Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Frank waltzed into the grimy teachers bathrooms and sighed as he caught a glimpse of himself in the broken mirror. The teachers bathroom was cleaner and always had more soap, so it was a no brainer to use it rather then the biohazard of a bathroom down the hall. 

Public school was not for the weak. 

Even in a uniform college, he still somehow managed to look tattered. His black and red converse that he wasn't supposed to be wearing, his untucked shirt that had one button missing at the top, his loose tie, his black school trousers that were ripped at the knee, and his missing black blazer coat. 

He was a freshman so the fucking teachers had it out for him. 

He ruffled his hair to make it more messy and jagged. He also changed his lip peircing back to a ring after being forced to change it to a stud only minutes prior. 

It pissed him off how much he had to try to even get away with all of these small uniform violations and how much effort it took to hide them. God forbid his teachers saw him. 

Someone walked into the bathroom. Shit. Shit shit shit. 

Frank could only stare as a man in a tight black waistcoat, white button up and black slacks. His raven black hair fell over his shoulders and curled around his ears in a similar manner to smoke in an unventilated room. The man gave him a confused look, scanning him up and down. 

"You're in the staff bathroom, you know that, right?" 

"Yeah, I know" Frank had never seen him before. Probably a new teacher. 

"So... I'm gonna have to ask you to leave" the man gave him an I thought that was obvious look that Frank didn't appreciate. 

"Yeah I got class anyway" Frank ruffled his hair in the mirror once more and waved at the teacher with a smirk as he left. 

~~~ 

Frank walked into class a half hour later, wrestling with his tie and trying to remember how to tie it properly. He sat in his seat in the back corner of the room and just gave up on his tie, stuffing it in his bag. 

"Youll get it one of these days" his friend Ray sat next to him, brushing his bush of hair our of his eyes. 

"Yeah, hopefully" Frank laughed. He looked over at Ray who was now studying him like a novel. 

"Fucking what" Frank frowned. 

"Dude, you look like shit" Ray laughed. It was true. 

"I know, dude" he threw his head into his hands and groaned. 

"Good morning, class!" The sudden livley voice made him flinch up, jaw dropping when he saw who it was. 

"My name is Mr Way. I will be your main teacher as a replacement for Mr Dunn, who was unfortunately let go." He placed his bag on the desk. The class was silent as they oggled the attractive young teacher. 

Frank was shook. He locked eyes with Mr Way, who gave him a shocked look in return. He quickly looked at the register, and looked back up at Frank. 

"Frank...Eero? Can you stay behind after class?" 

"Its Iero" Frank frowned. 

"My apologies, Mr Iero. Please see me after class" Frank snickered when he heard a girl in front of him whisper "lucky bastard" to her friend, who nodded her head in agreement. 

The class couldn't have gone slower. Every painful minute passed agonisingly slow as Frank's anxiety rose. He realised how fast his heart was beating when all the students around him started standing up and leaving the room. 

"Good luck man. Bros first day and he's already sick of you" Ray patted Frank's back and gave him a grin before skipping out of the class. 

Frank gathered his things and went to the front of the room, leaning up on one of the desks in the front. 

"Frank. How lovely to see you again. You seem like a quite livley kid, are we going to have any problem?" 

"I wouldn't even wish about it" Frank smirked.  

"Plenty of sarcasm from you, hm?" Mr Way returned a smirk. Frank's smirk wiped quickly, his confidence being replaced by sudden embarrassment. 

"You know it" he tried to keep up his act. 

"Go home, Mr Iero. And don't forget the homework for tommorow" shit, he had homework? Wait, since when did he care about homework?

~~~ 

The next morning, Frank walked into class 18 minutes late, clutching a white monster in his hand, and smelling heavily of cigarettes. The whole class turned their heads towards him as he strolled into class. 

"Mr Iero, do you have a late note?" Mr Way turned away from the whiteboard to face him, putting his marker down. 

"Nope." Frank strode down the row of seats and sat down in the back of class next to his freind Ray, leaving Mr Way standing there with furrowed brows and crossed arms. 

"Care to explain why you were late then?" Mr Way asked, crossing his arms. All eyes were on Frank, but he didn't miss a beat. 

"Had to pick up a drink. Didn't get a lot of sleep." Frank raised his can towards Mr Way. 

"You're not allowed to have caffinated drinks in school." Mr Way walked to Frank's desk and took the can. 

"You can pick it up after class." He offered

"Bullshit!" Frank stood up abruptly, chair scraping against the ground. The class went dead quiet and suddenly all eyes were on him. 

"That's fucking bullshit!" 

"Mr Iero, please sit down. You're disrupting my class-" 

"Who the fuck cares? I paid for that"

"See me after class, and wear your tie tommorow" He walled backed up to the front of the class like nothing happened, and continued teaching. Frank sat down and scoffed, feeling more defeated then he'd like to admit. 

The class ended, and the students poured out of the class. Frank once again made his way to the front and leaned up against a wall. 

"What's up your ass this morning" Frank growled after the door closed. 

"I'll site you to the counselor for anger management. Behaviour like this is highly inappropriate towards a member of staff" 

"Oh no you fucking won't" he barked. Frank hated counselors. So, so much. 

"And who's going to stop me, Mr Iero?" Mr Way smirked. 

"Well then I'm not going" Frank crossed his arms. Surely he's been convincing enough. 

"Stubborn now, arent we?" Something about the teachers tone sent shivers down Frank's spine. Good shivers. Turned on shivers. 

"Youll go to the counselor tommorow at 3pm. You'll-" 

"I'm not sucking up to another member of staff." Frank cut him off. 

"Just listen to me, Frank-" 

"Why should I?" Mr Way was getting annoyed. Who did this kid think he was? 

He took another firm step towards Frank and looked straight at him. Burning, yet cold eyes. The boy froze. 

"Listen, Mr Iero. You will go to the counselor tommorow. Do I make myself clear" Frank stayed silent. His heart was pounding, but his blood was rushing south. 

"I said, do I make myself clear?" Frank snapped back into reality. 

"Uh... yeah. Whatever dude. I'll go to the stupid counselor, blah blah.." he trailed off.

"God, what is it with you, huh?" Mr Way frowned. 

"I just really hate doctors. Even councellors are doctors. I hate doctors" 

"Go home, Frank." He let go of him, and plastered a wide smile across his face. 

"I'm looking forward to seeing you go to the counselor tommorow"

The next morning, Frank walked in. Still no tie on. As if. 

"Good morning, class" Mr Way followed shortly behind him, frowning when he saw him. 

"Frank, don't you have places to be?" He crossed his arms. 

"Yeah, places I don't want to be " 

"Frank, go" something about his assertive tone made Frank shiver. 

"Sir, yes, sir" Frank saluted playfully and walked out. He caught Mr Ways face contorting as if he smelt something putrid. 

