn towards him and smile. He quickly glances over and smiles back.
The car ride didn’t feel long enough. You two got talking about cards again and whatever song came on the radio. You mention some local bands you like and he’s eager to check them out sometime. You also talk about how inspiring the pen show was. How you can’t wait to go back home and draw some new artwork and sketch out ideas. Which made you realize that it might have came across that you were excited to leave LA.
”Oh wait I didn’t mean to make it sound like I’m excited to go home. Quite frankly I don’t want to leave” you chuckle out.
”How long are you even here for?” he asks.
”the whole weekend” you replied.
You can see the gears turning in his head but at this point you’re back at your hotel. Gerard parks his car and once again you offer to help carry things but he refuses. You have a feeling that this is a lost cause. You stride into the lobby. You admit. You love how this looks. A older man at your heels holding arms full of bags. You start feeling warm and fuzzy inside like some high schooler with there first crush. But you know you can’t get use to this feeling. Is it even morally ok? Are you taking advantage of his kindness? Yeah sure he’s into it but that doesn’t mean it’s ok, or is it?
You guys make it to the elevator and up you go. You start thinking about what Lynz said. At this point it was obvious she was talking about you. You don’t know if you should feel insulted for her calling you a “sugar baby” or take it in stride.
You step out into the hall and make it to your room. You hold the door open for Gerard since his arms are occupied.
You two step inside your room. “I’m takinig those” you say without even giving him a chance to put them down himself. You pull the bags off his arms.
“I bet your arms were getting sore with all of these heavy boxes you bought for me” you playfully banter.
”Erm. Yeah I suppose” he says shyly.
You put the bags down on the desk with the other bags from the pen show. Hoping they will fit into your luggage for the flight home. You try not to worry about that now.
”I got to get going, Lynz will have dinner ready soon”
”Oh yeah of course!” You quickly reply. You walk over to him and stand in front of him. You wonder if its appropriate to hug him. You two are friends but does he like hugs? Are you two close enough yet? You want to respect his boundaries. Just because he bought you stuff that doesn’t mean it’s ok to do whatever.
You awakrdly put a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for everything. I really mean it. This really means a lot to me. Like you have no idea”
Gerard warmly smiles. “I’m really glad you had fun today! Thank you for coming out here and spending it with me.”
He is really something. He acts like you did much when really it was him who was blowing all of his money on you.
You two wave goodbye and he leaves. You close the door behind him and listen to his footsteps fade in the distance. Your heart sinks. Today was truly something. A day you will never forget. You lefty out a depressing sigh and lock the door. You can’t let this depress you. You had an opportunity most people would DREAM of.
You decide to have a shower to cheer you up. The hot water relaxes you and you let you mind go numb.
Once you get out of the shower you dry up and throw on some comfy PJs. You turn the TV on and start flipping through the channels. You secretly love hotel TV. You miss a time where cable was the only option before streaming services.
But as you’re flipping through the channels you can’t help but think about Gerard again. You didn’t realize just how much you enjoyed this.
You flop onto your back on the bed. You grab one of the pillows and put it on your face. You let out a much needed scream. You’ve been on adrenaline all day.
You lift the pillow form your face feeling better and roll over.
That’s when your phone buzzes.
You have a missed text from Gerard.
Your heart is racing. Oh fuck. You immediately start coming up with scenarios in your head. What is he spent too much? What if Lindsey is mad at him? What if he is mad at you for allowing this to happen?
You slowly reach for your phone. You unlock it and read his text. Your heart feels like it’s going to stop.
light sugaring was fireee.. any chances of a part 2 🫶
Thank you so much darling! 😻
I have gotten a few requests so I will absolutely be working on a part two! I'm still drafting up ideas for it but I still plan on keeping it as fluffy as possible!
I'm a big fan of toothaching sweetness fics with hurt/comfort so that's my main goal with this series. 💕
I'm super glad that people are enjoying my first fic so much! 🥹
I read a lot of fics myself but it never occurred to me until now to write any of my own.
hello, for future reference, it is considered good tumblr etiquette to put your fic post under a readmore so it does not take up so much space on the dash!
How do I do that? My apologies! I had no idea. I thought the post would do that automatically once it hits a certain length 😫
A/N: Hiiii! This is my first little one-shot. I originally wanted to write it for one for my OC’s but I figured it was generic enough for anyone! This is SFW and Y/N can be any gender, it doesn’t matter. Let me know what you guys think and if I I should continue. I also wasn’t sure if “sugar daddy” was the proper term to be used, I’m hoping this doesn’t trigger a lot of bots….ugh (●´ω｀●)
Tags: Pampering, age gap (Y/N is late 20s, early 30s so not too young), Current Gerard, fluff, Hurt/Comfort if you squint
Word Count: 4.5k
Also posted to AO3
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You met through friends of friends a few years ago and bonded over stationary, art, and other nerdy things. You didn’t think he would actually give you his number to casually text whenever you were in LA. Despite the fact you were a HUGE MCR fan, you preferred to talk about his other hobbies & interests.
You’re an artist yourself. You like to draw traditionally and digitally. You take custom commissions and sometimes sell at artist alleys at conventions.
The LA Pen show is coming up soon. Despite how broke you are, you have been saving for it all year, grinding away at your dead-end retail job because art alone isn’t enough to pay the bills. You miss him. You want a chance to see him again. You scrap together enough money for the flight. You don’t even know if he’s going, especially with his big tour going on.
You sigh and finally text him. He replies. He’s actually free and wants to meet up. Your heart races. You can’t believe it!
