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robinrunsfiction · 3 months

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Oh my god this fic is so fun and adorable!!! Please everyone go read it and show my girl some love on this delightful story!!!! 🖤

If You Marry Me - Part Four

Series Masterpost

Word Count: 7,609 words.

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The mood on stage was joyous that night - Shelly noticed that from her usual spot side stage. It wasn’t to say that they were normally miserable on stage or anything, they were normally pretty happy to play for people. But today it was… There was more to it. She wasn’t against it in the slightest, of course not - it was wonderful to see them so happy. She was just curious as to the reason why.

While Shelly was making her observations from her spot side stage, Gerard was making some of his own. Especially while they were performing ‘To The End’ - because of course the others had pushed for that to definitely be on the setlist for the night, and it wasn’t until the opening riff started that all of the words flooded Gerard’s brain and… Yeah, he understood why they’d fought for that song.

He wished that they hadn’t though, because after the events of the day, he felt very distracted - especially while singing that song. Singing about weddings when the woman he was now technically married to stood still wearing the dress she wore when they exchanged vows and rings. When the ring she’d put on his finger kept gently knocking against things because he wasn’t quite used to it yet. Singing “if you marry me” when the woman he was now married to was standing there, watching him. Singing about cake, hearing the others sing the “kiss the bride” backing vocals while his own bride had just totally caught him looking at her for most of that song. Or, was that he had caught her watching him while he sang that song? And it was specifically him she was watching - he knew it, he could feel it. He knew it was him because Frank moved around a lot, and she wasn’t following him.

The show was excellent, as usual. Shelly never expected anything less, and she was glad that they hadn’t celebrated before the show - or if they had, it hadn’t been too hard (she wasn’t to know that instead of celebrating, they had been scheming instead). Because it meant that they were able to put on a great show for the fans. Then again, Shelly knew that Gerard would never settle for anything less than a brilliant show. And actually, neither would any of the others - they all worked very hard and were all very proud of what they did.

By some kind of good fortune, the rest of the band managed to go on ahead to the hotel, Gerard staying back to make sure that Shelly wasn’t alone while she finished up with something (though they should’ve guessed that he would do that because he was just the type to do so.) By the time Shelly and Gerard had made their own way back, the others were settled in their swapped rooms, waiting to see if they’d gotten away with it.

Shelly kissed Gerard’s cheek goodnight before she made her way into her room, as normal and as the others had planned. Gerard stood happily dazed for a few moments until the closing of her door snapped him out of it. He shook his head a little bit and tried his key in the door of the room that he thought was his. It didn’t work, and he frowned before trying again. When it didn’t work again, he tried the next door, fully aware of the fact that sometimes he did get doors confused - especially when he was mentally distracted. And of course he was mentally distracted. When the second door didn’t work, he went to knock on Shelly’s - she’d know which room he was supposed to be in.

She opened the door and listened to his explanation before turning to go and check her planner. She got half way across the room before she noticed his bag on the floor.

“This yours?” She asked him.

Gerard stepped inside her room, closed the door behind him and focused on the only bed for a moment. Until he managed to tear his eyes away from that to glance at where she was pointing. “Um, yeah, that’s mine.”

Shelly took his key from him and checked it against the list in her planner. She looked at the keys, looked at his bag and sighed.

“Oh, hang on. I think… I think the others have been up to something.”

Gerard frowned but watched her pull her phone out of her bag before she started typing. Not too long later, his own phone went off and he pulled it out to check the band group chat.

Shelly: I see that some room swapping has taken place. Very funny guys! We’ll go along with it, just for tonight but, seriously, don’t do it again.

Gerard looked up from his phone to see her nibbling her bottom lip before she started typing again.

Shelly: Although Gerard did say that people didn’t answer their doors, so can you please let me know that you all are alright?

It didn’t take too long for them to reply back after that.

Lux: I’m good! Sleep well, newlyweds!

Frank: I don’t think they’re going to be sleeping that much though! ;)

Gerard cleared his throat after reading that, and hoped that he wasn’t blushing.

Mikey: Frank, that’s my sister in law, and my brother - can you not?

Ray: We’re all good and alive Shell, though if Frank doesn’t behave, I don’t know if he will be by morning.

Frank: Hey! :(

Shelly snorted a little bit and that made Gerard smile more than the group chat.

Shelly: I’ll start drafting up a notice for a replacement guitarist. Let me know if I need to post it.

Frank: Double hey! :( you’d miss me!

Lux: hmmmmm.

Mikey: I don’t know…

Frank: Shelly? You would?

The blonde giggled a little bit before she replied to them all.