That would be Frank's strong cigarette odor. 

~~~

Frank had immediately assumed that he would hate therapy, and he was 100 precent right. The lady was an asshole, constantly questioning, never resting. 

He went back to class after an hour. 

Walking in, he locked eyes with Mr Way.

"Ok class, you're dismissed" he turned to Frank, as the room filled with chatter and chairs scraping. 

"So... how was it?" 

"Shitty. Hated every second" Frank sighed, leaning back on the wall. 

"Oh. That's unfortunate" Mr Way frowned. 

"Only unfortunate thing is her god awful fucking haircut" 

"Mr Iero, watch your tone, please." Mr Way warned. 

"She says I need anger management" Frank growled, raising his voice. "Fuckin.. I'm fucking 18. I can do whatever the fuck I want" 

"Mr Iero, please watch your language" 

"Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do" 

"I'm your teacher. A person of authority." Frank suddenly got a heavily unwanted thought. 

God.. I hope you want to have authority over me in different ways then this

Frank's eyes went wide from the thought, breath catching in his throat. 

"..Mr Iero? All OK?" 

"Yeah. Fuckin... I'm fine. You were saying?" 

Mr Ways face suddenly contorted. A look of annoyance, mixed with concern. 

"Frank, are you drunk?" 

"...no?" Frank isn't even good at hiding it. 

"Oh god, ok. Go home, take a cold shower, sober up. Jesus, how did I not notice before...?" He trails off. 

~~

And go home he did not. 

Somehow, Frank found himself stumbling out of the third bar that night. It was a Wednesday. 

He cursed the security for kicking him out and stumbled onto the path. God where was he? What time was it? 

Frank just decided on a pattern that he would follow and prayed he would end up in a familiar location. 

Left, right, left, right, right. 

But on his first left turn into an alleyway, he collapsed behind a dumpster after an overwhelming twinge of nausea attacked him and threw his guts up onto the ground. 

His knees ached from falling onto broken glass as he collected his thoughts. 

"...Frank?" A sudden voice behind him. 

"Mr Way!" Frank stood up quickly, a little too quickly because he was quickly falling back down. The man caught him mid fall, steadying him on his feet. 

"All.. all OK?" He tried to ask. Frank was in no position to even try answer the question, because soon enough he was doubling over and puking again. 

"Ok... so... not ok." He gently moved his hair back so it wasn't in his face as he vomited everything he consumed in the past 5 hours up. 

"Thought I told you to go home" he said gently. 

"Fuck... you" he said weakly, slumping down onto the ground. 

"Language." 

"Suck me, why don't ya" he groaned. He drew in a shaky breath and closed his eyes. 

"Oh, let's not sleep right now. Come on, stand up" and he put a steady hand around his waist, trying to pull him up. 

Frank let out a dissatisfied groan, clearly unimpressed. 

"Open your eyes, frankie. Come on" He gave the boy a light squeeze, to which he surprisingly smiled. 

"What's got you so happy all of a sudden?" 

"You called me frankie. Thats hot" Frank opened his eyes and turned himself so he was right against the older man's chest. Gerard froze. 

"Say it again" he whispered. No movement. No words. Not even breathing. Just a moment of absolutley torturous silence. 

"You are hammered. How are you gonna get home?" 

"Effort. M jus gona sleep here" and Frank just went limp. 

"No. Nonono, Frank. Stand. Come on" he tried to convince him to stand but it just wasn't working. Frank's body slumped down and he kissed the pavement. 

"How did you find me anyway" Frank mumbled, voice muffled against the filthy concrete under where his face was pressed now. 

"Was going for a late night smoke" he sighed. 

"Why don't you get your face off the dirty ground, huh? Not the best idea" 

"Mm-mm. This is how I stay pretty" Frank grinned against the ground. 

"Ok Frank, look at me" he knelt down and put a gentle hand under his chin and pulled his face off the ground. He froze, eyes wide as they flickered to Frank's brow. 

"Frank. Can you please get up?" 

"Whyyyyy" he whined into the teachers hand.

"I need to drive you to the hospital" Frank, in turn, froze too. 

Chapter Text

"What dyou mean" he frowned 

"There is a peice of glass in your face, hon" Gerard put his hands under Frank's arms gently and lifted him to stand. Frank groaned as he attempted to steady himself on shaky feet. 

"Actually? Dude, noooooo. I hate hospitals" he slurred. He didn't even attempt to open his eyes, knowing that even the dim, yellowish streetlights would be too bright and peircing. 

"I know, let's just get you to the car, ok?" 

"Just take it out" Frank reached up to his face, only to have his wrist held gently, but clearly firmly. He was given a stern look. 

"Dont touch it. You're bleeding" Gerard wasn't lying. There was a large chunk of glass in his brow, and it was bleeding a bit too close to his eye. Frank's jaw tensed when he felt the small bead of blood run down his face. 

"I don't wanna go to the hospital" he frowned like a child as Gerard led him to his car. 

"I know, I'm sorry" he helped him into the passenger seat and buckled him in. 

"Promise me you won't touch it, ok?" He got into the drivers seat and started the car quickly, deciding that wasting time wasn't an option. 

"Give me a kiss then" he said confidently and faced Gerard. Too confidently, in full honesty. 

"Frank. No" he said simply. 

"Then I'll just pull the glass out" and with that he reached his hand up to his face. 

Gerard grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards him, locking their lips. 

Frank didn't even hesitate for a second and grabbed his face with his free hand, biting his lip hungrily. It was amazing, but just not enough. Gerard sort of decided that this should hold him off and pulled away. 

He sat back in his seat with a sigh and put his hands firmly on the wheel. It took him a moment before he started driving. He was sort of dazed. Frank tasted like alcohol and he tasted like cigarettes. Even with the gross mix, Frank's lips felt positively warm and soft. 

Just as soft as he'd imagined. 

"Dont pull the glass out. I'll stay with you at the hospital." He finally muttered. 

"That was amazing" Frank grinned like an idiot. He really did wish it didn't end so abruptly though. Even in his drunken state, he knew it felt like heaven and he definetley knew that he wanted to do it again. 

Gerard drove to the hospital quickly, having to occasionally fight Frank's hand off his thigh. 

"Were here, I'll help you out" 

And Gerard walked him into the emergency room with a hand around his waist. Frank unembarassingly snaked his hand around Gerards wrist with a sly smirk on his face.

"Hey, can we get some help here?" Gerard pointed at Frank.

A doctor quickly led them into a hospital room and told Frank to lay down on the bed. 

"What's the patients name?" The doctor asked, pulling a pair of blue latex gloves over his hands. 

"Frank Iero." Gerard answered for him. 

"And you are?" 

"Gerard Arthur Way" Frank suddenly snickered upon hearing that. 

"Your middle name is... Arthur?" He laughed as the doctor inspected his brow. 

"Yes. Yes it is" Gerard said proudly. Frank rolled his eyes. 

"Yeah, the glass is very much in there. You'll need stitches, you'll probably stay overnight." The doctor sighed. Frank visibly squirmed uncomfortably at the thought. 

"I'll prep a kit to remove the glass and stitch you up" he jumped up and left the room. 

"Gerard... that's an interesting name" he mumbled, his eyes already fighting the bright lights that blurred above him. They were igniting a small migrane that was mild enough to ignore, but it was definetly there. 

"So is Iero. Is it Italian?" He redirected the conversation. Frank grinned. 

"Yeah, it is. I'm not a silly American like you" Gerard laughed at this, rather then feeling insulted. Frank was so incredibly drunk. It was actually kind of cute. 

"Alrighty, Mr Way, may I talk to you for a brief moment?" The doctor asked upon entering the room. Frank gave Gerard a pleading look, but he stood up anyway. 

"Yea. Sure" he left the room with the doctor. 

"Just to clarify, how old is Mr Iero?" 

"Hes 18, doctor" he sighed. 

"And... he's that drunk? What happened? I hate to pry, just curious." 

"No clue, sir. I just found him throwing up really badly behind a dumpster outside of a bar." 

"So... he's a stranger?" 

"No, sir. I'm his college professor." 

"Oh. I would have guessed boyfriend by the way he looks at you" the doctor remarked with a smirk. 

"Well, what about the glass in his eye?" 

"He fell onto the ground next to the dumpster. Unluckily, there was a broken glass bottle there" Gerard explained

"Right. Well, let's get him fixed up then" 

They went back into the room and Gerard sat next to Frank's bed on his left while the doctor went to his right to pull the glass out.

He used tweezers to grip and ease the glass out when...

"Nope. No. Can't do this" Frank pulled away abruptly and faced Gerard instead. 

"Take me home. Guess I'll live with glass in my eye forever" Frank pouted up at the teacher, who was now giving him an amused look. 

"Frankie, come on. You have to let the doctor get the glass out. D'you really want to risk an infection?" 

Frank frowned at the thought. 

"I'll risk it" he finally agreed. Gerard sighed. 

Not defeated yet though.

"An infection? Really? I mean sure. You can deal with the puss that oozes out of the wound every time you touch it. You can deal with it swelling up like... every hour. You can risk the bacteria... possibly aids-" 

"Fine!" Frank was done listening to this verbal torture. No more. 

"I'll do it. Whatever. Just no aids" 

"If you get it taken out, no aids."

"Promise?" 

"Promise." 

"Alright" Frank layed back down onto the pillow and shut his eyes as tightly as possible. His fists clenched by his side as he tried to ignore where he was right now. 

The doctor began slowly working the glass out, which earned a pained groan from the young boy. 

"Feels like you're pulling a dagger out" Frank complained. 

"We can't really administer any rohypnol with the amount of alcohol in your body right now, so you'll just have to clench your teeth" the doctor said sympathetically. 

"Gee, can I hold your hand?" Frank turned to Gerard and gave him a beady-eyed, pleading look. 

"Gee?" He laughed "Jeez, I haven't heard that name in a while" it was true. Mikey had used to call him that when he was younger on a daily. Now Mikey sort of uses it to get what he wants with him, as a sort of different way of pleading. 

"Can I?" Frank insisted. 

"Sure" he held out his hand for Frank to squeeze, which squeeze it he did. Lightly and weakly, but it was there. 

The doctor pulled the glass out and immediately pressed a clean towel to the wound. Frank whined and squeezed Gerards hand tighter. 

"Alright, the glass is out. We can clean the wound and stitch you up" the doctor removed the towel and used an alcohol wipe to wipe away any dried up blood. 

"Alright, Frank. Ready?" When Frank looked over at the needle in the doctors hand, he froze. His eyes went wide as he quickly shook his head. He might have agreed last time, with aids and all, but there was no way anybody was sticking a NEEDLE into him unless it was for a tattoo or peircing. 

"Nope. No way. Nuh-uh" he moved further backwards to distance himself from the doctor and placed himself right in Gerards chest, hugging him as tightly as he could. Gerard sighed. So did the doctor. 

"Frank, you have to let him stitch your wound up. Come on" he ushered him forward. 

"Fuckkk no" he slurred, closing his eyes, holding tighter. The doctor pressed his lips into a thin line. 

"Mr Iero, I'll give you detention for two weeks and an assignment on the entire second world war... unless you let him stitch you up" 

"Never seen a tactic like that before" the doctor laughed as Frank gingerly let go and reluctantly moved closer. 

"Ok, close your eyes, but don't fall asleep on me now" the doctor smiled. At the initial feeling of the needle, Frank had to fight the urge to pull away. This time, he didn't have to ask to hold Gerards hand. Gerard took the liberty to hold his instead, confortingly stroking his thumb over the boys palm back and forth. 

Frank trembled all the way through the stitching, realising that the only reason he wasn't fighting the doctors or pulling away was because of Gerard. It's like he grounded Frank to earth. 

Though agonisingly slow, the procedure finally came to an end about 5 minutes later. 

"Ok, you'll stay here overnight" the doctor discarded the materials he just used into a small plastic wastebasket.

"We do require someone to stay with you as you're still not 21. D'you have your parents phone number-?" 

"Gee will stay with me" Frank grinned at Gerard, who had taken off his jacket, revealing a black flag t shirt. Holy shit. Black flag. 

"Alright. You get some rest now, ok?" The doctor gave Frank's shoulder a light squeeze before leaving the room. 

"Do you really want me here" Gerard said sarcastically. 

"Just wanted an excuse to kiss you again" and Frank basically lunged at him, connecting their lips. Gerard gently held his face and pushed him backwards, earning a needy and dissatisfied groan from Frank. 

"Frank, sugar, not like this. You're too drunk" Frank blinked, looking very dissapointed. He huffed. 

"Ok. Fine" he folded his arms and slumped down onto the bed like a child. Gerard held back a giggle. 

Gerard checked his phone that was now vibrating in his pocket to see a missed call, and another one coming through. Mikey. Shit. 

He excused himself and walked outside the room to call his brother back. 

"Hey Mikey, sorry for the missed call. All OK?" 

"No. No, not all OK. Not ok at all" Mikey sounded panicked. Gerards eyes went wide. 

"Well, what's going on-?" 

"Patrick broke up with me. He's persuing a new relationship or something. Not important. And where the fuck are you? I've been so fucking worried-"

"Mikey, calm down. I'm at the hospital-" 

"HOSPITAL??!!"

"Yeah, but-"

"Why the fuck are you in a hospital? Are you ok?" Mikey was always so nervous about him. Jeez. 

"No, I had to drive someone here." He reassured. 

"...What? I thought you went on a walk. Alone." 

"I found one of my students throwing up behind a bin. He had a shard or glass in his eye so I figured I would do him a favour and drive him here. He's wasted Mikey" Gerard sighed. 

"Jesus. Is he OK? Which one is it? I might know him" Mikey was ironically a student at the same college that Gerard was at teacher at, and Gerard was actually his history teacher. He was in the same class as Frank so there was a chance he knew him. 

"Frank. Frank Iero-" 

"Oh." Mikey suddenly cut him off. He sounded quite the bit dissapointed. 

"What?" 

"Hes the guy Patrick broke up with me for" the air suddenly felt thick. Patrick was Mikeys long term boyfriend, who was now apparently breaking up with him. For Frank? That's genuinley crazy.

"...What?" Gerard managed after an uncomfortably long silence. 

"Just come home dude. Frank'll be OK." 

"Right" Gerard pinched the bridge of his nose and looked into the room where Frank was now sleeping peacefully. He'd be fine. Right? 

"I'll be there in 30" 

Chapter Text

Gerard didn't see Frank in class the next morning, figuring he was probably sleeping off the stitches.

Gerard did somewhat feel guilty for leaving Frank in the hospital alone overnight. He did imply that he absoloutley despised hospitals and doctors, buy it couldn't do too much harm.

He got to teaching about the Cuban missile crisis and was reading from the textbook to the class when suddenly the classroom door flung open.

A fuming Frank stormed in and stood right before the teacher.

Guilt prickled in Gerards throat when he saw how absoloutley furious Frank looked. Gerard braced himself for what was about to unfold.

He wasn't wearing his uniform. There was a white plaster on his brow that wasnt there before. He had no bag. He wasn't here to learn anything.

"Mr Iero-" And suddenly, he slapped the teacher. The noise of the backhanded slap sliced through the class like a hot knife through butter, leading everyone to silence.

Frank then huffed and walked back out of the class. Mr Way looked out to his class with a stinging cheek. About 30 or so surprised faces staring back at him.

He put his textbook down on his table and cleared his throat.

"Excuse me for just a moment" he stepped out the classroom and sped down the hallway to track Frank down, putting a hand on his shoulder that was immediately slapped away.

"Mr Iero-"

"No! None of that bullshit" he spat

"You fucking left me! You were supposed to stay. I was terrified when I woke up." He growled.

"Not only that, but I fucking panicked when I woke up and popped a stitch." Frank paused, tears stinging his eyes.

"Four. It took four doctors and one security guard to hold me down so they could re-do it. Thanks a fucking lot, you fucking dick"

There was no doubt that Gerard was feeling absoloutley terrible, but he had no comebacks. And he sure as hell wasn't about to admit he was wrong. Isn't it so beautiful when two stubborn people argue?

"Language, Mr Iero" probably not the smartest thing to say to a fuming anarchist teenager who already wanted to punch someone's teeth out.

There was a painful, stretched silence after that. Frank looked like he was about to fucking kill him. Gerard stood his ground.

"There is absoloutley no way you just said that" Frank scoffed.

"You know what? Fuck you. Fuck your councellor and fuck what you think about me. Fuck your fancy leather seats in your fancy fucking car and fuck you for even trying to help me"

"Frank-"

"What? Fucking what? You gonna tell me to fuckin' mind my language? Go on! Go on you prick! Fuckin say it!" Frank was now all in Mr Ways face. He had to get on his tip toes because of the quite apparent height difference. He had his arms straight by his sides and his fists clenched. He's never been this angry before. He blinked back tears of hate and breathed heavily.

"Frank, you need to breathe." His calm tone and the fact that he didn't even flinch made Frank soften a little. Well, until he remembered he was supposed to be angry. Right.

"Say it" he growled. Gerard could feel his alcohol and coffee ridden breath on his face. Frank now felt the familiar sting of tears well up in his eyes almost overpoweringly, and to his dissapointment, one managed its way down his face. Gerards eyes flickered to the tear. His expression softened.

"Frank, you really need to relax. I'm sorry. Ok? Is that what you wanted to hear? I'm sorry" Frank violentley wiped the tears from his face and moved back, feeling suddenly guilty.

"Yeah, whatever" Frank's voice broke, to his surprise.

"Frank, go home. I'll see you in class tommorow" He paused before adding "I'll write you a note for the absence, its the least I can do"

"Yeah, it is" Frank sighed. "And I'm not doing your fucking homework" Frank spat.

"That's ok" Gerard offered a soft smile.

"And... and I'm not wearing a tie either"

"Mhm. Ok" Gerard hummed.

"And... I can... bring caffinated drinks to school" Frank tested his luck.

"Yeah. Ok" Gerard sighed.

"And..." Frank raked his brain for something else.

"Go home, Frank. I'll see you tommorow. Hopefully"

"Yeah, whatever."