The day arrives, you stayed at a nearby hotel. You wouldn’t dare ask to stay with him in his home, especially since he’s married and has a kid. Since you’re in town for a few days you figured you would hit up other cool shops or events in the area. You have only been to LA once before.
Gerard offers to pick you up at your hotel but you refused and told him you’ll walk since it’s just down the street.
You two meet up just outside of the pen show. You walk together inside and slowly make your way through each of the aisles, stopping occasionally for him to chat with fans and get pictures with them. You don’t mind. After all, you can hardly believe it yourself that you two are actually hanging out. You are living every fans dream.
Gerard gets held up talking to a fan and you motion that you’ll be looking around. He nods and smiles and you continue your way up and down the aisles of the pen show. You stop and chat to fellow artists, admire there set-up’s and bond over art in general.
You didn’t realize that Gerard was standing right behind you while you were talking to one of the artist vendors for about 20 minutes. He listens and absorbs your conversation, admiring the passion you have for art and your small business. You even talk about how hard it is these days getting commissions and convention sales. You end up buying a few small stickers since it’s all you can afford, and thank the artist for there time. You turn around to see Gerard directly behind you which startles you. Your face goes bright red.
“Oh shit…I’m sorry I didn’t mean to keep you waiting! How long were you standing there for??”
He softly smiles and says “for most of the conversation”
You look down embarrassed, but he chuckles. He explains that he loves seeing people passionate towards art and loved listening in.
Your heart is thudding over the idea that THE Gerard Way was listening to you bitch about being a broke artist.
You both stop for a break and you show him the stickers you got. He shows you a pen he bought while you were talking to different vendors.
You guys make your way through to the end and decide to do one last lap to make sure you have seen everything you wanted to. You make your way to an artist selling the most beautiful handmade fountain pens. You start asking questions about the pen, the ink, etc.
You then look down and see the price tag. Feeling guilty for wasting the vendors time you start to slowly walk away before you hear: “Do you want it?”
”HUH?”
Gerard reiterates: “You seemed like you really wanted it. I’ll buy it for you”
You go pale. You start spitting out “no no no it’s ok! Really I’m fine”
But at that point he playfully rolls his eyes and buys it anyways. You are frozen in place but he grabs your upper arm and starts to usher you down the aisles. You feel like you can’t breathe. Did that really just happen??? The fact that Gerard is kind enough to spend time with YOU, someone he hardly knows, yet alone BUY you something with his hard earned money!
He puts his hands in his pockets and walks just behind you. He leans up to your ear and and whispers “if you see anything else you want, just tell me” You spin around to protest, feeling your ears getting red with shyness and embarrassment, but he sternly says “I know how passionate you are. And I know how hard you work. Consider this a gift. I know it’s not much but I have more money than I realistically need and I rather support small businesses and artists”
You sigh and say “what about for yourself? What about gifts for Lynz or…or…”
He cuts you off.
“I already bought them stuff! Look at these cute stationary note pads I got”
He opens his messenger bag to pull out a few pads of paper to show you. You nod in agreement. They are quite cute indeed.
You end up leaving the pen show with a few new pens, some new stationary, and new stickers.
You two are outside and as you’re walking you have your head hung low. You felt guilty but also…it felt good? You have never experienced this type of thing before. You have had friends buy you gifts for your birthday, or small gifts from your partner in the past, but nothing like this. You didn’t know how to feel. Grateful of course! But also guilty and loving every minute of it.
Gerard notices the gears turning in your head. He is quite observant. He gently puts a hand on your shoulder and asks: “Is everything ok?”
You nod and explain how grateful you are and you really love the stuff he bought you. But you also felt so guilty.
He stares at you for a moment. He remembers what it was like back in the old band days. Back when they had no money and living out of a old van to try and make ends meet. He remembers what it was like to have so much help from other bands and the people around him. He remembers the support he got and what it felt. He also remembers the shitty retail grind and how that can really wear a person down.
He looks at the sky while reminiscing. You can’t help but stare at his features. He’s just so pretty, especially in the natural light.
Gerard looks to you and he explains how he knows the feeling. He explains what it was like when he was just starting out and the guilt he felt as well.
You absorb every word. You really admire him. You admire the fact that he’s so humble despite everything he has. You mere the fact he made time for you and every fan that stopped him at the pen show. The fog clears from your head and you start to smile.
He pauses and turns to you and sees you smiling. “I have an idea” he says cheerfully.
”Do you have any other plans today?” He asks.
You shake your head no. You really didn’t. You did your field research by checking out a convention and networking with artists. Plus you don’t want to let on he’s the main reason you flew all the way to LA. You’re trying to keep it professional.
He grins from ear to ear. “Let’s go to my favourite card shop! I remember you mentioning how much you enjoy playing card games and Magic The Gathering!”
You light up immediately. You’d love that!
He starts to walk towards his car but you call out that you want to drop your stuff off at your hotel first.
”Oh right! Of course!” He said looking somewhat embarrassed. You chuckle because of how excited he is to get going.
You two walk down the street to your hotel, chatting about the pen show and other events like it in the area. You didn’t even factor in that there could be people taking pictures or paparazzi until you make it to the lobby of the hotel. Sure Gerard knows how to blend in to a crowd easily but he’s also peaking in popularity again due to the tour, surely this ought to raise suspicion??
You walk over to the elevator and slowly reach for the call button. Gerard notices your mood swing again and takes note.
The elevator arrives.
Empty.
Thank God.
You two enter and you hit the button for your floor. Gerard has his hands in his pockets and swaying slightly from side to side. After about 30 seconds of silence you finally speak up. “So uh. What if people take pictures of us? What if the paparazzi see’s you entering a hotel with some random person? Is Lynz ok with this? Does she know where…..”