Shelly: Oh, I suppose I would. Behave and we won’t need to post the notice. Sleep well guys. Be good! X

Frank: We should be saying that to you! But if you can’t be good, be careful ;)

Mikey: Frank I’m going to murder you in your sleep.

Frank: I’ll behave now! G’night!

Shelly rolled her eyes and pocketed her phone before looking over at Gerard, who was still staring at his own, his cheeks a bit pink. After a moment, he looked up to see her watching him and he swallowed.

“I… Um… I can sleep on the floor. It’s fine.”

“Don’t be so ridiculous,” Shelly’s response was almost instant. “It’s not like we haven’t fallen asleep together, or next to each other before. And, you fall asleep next to me on the plane all the time.”

Gerard hummed. “That’s true but…”

He swallowed a little bit, thoughts racing in his brain. Though he was trying really hard to make sure they didn’t just fall out of his mouth, because it might be an issue if they did.

But you weren’t legally my wife before, but I hadn’t seen you in that dress. I’m on medication when I fall asleep next to you on the plane - I don’t do it out of desire - I’d rather be awake talking to you. All those other times I’ve fallen asleep next to you, I was never this aware of how I feel about you.

Shelly waited quietly, and patiently, watching him look a little conflicted as he nibbled his bottom lip. After another minute, she sighed softly and cupped his cheek. The touch must’ve surprised him because he jumped a little bit before refocusing his eyes on her.

“You’re gonna hurt yourself if you keep chewing your lip like that. I have snacks in my bag if you’re hungry.”

“Um…” He swallowed again, desperately wanting to ask if she was included in that, because she was very much a snack. “I’m… I’m fine, I promise.”

“I’m not sure that I believe you,” she admitted with a small smile. “But I’m not gonna push you to talk, I know it doesn’t work. You know that I won’t do that. Did you want to go and get ready for bed first, or can I?”

“Um, you can if you want.”

Shelly hummed, leant up and kissed his cheek before going to get ready for bed.

As soon as the bathroom door closed, Gerard sighed incredibly deeply before dropping himself to sit on the edge of the bed. He stared ahead of him for a moment before he put his face in his hands and grumbled a little bit. The cool metal of the ring on his finger rubbed against his skin and he sighed again, dropping his hands into his lap with a shake of his head.

“Um.”

He looked up to see Shelly sticking her head around the bathroom door. “Um?”

“So, um, I thought that I would be sharing with Lux,” she said as her cheeks went pink. “So, um… My pyjamas aren’t exactly… Uh, full coverage?”

Gerard’s eyebrows rose a little but his mind was already working.

“Those are in my other bag on the bus,” she continued quietly. “Is that going to bother you?”

“Nope,” he squeaked out, his brain already showing him too many suggestions. “As long as you’re comfortable and it doesn’t bother you.”

Shelly couldn’t help it - his little squeak made her giggle. “Okay. Well, if you get uncomfortable, let me know and we’ll figure something out.”

Gerard just nodded and she ducked back into the bathroom.

[Somewhere down the hallway… “I thought I was gonna be sharing with Lux, so my pyjamas aren’t exactly full coverage.” As if he could hear her words, Frank almost perked up and then pouted. “I sense… I sense the missed opportunity of a potentially hot situation.” “Shut up,” Ray muttered, his back to the other guitarist.]

Gerard remained in his spot on the edge of the bed, his brain only now also picking up on the “I was supposed to share this one bed with Lux” concept to pair it with the “not full coverage pyjama” concept. Those two ideas were now getting very snuggly in his brain and he had to shake his head to get them to leave each other alone.

He actually managed to get the two thoughts to separate just in time for Shelly to return from changing, and he kinda regretted not going first because… Oh. Her pyjamas were quite small. Tiny shorts. A clingy, strappy tank top that seemed to be moulded to her figure. God damn it. And then he remembered that he was about to sleep next to her while she was dressed like that. Jesus Christ. He had to force himself not to just stare at her as she plugged her charger and phone into the socket next to the bed. He definitely had to avert his eyes when she started pulling the blankets back so she could clamber into bed.

As soon as she was settled, he scurried into the bathroom himself. He purposely took a little longer than he really needed, because he was really, really hoping that by the time he was finished, she would’ve turned the light off. And that would only help him in the long run.

Unfortunately, that would not be the case. The universe was really testing him. When he opened the door to head to bed, Shelly was still awake, the light was still on and she was sitting up in bed, leaning against her pillows. One arm and hand holding her phone, and the other arm folded under her chest. That gave her chest some… Support and… Some lift.

Jesus Christ.

Gerard swallowed, desperately attempting not to stare at her too much. He shook his head and shuffled around the room to put the clothes he’d changed out of with the rest of his stuff, before heading to the other side of the bed. Though he did hesitate before he even touched the blankets.