~~~

Mr Way walked into class the next day and found his eyes immediately drifting to Frank's seat.

Frank was talking to Patrick.

Mikeys ex.

Well that's lovely.

He shot Mikey a friendly look, that was only returned with a frown. Oh.

"Hello, class!" Mr Way started. He watched the class as they all stopped talking to face him. All but Frank and Patrick, who seemed to be excitedly chatting about something. They didn't even bother to tone it down.

"Mr Iero, Mr Stump. Care to share what you're chatting about with the class?" He leaned against the front of his desk.

"I- I... no sir" Patrick sounded defeated.

"I don't mind" Frank stated boldly. Gerard raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, if you want to hear about how often I change my guitar strings and what chord progressions I like, I don't mind. Really" he smiled, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms victoriously.

"Yes Frank. I'd love to hear it. Why don't you tell me during your after school detention today?" He smirked.

"What after school det- wait. No, hold on" Frank frowned at the realisation. Some of his classmates snickered around him.

"That's not fair! What are you, missing a heart?"

"Only thing that's missing is your tie, Frank." Gerard mentally praised himself for the comeback. The class snickered again and Frank just frowned, crinkling his nose.

"4 o'clock, Frank. Don't be late." Gerard walked back around his table and faced the whiteboard.

"Alright class! For extra credit, what did we learn about the Cuban missile crisis last class?" Upon those two words "extra credit", many eager hands shot up.

Gerard was happy to see his little brothers hand shoot up too, so he chose him first. "Mikey, go ahead"

"I learned about how destructive one stupid mistake can be" Mikey growled before glaring straight at Patrick, who gave him a drained look.

God, not again. Gerard had heard enough about this messy break up already. He'd barley had enough time to set up parent teacher meetings, which were in a month, because of Mikeys constant sulking and yapping. Gerard held his breath, practically suffocating from the tension. This was gonna be a long class.

"That's right! One decision and humanity could have been over. Good job. Who else?"Gerard praised himself for acting so layed back at the very passive aggressive question.

A couple of hands shot up, and Gerard picked another student. He noticed that Frank looked beyond confused as he looked at Patrick. Patrick was looking guiltily at Mikey, and Mikey way glaring DAGGERS at Patrick.

A few minutes later in class, Gerard noticed Patrick and Mikey passing notes to each other through other students. God, couldn't they just keep this out of the classroom? They couldn't deal with this later?