Before you can finish the elevator comes to a stop and you two step out into the hall.
Gerard smiles sweetly. He reassures you it’s fine. He texted Lynz and she said to have fun and come home before dinner. He also points out that the paparazzi is busy with bigger fish to fry these days. You calm down and realize it’s not 2006 anymore.
“Ah…right…” you say looking embarrassed and shuffle your feet.
“Anyways…” you say turning down the hall towards your room.
You tap your key card to the door and hear it unlock. You walk in first and Gerard follows behind you but he stays in the doorway. He is more of a gentleman than he believes.
You take notice of this. In fact you’ve been noticing all day so far. The way he stays close but not too close to you. The way he absorbs every word you say. You didn’t realize how much you are enjoying it. But you can’t let this distract you. You unload your stuff onto the desk in the room.
You turn to him. “If you need to use the washroom or rest for a minute you can if you’d like”
”Naw I’m ok” he says. “But thanks”
You nod. “OK lets go.”
You two head back down to the lobby, down the street and back to his car. You start asking yourself if it’s ok to sit in the front or if you should sit in the back. But before you can make a decision he opens the front passenger door for you. “Oh thank you!” You say surprised. He closes the door and walks to the drivers side. You notice how clean his car is. Surprised actually. But then you remember that Gerard isn’t a depressed young adult anymore and he’s changed a lot for the better. You like the smell of the interior as well. It smells like leather from the seats with hints of coffee and a faded pine air freshener.
Gerard gets in and you hear him buckle his belt which snaps you back to reality. You can feel your heartbeat start to slightly speed up over the idea that you are in the front seat of Gerards car. He’s just so cool. He’s so chill and casual as well. You are really glad you two are becoming friends.
As you’re driving to the card shop you’re staring out of the window admiring LA. The insane traffic, the people, and the palm trees. You’re from the Midwest after all, this is quite foreign to you. You don’t even notice Gerard constantly glancing over at you and smiling while he drives.
A series of text notifications keep popping up on the Apple CarPlay screen which breaks your concentration and you subconsciously look over to the dash board. You see Lindsey’s name pop up and Gerard swipes to dismiss it. You quickly glance back to the window. You don’t want him to assume you’re snooping.
After about 45 minutes of driving (which is nothing in LA traffic) you guys arrive to your destination. A small Mom & Pop card shop in a area you have no familiarity with.
You exit the vehicle first, followed by Gerard who then walks up beside you. He proceeds to walk a few feet in front of you with his head buried in his phone and he abruptly stops. You walk up to him not even realizing you’re glancing down at his phone. Before you quickly turn your head away you notice he’s blushing.
You happened to accidentally read a text before you do (you’re surprised he doesn’t have a privacy screen protector on his phone)
”Have fun with your sugar baby ;)”
It was from Lindsey.
You go pale. It’s none of your business and you’re reading something out of context. But are they talking about YOU???
You can’t think such things. You pretend to not notice. But your mind is racing. He’s just a nice guy. And you two are only friends. I’m sure it’s just playful banter between spouses. Not to mention he just bought you some gifts as a friend, that doesn’t automatically make you a sugar baby! Or does it?
”So this is it?” You ask
Gerard snaps his head up, still blushing but trying to play it off.
“OH shit…yeah…sorry…I was replying to Lindsey…dinner stuff…ya know?”
You nod your head and smile. But you knew he was lying. You decide to play it cool. You don’t want to ruin a blossoming friendship with some weird fantasy. But admittingly you…like the idea.
Gerard opens the door for you as you guys walk in. You say thank you and head inside first. Your eyes adjust from the harsh LA sun quickly inside the warmly lit shop. You glance around and see walls of dice, booster packs, playmats, and Warhammer Minis. You love it.
”I come here all of the time!” Gerard says excitedly behind you. You grin. “This place is cool, I love it! Thanks for bring me here”
Gerard smiles and says ”Well have a look around. I’m going to go look at the mini’s over there”
You nod and proceed to slowly make your way through the store. It’s not huge by any means but big enough and with a lot of stuff to look at. You make your way over to the dice. You don’t like to admit it but you’re a bit of a dice goblin. They have so many cool sets! All sorts of colors, patterns, and sizes. You can’t help but admire a nice opal colored set. You pick up the package and shift it around in your hand so the light hits it at different angles. It’s quite pretty.
You don’t even notice Gerard right behind you. He shops quickly. He knows what he wants and he gets it.
”That’s a nice set isn’t it?” You jump. At this point you should be used to him sneaking up behind you but you’re not. He’s just so stealthy!
“Y-Yeah I-I love it. The colors are really pretty. Especially the little bits of glitter” you reply back.
”Do you want it?” He asks’s, almost too excitedly. ”This brand is really good I have a few set from them that I use in my D&D campaigns.”
You love seeing him nerd out. You two have a lot in common when it come to stuff like this. But you’re conflicted. You do really want this dice set. But at the same time Gerard has already bought you enough. You seriously shouldn’t let him buy you more. You start to piece together in your mind where this is going. You are quickly thinking about the reasoning behind this. Does he want something in return? Will you or him regret it? You are really worried about potential consquences. You have never been in a situation like this before. But at the same time…you are loving this and you decide to play into it a bit more.
“Hmmmm I don’t know…It feels…too cheap. I want something more expensive” you playfully banter back.
FUCK FUCK FUCK why did I do that?? You think to yourself. He’s going to think you’re a freak! He’s going to block your number and never speak with you again. You don’t know what him and Lynz were talking about, you can’t assume. You’re toast.