“Are you sure that you don’t want me to keep on the floor?” He asked her shyly.

Shelly glanced up from her phone as soon as he started talking. Once he’d finished, she put her phone down on her bedside table, moved the blankets and leant across the bed to grab him by his t-shirt. (Gerard wasn’t sure if he felt blessed or cursed by this action - because he ended up with a really, really nice view of her cleavage when she did that.) She tugged his t-shirt, essentially encouraging him to get into bed. He did as he was told and got into bed beside her. She waited patiently until he was settled down before she adjusted her pillows and settled herself before gesturing to the lights and tilting her head in question. Gerard answered with a nod of his own and she turned the lights out.

“There’s a good boy,” she said brightly in the dark.

Gerard swallowed and laid quietly for a little bit, trying really, really hard not to think about what she’d just said. About what she’d just called him. And he was trying really hard not to think about how bloody little she was wearing, lying within arms’ reach. He was trying really hard not to think about that soft, happy noise she’d made when they’d kissed at the altar earlier. He tried not to think about the ring on his finger. And he was trying really hard not to think about the fact that if this marriage was actually real, there was no way that she wouldn’t be naked and squirming underneath him by now instead of sleeping quietly next to him.

He was so lost in his head and trying not to think about things, that he didn’t hear her say his name. She tried twice before she turned over to properly face him. Once she was settled there, she gently poked him wherever she could reach.

“Gee?”

He squeaked and jumped a little.

“Sorry!” She said. “Did I wake you?”

“N- no! I was thinking,” he shifted a bit. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “Well. Kinda.”

“What’s wrong?”

Shelly hummed softly before biting her bottom lip. She was starting to feel a little stupid, actually.

“Shell?” Gerard said softly. “It’s okay. You can tell me.”

“Um. Could you… Could you hold me? For a little bit?”

Gerard blinked rapidly and shifted from his back onto his side, facing her. “Sure Shell, c’mere.”

She wriggled over to him and snuggled up against him. When she was settled, he wrapped his arms tightly around her and smiled when she hummed happily.

“Thank you,” she mumbled into his t-shirt.

“Any time,” he replied, nuzzling into her hair for a few minutes. “Are you okay?”

“Not sure, really,” she confessed quietly. “I feel a little bit weird. And, I like your hugs, you know that.”

“I do,” he nodded, now really trying not to think about how many times he’d said that recently, and trying hard not to think about how much bare skin he was close to. “Know that, I mean.”

Shelly nodded against him.

“Why… Do you feel strange?” Gerard asked her quietly.

“Um,” she thought about it for a moment. “I don’t think the others switching rooms on us really helped matters.”

“Not how you imagined your wedding night, huh?” He said gently, in what he hoped was a lighthearted tone.

“Not how I imagined getting married either, to be honest,” Shelly almost whispered.

She sounded so sad. Gerard thought that his heart might be breaking. He held her a bit tighter and she snuggled closer as he did so, so he kissed the top of her head. They fell quiet for a moment before Gerard decided, well, he might as well speak up a little.

“You deserve so much more than today,” he said quietly.

Shelly tilted her head up a tiny bit so she could listen to him a bit better.

“You deserve the venue you’ve always wanted, the dress of your dreams that makes you feel like… I don’t know, a princess if that’s how you wanna feel on your wedding day. You deserve to write your own vows, to put more thought into the rings. You deserve to have your family there so one of them can walk you down the aisle. If that’s what you want. But at the very least, you deserve to have them there for you.”

She shifted a bit more, in an attempt to look at his face in the dark.

Gerard felt her move, but she hadn’t moved away that far so he assumed that she was just getting comfortable again. He knew he was blushing, he could feel it, so he decided that he might as well continue. Even though he knew he’d go redder, but it’s wasn’t like she could see it.

“You deserve a wedding night where your spouse shows you how totally and utterly devoted and in with you they are. A proper kiss when they say “you may now kiss the bride” - not just like, a shy peck and a tight hug.”

“Gerard?” Shelly whispered.

“You deserve someone who will tell the world after they’ve married you,” he continued, playing with her hair a little. His volume was quiet but his tone was impassioned. “Who tells the world, hey! Look at this incredible woman! This smart, gentle, kind, generous, hard working, compassionate woman. Look at her! Look at this gorgeous creature! She’s my wife! And I’m so fucking lucky!”

Shelly just stared at him, though he wasn’t aware that she was doing so in the dark.

“Gerard,” she said a moment or two later, a little louder than last time, still in a gentler tone.

He blinked rapidly. “Mm?”