"Mikey Way, Patrick Stump, please see me after class. And put those notes away. Pay attention" he frowned when his brother stuck his tounge out at him.

~~~

Mikey and Patrick stayed behind as the students poured out of the class. They refused to even face each other.

Frank tried to walk out unnoticed but to his utter dissapointment, his teacher tapped him on the shoulder and asked him to wait outside the door.

Frank threw his bag onto the ground and sat down next to it, digging his phone out of his pocket and texting his mom that he was gonna be late. Fuckin detention? Not fair.

"So... Mikey. Patrick" Mr Way smiled, trying to ease the sharp, stiff tension that scratched at his senses. Mikey and Patrick both looked annoyed, still refusing to even stand within two meters of each other.

"I understand completely that you guys are going through it right now, but can you please keep the tension out of the classroom? Its disrupting. And the notes, can we please-"

"Its not my fault that I lost interest! Not my fault that I like someone else!" Patrick suddenly yelled. Mikey looked so hurt, Jesus.

Jesus fucking christ.

"Not my fault that he just wants to fuck every guy he sees! Fucking Frank Iero? I'm way fucking hotter then him!" Mikey suddenly bit back.

Gerard pinched the bridge of his nose. Frank definetley heard that from outside the door.

Mint.

"Mikey, first off, mind your language. Second off, I'm not your therapist. Go to couples counselling or something-"

"There's no couple to counsel though! We're through, sir. I have a strong interest towards someone else-"

"Oh, put your dick back in your pants dude. Go suck his dick if you love him so much"

"Maybe I will then?" He growled.

"Good luck getting his man-whore, micro-dick through your lips-"

"Mikey!" Gerard suddenly yelled, giving him a stern look. Then he turned to Patrick.

"Look, as much as I should support my brother, I'm your teacher first. This is none of my business. I will move Mikey towards the front of the class so you guys can't talk to each other, and you can hopefully avoid any interaction. Keep it out of the classroom, ok?" He sighed.

Why was it so hard trying to get through to them? I mean, you'd think at 18 they'd be a bit more mature.

"Yeah, Patrick. Try not to suck Frank-"

"Mikey." Gererd cut him off.

"Sorry" he frowned.

"Detention. Both of you. Meet me in room 15 at 4 o'clock. That's in..." he looked down at his wristwatch. "12 minutes."

"Gee, don't make me go to detention with Frank out of all people-"

"That's Mr Way, Mikey. And don't argue with me. You won't win. Get to room 15, and call Frank in when you're leaving." Both the boys scoffed and walked out.

God, finally.

A minute later, Frank walked in. He looked like this was the LAST place he wanted to be.

"Frank! How are you?"

"Could be better. I don't wanna go to detention"

"Well, then you should have held back with talking back to me, don't you think?"

"Well excuse me for having a mouth, a brain, and a string of thoughts connecting the two" Frank said smugly.

"What are we going to do with you, hm? I mean, you just don't seem to listen" he shook his head.

Frank's smug expression immediately dropped after that. The teacher stepped closer to him, looking down at him. His heart very apparentley pounded in his ears, drowning out the distant hum of students chatting excitedly in the hallway.

"I... Its- I..." Frank fumbled to find a good, smart response to that, but the man being so close, and the unwelcome thoughts rushing through his head, rushing like the blood that was now very much rushing south.

"Gagged, arent we?" He smirked.

"Hopefully" Frank answered without thinking. He clasped his hand over his mouth, realisation washing over him. God forbid he stayed quiet. Gerard simply chuckled in response.

"Go to detention, Frank. Room 15. You have 5 minutes"

"Yes sir" he mumbled before running out the room.

What the fuck?

Chapter Text

He barley made it to detention in time, and recognised the tension in the room when he spotted both Mikey and Patrick. 

They sat fairly far from each other, but the atmosphere was still thick with the awkwardness and anger that was lingering from the two of them. 

Frank, trying to avoid conflict, sat in the front.

Great. 

Gerard walked into the room and set the work for the class. Some maths or something, Frank really didn't care.

As if he was planning on doing the work anyway. 

About halfway through the class, Patrick had asked to go to the bathroom. While on his way out, he dropped a note onto Frank's desk. A small peice of lined paper, clearly torn out from a copy book, and folded over about 4 times until it was a tiny square. 

Frank's eyes lingered on the note, looking up from his doodled notebook page. 

His thoughts lingered too. Did he really want to open that?

His eyes flickered to his teacher, who was sitting peacefully at his desk, reading a book. Oblivious

Fuck it. 

He sighed, grabbed the note and unfolded it. 

You know, you don't look half bad for an unemployed 18 year old ;-)

Frank's brows furrowed. Was he... flirting? Oh god. Patrick Stump was flirting with him. That was quite a backhanded compliment though.

Yeah, I mean Jesus.

Well that was definetley one way to flirt.

He decided to write one back. 

Well, thank you :). You're not so bad yourself. <3

When Patrick walked back in and past Frank, he nudged his leg with the note. Patrick took it smoothly from him and walked back to his seat. Frank looked back to see Patrick giving him a sly look. 

Frank chose to ignore Mr Way and their little interaction earlier. Instead, right when the bell rang, he went up to Patrick and instantly started flirting. 

When they were walking out of the class, Patrick had already had his hand placed steadily on Frank's shoulder while they chatted away about some meaningless topic. 

Frank caught his teachers disapproving eyes, and it just sent a wave of something through him. Maybe nervousness, maybe hornyness. Maybe both.

Why not both?

"Hey dude" Frank decided to offer up plans because...you know... why the hell not?

"My bands playing at a bar tonight. We're called lethermouth. I don't know, d'you wanna come see us play?" 

"No way! Dude, yes! You're in a band?" 

"Haha, yeah!" Frank was positively surprised at Patrick's reaction. 

"Dude, same! What type of music do you play?" He asked curiously 

"Were pretty hard-core punk. You're in a band too?" Frank asked

"Yea! We're called fall out boy. We play like post hard-core, or like, we get called emo a lot." Frank laughed a that. 

"You guys preform?" They walked towards the bus stop. 

"Yeah! Sometimes! We played at the Battery Bar the other day-" 

"You're not gonna believe me, I'm actually playing there tonight!" Frank grinned at the realisation. 

"Must be fate" Patrick thought out loud. 

"Must be." Frank sighed "Alright, set starts at 8pm. I'll let the bouncer know you're coming. Tell him you're with me and he'll take you to the back where we can meet before the set. Be there like... at least half an hour early. Or earlier, I won't mind" Frank winked 

"Woah, alright. Thanks man" 

"No problem, dude. I'll see you there" 

The two exchanged and then goodbyes before racing home to decide their outfits. 

Frank cursed under his breath when he realised that he'd popped his high e string on his guitar when he was practicing yesterday and he like, REALLY needed that. 

On his was to the bar, he stopped by the local music shop to pick up a new string pack and decided he would re-string his guitar at the gig. 

Once Frank got there, he quickly shuffled through the crowd of people to get backstage. 

He sat himself on an amp and quickly plucked the high e string out of the pack. He re-strung the single string and took like 15 minutes trying to tune it properly. 

Always the fucking high e string. 

His band members all offered beer after beer, which Frank gladly accepted. 

"Hey!" A sudden livley voice swallowed the room that now smelt like sweat and beer. Disgusting, cheap, lukewarm beer. 

"Patrick!" Frank jumped up from the amp and hugged him. 

"Hey guys, this is Patrick! He's a friend, I invited him-" 

"Friend... right" his bassist remarked. Frank frowned. 

"Sorry about them. We're going on in 20 minutes. Here's my vip card" Frank dug in his pocket and pulled out a red and white Card. "You can show this to the bartender to get free drinks without ID" 

Patrick grinned and took the card gratefully. 

"Thanks so much, Frankie" and with that, Patrick planted a small kiss on Frank's lips. 

Frank paused. 

His breath caught in his throat.

It hadn't felt genuine. 

It felt... I don't know. 

Wrong?

"Oh... tastes like you've been drinking already" Patrick chuckled. 

"Yeah, no, how could I not? Its a full bar tonight" Frank sort of snapped out of his confused state. 

"I'm gonna go grab a drink and get a good place in the audience. I'll see you, Frankie" 

And Patrick smirked while he walked out. 

Frank didn't know how to feel. He didn't know how to feel when his band was finally ushered onto the stage. He didn't know how to feel when he started playing. He didn't know how to feel when he screamed mindless lyrics into the microphone. He didn't know how to feel when he thrashed around the stage and threw himself onto the ground near the end of the set, thrusting up into his guitar to the beat of the song. 

When the set finished, the band bowed enthusiastically and scrambled backstage again, chugging back all that was left of their now (sadly) room temperature beer. 

Frank decided to go find Patrick, who he found only 5 minutes later. Patrick was sitting at the bar, holding a beer that looked pleasantly cold. 

"Hey Patrick!" Frank cheered once he saw him. 

"Oh my god, Frank, you fucking rocked the stage. I'm sure the girl next to me came like... twice from the way she was screaming" 

"Thank you, dude! You really think so?"

"Yeah dude, you're talented! Seriously" 

"Thanks" Frank looked around the bar. The next band was already plugging their instruments in, preparing to play. 

The crowd was loud and still dancing, despite the lack of music. 

Then, Frank saw him. 

In a dim corner of the bar, Gerard sipped quietly on a beer. He was standing against a wall, scanning the room without purpose. 

"Patrick, can you excuse me for a moment?" Patrick looked confused. 

"Why?"

"Just... gotta piss. Stay here" 

Frank walked with purpose towards the teacher. He paused to look back to Patrick, who was now talking away to someone sitting next to him at the bar. 

"Hey" Frank said in an annoyed tone, snapping his fingers in front of Gerards face. Gerard looked straight at him and smirked, pleasantly surprised by the unexpected interaction. 

"What are you doing here" Frank frowned. 

"Could say the same thing. Nice set" Gerard sipped on his beer, never breaking eye contact. 

"I... did you know I was playing tonight?" Frank almost felt fuzzy at the thought of Gerard coming here to see him preform 

"Nope" Gerard said simply. Frank frowned.

"I'm babysitting Mikey. He's here with one of your friends, I believe" 

"What are you talking about" Frank grumbled. It was undeniable that he was still angry with Gerard. Not only for leaving him at the hospital, or humiliating him in front of the whole class, or even sending him to detention.

 It was the nerve he had. 

Showing up to his gig. 

Not even for him.

Gerard suddenly gestured to his right with his beer bottle. Frank turned his head and saw it. 

Mikey and Ray... yeah. What? 

"What the..." he watched as they held each other way too close, whispered to each other way too intimately, and then it happened. Then they kissed. 

From what it looked like, they'd kissed before. He noticed how Ray smiled and giggled into the kiss. 

He's never seen Ray giggle before. 

Wait. Since when was Ray gay? 

"You're OK with this? Watching your brother get his face sucked off?" Frank pointed and turned back towards Gerard who simply shrugged his shoulders and smiled. 

"Its his life. I couldn't give less of a fuck really. I wouldn't mind sucking someone's face off myself" Gerard locked eyes with Frank, who now apparently forgot how to breathe. 

"...I think I can help you with that" Frank managed finally. 

"Oh yeah?" Gerard stepped forward and put his hands on Frank's waist. 

"Yeah" Frank whispered before locking his lips with Gerards. 

That familiar feeling. It felt like excitement mixed with courage, and many more emotions at once. It felt so right, but so wrong. Felt so approved, yet lustful. Frank's hand trailed up Gerards chest and rested on his broad, firm shoulders. He swept his tounge over Gerards bottom lip lightly, requesting entry. 

"Frankie" Gerard pulled away. No, it was too soon. One more minute. 

Ok, now Frank was getting pissed off. Whyd he keep fucking edging it? 

Just make out with me for fucks sake!!!

"Not here. Tommorow. Sober" Gerard gently pried Frank's arms off his shoulders and took his phone out. 

"Here. Put your number in" 

Frank didn't even move. Not an inch. 

"No. I want to make out. Now" Frank crossed his arms. Like a child. 

Gerard sighed. 

"Aren't you here with your little boyfriend? I'm sure he'd be delighted to find you begging me-" 

"Hes not my boyfriend" Frank's said, snatching the phone from Gerards hand. Fuck it, if he didn't get laid today he might as well get laid tommorow.

"Here" he handed it back "since you're so desperate to fuck your student, we can set something up tommorow-" Gerard grabbed Frank's arm and pulled him in for a quite admittedly needy kiss. Frank immediately grabbed his face and attempted to deepen the kiss while he still had a shot.  

Again, like clockwork, Gerard pulled away. Frank whined and tried to pull himself up to continue the kiss. He wasn't nearly tall enough. 

As if. 

"See, who's desperate now, hm?" 

"Come on" Frank frowned "that's not fair" but he was right. The realisation almost shocked Frank. He hadn't hooked up with someone in 2 months. He'd been touch starved and needy enough to go for his own history teacher. 

His hot history teacher. 

Gerard happened to glance up, his face contorting into a disgusted look. 

"Ok, now we should interfere" he pointed in the direction of Mikey and Ray. 

Frank turned to see the two giggling and heading towards the bathrooms. 

"We? Yeah, no. That's all you, dude. I gotta go find Patrick" 

"Yeah ok" Gerard patted Frank's shoulder and quickly made his way in Mikey and Rays direction. He paused and turned back towards Frank, and yelled "text me!" Over the now loud and messy music. 

Frank made his way back to Patrick. A grave mistake. 

He spotted Patrick sitting on that same barstool, but he now had a boy sitting on his lap, making out with him. 

Right. 

Well, that's the end of that. 

Frank tapped Patrick on the shoulder and waited for him to stop sucking the boys face off. 

Patrick looked shocked when he looked up. 

"Hey, Patrick. Can I've my vip card back? I'm about to get going" 

"Uh, Frank! Here, uh, sorry" he took the card out of his sleeve and handed it to Frank. 

"Frank... its not what it looks like-" 

"Yeah, alright. I'll see you around dude" Frank pocketed the card and made his way to the back of the bar. He'd hoped to get laid tonight. 

He laughed at the thought as he grabbed his guitar and made his way to the exit. 

"Laid." He laughed to himself "In this universe?" 

He really, really hoped Gerard would actually text him tommorow. He needed a hookup, like, yesterday. 

Chapter Text

Frank woke up the next day with nothing short of a splitting migraine pounding inside him. 

He wished that something else was pounding inside him. 