Gerard looks away quickly and his face goes red.
Fuck.
You quickly turn away. Your heart feels like it’s going to hammer out of your chest. You pretend to look at more dice. Thank god there’s only a few people in this store. The air feels so thin it’s suffocating you. You try and calm down before you have a panic attack.
That’s when you feel Gerard press up behind you. He gently places his hand on your hip. This time you didn’t jump. You try and remain calm. He bends down towards your ear. You feel his hot breathe as he whispers “G-get whatever you want sugar. I mean it. You deserve it”
That does it. All walls are broken down now.
Before you protest he continues to whisper “ Lynz said I could. She gave me permission.”
You proceed to walk around the store with a newfound confidence you didn’t think you had. The idea of this older man spoiling you was a new hobby you are excited to try, but you don’t want to push it too far. You value his friendship more than whatever this is.
You start piling stuff up into his arms. You make sure to pick stuff you actually want and not just because of the price tag. You also factor in how much space you have in your baggage for the flight home.
You stop at the MTG booster packs. Gerard points at one of them and goes “ I have bought a few of this set and it’s actually got quite a few nice cards in it, unlike the other sets, the art for this series is really cool.”
”Yeah actually I saw the drops for this online and I quite like them” But before Gerard could tell you he will buy a few packs for you, you already put some in his arms. At this point he’s running out of space to carry things.
”Do you want me to…” you stay while holding your hands out
Gerard shakes his head no while trying not to blush. Oh. You get it now. He loves this. He loves spoiling his younger friend. He loves seeing how excited you are darting all over the store picking items out. He watches you with a warm smile.
“OK. I think I’m done” you say proudly and make your way over to the checkout in a confident stride.
Gerard slowly shuffles behind you.
You get to the checkout first and then realize that this probably looks weird. You step aside while Gerard unloads your loot onto the counter. The store employee recognizes him and they chat as he is scanning his items through.
But you notice Gerard watching the register. Watching the price slowly increasing. It gets him excited. You wonder when this became a thing for Gerard. You remember him talking about finding “good deals” on guitars and Star Wars collectibles a few years back like he wasn’t loaded. But I guess it makes sense, to have money you must save it first. You find that charming about him. He doesn’t flaunt luxury. He doesn’t wear designer clothes. He dresses for comfort and supports small businesses. It makes you feel a sense of pride for being friends and a fan of such a genuine person.
“Your total comes to $503.26”
Holy shit. You realize just how much that actually is. You didn’t realize how carried away you got. You start sweating. Your face goes pale.
“Card please!” Gerard cheerfully sates while pulling his wallet out.
You glance over at the employee with a look of shame, expecting the employee to be judgmental but you notice that they couldn’t care less. You wonder how many times Gerard has done this with other people. You wonder IF there is other people.
As Gerard is paying the employee loads everything into bags.
“Do you need the receipt?” The employee asks.
”Yes please.” He grabs it and quickly tucks it into his wallet. You have a feeling he is going to show Lynz.
You wonder what his accountant would think. You go to reach for the bags to help him carry them out to the car but you’re too slow. Gerard is carrying bags in his arms like he just did a girls day shopping at the mall, looking proud.
You do end up beating him to the door so you can hold it open for him.
”Thanks” he says and you nod.
Gerard manages to open the car door while holding all of the bags. Impressive. He’s quite skilled at this. You slip into the front passenger seat again while he loads everything into the back.
The car is silent expect for Gerard nervously tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to a song playing on the radio. He is driving you back to your hotel but now it’s rush hour.
You finally break the silence by speaking first.
“I’m really excited to crack open those booster packs. Thank you for buying them for me. Actually thank you for everything. Words can’t describe how grateful I am”
You go to place a hand on his thigh without even thinking about it. It causes him to nearly jump out of his car seat. Shit. Too far?
His face once again goes bright red. But you see the corner of his mouth perk up into a smile. He really likes this.
”Y-You’re W-Welcome. I really like seeing you happy”
You turn towards him and smile. He quickly glances over and smiles back.
The car ride didn’t feel long enough. You two got talking about cards again and whatever song came on the radio. You mention some local bands you like and he’s eager to check them out sometime. You also talk about how inspiring the pen show was. How you can’t wait to go back home and draw some new artwork and sketch out ideas. Which made you realize that it might have came across that you were excited to leave LA.
”Oh wait I didn’t mean to make it sound like I’m excited to go home. Quite frankly I don’t want to leave” you chuckle out.
”How long are you even here for?” he asks.
”the whole weekend” you replied.
You can see the gears turning in his head but at this point you’re back at your hotel. Gerard parks his car and once again you offer to help carry things but he refuses. You have a feeling that this is a lost cause. You stride into the lobby. You admit. You love how this looks. A older man at your heels holding arms full of bags. You start feeling warm and fuzzy inside like some high schooler with there first crush. But you know you can’t get use to this feeling. Is it even morally ok? Are you taking advantage of his kindness? Yeah sure he’s into it but that doesn’t mean it’s ok, or is it?
You guys make it to the elevator and up you go. You start thinking about what Lynz said. At this point it was obvious she was talking about you. You don’t know if you should feel insulted for her calling you a “sugar baby” or take it in stride.
You step out into the hall and make it to your room. You hold the door open for Gerard since his arms are occupied.
You two step inside your room. “I’m takinig those” you say without even giving him a chance to put them down himself. You pull the bags off his arms.
“I bet your arms were getting sore with all of these heavy boxes you bought for me” you playfully banter.
”Erm. Yeah I suppose” he says shyly.
You put the bags down on the desk with the other bags from the pen show. Hoping they will fit into your luggage for the flight home. You try not to worry about that now.