“I…” She swallowed, actually not sure what to say. “Um… You…”

Gerard tilted his head slightly as he waited, removed his arm from around her waist and started stroking her hair, tucking some behind her ear. He was surprised that he managed to do this in the dark bedroom, but, somehow he managed. He felt his fingers brush against her cheek a little.

“You didn’t take off your ring,” Shelly said, feeling the item in question against her skin.

“Well…” He blinked for a second as he computed that. “Neither did you. I saw it earlier.”

“It stops people from hitting on me,” she replied after a moment. “Why didn’t you? It’s riskier for you to keep yours on.”

“I… I thought about it,” he confessed before hesitating and then finishing with a whisper; “But I didn’t really want to.”

“Gee?” Shelly replied, almost just as quietly, though she sounded confused. “Why?”

“Why… What?”

“Why, didn’t you want to take it off? What if you get photographed with it on?”

“I… I don’t really care about that,” he shook his head a little.

Shelly shifted again, just a bit. Not enough to remove herself from his arms though.

“I mean,” Gerard continued, her silence making him a little nervous. He suddenly felt the need to fill that silence. “I care if it makes things harder for you, obviously. I never want to make your life or your work more difficult, but then again, I don’t think we’d ever willingly let you go and work for another band, so I don’t think that you’d ever need to worry about your reputation there…”

He swallowed and paused for a moment, suddenly aware of the fact that he was actually rambling a little.

“Um,” he continued. “But, I don’t care about being linked, to you, like that. I consider it an honour, actually.”

Shelly just blinked up at him, feeling quite speechless. Some of the things that Lux had been saying to her over the course of the last… However long it had been since this whole Vegas debacle had started; they started to echo around her head.

“Gerard…” Shelly said softly and almost… Carefully.

“Mm?”

She moved herself away from him, which made him pout a little. There was a ‘click’ before the room was illuminated, and he squinted and blinked at the brightness of the light. As soon as he could, he returned to focus his attention on the woman by his side. She looked a little bit dishevelled, which was actually super cute on her. But she was looking at him so… Curiously.

He sat up to mirror her position and looked at her. “Mm?”

“You… Really mean all of that, don’t you?” She said.

She sounded so uncertain, which was something that was… Not brand new, but… It wasn’t a tone that Gerard was used to hearing from her. He focused on his lap, fiddling with the hem of his t-shirt.

“Of course I do.”

Shelly nodded once and looked him over. “Is… There something else you’re not telling me? Is there anything else that you want to say?”

He looked up at her, his eyes widening a little bit. Did she know something?

“Um…”

“You can tell me anything,” she continued softly. “Literally anything, you know?”

“Mm,” Gerard nodded. “I know.”

“And I think there’s something, something else, that you want to say,” Shelly shuffled a little closer to him, watching him carefully as she spoke. “You’re just not sure how, and you’re not sure if you should. But… I think you should. What’s stopping you?”

The last question was a whisper.

“Um…” Gerard fiddled with the blankets a bit. She was so perceptive. She was so smart. It was like she could see right through him sometimes. “I… I’m not sure that it’s the best idea. I’m not sure that you’re going to want to hear it, really.”

Shelly couldn’t help it - she snorted quietly. “I think you’re wrong there. I always wanna hear what you have to say. I find your thoughts so interesting Gerard.”

He smiled very slightly, mostly at her snort - it was so cute. “This isn’t one of those types of thoughts though… It’s more… Um…”

Shelly waited as he paused to find the right words. She tilted her head ever so slightly - an action Gerard was used to seeing and yet another thing she did that he adored.

“It’s more about,” he continued nervously, knowing he couldn’t really not answer her forever. He swallowed and decided that he might as well attempt to be brave. “It’s more about feelings.”

“Feelings?” Shelly prompted gently, though truthfully she hadn’t really expected him to say that. She leant forward a bit and took his hand in an attempt to stop him from fiddling so much. “Are we talking about… Your feelings?”

As soon as she took his hand, his eyes focused on the ring on her finger. Gerard hummed softly for a moment before he nodded. God, he hoped that she was still watching him, because he wasn’t sure.

She was, of course.

“Okay,” Shelly squeezed his hand gently. “Does this have anything to do with your feelings… About me?”

Gerard nodded, sighing deeply before he managed to reply. “Yeah.”

“You… Have feelings for me?” Shelly asked, wanting to be absolutely sure. “Like, romantic feelings?”

“Yes,” he whispered.

Shelly blinked rapidly as the single word made so many things fall into place in her head. She was really surprised that she hadn’t managed to put it all together sooner. Why hadn’t she seen it? If this had been literally anyone else, she would’ve put it together almost instantly.