He wished that someone else was pounding inside him. 

He took a minute to gather his energy to actually stand up and head to the bathroom. 

God, he didn't even want to look in the mirror. He knew damn well he looked like shit. 

He looked up anyway. 

Yep. 

Looked like shit.

Smelled like it too. 

He sighed and took a new plaster out of his drawer. God, he hated having to do this. 

He slowly peeled his old plaster off, cursing at the surprising amount of blood that its gathered. He wasn't expecting that much. 

After pressing the new, clean plaster onto his brow and discarding the other one, he figured that he needed to go get some breakfast. His stomach was loudly protesting against his lack of food and his unhealthily common alcohol intake. 

The only thing that was in the fridge was the yellowish light illuminating the very much empty space.

Mint.

 Frank sometimes wished that humans can photosynthesise like plants. God, his savings would skyrocket and maybe he'd stop looking so malnourished all the time. 

Unfortunately, that was just a dream. 

He had fallen asleep in the same sweaty, gross clothes he'd worn to the gig last night. 

God, the gig. 

And Patrick. 

And Gerard! 

Frank wasted no time rushing to find his phone upon remembering what happened last night. 

Fucking of course it was dead. 

He groaned and put it on the charger. 

1h 15m until fully charged. 

Mint. 

Frank made sure he had his wallet and keys before strolling out of his tiny apartment. 

Fuck it, he had enough money for like, a coffee. At least. 

He decided to go to his most local coffee shop. He never bothered to look at the sign at the front of the shop, so he hadn't really had a clue what it was called. 

He strolled in and was welcomed by an overly energetic, blue-haired batista for 10am on a Saturday morning. 

"Good morning! How can I help you today?" She smiled almost unnaturally wide. 

"Hey, can I get a black coffee? As strong as possible." He asked. 

"Sure thing! Will that be all for ya?" 

"Uh... depends. How much would that coffee cost?" 

"Looks like... its 3.99!" 

"Right" Frank looked over at the ham and cheese sandwich in the little display window that seemed to be calling his name. It was labelled with a price tag on the front. 

$2.99. 

Frank looked into his wallet. 

He had a ten dollar note. 

He knew that he'd have to go hungry for the rest of the day if he bought both. 

Fuck it. 

"Can I also get that ham cheese sandwich there?" Frank pointed at the glass display case. 

"Alrighty, would you like that toasted?" 

"Sure, yeah" 

"Cool! Your total comes to... 7 dollars. Cash or card?" 

"Cash. Here" Frank handed her the ten dollar bill. 

Upon getting his change, he stared weakly at the coins in his hand. 

God, he really, REALLY needed a better job. 

And a better boss. 

God, he wished everything was better. 

After collecting his food and drink, he sat down at a table in the corner of the shop and just stared at his food. 

His stomach was way more keen on the idea of eating then he was. 

Frank wasn't sure how long he sat there just staring, until he was very rudely and very suddenly pulled out of his train of thoughts. 

"You gonna eat that or what?" A familiar voice sounded as someone slid into the chair in front of him. He flinched and looked up. 

"Mr Way, uh... hi. What... what are you doing here?" Frank cursed at himself internally for tripping over his words like that. 

"I could ask you the same thing, Frank. You're clearly not here to eat" 

"I-"

"And, its Gerard, for future reference. Were not in school" 

Frank just then realised how absoloutley horrible he looked. 

And smelled. 

He hadn't bothered to even change his gross, smelly, sweaty clothes before going out. 

It's not like he expected to run into his planned hookup while getting breakfast. 

Red hot embarrassment bit him in the ass when he'd realised how unkempt and messy he looked compared to the man who was sitting in front of him. 

He wore a black button up shirt and black slacks. 

He did have a new addition to the outfit though. 

With the way he was sitting, Frank had noticed the shine of a belt buckle when Gerard had sat down. 

Upon further unspection, Frank had peiced together that the buckle was a gorgeous silver bat that was somehow perfectly positioned in the most taunting position that attracted the eye. 

It attracted Frank's eye. 

Obviously. 

"Right." Frank looked down at his food again. He finally got the courage to pick it up and take a bite. 

God, food tasted like heaven. He almost passed out from the relief as the food finally moved down to his stomach. 

He needed this way more then he thought he did. 

"Why aren't you answering my calls, Frankie? I thought you seemed pretty keen on meeting today-" 

"Sorry" Frank immediately shot out, scrambling out a quick explenation. "I... my phones dead. Its charging right now, actually. I don't even have it on me." He quickly explained. 

"Right. That's ok." Gerard said after a brief pause, as if raking his brain for what to say. He watched as Frank took another quick, hungry bite out of his food and barley chewed it before swallowing it. 

"How's Patrick?" Gerard continued. 

The frown on Frank's face must have been quite apparent. 

"Not good... I assume?" 

"No. He was eating someone's face like a four course meal when I went back to look for him yesterday. He's probably texted and called me like a million times now" Frank said before finishing his sandwich completely and washing it down with a mouthful of hot, bitter coffee. 

Just bitter enough, he thought. 

"Your unbothered demeanor shocks me, Frank. I admire it, really" Gerard offered Frank a warm smile. 

There was a long pause before Frank sort of mustered up the courage to say what he thought was NEEDED to be said. 

"Here, uh, sorry about... you know..." Frank fumbled with his thoughts "...kissing you all confidently in public. I should have known to be more careful-" 

"Its alright. I do want to help make sure it won't happen again, though." Gerard spoke steadily without much context. 

Chills. 

"I've texted you my address. 6pm. Don't be late" Gerard shot Frank a warm smile before getting up and leaving. 

Jesus. 

Jesus fucking christ. 

FINALLY!!!

Frank quite literally ran home after finishing the last few sips of his coffee. 

He really needed to get ready. 

He pulled practically his whole wardrobe out onto the floor to sive through his clothes and find something that didn't smell like it came out of a dumpster. 

Frank remembered that Gerard had worn a Black Flag t-shirt when he'd taken him to the hospital, so he settled on a plain Black Flag t-shirt, a pair of fitted black jeans, and a white leather belt with silver studs. 

Fuck, he even cleaned his gauges too. 

He also wanted to take a shower before he left, but had to decide against it upon realising that he was behind on the water bill. 

Again. 

At this point, Frank was basically ready and it was only 3pm.

He finally snatched his phone off the charger and powered it on. 

Two missed calls from G.

18 missed calls from Patrick. 

35 new messages from Patrick. 

Oh and look, his phone bill's expiring tommorow.

Fucking MINT.  

Firstly, Frank opened Gerards message only to see that he texted him his address after the two missed calls. 

Quite minimalistic. 

Impressive. 

He took a deep breath before opening Patrick's messages. 

Frank only skimmed through a few of them. 

"Frank, fuck, I'm sorry" 

"Frankie, please answer me" 

"Frank please, I was drunk baby" 

"Frank, answer me. I'm actually begging" 

Ugh. Gross. 

Among the 35 messages which roughly all sounded the same, there were a multitude of missed calls. 

Frank's been desperate before, but not at this level. 

Frank groaned and realised he'd probably have to reply now. 

He didn't.

Fuck that guy. 

Instead, Frank typed Gerards home address into Google maps. 

15 minute walk. 

How handy. 

Frank, who was now nervously twiddling his thumbs, had absoloutley nothing to do.

He sat there for a minute, debating his own thoughts in his head. 

Fuck it. 

He clicked his phone back on and called Gerard. 

"Hello? Gerard Way speaking." 

"Hey! Gee, I was wondering if I could come over a tad bit earlier. Like, now. Perchance" Frank pinched the bridge of his nose and bullied himself internally for sounding so pushy and desperate.

Frank bit his lip in anticipation, waiting out the pause that he knew Gerard was dragging out for purpose. 

"Be here at 3.30. Not earlier. Not later." And the line went dead. 

Frank could barley contain his excitement as he jumped up from the couch and made his way back to his bedroom. 

He stared in the mirror for a good few minutes to make sure he looked PERFECT before skipping out his cheap apartment like a happy child. 

Yes! Yes! Yes!!!

Chapter Text

Sin. Sin. Sin. 

The fucking words whispered to him- as if taunting him- in his head as he walked up to the door and knocked. 

Sin. Sin. Sin. 

Frank remembered being forced into a Catholic school by his strict parents at a young age. He remembered his teacher grabbing his wrist and slicing his knuckles with his metal ruler if Frank ever even looked at him wrong. His teacher would be so dissapointed. 

Sin. Sin. Sin. 

He didn't even remember what he did wrong... he was just a kid. 

He was taught three main rules. 

Obeying elders. 

Worshipping god like a dog. 

Being gay is a Sin. 

A fucking sin. 

"Frank! Come on in! You hungry? Mikey ordered pizza but, as always, he didn't finish it" 

"Uh... yeah. Sure" Frank was eager to shove his thoughts and his Catholic roots aside for the night. He was eager to forget. 

Sin. Sin. Sin. 

He sat down on Gerards soft, plush couch with a groan of relief. It felt so comfortable and warm, like he could actually fall asleep right this second. 

He looked around the house and noticed a color scheme. 

Black and creme. 

There wasn't many colours besides that, other then the hint of colours peeking through in the form of many pictures in black and creme frames mounted on the creme walls. 

"Frank? All OK?" Gerard gave him a smile that undoubtedly concealed a hint of worry. 

"Yeah.. sorry. This is really nice of you, thanks" Frank gestured at the open pizza boxes on the coffee table in front of them. 

Looking beyond the pizza, there was a fireplace. It looked INSANLEY expensive and fancy, fire already crackling and dancing in the pit. 

Frank didn't waste a lot of time before grabbing a slice... then a second... and then a third. This could be his only meal for the next 2 days, so he wasn't going to hold back. 

"Frank, you listening?" Gerard asked, his tone suddenly louder and more frightening. 

Frank had been satisfied with just the hum of his voice in the background as he let his thoughts consume him, he wasn't even paying attention to what he was saying. 

"I... no sir. Sorry" Frank shifted uncomfortably at admitting that. It felt like a confession. 

Sin. Sin. Sin. 

"Its alright. You do seem a bit distracted. Something on your mind that you'd want to talk about?" Gerard placed a conforting hand on Frank's thigh. 

Frank's eyes instantly shot to the hand, staring at it intently. 

As much as he knew it was wrong, he was hoping that that hand would find its way just a little higher. 

Sin. Sin. Sin. 

"No sir. Sorry" Frank chewed at his bottom lip nervously. 

He was undoubtedly nervous. 

A sudden taste of metal in his mouth brought him all the way back.

Not his lip peircing. 

Blood. 

On his lip. 

He watched Gerards eyes flicker to the blood on his lip, watching the bead form with purpose. 

Frank, knowing damn well what he was doing, allowed the blood to pool until it dribbled down his chin. 

With a sudden, sharp movement, Gerard leaned right in, stopping directly before making contact. 

"May I?" He breathed against the boys lips. 

Frank hoped that the strained breath he let out would be enough to give him premission. It was not. 

"Words, sugar. Use your words" Gerard teased his hand up further. 

Sin. Sin. SIN. 

"Yeah." Frank barley whispered before Gerard was swiping his tounge over Frank's bottom lip, collecting the blood that had gathered there. 

Gerards hand was very clearly moving further up. 

Frank was not complaining. 

There was a brief pause before Gerard began properly kissing him, putting a steady hand on the back of his head so Frank could move with his rhythm. 

Frank couldn't hold back from resting his hands on Gerards chest, occasionally toying at the collar and buttons of the shirt. 

When Frank finally felt Gerards tounge in his mouth, it was like a point of no return. He kissed back hungrily, now essentially clawing at the neat, buttoned shirt Gerard was wearing. 

Don't get him wrong- he loved the shirt. 

Just... he felt like it would look better... off. 

Y'know?

Frank was almost embarassed by how fast and needy his breathing and body language have gotten, almost. 

He was really too far gone to care. 

His hands gave up on tugging at the shirt and finally rested on that beautiful bat belt buckle. 

The metal was cold and foreign against his flushed and hot fingertips. 

"Ah, ah, ah" Gerard suddenly pulled away, gently taking Frank's wrists and prying his hands off the buckle. 

It was needless to say that Frank missed the sensation immediately, and his body jumped forward to continue the kiss. 

"Upstairs, come on" Gerard gently pulled him off the couch and led him up his fancy oak stairs, and into the first room on the right. 

Gerards room. 

Frank hadn't even gotten a good look around before he was being shoved onto a black, wooden four poster bed. Gerard climbed on top of him, peppering kisses down from the corner of his mouth to the base of his jaw. 

Gerard nipped at the sensitive skin beneath Frank's ear, grinning when this elicited a needy groan from Frank. 

He sucked and bit and kissed at the skin until he was satisfied with the colour and shade of the mark he'd left before moving up to continue the kiss. 

One of Gerards legs managed to find its way between Frank's, and he experimentally grinded it up. 

Sin. 

Guilt and panic washed over Frank as he realised the severity of what he was doing. 

Shit. 

This was a Sin. 

"Gee... ngh... fuck. Wai... wait. Stop" Frank had to force the last word out of himself. He didn't mean it. 

He didn't want him to stop. 

But he did. 

Fucking stupidly perfect Gerard here stopped. 

Gerard pulled back and gave Frank a questioning yet concerned look. 

It was wrong. 

It was so wrong. 

But it felt so right. 

"All OK?" Gerard was stunned when suddenly, Frank closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and started to mutter a prayer. 

"Our father who art in heaven..." Frank sighed, scratching at his thoughts to remember the rest of the prayer. 

"Hallowed be thy name" Frank continued, pausing to remember the words. 

Gerard gave him a blank stare. 

"...Frank?" 

"Hold on" Frank pressed his eyes closed even harder, trying to remember.

"Thy kingdom come... thy..." He groaned, moving his hands to cover his face. 

"I'm sorry... I- I cant even remember" 

Sin. 

"Frank. Its ok. Seriously." Gerard began shifting to get off him but Frank quickly grabbed him by the shoulders and repositioned him where he was. 

"No. Keep going" Frank frowned when all he got in return was an unconvinced, almost challenging look. 

 "Please" 

You don't have to tell me twice, Gerard thought as he leaned down to embrace Frank in another sloppy, needy kiss. 

He moved his leg up again, smirking when this earned him a shocked whine from the boy. 

"Nice shirt" Gerard said after pulling away for a moment. "Take it off". 