”I got to get going, Lynz will have dinner ready soon”
”Oh yeah of course!” You quickly reply. You walk over to him and stand in front of him. You wonder if its appropriate to hug him. You two are friends but does he like hugs? Are you two close enough yet? You want to respect his boundaries. Just because he bought you stuff that doesn’t mean it’s ok to do whatever.
You awakrdly put a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for everything. I really mean it. This really means a lot to me. Like you have no idea”
Gerard warmly smiles. “I’m really glad you had fun today! Thank you for coming out here and spending it with me.”
He is really something. He acts like you did much when really it was him who was blowing all of his money on you.
You two wave goodbye and he leaves. You close the door behind him and listen to his footsteps fade in the distance. Your heart sinks. Today was truly something. A day you will never forget. You lefty out a depressing sigh and lock the door. You can’t let this depress you. You had an opportunity most people would DREAM of.
You decide to have a shower to cheer you up. The hot water relaxes you and you let you mind go numb.
Once you get out of the shower you dry up and throw on some comfy PJs. You turn the TV on and start flipping through the channels. You secretly love hotel TV. You miss a time where cable was the only option before streaming services.
But as you’re flipping through the channels you can’t help but think about Gerard again. You didn’t realize just how much you enjoyed this.
You flop onto your back on the bed. You grab one of the pillows and put it on your face. You let out a much needed scream. You’ve been on adrenaline all day.
You lift the pillow form your face feeling better and roll over.
That’s when your phone buzzes.
You have a missed text from Gerard.
Your heart is racing. Oh fuck. You immediately start coming up with scenarios in your head. What is he spent too much? What if Lindsey is mad at him? What if he is mad at you for allowing this to happen?
You slowly reach for your phone. You unlock it and read his text. Your heart feels like it’s going to stop.
A/N: Hiiii! This is my first little one-shot. I originally wanted to write it for one for my OC’s but I figured it was generic enough for anyone! This is SFW and Y/N can be any gender, it doesn’t matter. Let me know what you guys think and if I I should continue. I also wasn’t sure if “sugar daddy” was the proper term to be used, I’m hoping this doesn’t trigger a lot of bots….ugh (●´ω｀●)
Tags: Pampering, age gap (Y/N is late 20s, early 30s so not too young), Current Gerard, fluff, Hurt/Comfort if you squint
Word Count: 4.5k
Also posted to AO3
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You met through friends of friends a few years ago and bonded over stationary, art, and other nerdy things. You didn’t think he would actually give you his number to casually text whenever you were in LA. Despite the fact you were a HUGE MCR fan, you preferred to talk about his other hobbies & interests.
You’re an artist yourself. You like to draw traditionally and digitally. You take custom commissions and sometimes sell at artist alleys at conventions.
The LA Pen show is coming up soon. Despite how broke you are, you have been saving for it all year, grinding away at your dead-end retail job because art alone isn’t enough to pay the bills. You miss him. You want a chance to see him again. You scrap together enough money for the flight. You don’t even know if he’s going, especially with his big tour going on.
You sigh and finally text him. He replies. He’s actually free and wants to meet up. Your heart races. You can’t believe it!
The day arrives, you stayed at a nearby hotel. You wouldn’t dare ask to stay with him in his home, especially since he’s married and has a kid. Since you’re in town for a few days you figured you would hit up other cool shops or events in the area. You have only been to LA once before.
Gerard offers to pick you up at your hotel but you refused and told him you’ll walk since it’s just down the street.
You two meet up just outside of the pen show. You walk together inside and slowly make your way through each of the aisles, stopping occasionally for him to chat with fans and get pictures with them. You don’t mind. After all, you can hardly believe it yourself that you two are actually hanging out. You are living every fans dream.
Gerard gets held up talking to a fan and you motion that you’ll be looking around. He nods and smiles and you continue your way up and down the aisles of the pen show. You stop and chat to fellow artists, admire there set-up’s and bond over art in general.
You didn’t realize that Gerard was standing right behind you while you were talking to one of the artist vendors for about 20 minutes. He listens and absorbs your conversation, admiring the passion you have for art and your small business. You even talk about how hard it is these days getting commissions and convention sales. You end up buying a few small stickers since it’s all you can afford, and thank the artist for there time. You turn around to see Gerard directly behind you which startles you. Your face goes bright red.
“Oh shit…I’m sorry I didn’t mean to keep you waiting! How long were you standing there for??”
He softly smiles and says “for most of the conversation”
You look down embarrassed, but he chuckles. He explains that he loves seeing people passionate towards art and loved listening in.
Your heart is thudding over the idea that THE Gerard Way was listening to you bitch about being a broke artist.
You both stop for a break and you show him the stickers you got. He shows you a pen he bought while you were talking to different vendors.
You guys make your way through to the end and decide to do one last lap to make sure you have seen everything you wanted to. You make your way to an artist selling the most beautiful handmade fountain pens. You start asking questions about the pen, the ink, etc.
You then look down and see the price tag. Feeling guilty for wasting the vendors time you start to slowly walk away before you hear: “Do you want it?”
”HUH?”
Gerard reiterates: “You seemed like you really wanted it. I’ll buy it for you”
You go pale. You start spitting out “no no no it’s ok! Really I’m fine”
But at that point he playfully rolls his eyes and buys it anyways. You are frozen in place but he grabs your upper arm and starts to usher you down the aisles. You feel like you can’t breathe. Did that really just happen??? The fact that Gerard is kind enough to spend time with YOU, someone he hardly knows, yet alone BUY you something with his hard earned money!