“Huh,” she murmured, letting his hand go to rub her earlobe.

Gerard glanced up to see her looking off to the side instead of directly at him. She seemed lost in thought, and actually, he was glad that she wasn’t looking at him.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, starting to feel uncomfortable as he shifted a bit in his spot next to her.

That snapped her out of her thoughts and she redirected her attention to him instead of whatever she had been looking at instead.

“Excuse you?”

She sounded offended actually and this worried him.

“I said,” his voice came out as more of a squeak, so he swallowed. “I said, I’m sorry?”

“Why?” She frowned. “Why are you sorry?”

“Because!” He swallowed again (why was the way she was looking at him so hot?) “Because you’re so out of my league! Because I don’t want you to think that I did this,” he gestured to their rings. “Because I thought I might be in with the chance of… Um…”

Shelly watched his eyes fall to the sheets.

“Of anything happening tonight,” he finished after a few moments.

Shelly stayed quiet, processing what he had just said, examining her nails for a moment.

“But,” Gerard continued, looking back up at her. “I will admit that maybe I was a little selfish with my reasons behind doing this.”

She hummed to let him know that she was listening.

“I mean, obviously, I don’t want the band to lose you, you’re the best thing that has ever happened to us but… I didn’t want to lose you either.”

Shelly looked up from her nails.

“Maybe that’s bad,” he whispered. “Maybe you’ll hate me -”

She cut him off by leaning across and kissing him hard.

He nearly didn’t respond at first because he was just… Shocked. Once his brain actually kicked in (admittedly faster than he anticipated than it would), he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him.

“Hate you?” She whispered, allowing him to pull her against him. “Gee, I could never hate you.”

Gerard almost whined at her.

“I could do many, many things,” Shelly continued quietly, trying to stop herself from grinning too much. “With you, for you, to you - but I could never hate you.”

He swallowed, quite hard actually. “N- no?”

Shelly gave him one of her Looks before giving him a gentle nudge. Once he’d moved a little, she climbed into his lap, her knees either side of his hips. Gerard swallowed and shifted a tiny bit underneath her before she cupped his face in her hands.

“No, you dummy,” Shelly whispered. “Oh my god, no.”

“You don’t think I’m awful for this?” He placed his hand over hers and rubbed his thumb over the ring on her finger.

“No,” she shook her head gently. “You saw an opportunity and you took it. After some gentle persuading, of course.”

“I didn’t want to seem too eager,” Gerard could feel himself blushing, and the fact that she was now sitting on him was not helping that. “I was trying not to give away how I felt - how I feel about you.”

Shelly cooed softly at him and leant down a little so she could kiss him again. Gently this time. She smiled against his lips as he almost melted under her, his hands going to grab her waist. Both of her hands stayed cupping his cheeks, being ever so tender with him.

“You’re so sweet,” she whispered in between kisses. “I can’t believe you like me.”

Gerard gripped her a bit tighter. “What’s not to like Shell?”

Her hands slipped to his shoulders and she did that head tilt thing he loved.

“Look at you,” he continued softly. “Look at how wonderful you are, how sweet you are, how kind and patient and gentle you are. You’re hardworking, genuine and passionate. You’re generous with your affection, your time and your money.”

Shelly dropped her gaze, removing her hands from his shoulders so she could cover her face as she blushed.

“You’re modest about yourself and your achievements,” Gerard continued softly.

“Stop,” she whispered, feeling terribly shy.

“And,” Gerard sat up a bit better before carefully taking her hands away from her face, gently holding her wrists so she couldn’t cover her face again. “You’re gorgeous. You’re absolutely stunning.”

Shelly shook her head a little.

“Mm hm, yes you are,” he let go of her wrists, but wove his fingers between hers, still making sure that she couldn’t cover her face. “That little black number today? That blew my mind, Shelly. Like, god damn.”

She giggled and bit her bottom lip before glancing up at him. She was starting to go red instead of pink. “I can blow something else if you want.”

Gerard went very red very quickly and swallowed, which she heard. She giggled again, a little louder this time and leant forward to kiss the tip of his nose. He smiled.

“Hmm,” she nuzzled him, not minding that he was still holding her hands. “Maybe not yet?”

“Mm,” Gerard let go of her hands so he could wrap his arms around her, pulling her against him more. “I… I guess this means that you like me too?”

“Duh,” she pressed a kiss to his jaw, nestling close to him. “I’ve just… I’ve just been trying really hard to be professional. I never thought that you would be interested in me, not when you could have anyone.”

“Lux did mention that,” Gerard began to play with her hair again. “And I think that’s ridiculous. No-one else could ever dream of matching up to you.”