Yes, sir!!

Frank immediately pulled the outfit that he'd put so much effort into off. Starting with the shirt, then letting Gerard slowly unbuckle his belt and slide his tattered black jeans down. 

Frank felt his face flush red when Gerard didn't get back on top of him after undressing him. He just essentially eye fucked him. 

"God, what are you, rebooting or something?" Frank complained, eager to continue the kiss (or whatever else they were headed too *wink wink*) 

"Sorry. I don't usually get boys like you in here." Gerard said, finally climbing back onto Frank.

"Boys like me?" Frank managed to say before Gerard was kissing him again. 

"Yes, Frankie" Gerards hand FINALLY slid down and he *finally* palmed Frank through his boxers. 

"Nghhh... fuck" Frank squirmed, feeling the surge of pleasure run through him like adrenaline. 

"Boys like you" 

Frank closed his eyes, practically unable to form any type of coherent thought. 

"What... fuck... What dyou mean by that" 

He panted out, experimentally bucking his hips up. He was thirsty for friction. Thirsty for more. 

Thirsty for sin. 

He'd never thought a Sin could feel this good. 

"What I mean, Frankie..." Gerard took his hand away, earning a loud sound of desperation from the boy. "...Is someone so... pretty" Gerard slipped his hand under Frank's waistband, pausing before wrapping his fingers around his the base of his length. 

"Gee" Frank breathed as he grabbed the covers beneath him. He had to use all his composure to not fucking come right then and there. 

From the contact. 

From the warmth. 

From the fucking smug look that was spread all across Gerards face. 

"Yes, sugar?" Gerard cooed. 

"...please" Frank didn't exactly know what he was begging for, he just knew that he needed something or he'd just go into a fucking coma from the sheer amount of time it was taking- 

"Shit" Frank hissed out when Gerards hand suddenly began moving. There was no easing into it either, it was quite straight to the point. 

"Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck" Frank just given up on even trying to form a coherent thought. His brain was almost as fried as his excessively dyed hair as Gerard continued pumping him in fast, jerky thrusts. 

Gerards fist felt so much better then his own, Frank thought. 

Gerard paused briefly to move his thumb over the slit on Frank's tip, eliciting a flinch and a needy whine. 

As he continued pumping, Gerard had realised how far gone the boy was. 

His jaw had gone slack, his eyes were rolled back, was that- drool? 

"Gee" Frank's one coherent word broke his string of just continuous whimpers and profanities. 

"Gee- ngh... I- I think-" 

"Shhhh I know, Frankie. I know" Gerards hand sped up to a disgusting pace that elicited a chain of moans that was nothing short of porn worthy from Frank. 

"Come for me, sugar" 

Frank came with a string of profanities that were quickly swallowed down by Gerards kiss, which managed to coax him through the high of the orgasm. 

"Fuck" Frank finally managed once his pulse wasn't pounding inside his ears almost as loud as he was moaning just seconds ago. He managed to pry his eyes open to see a satisfied looking Gerard smiling over him. 

"You really need to mind your language, Frankie" Gerard took his hand out of Frank's boxers and sat up. "I won't let it slide next time" 

"And what happens if I don't?" Frank trapped his bottom lip between his teeth in anticipation. 

"Well, Frankie, misbehaving always comes with a punishment, no?" Gerard knew exactly what Frank wanted to hear. 

"Mhm" Frank hummed, already planning what he was going to do. 

He was hoping Gerard was doing the same. 

"Clean yourself up, Frank. Bathrooms across the hall" 

After stealing a pair of boxers from Gerard, Frank went to his bathroom to change into them and maybe calm himself down just a bit. 

When he looked in the mirror, he felt dissapointed in himself. His still slightly flushed face, skin that was still lined with a thin layer of sweat, his messy hair. 

And on top of that, he'd never even finished his prayer. 

With a sigh, he clasped his hands together and promised himself to never put them together again. 

He promised to leave that version of himself in the past. 

With a sigh, he mumbled out one final 

"Amen" 

Chapter Text

"Frank"

Waking up to Gerards voice was an experience that he was glad to be alive to witness. Waking up in someone else's bed after being well fed and well pleased was something that you would NEVER hear Frank complain about. 

"Frankie, wake up" the warm, happy atmosphere was punctured by a colder, more monotone voice. 

Ughhhhhhhhh. 

"Mhm?" Frank didn't even bother to open his eyes when he replied, instead choosing to nuzzle his face into the DISGUSTINGLY soft pillow. 

"I figured I'd let you sleep until you decided to wake up, but it's 2pm. You've slept over 22 hours." 

Frank's eyes shot open, but he still wasn't bothered to move. 

22 hours???

"2pm my ass. You're lying" Frank mumbled against the pillow. He was sure that his words were probably too muffled and incoherent to understand anyway. 

In reality, he wouldn't be surprised if it was true. He hadn't gotten sleep that was this good in his life. The bed was soft and somehow stayed just the right temperature all night. Not to mention how safe Frank felt. 

Gerard hed slept next to him all night. As much as Frank tried, he couldn't keep his hands off him. Almost to the point where Frank was surprised that he hadn't woken up when Gerard had gotten up. 

"Let's try mind our language, hm?" Frank felt the bed dip next to him where Gerard had sat down. 

He finally got a good look at him. 

Gerard was wearing a pair of black sweat pants and a grey Misfits t-shirt.  

Frank grinned. 

He quickly sat up and quite literally lunged forward to embrace Gerard in probably the most genuine hug he's ever given. 

"Thank you so much" Frank mumbled against Gerards neck. 

Gerard was quick to hug him back tightly. 

"What for?" He asked, sounding almost startled. 

"You know" Frank finally managed to pull away, not being able to resist the urge to look into Gerards beautiful Hazel eyes any longer. "Like... the food. And the bed. And the... you know." Frank, like a child, didn't really know how to phrase a thank you for jerking him off. 

"Yeah, it's not a problem really. I really wouldn't consider it anything big, just common decency." Gerard offered Frank a warm smile. 

"Just one question though" Gerard continued. Frank's ears perked up, suddenly more interested "are you religious?" 

Suddenly, Frank's happy demeanor was impaled. 

"No" Frank almost barked back, suddenly feeling insecure. His eyes danced around the room in order to avoid eye contact. He drew his knees into his chest and wrapped his arms around them. 

Just like he did when he was a kid. 

"Alright" Gerard realised that something wasn't right. "Alright, I'm sorry. I understand its probably a sensitive topic. That's my bad for asking. Do you need a minute?" 

"Yeah" Frank's voice was barley above a whisper. 

There was a sudden smell that forced Gerards face to contort into a frown. A burning smell. 

"That would be Mikey fucking his breakfast up. I'll be back in a bit, you take your time, ok?" 

Gerard gave Frank a smile that was so tooth-rottingly sweet, Frank almost called him back to stay.

But he didn't. 

After Gerard left, Frank had to gather his thoughts. He sat there in that same position for at least five minutes before realising that he should probably put some clothes on. 

The bed didn't feel as comfortable anymore. The covers felt scratchy and unpleasant on his skin. 

Frank gingerly raised his hand so he could look at his knuckles. 

The scars on his skin were faded and near impossible to make out, but the mental scar had remained. 

A bubbly, energetic, 8-year-old Frank skipped into his classroom and sat down at his usual seat. He threw his backpack onto the ground and began chatting excitedly to his classmates about his weekend. 

When the teacher walked into the classroom, all the students quickly stopped talking and stood up.

Frank, who had his back turned to the door, did not. 

"Frank Iero" he flinched at the sound of his full name and quickly stood up, realising his mistake from hearing the teachers cold, peircing tone. He spun around to face his teacher as his heart jumped into his throat. 

"Why didn't you stand up immediately upon my entry?" The teacher barked. 

Frank remembered the teachers outfit. 

The teacher was a local priest, so he was wearing his usual black cassock with the little bit of white in his collar. 

Beauty of Catholic school. 

The cassock flowed all the way down to the floor and essentially looked like a dress. 

Frank had always associated the cassock with the ying yang. All black with a bit of white. 

All evil with a hint of purity. 

"I'm sorry sir" Frank quickly answered, shifting his weight nervously. 

"Answer my question, boy" the teacher frowned, taking a full, intimidating step towards Frank. 

"I- I didn't realise you came in, sir" Frank pursed his lips together into a thin line. He was close to crying. 

"Bullshit. Stand at the front of the classroom, now" Frank hung his head and walked to the front of the classroom slowly. 

Once at the front, the teacher pointed at the edge of his table. 

"Grip the edge of the table. If you let go, it won't be pretty" The teacher growled and grabbed a metal ruler. 

Frank hesitantly reached out and held onto the edge of the solid wood table so the skin on his knuckles was thin and sensitive.

He closed his eyes. He knew that not knowing when the hit was coming always made it better. 

The first hit was always the worst. 

Frank flinched when the teacher brought the ruler down onto his knuckles the first time. He didn't dare to let go of the table. 

This unfortunately wasn't the first time this happened. Frank, according to his teacher, was a problem child and "the devil lived inside him". 

"Dont you dare move" the teacher hissed. He apparently "gave up" on using the flat side of the ruler, instead turning it over and using the sharp, cold edge to cut his knuckles clean open with every hit. 

"Recite to me, Frank, the 'Our Father' prayer. Now" 

Frank swallowed the lump in the throat. Another quick, sharp strike forced him to start reciting. 

"Our... our father who art in heaven" Frank stiffled a cry when the third strike came with no warning. 

"Keep going" he barked. 

"Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come..." Frank paused.

He didn't remember.

Fourth strike. 

"And what comes after that, Frank?" 

"Thy kingdom come... thy will be done..." Frank squeezed his eyes shut, raking his brain for a trace of the prayer. 

Nothing. 

Fifth strike. 

"Useless. Absolutley useless. Mankind had been created to devote their life to God"

Sixth strike.

"How useless does a man have to be if he cannot do that? Absoloutley fucking useless, I'll tell you that much." 

Seventh strike. 

Eighth strike.

Ninth strike. 

Tenth strike. 

Eleventh strike...

The tears stung worse then his knuckles. 

The tears were more wrong then the blood. 

Frank's phone buzzed in his pocket. 

It buzzed again. 

"God, leave me alone" Frank complained out loud, pressing the red 'reject' button for maybe the fifth time in the past 5 minutes. 

A knock on the door startled him into looking up. 

"All OK?" Gerard asked upon entering. 

"Yeah, Patrick won't stop calling me. He thinks our "relationship" can still be saved. Can you believe it?" 

There was a brief pause before Gerards face contorted into a grin. 

"Frank, I have an idea" Gerard said without even a hint of doubt in his tone.

"I'm all ears for suggestions" 

"I need you to call Patrick back and tell him you'll go on a date with him" 

Frank gave Gerard a completely blank stare. 

Was he like... off his hinges?

"You can't be serious" Frank finally said. 

"No, ok. Listen. Do you want this to stay a one time thing?" Gerard gestured towards himself and then towards Frank. 

Frank's face flushed red. He knew damn well what the answer would be. 

"I... no" Frank mumbled, looking back down at his phone which was ringing again. 

"Right. Neither do I. For one, you have a gorgeous ass-" 

And they say chivalry is dead. 

"-and theres plenty of things I've said I'd do. I really like to live up to peoples expectations after I've gotten them all curious. I think that something we can use as a cover up would be very beneficial. Necessary even. This is a good opportunity for that" 

Frank thought about it for a minute. The more he thought, the more he realised how much sense it made. 

"...I don't know how comfortable I am with leading someone on so I can fuck my teacher in secret" he mumbled. More to himself then Gerard, if anything. 

"You mean the boy who showed clear interest in you and then made out with someone else barley two hours later?"

A pause of acceptance.  

"Ok when you put it like that it seems like a good idea" 

"Because it is, Frank. Go on. Call him" Gerard pointed to the phone that had now gone silent. 

Alright. 

Maybe this was actually gonna work...? 

Fuck it, guess there was only one way to find out. 

After calling Patrick back and listening to him apologise and thank him for what felt like hours, Frank had agreed to go on a strict date with Patrick. 

Him and Gerard had gone over basic ground rules for his relationship with Patrick after the phone call was finally over. 

Frank could kiss and hug Patrick just enough to keep the lie alive, but under no circumstances is he to have sex with him. 

Understandable. 

They can call, text, and even go on dates. 

Just... you know, no fucking. 

Pretty simple. 

After going downstairs to eat breakfast, Gerard explained how Mikey burnt his eggs and just gave up on making his own breakfast. He'd left soon after cleaning up the burnt mess on the stove to get takeout instead. 

Gerard made Frank some thick pancakes (per his request) as they chatted about whatever topic came up. 

Frank noticed how easy conversations came and went with this guy. I mean, that's definetly something to appreciate. 

Gerard soon placed a plate full of small, round, PERFECT LOOKING pancakes in front of Frank and told him to dig in. 

"Holy fuck. These are amazing! Since when can history teachers cook?" Frank exclaimed upon taking a bite of the fluffiest, sweetest, most delightful pancakes he's ever put in his mouth. 

"Frank. Mind your language" Gerard tried to sound serious but Frank could FEEL his smile lighting up the kitchen no matter how hard he tried to hide it. 

"Just a simple thank you would have done it" Frank smirked as he shoved another forkful of heaven into his mouth. 

He internally thanked Gerard for not bringing up his little mental crash out earlier. Seriously, it meant the world to him. 

"Also, Frank, when you go on this date tommorow, don't pay. It's the least he can do after fucking you over. No matter what happens, don't pay" 

Frank frowned. He's always been a generous soul. He would never make someone pay. 

Ever. 

"I don't know Gee... I don't really like making people pay" 

"Watch" Gerard said blankly "he'll offer to pay. He'll even offer to pay for your uber"  

"What makes you so sure?" 

"Well" Gerard paused to swallow a mouthful of pancakes "because he knows he fucked up. Any decent human would do anything to fix that. That's including paying for everything" 

"Mind your language, Mr Way." Frank giggled. 

"Mind your tone, Mr Iero" Gerard said without missing a beat. 

"Sir, yes, sir!" He saluted the teacher playfully. 

Gerard didn't find it funny. 