He puts his hands in his pockets and walks just behind you. He leans up to your ear and and whispers “if you see anything else you want, just tell me” You spin around to protest, feeling your ears getting red with shyness and embarrassment, but he sternly says “I know how passionate you are. And I know how hard you work. Consider this a gift. I know it’s not much but I have more money than I realistically need and I rather support small businesses and artists”
You sigh and say “what about for yourself? What about gifts for Lynz or…or…”
He cuts you off.
“I already bought them stuff! Look at these cute stationary note pads I got”
He opens his messenger bag to pull out a few pads of paper to show you. You nod in agreement. They are quite cute indeed.
You end up leaving the pen show with a few new pens, some new stationary, and new stickers.
You two are outside and as you’re walking you have your head hung low. You felt guilty but also…it felt good? You have never experienced this type of thing before. You have had friends buy you gifts for your birthday, or small gifts from your partner in the past, but nothing like this. You didn’t know how to feel. Grateful of course! But also guilty and loving every minute of it.
Gerard notices the gears turning in your head. He is quite observant. He gently puts a hand on your shoulder and asks: “Is everything ok?”
You nod and explain how grateful you are and you really love the stuff he bought you. But you also felt so guilty.
He stares at you for a moment. He remembers what it was like back in the old band days. Back when they had no money and living out of a old van to try and make ends meet. He remembers what it was like to have so much help from other bands and the people around him. He remembers the support he got and what it felt. He also remembers the shitty retail grind and how that can really wear a person down.
He looks at the sky while reminiscing. You can’t help but stare at his features. He’s just so pretty, especially in the natural light.
Gerard looks to you and he explains how he knows the feeling. He explains what it was like when he was just starting out and the guilt he felt as well.
You absorb every word. You really admire him. You admire the fact that he’s so humble despite everything he has. You mere the fact he made time for you and every fan that stopped him at the pen show. The fog clears from your head and you start to smile.
He pauses and turns to you and sees you smiling. “I have an idea” he says cheerfully.
”Do you have any other plans today?” He asks.
You shake your head no. You really didn’t. You did your field research by checking out a convention and networking with artists. Plus you don’t want to let on he’s the main reason you flew all the way to LA. You’re trying to keep it professional.
He grins from ear to ear. “Let’s go to my favourite card shop! I remember you mentioning how much you enjoy playing card games and Magic The Gathering!”
You light up immediately. You’d love that!
He starts to walk towards his car but you call out that you want to drop your stuff off at your hotel first.
”Oh right! Of course!” He said looking somewhat embarrassed. You chuckle because of how excited he is to get going.
You two walk down the street to your hotel, chatting about the pen show and other events like it in the area. You didn’t even factor in that there could be people taking pictures or paparazzi until you make it to the lobby of the hotel. Sure Gerard knows how to blend in to a crowd easily but he’s also peaking in popularity again due to the tour, surely this ought to raise suspicion??
You walk over to the elevator and slowly reach for the call button. Gerard notices your mood swing again and takes note.
The elevator arrives.
Empty.
Thank God.
You two enter and you hit the button for your floor. Gerard has his hands in his pockets and swaying slightly from side to side. After about 30 seconds of silence you finally speak up. “So uh. What if people take pictures of us? What if the paparazzi see’s you entering a hotel with some random person? Is Lynz ok with this? Does she know where…..”
Before you can finish the elevator comes to a stop and you two step out into the hall.
Gerard smiles sweetly. He reassures you it’s fine. He texted Lynz and she said to have fun and come home before dinner. He also points out that the paparazzi is busy with bigger fish to fry these days. You calm down and realize it’s not 2006 anymore.
“Ah…right…” you say looking embarrassed and shuffle your feet.
“Anyways…” you say turning down the hall towards your room.
You tap your key card to the door and hear it unlock. You walk in first and Gerard follows behind you but he stays in the doorway. He is more of a gentleman than he believes.
You take notice of this. In fact you’ve been noticing all day so far. The way he stays close but not too close to you. The way he absorbs every word you say. You didn’t realize how much you are enjoying it. But you can’t let this distract you. You unload your stuff onto the desk in the room.
You turn to him. “If you need to use the washroom or rest for a minute you can if you’d like”
”Naw I’m ok” he says. “But thanks”
You nod. “OK lets go.”
You two head back down to the lobby, down the street and back to his car. You start asking yourself if it’s ok to sit in the front or if you should sit in the back. But before you can make a decision he opens the front passenger door for you. “Oh thank you!” You say surprised. He closes the door and walks to the drivers side. You notice how clean his car is. Surprised actually. But then you remember that Gerard isn’t a depressed young adult anymore and he’s changed a lot for the better. You like the smell of the interior as well. It smells like leather from the seats with hints of coffee and a faded pine air freshener.
Gerard gets in and you hear him buckle his belt which snaps you back to reality. You can feel your heartbeat start to slightly speed up over the idea that you are in the front seat of Gerards car. He’s just so cool. He’s so chill and casual as well. You are really glad you two are becoming friends.
As you’re driving to the card shop you’re staring out of the window admiring LA. The insane traffic, the people, and the palm trees. You’re from the Midwest after all, this is quite foreign to you. You don’t even notice Gerard constantly glancing over at you and smiling while he drives.
A series of text notifications keep popping up on the Apple CarPlay screen which breaks your concentration and you subconsciously look over to the dash board. You see Lindsey’s name pop up and Gerard swipes to dismiss it. You quickly glance back to the window. You don’t want him to assume you’re snooping.
After about 45 minutes of driving (which is nothing in LA traffic) you guys arrive to your destination. A small Mom & Pop card shop in a area you have no familiarity with.