Shelly whined quietly at his words and hid her face in the crook of his neck. “You’re so wrong. Delusional even.”

“Mm, you’re allowed to think that, but you’re wrong,” he kissed the side of her head and wrapped both arms around her. He was trying very, very hard not to think about the fact that she was wearing small, probably thin pyjamas and she was straddling his lap. “I’m happy being delusional though.”

She shook her head against his neck before speaking quietly. “Does that mean… That you want to try something? Like a relationship, sort of something?”

“I… Yeah,” he nodded and held her tighter. “Yeah, I’d love that. If it’s not going to make your job harder.”

“I’m sure I can cope,” she removed herself from his neck, tucked some hair behind her ear and shrugged. “I mean, I get enough ‘she works on her knees’ comments as it is, what’s a few more?”

“Not gonna happen within my earshot,” Gerard almost growled. “That’s not gonna happen. Not a chance.”

“Hey,” she cupped his face again. “Do not get yourself in trouble. Especially not for me. Please.”

Gerard ended up distracted by the skin on show for a bit - her top had shifted and the strap had slipped off of her shoulder. Why was that so god damn hot?

“I… I’ll try,” he mumbled, unable to take his eyes off of her skin.

Shelly glanced down to see what he was so distracted by and giggled when she realised. She hooked her finger under the strap and pulled it back onto her shoulder and laughed when Gerard pouted. She kissed his forehead.

“So, we’re gonna give this a go then?” She asked shyly.

“Yes please,” he replied eagerly before he blushed. “I mean, um…”

“I don’t mind you being eager, sweetheart,” she murmured. “It’s cute.”

Gerard grumbled softly for a moment, mostly at the slight call out and being called cute than anything, before he cleared his throat. “Did you want to keep it quiet for a bit?”

“From the fans and the press?” Shelly asked, watching him nod. “Yeah, please.”

“What about the others?”

“Um,” she thought about it for a moment. “I feel like we have a right to play a joke on them, but I can’t really think of how right now.”

“Mm, I know what you mean.”

“But yeah, if we could keep it to ourselves, maybe just for a few days?” Shelly tilted her head. “Just so we can have each other to ourselves for a little bit? But I know that them knowing about us will help us in the long run.”

Gerard nodded in agreement. “Yeah. I would, much like you, like to keep us to myself for a bit first.”

Shelly smiled ever so slightly. “You don’t wanna share?”

“Absolutely not.”

His voice was almost a growl again and Shelly had to bite her bottom lip.

“Oh,” she whispered, nibbling her bottom lip. “Yeah, okay, that’s hot. You can be as possessive of me as you like.”

“I think I almost always have been,” Gerard confessed with a small smile before humming happily when he received a little kiss as a reward.

She giggled softly at his happy expression.

“I mean,” he continued. “You’re ours and I don’t like it when people say bad stuff about you, especially when they don’t know you and can’t judge you.”

Shelly kissed him again, harder this time, and when she felt him grab her hips again, she pressed herself against him more.

“You’ve already got me Gee, you don’t need to try so much.”

“I’m not trying,” he said, almost breathless from that kiss. “I’m just speaking the truth.”

“Well,” Shelly started to play with his hair. “Keep talking like that and I’m going to want to take my clothes off for you.”

“Oh god,” Gerard whined, grabbing her tightly for a moment before exhaling. “God. As much as I want that…” He swallowed, a little bit surprised that he was about to say this; “Maybe not right now.”

Shelly giggled, went pink and smiled. “Mm, maybe. We should probably think about getting some sleep.”

Gerard nodded, yawned and then pouted as she removed herself from his lap.

“You can have more of that, whenever you want,” Shelly kissed his cheek before settling down in bed beside him.

“Just not right this second?”

“Mm hm,” she nodded.

Gerard shifted closer to her and hummed.

“Do you wanna snuggle or spoon?” Shelly asked.

“Oh. Um,” he went pink as he thought about it. “Snuggling sounds nice, actually. If that’s not too awkward.”

She shook her head. “Not awkward at all. Do you want to snuggle up to me, or do you want me to snuggle up against you?”

Gerard hummed again. “I think I’m feeling protective now, so you can snuggle against me. If you want to.”

Shelly giggled, turned out the light and started to shift closer to him. She guessed that maybe she moved a bit slow for his liking because she felt him wrap an arm around her before pulling her against him.

“Oh!”

Gerard hummed happily, burying his nose in her hair as he held her tightly.

“Comfy?” She asked and she smiled when she felt him nod. “Good.”

“What’re… What’re we gonna do about this marriage thing?” He asked after a minute.