"Ehm..." Frank grinned "I apologise?" 

"You should" Gerard gave Frank a look that could make Antartica feel like a hot Mediterranean country. 

And just like that, Gerards mood suddenly shifted all the way back to normal.

"Are you doing anything today, Frank?" The tension in the air melted at Gerards suddenly warm voice. 

"You. Hopefully" Frank smirked. 

"You are really chancing yourself today, Frankie. I might have to remind you what basic respect is" Frank's mouth watered at that. 

"What if I don't want to be reminded?" 

"You don't really have a choice" 

"Well, fuck" 

"Frank." 

"Yeah?" 

"Language." 

Chapter Text

Frank walked into the shabby Battery City Diner and sat down at one of the booths. 

Being a 1pm on a sunny summer Sunday, there were plenty of people already chatting away and eating their own food. 

"Hello, hon. How are ya?" A curly-haired, brunette, energetic waitress greeted Frank with a wide grin as she slid him a menu after he'd sat down. 

"Waitin' on someone, I presume?" She had quite a southern accent and her smile was all toothy and wide. 

"Yeah, how'd you know?" 

"Well, I doubt a handsome fella like yerself would be here all 'lone at lunch hour, hon. Can I getcha anythin' while ya wait?" 

Frank, immediately flustered at the comment, politely declined the offer and instead asked her to come back when his date arrived. 

Patrick did arrive about 5 minutes later. He found Frank's booth and sat down opposite him. 

"Hey, Frankie. I'm... look... I'm so sorry. I'm not a cheater, and I'd hate for you to view me as one. I really was just drunk. I'm so-" 

"Dude, like I said, it's fine. I don't really care, it's in the past. I just needed some time to think about what to do next. That's it" Frank stated blankly, trying to change the subject. 

"Thank you. There's really no words to describe how thankful I am" there was a brief pause before he added "how about I pay for your food today? It's the least I can do" 

WHATTTTT. 

Frank was about to protest after letting the shock from the revelation sink in but then he remembered what Gerard had said. 

Eughhhhhhh 

He hated to do this. 

"That would be really nice of you, Patrick. Thank you" Frank was actually quite angry at this point, though he did is best to conceal it. Not because what you probably think, but it's because he likes to be right. 

And this proved that Gerard was right. 

Ew. 

The date continued quite casually as the pair skipped through random subjects and eventually got the food that they'd ordered like 45 minutes ago. 

The food wasn't great, but Frank had noticed something that spiked his interest way more then some soggy chicken. 

In the way back of the restaurant, there was a man sitting alone at a table. 

I think you know where this is going. 

The unmistakable raven black hair, the formal clothing (down to his very shoes), his flashy silver watch, all topped off with a fancy black blazer jacket that was lying next to him and maybe the most obnoxious pair of sunglasses Frank has ever seen on a human being. 

In front of him was his computer, which he typed away at intently. 

Oh goodie, the whole squad is here. 

Frank found himself caught away from the mundane conversation when Gerard had looked up and made eye contact with him. 

Gerard shot Frank a knowing smile while Frank frowned back at him. 

Was this not too risky? 

"-I mean, it's honestly a tragedy. What d'you think?" Patrick's finishing statement stunned Frank back into the conversation. 

"Er, yeah! I mean, just horrible." Frank tried to catch on. 

"Right? I mean, being part of the working class is literally torture. I consider myself lucky because I get quite the hefty allowance from my parents, but I just feel awful for the waitresses here. I mean, how much does this job pay?" 

"$13.50 for new hires. $15.50 for experienced workers. I don't know about managers though" Frank spoke without much thought. 

Thought that he instantly regretted not putting in. 

"Wow. How'd you know?" Frank's face dropped, realising he'd just outed himself. 

"Eh, you know. Worked a summer job here for a little bit" it was somewhat true. Frank had really worked there in the summer. The only detail he was missing was that he also worked there every other season. 

Yeah, he has a job. 

Surprise. 

He has to work for a living. 

"Jeez, that must've been torture. Sorry dude" Patrick said sympathetically. Frank really didn't appreciate his tone. Or his sarcasm. Or his outfit.

Or... you know. Him in general. 

"Listen, Patrick, I think I have to go. Band practice and all that" Frank lied, hoping that his nervous fidgeting wasn't too obvious. 

"Oh, yeah, of course" Patrick quickly stood up and waited for Frank to do the same before pulling him in for a quite unappreciated kiss. 

"Love you, Frank. Thank you again" Patrick mumbled before pulling away. 

"See ya, dude" Frank waved him off after he threw a couple of twenties onto the table and walked out. 

Frank marched straight to Gerard. 

"Hey. Don't you think-" 

"Let's go to the car, Frankie" Gerard took his laptop and his jacket and led a wordless Frank to his car. 

Frank obeyed. 

Not for long. 

When they were both settled in, Gerard finally spoke. 

"I don't think I can ever get used to seeing you kiss him. It's quite... disturbing" 

"I know, sir." Frank already had a plan in his head, and he was fully committed to it "it doesn't feel as good as kissing you. It doesn't feel as soft, and warm..." Frank had placed a hand on Gerards thigh and was slowly moving it up. 

"Hmm" Gerard hummed, feeling Frank basically start to palm him through his jeans. 

"Frank?" Gerard asked. 

It sounded so dissapointedly nonchalant that Frank almost gave up. 

Almost. 

"Mhm?" 

"How about I take you home?" 

Frank frowned "my house?"

"No" Gerard grinned "mine" 

Gerard pushed Frank up against the front door and kissed him demiandingly almost immediately upon entering the house. 

Frank groaned loudly into the kiss and attempted to claw at Gerards shirt. 

Gerard, in response to this, grabbed both of Frank's wrists with one hand and pinned them above him to the cold, wooden door. 

"Not yet. You have to show me how much you want it. Tell me how much you want it." 

"I want it more then anything" Frank groaned, hoping he sounded convincing enough. 

"That's not enough" Gerard pulled away suddenly, heading towards the kitchen as if nothing happened. 

Half-hard and stunned, Frank got an idea. 

Hopefully one he'd be punished for. 

Well, when were his horny thoughts ever gonna be on his side anyway? 

Frank followed Gerard into the kitchen and walked up behind him, snaking his arms around his waist and very quickly moving his hands to that beautiful bat belt buckle. 

"Frankie, no. Not yet" but Frank didn't care. He opened the belt and used all of his strength to turn Gerard around so he was facing him. 

"I said not yet. This is a final warning" Frank went and grabbed a cup, moving away from Gerard. He went over to the sink and filled it with warm, almost hot water. 

He placed the cup on the ground next to Gerards feet and sunk to his knees in front of him while maintaining eye contact. 

As he undid the button and the zipper on Gerards slacks, he noticed how Gerard wasn't saying anything or pulling away. He was just watching him intently. 

Without much warning (or thought for that matter) Frank hooked his fingers in the waistband of his boxers and pulled them down with his pants in one quick motion, allowing him to spring loose. 

Alright. 

Oh. 

Ehhhhhh

Way bigger then he thought it would be. 

But still, Frank refused to give up. 

He wrapped one of his hands around the base of his shaft, eliciting a beautiful low sound from Gerard. 

He then trailed his tounge ever so lightly along the vein on the underside of his dick. 

Another groan. 

Yes. 

Frank toyed his tounge over Gerards tip for a brief moment, tracing circles around the slit at the top. 

Gerards thought process here was simple. He didn't want to be rough with Frank, but he was horrible at being gentle too. He grabbed the edge of the counter to prevent his hands from going places he didn't want them to go and nudged his his forward to let Frank know that he could keep going. 

Frank then took a mouthful of warm water from the cup and wrapped his lips around Gerards dick without warning. 

Small drops of water dribbled down his chin as he slowly moved his mouth all the way down his shaft. 

The feeling of the warm water mixed with the feeling of Frank's tounge on his length was enough to make Gerard dizzy, but he managed to keep his composure and hoped he looked more confident then he felt. 

"Frank... shit. I don't know if I can last. You're doing so well... so well for me, sugar" Gerard almost hissed out, trying to sound unaffected but clearly not succeeding. 

Frank hummed, allowing the vibrations of the action do its thing. Gerard almost shivered from the feeling, but clearly attempted to stay steady. 

"Frankie, last chance. Pull away now- fuck... if you need to" Gerard panted out. 

Frank quickly refused to give up the erotic action and instead settled on making it even faster and harsher. He bobbed his head, momentarily gagging at first. 

He flicked his eyes up to meet Gerards. He looked lustful. 

Hungry. 

The eye contact was enough to send him over the edge, shaking against the counter and attempting to catch his breath as he slowly came down from his high. 

"Oh my, what are we going to do with you?" 

"Anything you want sir" Frank said hopefully 

"Right" Gerard licked his lips, examining the boys face. "Why don't we take this upstairs then?" 

Chapter Text

Once upstairs, it was like the entire mood shifted. 

Frank sat down on the bed and watched as Gerard walked over to a black, wooden chest or drawers in the corner of the room and crouched down to reach the bottom drawer. 

"Now, Frankie, I'll let you have a bit of a choice this time, but don't get used to it. Now, rope or cuffs?" 

"Huh?" Frank was caught off guard by the odd question. 

"I am going to tie you down. Rope or cuffs?" 

Frank's mouth almost watered at the thought. He couldn't help but grin at the question as he answered "cuffs". 

"Alright. Take off your shirt. Lay down on the bed. Hands above your head, cross your wrists" Gerard ordered in an almost condescending tone. 

Frank did as he was told and heard Gerard take some things out of the drawer, then he walked over to him. He fastened one cuff on, then weaved the chain around a bar on the headboard and cuffed his other hand, securing him in place. 

Frank shivered at the immediate loss of control. He tugged experimentally at the cold metal cuffs and only then did the realisation truly hit. He was immobilised. 

Mint. 

Gerard took his time toying at Frank's belt and pulling his pants and boxers off slower then you can imagine. 

Frank had never felt this exposed and open before. 

As much as he felt vulnerable, he somehow felt safe with Gerard. He knew he wouldn't do anything he wasn't comfortable with and he really trusted him here. 

"My, you're a pretty one, arent you?" Gerard traced a finger up Frank's thigh ever so gently. 

Mmmmmmmm... yes. 

"I take pride in it, sir" Frank replied semi-confidently, hoping he sounded less weak then he felt. 

"God, Frankie, leave some sarcasm for the rest of us" Gerard placed both his hands on the insides of Frank's thighs to spread Frank's legs open ever so slightly. 

Frank complied, fully accepting what was happening.

Hell, he was loving this. 

"Yes sir" he answered mostly sarcastically, hoping to get a reaction or something out of the man. 

And boy did he. 

Gerard moved his hand up to Frank's face and essentially shoved two fingers into his mouth. 

"Suck" 

Frank gladly agreed, beginning to lick and suck at the fingers almost before he was told to do so. 

Very quickly after, Gerard pulled the fingers back out and relocated his hand back between Frank's legs. 

Frank gasped when he felt Gerards finger slowly and gently circle his entrance. 

Ohhhhhh shittttt. 

"Alright, listen. We're gonna use the traffic light method. You know what that is?" Gerard knew how far gone Farnk already was, despite them only beginning, so he just continued. 

"When I ask you what your colour is, it means how comfortable you are. Green means everything's Alright, orange means that you're somewhat comfortable, but close to reaching a limit, and red means that you've reached your limit and you'd like to stop. Got that?" 

"Mhm... yes" Frank replied lazily, barley registering his words. 

It was like a fog had filled his brain and he just couldn't think anymore. 

It was fucking wonderful. 

"What's your colour, sugar?" Gerard smirked when all he got in response was a desperate groan from the boy. 

"Come on, you've got a voice, use it" 

"Green" he breathed, barley able to finish his word before Gerard was pushing his finger inside of him. 

Frank arched his back off the bed and whined his name when he moved it back out and then slowly back in again, allowing the spit from earlier to ease the slide. 

"Fucking shit, Gee... fuck" 

Gerard suddenly curled his fingers up, brushing right against Frank's prostate. 

Frank yelped and essentially his entire body had a reaction as he jolted up violently. 

"Let's try mind out language, hm?" Gerard moved his finger lazily over Frank's prostate, eliciting the most porn-worthy, filthy sounds from Frank. 

When he started moving his fingers slightly faster and dug them harsher into his prostate, Frank stuttered his hips up to try meet the rhythm of his finger. 

Gerard noticed how Frank's breathing was becoming significantly more uneven and fast, and how his whining and groaning was becoming even louder and more reoccurring. 

"Oh, baby, dyou need to come?" Gerard cooed. Frank nodded his head weakly, feeling himself growing closer by the second. 

He was so close. So blissfully close- 

Until Gerard pulled out. 

Frank's eyes shot open. 

"No. Nononononono. No. Come on, please! I was so close, please" Frank found himself begging as Gerard just laughed. 

This motherfucker could NOT find this funny. 

"Please, Gee. I need to... please" Frank felt the feeling slip away to his utter dissapointment. 

"Do you still want to come?" Gerard asked, reaching into his night stand drawer. Frank was too far gone to even have enough energy to turn his head. 

"Please" Frank whined, almost feeling embarrassed at how desperate he was. 

"Alright, but just remember that you asked for this" Gerard then (without warning) pushed something inside him. 

Something rubbery. 

A plug. 

And then it started to vibrate. 

Like, really hard. 

Well, alright. 

Frank felt Gerard move the vibrating plug around until it nudged just slightly at his prostate, shooting an impossible wave of pleasure though him. 

"Fuck, Gee. Fucking... please. I fuckin... I'm close" Fank babbled aimlessly 

"What did I just say about language, sugar?" Gerard pushed his thumb into the base of the plug so it was vibrating right on Frank's prostate. 

"I- I'm s... sorry sir" Frank wobbled out, voice shaking. 

Soon, his legs were shaking too. 

He was so impossibly close. 

Suddenly, Gerard grabbed his face with his free hand and forced him to face him. 

"I want to watch while you fall apart. Go on, let go" 

And that just happened to manage to tip him over the edge. 

His eyes rolled right to the back of his head and he thrashed against the cuffs as the orgasm rocked through him so powerfully that he saw stars. 

Jesus, it was finally over. 

Well, not quite. 

Gerards hands completely left his body, but the plug stayed in and vibrated inside the now very oversensitive Frank. 