You exit the vehicle first, followed by Gerard who then walks up beside you. He proceeds to walk a few feet in front of you with his head buried in his phone and he abruptly stops. You walk up to him not even realizing you’re glancing down at his phone. Before you quickly turn your head away you notice he’s blushing.
You happened to accidentally read a text before you do (you’re surprised he doesn’t have a privacy screen protector on his phone)
”Have fun with your sugar baby ;)”
It was from Lindsey.
You go pale. It’s none of your business and you’re reading something out of context. But are they talking about YOU???
You can’t think such things. You pretend to not notice. But your mind is racing. He’s just a nice guy. And you two are only friends. I’m sure it’s just playful banter between spouses. Not to mention he just bought you some gifts as a friend, that doesn’t automatically make you a sugar baby! Or does it?
”So this is it?” You ask
Gerard snaps his head up, still blushing but trying to play it off.
“OH shit…yeah…sorry…I was replying to Lindsey…dinner stuff…ya know?”
You nod your head and smile. But you knew he was lying. You decide to play it cool. You don’t want to ruin a blossoming friendship with some weird fantasy. But admittingly you…like the idea.
Gerard opens the door for you as you guys walk in. You say thank you and head inside first. Your eyes adjust from the harsh LA sun quickly inside the warmly lit shop. You glance around and see walls of dice, booster packs, playmats, and Warhammer Minis. You love it.
”I come here all of the time!” Gerard says excitedly behind you. You grin. “This place is cool, I love it! Thanks for bring me here”
Gerard smiles and says ”Well have a look around. I’m going to go look at the mini’s over there”
You nod and proceed to slowly make your way through the store. It’s not huge by any means but big enough and with a lot of stuff to look at. You make your way over to the dice. You don’t like to admit it but you’re a bit of a dice goblin. They have so many cool sets! All sorts of colors, patterns, and sizes. You can’t help but admire a nice opal colored set. You pick up the package and shift it around in your hand so the light hits it at different angles. It’s quite pretty.
You don’t even notice Gerard right behind you. He shops quickly. He knows what he wants and he gets it.
”That’s a nice set isn’t it?” You jump. At this point you should be used to him sneaking up behind you but you’re not. He’s just so stealthy!
“Y-Yeah I-I love it. The colors are really pretty. Especially the little bits of glitter” you reply back.
”Do you want it?” He asks’s, almost too excitedly. ”This brand is really good I have a few set from them that I use in my D&D campaigns.”
You love seeing him nerd out. You two have a lot in common when it come to stuff like this. But you’re conflicted. You do really want this dice set. But at the same time Gerard has already bought you enough. You seriously shouldn’t let him buy you more. You start to piece together in your mind where this is going. You are quickly thinking about the reasoning behind this. Does he want something in return? Will you or him regret it? You are really worried about potential consquences. You have never been in a situation like this before. But at the same time…you are loving this and you decide to play into it a bit more.
“Hmmmm I don’t know…It feels…too cheap. I want something more expensive” you playfully banter back.
FUCK FUCK FUCK why did I do that?? You think to yourself. He’s going to think you’re a freak! He’s going to block your number and never speak with you again. You don’t know what him and Lynz were talking about, you can’t assume. You’re toast.
Gerard looks away quickly and his face goes red.
Fuck.
You quickly turn away. Your heart feels like it’s going to hammer out of your chest. You pretend to look at more dice. Thank god there’s only a few people in this store. The air feels so thin it’s suffocating you. You try and calm down before you have a panic attack.
That’s when you feel Gerard press up behind you. He gently places his hand on your hip. This time you didn’t jump. You try and remain calm. He bends down towards your ear. You feel his hot breathe as he whispers “G-get whatever you want sugar. I mean it. You deserve it”
That does it. All walls are broken down now.
Before you protest he continues to whisper “ Lynz said I could. She gave me permission.”
You proceed to walk around the store with a newfound confidence you didn’t think you had. The idea of this older man spoiling you was a new hobby you are excited to try, but you don’t want to push it too far. You value his friendship more than whatever this is.
You start piling stuff up into his arms. You make sure to pick stuff you actually want and not just because of the price tag. You also factor in how much space you have in your baggage for the flight home.
You stop at the MTG booster packs. Gerard points at one of them and goes “ I have bought a few of this set and it’s actually got quite a few nice cards in it, unlike the other sets, the art for this series is really cool.”
”Yeah actually I saw the drops for this online and I quite like them” But before Gerard could tell you he will buy a few packs for you, you already put some in his arms. At this point he’s running out of space to carry things.
”Do you want me to…” you stay while holding your hands out
Gerard shakes his head no while trying not to blush. Oh. You get it now. He loves this. He loves spoiling his younger friend. He loves seeing how excited you are darting all over the store picking items out. He watches you with a warm smile.
“OK. I think I’m done” you say proudly and make your way over to the checkout in a confident stride.
Gerard slowly shuffles behind you.
You get to the checkout first and then realize that this probably looks weird. You step aside while Gerard unloads your loot onto the counter. The store employee recognizes him and they chat as he is scanning his items through.
But you notice Gerard watching the register. Watching the price slowly increasing. It gets him excited. You wonder when this became a thing for Gerard. You remember him talking about finding “good deals” on guitars and Star Wars collectibles a few years back like he wasn’t loaded. But I guess it makes sense, to have money you must save it first. You find that charming about him. He doesn’t flaunt luxury. He doesn’t wear designer clothes. He dresses for comfort and supports small businesses. It makes you feel a sense of pride for being friends and a fan of such a genuine person.