“Well, we have to stay married until my papers are sorted but…” Shelly nestled closer, snuggling into his t-shirt. “After that? I don’t know. But we can talk about that later. Tomorrow. The day after tomorrow. Once my papers are sorted. We don’t have to think about it right now.”

“Mm, that’s true. We can just enjoy being married for a bit,” Gerard mumbled into her hair.

“Fake married and in a real relationship,” Shelly said with a nod, closing her eyes and relaxing against him.

Gerard hummed a little, and after a few minutes, he mumbled softly; “Would staying married be so bad though?”

Shelly’s eyes snapped open and she blinked rapidly before she shifted away from him. “Um?”

Gerard realised that maybe, maybe that was the wrong thing to say. When she moved away from him, he pouted at the loss of contact. He winced again as the light went on and his eyes widened at the look on Shelly’s face. He wasn’t sure if she looked mad (he didn’t really think so) or just… Flummoxed?

“What did you say?” She said, moving so she was sitting up again, her arms loosely around her knees.

“Um,” he swallowed and also sat up. “I said, although now I’m beginning to think that it was a really stupid thing to say… But I said, would staying married be so bad, honestly?”

Shelly stared at him for a moment before she leant back into her pillows. Gerard watched this, chewing his bottom lip. He thought that she was thinking about it in order to give him a proper response.

“Although,” he said softly. “I meant what I said earlier, about what you deserve.”

She glanced over at him.

“A real wedding,” he continued. “As much as I love that little black number, you deserve a proper dress, proper vows, rings that are more expensive.”

She smiled. “I do love the little black number.”

Gerard exhaled a bit. “It’s so hot, like, what the hell ma’am, who gave you the right?”

Shelly laughed. “Truthfully? I wanted to show off a little bit, I wanted to give you something to think about.”

His eyes widened and he went pink. “Something to -? Ma’am, I think about you enough anyway, I really don’t need help with that.”

She leant across and kissed him gently, her hand cupping his face, her fingers caressing his cheek. He hummed into the kiss, his hand going to her waist, gripping the fabric covering her skin. Though, she seemed to like it when he got a little grabby with her - he’d noticed that before.

“Well,” she said softly, nuzzling the tip of her nose against his. “I wanted to give you something else, something nicer to think about.”

Gerard hummed. “I appreciate that.”

She giggled again. “I didn’t think this Vegas thing would end up with us like this…”

“No?”

Shelly shook her head. “I didn’t think I’d be allowed to be in a relationship with someone I worked with.” She paused. “Actually, I’m still not sure that I’m actually allowed to do that, I haven’t really asked Andi.”

Gerard hummed. “I don’t… I don’t see why there would be a problem?”

“Something about a power imbalance, and abuse of that I think,” Shelly rubbed the back of her neck. “Or there’s probably something there about how weird it would be if the relationship didn’t work and the assistant couldn’t find a replacement.”

“But, if the relationship does work, then that can only benefit both people involved?” Gerard said. “Like, it’ll benefit me and the band because I’ll be happy and, if I’m dating someone who works with me, I’ll get to see her often and I’m gonna do as I’m told.”

“You do as you’re told anyway,” Shelly said with a slight grin. “You’re a good boy.”

Gerard swallowed, inhaled and then let it out slowly. Shelly observed this - she had previously seen this sort of reaction towards those words in particular and towards praise, at least from her, as well.

“And I know you like that,” she said, almost shyly. “I’ve noticed that.”

He hummed, averting his eyes from her before he nodded once. Shelly shifted a little closer to him and snuggled against him. Gerard quickly wrapped his arms around her and buried his nose in her hair again.

“I don’t mind,” she whispered. “I think it’s cute.”

“I like doing as I’m told for you,” Gerard mumbled into her hair. “It makes your job easier. And if your job is easy, then you’re gonna want to stay.”

“I’d want to stay anyway,” Shelly admitted. “I like working for you guys. I fully support what you guys wanna do.”

Gerard squeezed her tightly. “God, can you be any more -”

“Don’t say perfect, because I’m not,” Shelly interrupted gently, shaking her head once.

“Hmm,” he kissed her forehead. “Are you gonna ask Andi about this situation?”

“I probably will, yeah. I think it’ll be better to do that, so we know what we’re up against.”

“I guess we’re gonna keep us quiet until you’ve done that?” Gerard stroked her hair, feeling her nod. “What about the others?”

Shelly thought about this for a moment, enjoying the way he was stroking her hair.

“I think we should keep it quiet from them too, just in case,” she said slowly. “But I can probably talk to Andi quickly, and if we essentially get the go ahead there, then we can tell them, but still keep it from the fans and the press.”

“Mm. Sounds like a plan.”

Shelly hummed and reached for her phone. “I can’t remember if I’ve told Andi that everything’s sorted and the paperwork’s on the way. I did take photos of it all too so I could email those off to her…”

Gerard stayed quiet for a moment, watching her tapping away at her phone. He presumed that she was emailing her boss so she could attach the photos and maybe even ask the question regarding them being together.

“I’ll ask her to ring me if she gets the chance,” Shelly said. “I wanna ask her about us verbally first. Sometimes I worry about messages being seen or something.”

“I get that. At least the photos you’re emailing have a purpose? We had to do it to keep you here.”

“Mm, well, I still don’t think the fans will completely get it,” she said as she read over the email she’d written. “And, if any of them see you with a ring on, they’re gonna dig around on the internet and maybe find the licence. I think those are public record?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“I’ve asked about that too,” she smiled shyly. “I thought about asking if we should just put a statement out about it but, I figured maybe that might not be a good idea until after my papers are sorted.”

“Yeah, like, if there’s an online statement that says, oh we only did this for this reason, then things might go wrong.”

“Exactly,” Shelly nodded. “I’m sure Andi will help me sort something out for that. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. No need to worry about it right now.”

“Okay.”

He hummed and nodded before they cuddled up together for a bit; Gerard leaning against the headboard with Shelly’s head against his chest. He did notice that she’d left the light on, but that didn’t bother him too much. He just enjoyed being able to hold her close like this.

“Shelly?” Gerard said softly after a few minutes

“Mm?”

“When we have to get an annulment…” He started, nuzzling into her hair.

“I’m not even sure an annulment is the right term, or the right thing, to be honest,” Shelly confessed. “I was looking into it last night. I think one of those makes it so the wedding never happened, so it might affect my papers.”

“Oh,” he held her tighter. “We don’t want that.”

She just shook her head. “Nope. Sorry I interrupted you, what were you going to say?”

Gerard hummed for a moment. “I was just wondering, if we’re gonna stay together? Even if we’re not legally bound?”

Shelly blinked rapidly at him. “I… Yes, of course! I mean, if that’s what you want? ‘Cause I want to date you, Gee. This,” she gestured to the ring on her finger. “Is just a means to an end right now. But the way I feel about you isn’t.”

“Oh!” He brightened and held her closer. “Good! Because I really want to date you too.”

She giggled softly as he pressed kisses to her face.

“I was more than happy to step in for this,” he said quietly, taking her hand and kissing the ring on it. “And I’m more than happy to keep it for as long as I need to.”

Shelly hummed softly and leant up to nuzzle him.

“I’m crazy about you,” he whispered, nuzzling her back. “Like, you’re everything I’ve ever wanted.”

“Gerard…” Shelly was rather pink in the face.

“I’m sorry if I’m a bit much,” he confessed quietly. “I just…” He kissed her forehead. “I just have very strong feelings for you and about you.”

Shelly raised an eyebrow slightly.

“All good!” He added quickly, smiling when she giggled. “All good, I promise.”

“Hmn, I believe you. You’re not a bit much, it’s okay,” she cupped his face in her hands for a moment, studying his face before she leant up and kissed him; it was a short and gentle kiss.

“How can I not have such strong feelings about you?” He asked softly, nuzzling the tip of his nose against hers. “Look at how amazing you are; both personally and professionally. Look at how hard you work for us. We’re so god damn lucky to have you because you’re clearly the best in the business.”

Shelly shook her head a little bit. “Oh, stop.”

Gerard wrapped his arms around her tightly as she returned to leaning against his chest. He had always enjoyed it when she sat like this. He took a moment before he spoke again.

“Professionally? Perfect. Best in the business. And you’re ours.”

Shelly giggled softly. “And I’m happy to belong to the band, really I am.”

“Good.”

“I love working for you guys, I really believe in what you do. That’s why I work so hard.”

“Mm, that’s why you’re so professionally perfect. As for you personally?” He tilted his head as she looked up at him. “You’re incredible. You’re so intelligent. Sweet, encouraging, supportive, understanding. Gorgeous,” he kissed the top of her head and smiled as she hummed happily. “My god Shelly, can you be any more perfect?”

She buried her face in the t-shirt he wore as a pyjama shirt and shook her head against his chest. “Nuh. You’re wrong.”

“I’ll get you to believe it one day. Even if all I convince you is that you’re the perfect one for me.”

“Hmm,” Shelly glanced up at him. “Well. When you think you’ve done that, maybe it’ll be the sign to trade this,” she tapped the ring on her finger. “For the real thing.”

“Careful,” he whispered. “I’ll hold you to that.”

“Gerard,” she giggled softly. “You can do more than just hold me to that.”

#fic recommendations

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