“Your total comes to $503.26”
Holy shit. You realize just how much that actually is. You didn’t realize how carried away you got. You start sweating. Your face goes pale.
“Card please!” Gerard cheerfully sates while pulling his wallet out.
You glance over at the employee with a look of shame, expecting the employee to be judgmental but you notice that they couldn’t care less. You wonder how many times Gerard has done this with other people. You wonder IF there is other people.
As Gerard is paying the employee loads everything into bags.
“Do you need the receipt?” The employee asks.
”Yes please.” He grabs it and quickly tucks it into his wallet. You have a feeling he is going to show Lynz.
You wonder what his accountant would think. You go to reach for the bags to help him carry them out to the car but you’re too slow. Gerard is carrying bags in his arms like he just did a girls day shopping at the mall, looking proud.
You do end up beating him to the door so you can hold it open for him.
”Thanks” he says and you nod.
Gerard manages to open the car door while holding all of the bags. Impressive. He’s quite skilled at this. You slip into the front passenger seat again while he loads everything into the back.
The car is silent expect for Gerard nervously tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to a song playing on the radio. He is driving you back to your hotel but now it’s rush hour.
You finally break the silence by speaking first.
“I’m really excited to crack open those booster packs. Thank you for buying them for me. Actually thank you for everything. Words can’t describe how grateful I am”
You go to place a hand on his thigh without even thinking about it. It causes him to nearly jump out of his car seat. Shit. Too far?
His face once again goes bright red. But you see the corner of his mouth perk up into a smile. He really likes this.
”Y-You’re W-Welcome. I really like seeing you happy”
You turn towards him and smile. He quickly glances over and smiles back.
The car ride didn’t feel long enough. You two got talking about cards again and whatever song came on the radio. You mention some local bands you like and he’s eager to check them out sometime. You also talk about how inspiring the pen show was. How you can’t wait to go back home and draw some new artwork and sketch out ideas. Which made you realize that it might have came across that you were excited to leave LA.
”Oh wait I didn’t mean to make it sound like I’m excited to go home. Quite frankly I don’t want to leave” you chuckle out.
”How long are you even here for?” he asks.
”the whole weekend” you replied.
You can see the gears turning in his head but at this point you’re back at your hotel. Gerard parks his car and once again you offer to help carry things but he refuses. You have a feeling that this is a lost cause. You stride into the lobby. You admit. You love how this looks. A older man at your heels holding arms full of bags. You start feeling warm and fuzzy inside like some high schooler with there first crush. But you know you can’t get use to this feeling. Is it even morally ok? Are you taking advantage of his kindness? Yeah sure he’s into it but that doesn’t mean it’s ok, or is it?
You guys make it to the elevator and up you go. You start thinking about what Lynz said. At this point it was obvious she was talking about you. You don’t know if you should feel insulted for her calling you a “sugar baby” or take it in stride.
You step out into the hall and make it to your room. You hold the door open for Gerard since his arms are occupied.
You two step inside your room. “I’m takinig those” you say without even giving him a chance to put them down himself. You pull the bags off his arms.
“I bet your arms were getting sore with all of these heavy boxes you bought for me” you playfully banter.
”Erm. Yeah I suppose” he says shyly.
You put the bags down on the desk with the other bags from the pen show. Hoping they will fit into your luggage for the flight home. You try not to worry about that now.
”I got to get going, Lynz will have dinner ready soon”
”Oh yeah of course!” You quickly reply. You walk over to him and stand in front of him. You wonder if its appropriate to hug him. You two are friends but does he like hugs? Are you two close enough yet? You want to respect his boundaries. Just because he bought you stuff that doesn’t mean it’s ok to do whatever.
You awakrdly put a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for everything. I really mean it. This really means a lot to me. Like you have no idea”
Gerard warmly smiles. “I’m really glad you had fun today! Thank you for coming out here and spending it with me.”
He is really something. He acts like you did much when really it was him who was blowing all of his money on you.
You two wave goodbye and he leaves. You close the door behind him and listen to his footsteps fade in the distance. Your heart sinks. Today was truly something. A day you will never forget. You lefty out a depressing sigh and lock the door. You can’t let this depress you. You had an opportunity most people would DREAM of.
You decide to have a shower to cheer you up. The hot water relaxes you and you let you mind go numb.
Once you get out of the shower you dry up and throw on some comfy PJs. You turn the TV on and start flipping through the channels. You secretly love hotel TV. You miss a time where cable was the only option before streaming services.
But as you’re flipping through the channels you can’t help but think about Gerard again. You didn’t realize just how much you enjoyed this.
You flop onto your back on the bed. You grab one of the pillows and put it on your face. You let out a much needed scream. You’ve been on adrenaline all day.
You lift the pillow form your face feeling better and roll over.
That’s when your phone buzzes.
You have a missed text from Gerard.
Your heart is racing. Oh fuck. You immediately start coming up with scenarios in your head. What is he spent too much? What if Lindsey is mad at him? What if he is mad at you for allowing this to happen?
You slowly reach for your phone. You unlock it and read his text. Your heart feels like it’s going to stop.
isn’t it crazy how during swarm someone made a tumblr post that said “does the guy from mcr know that he is a modern day princess diana to you all” and then literally a month later gerard went on stage dressed like princess diana
being parasocially aromantically asexually queerplatonically attracted to someone is lowkey more embarrassing than being parasocially romantically/sexually attracted to someone. like yall want to take the celebrities you like to bed and kiss and do all kinds of freaky shit meanwhile I just wanna maybe hug Gerard Way and have a nice long conversation about random shit while they show genuine interest in what I’m saying. as I said, embarrassing,