It took only about one minute until he was fully hard again. 

He pried his eyes open and saw Gerard standing to the side of the room and opening his belt. That beautiful bat gleaming. Mocking him, he could swear. 

Yes. He was finally... 

Wait, what?

Gerard slid his belt out of his beltloops and walked back over to Frank. 

Then, he wrapped the belt around Frank's knees and fastened it tightly, restricting his movement even more. 

Fuckkkkkkk. 

"Hm. Much better" Gerard stood back and admired Frank for a second. God, he looked so fucking good. 

Frank wasn't having that much fun. 

He was covered in a thin layer of sweat, not to mention the streaks of his own cum on his stomach. 

His heart was pounding so loud from the overstimulation that he could hear the rhythmic pulse from his temples. 

He occasionally thrashed against the cuffs, silently praying that they would snap somehow. 

They didn't in fact snap. 

"Jesus. You're such a slut, arent you, sugar?" Gerard ran his finger gently up Frank's arm. 

Ooo, dirty talk. 

Yummy. 

"I mean" he continued "getting on your knees in the kitchen, continuing when I said that it was too soon, so eager to have a dick in your mouth. Never seen anything like it" he ran that same finger down the side of his torso and counted the ribs mentally that his finger bumped on as it moved down. 

Frank just whined in response. He was already so close. 

Again. 

Gerard clearly noticed. 

"Awh, poor baby, already close again?" He cooed. Frank just closed his eyes as he involuntarily panted out another needy whimper. 

"I'll take that as a yes. Come on, sugar. Come for me." 

That was about it. 

His vision got fuzzy as another toe-curling, leg-shaking orgasm ripped through him. 

And it didn't help how he could barley move. 

"How about we come one more time, then we can get you cleaned up, hm?" Gerard asked with a big, sincere smile. 

Frank was so eager to not dissapoint. He managed to nod his head before feeling Gerards steady hand wrap around his dick. 

God, he wasn't gonna make this easy. 

At this point, Frank was blissfully unaware of what was happening around him.

His vision was blurry around the edges, his brain had nothing but a single string of empty thoughts, and his voice produced nothing but incoherent babbles and nonsense. 

He was SO FAR GONE. 

Gerard started pumping him in a quite teasing and slow manner, and Frank just fucking caved. 

He retired just moaning, and shifted to full on crying. Sobbing, if you will. 

It took him a second to realise that it wasn't any lube or spit that was easing the slide of Gerards hand on his dick, but rather the disgusting amount of pre cum that he'd been oblivious to until now. 

"Such a good boy, Frankie. Fucking soaking for me, isn't that right? Why don't you come for me, one last time" 

And that was it. That was enough. 

Frank saw stars. 

Then he saw black

Chapter Text

"Frank?" 

His eyes flew open and he sat up, feeling the overwhelming cold around him. 

He looked at Gerard who was holding an empty water cup. His eyes managed a fuzzy focus on the bead of water slowly trickling down the outside of the glass. 

Then the realisation what what was actually happening. 

"You fainted, and I figured you'd wake up on your own, but you didn't. Had to, sorry" Frank looked back at the cup. 

Ehhhhhh. 

Did he just pour a glass of cold water on him? 

"Right." Frank managed after a second. The thoughts of what happened that led to him fainting came rushing back, and the blood went rushing straight down to his dick. 

"All OK?" Gerard sat on the edge if the bed next to him and gave him a comforting smile. 

Frank looked down. He had Gerards impossibly comfortable covers over him, and he was clean(er) them he was yesterday. 

The thought of Gerard even caring enough about him to even think about cleaning him up sent a warm blush up Frank's neck. 

"What the fuck" he finally said. Above all, he was confused. Like, seriously. Had he like... passed out? 

"I thought I'd gotten the point across pretty well yesterday. I'll let it slide this time, but mind your language." 

"I- sorry. Did I faint?" Frank was still quite shocked. 

Last night had been full of firsts for Frank. He'd never had his prostate stimulated, or never even had a finger inside him for that matter. He's never been tied down, or ever had multiple orgasms in that little span of time. 

He's also never fainted from the sheer exhaustion of the orgasms. 

"More like your brain had a nap. It's sort of like fainting, but not exactly. You were just exhausted, not to mention dehydrated and you hadn't eaten enough. I really should have thought the punishment through before I went with it. That my bad and I apologise" 

Frank gave him a small smile. God, he seemed so cared for. He felt so seen and heard and-

"Eh, is it Monday?" He suddenly asked. 

"Yes, it is." 

"What time is it?" 

Gerard glanced down at his watch. "7am" 

Frank raised en eyebrow. "And you're already dressed?" He said while looking the man up and down. 

Gerard chuckled lowly. "I get up at 6am. Now, if you don't want to be late to school, I suggest you get dressed and have some breakfast" 

"Can you drive me? To school, I mean" Frank said hopefully while getting out of bed and searching for the pants that he had so carelessly discarded just yesterday. 

"Of course" 

After having the most plentiful meal he's had in about a week, Frank got driven to school and even managed to make it on time. 

He took his bag out from under his locker unit before heading to class. 

He never brought any books home or even to class really, so he kept his bag under the lockers after school hours and just grabbed it before class. 

He sat down in his seat and was immediately approached by Ray. 

"Hey dude, you alright?" He asked and slumped down in the seat next to him. 

"Yeah, just... been a long weekend" Frank replied, somewhat truthfully. 

"Oh, I hear you bro. I hooked up with like, 3 different girls in one night. Fucking fire" Ray boasted excitedly. 

Then Frank remembered. 

Mikey was dating Ray. 

Or at least making out. 

Maybe even hooking up?

Ray didn't know that Frank knew. 

"What about guys?" Frank asked before he could even think. 

"Huh?" Ray's confused expression looked so painfully plastered on. 

"You know, how many guys dyou hook up with?" He repeated. Ray had a hint of guilt behind his eyes that seemed to linger uncomfortably. 

"Eh, Frank. I'm not gay dude" Ray laughed, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. 

"Oh yeah? Cuz, you and Mikey over there seemed to have a lot of... fun at the gig the other night, no?" Frank tried to sound more genuinley curious then angry or condescending, but his usual tone of voice was really working against him here. 

"Frank" Ray's demeanor immediately shifted as he looked at Frank with a panicked expression. "Its- I can explain... I don't know... it was one time-" 

"Ray, dude, chill. I don't care" Ray's gaze softened. "I'm just confused on why you didn't tell me" 

"I don't know, dude, I thought you'd slag me for it" 

"Ray, who dyou think I am? I've hooked up with guys before, I'm not like a straggot" 

"Yeah, but like, Mikey is Mr Way's brother. I know you fucking HATE Mr Way, so I thought you'd be pissed." 

A blush creeped up Frank's neck as he thought about last night. 

"Its fine, I gotta swallow my pride some day-" 

"Good Morning, class!" 

Mr Ways voice rang through the now silent classroom. 

"Hope you've all studied for the test on the Cold War! We're staring in... 5 minutes. Put all your study material away please" 

Frank cursed under his breath. When the fuck did he announce a test? 

Frank suddenly got an idea. 

He scribbled something down on a ripped out copy page and put his hand up. 

"Yes, Mr Iero?" 

"I have a note from my parents, sir" 

"Right, let's see it then" Gerard walked over to Frank's desk and looked at the note. 

A single glance before Frank heard his breath hitch. 

Gerard took Frank's pen from his desk and wrote something under his note, then moved back to the front of the class. 

Frank looked down at the note. 

In his handwriting, a messy: 

"Sloppy head for A+?"

And in Gerards neat handwriting, there was a clear: 

"See me after class." 

Uh... hell yeah! 

Frank watched as Gerard passed around the sheets of paper. 

The fucking test. 

Something other then the test caught his eye though. 

He was wearing a belt. 

Not just any belt. 

That fucking bat. 

Euhhhh ok. How was he supposed to focus now?

He stared down at the paper. 

Q1: Who were the two countries involved in the Cold War?  

Hey, he knew this one! 

Quickly he scribbled down his answer. 

"The Soviet Union and the USA"  

The next question was a bit more difficult. 

Who were the national leaders of the two conflicted parties at the time of the Cold War?

Ehhh, he had no clue. He chose to skip that one.

And the next few questions went quite the same. 

Briefly explain what caused the period of tension between the two Parties. 

List and explain three impacts the Cold War caused. 

Name two ways historians can further educate themselves on subjects such as the cold War. 

Frank was thoroughly stressed. He bounced his leg nervously as he looked at the questions over and over, as if waiting for the answer to pop into his head. 

It never did. 

"Alright, class. Times up. Hand your tests up please." 

The sudden voice shocked Frank back into reality. Had it already been 20 minutes? 

All Frank had written was the first answer and his god damn name on the front. 

Shit. 

Gerard took his sheet without looking at it and added it to the pile in his hand before going back to his desk. 

"Alright, you're all dismissed. Accept Frank, please stay behind" 

The students rushed to filter out the class and one student even bumped into Frank. 

"Watch it, shortie" Bob called. 

Bob Bryar was unfortunalty a massive bully. Not to mention he was quite larger then the other students, after being held back a year almost three times already. 

"Eat a dick, Bryar" Frank snarled back as he made his way to the front of the class. Bob just glared at him as he walked out and shut the door behind him. 

"Well, hello Frank. Let's see how you did on that test, hm?" Gerard said, sorting through the tests and finding Frank's. "You looked quite deeply in thought." 

"I was" Frank replied, avoiding eye contact. 

"Ok, right off the bat, first questions right" Gerard pointed, and then frowned deeply. 

"And... the rest isn't done" 

Frank flushed 100 shades of red. 

"I'm dissapointed Frank. And you know what's coming up this Friday?" 

Frank frowned at the thought. Parent teacher meetings. 

His parents only ever came to visit him when said meetings would take place. They'd stay for around three days, then leave. 

It was Frank's least favourite time of the year because they would make him do all kinds of things he didn't want to and pushed him too hard. 

"Yeah. My asshole parents are coming over tommorow and leaving right after the meetings on Friday" 

"Hm. I don't think my punishment got to you, Frank. You just can't seem to keep your mouth clean" Gerard put his test down and stepped closer to the boy. 

Smirking widely, Frank stepped forward too. 

"I guess you'll have to shut me up then..." he tried to close the gap between them but Gerard put a finger in front of his face before he could. 

"What's with you and Bob?" He asked. 

Frank frowned. 

"I don't know, dude. He's a dickhea..." Frank paused, taking a minute to save himself ".....not nice person. You know." He flashed a smile at Gerard, who looked unconvinced. 

"Meet me here after school. I can take you to your house" 

Frank tried to mask his dissapointment by nodding his head, turning on his heel, and leaving without saying goodbye. 

Mint. 

Frank did in fact meet Mr Way in his classroom that evening. 

Despite him just wanting to go home and take a shower, he figured he'd try his luck with hooking up with him to MAYBE help take his mind off things. 

"Hello sir" Frank walked into the classroom and gripped the strap of his bag tightly. 

"Hello, Frank. I'm just finishing up here. How about you tell me how you feel about your parents coning to town" Gerard offered. 

Frank remembered to mind his language before answering. 

"Not that good. They're quite strict and uptight about me doing anything. I can't even have Sundays off, because they take me to fucking church-" 

Frank paused, realising he might have said too much. 

He swallowed the suddenly bitter taste in his mouth and was now quite aware of the uncomfortable lump in his throat. 

Gerard, on the other hand, gave him a warm and almost understanding smile in return. 

"You said they're going away on Friday, no?" He offered. Frank appreciated his attempt of steering the conversation in a different direction. 

"Yeah, but they'll still fuckin haul me to mass on any day they can. Literally can't get a break" he complained. 

"Hm, well alright. I just finished grading the papers. I can take you home if you want?" 

"About that..." Frank stepped half confidently, half nervously towards Gerard. 

"I was hoping you could take me home... but not MY home..." 

Gerard got the hint, but gently laughed the suggestion away. 

"I don't think so, sugar. Come on, let's get you home" 

Frank frowned. He could try seducing him, maybe? 

Or just begging. 

Nah, he wouldn't stoop that low. 

"Come on, sir, we both know we need this. Please-" 

"I'm afraid not, Frank. You need to get home and shower and clean up... make a good impression and whatnot. Come on, let's go" 

Frank frowned and obeyed, but knew he would try again. 

They went out one of the fire exits rather them the main entrance and got to Gerard car, maintaining a steady conversation about Frank's parents visit and what he thought it was going to be like. 

Frank hated his fucking parents. 

He needed a distraction. 

"Mr Way..." he mumbled once they were settled into their seats and Gerard started the car. 

"Hmm?" 

"Do you want to consider still letting me pass the test?" He purred, letting his hand idle on Gerards thigh. 

"Frank, don't even think about it" his tone was strict and monotone. 

He reached down and peeled Frank's hand off him, moving it to rest on Frank's lap. 

Frank was desperate. 

Like, desperate. 

But he understood. 

He hung his head and stayed silent. It would be better that way. 

They got to his house only about a minute later, and Frank got out after a simple "See ya" and sped to get into his house. 

Well, he tried. 

He waltzed into the kitchen and swung his fridge door open. 

A Heineken. A half-drank redbull. 

Is that it? 

He picked up the beer and used his teeth to open the cap. 

Oh boy, now to get to cleaning! 

Mint. 

Chapter Text

Gerard frowned when Frank didn't even greet him upon walking into his class sixteen minutes late, and just went and sat down in his seat. 

"Mr Iero. Late again?" He put his marker down and faced towards the class again. 

"Yes. Yes I am. What's it to you?" He growled, slumping down in his chair and throwing his bag under his desk. 

"Hm. See me after class, please" he turned back to the whiteboard without another argument and continued his lesson. 

Frank groaned and crossed his arms. 

Not. In. The. Mood. 

He managed to zone back into reality when he felt a hand rest on his thigh. 

He looked up to see that he was sitting next to Patrick. 

Since fucking when? 

Patrick gave him a sly smirk and dragged his hand up even higher. 

Euhhhhh. 

Frank slightly shuddered at the contact, feeling suddenly like it was too warm in the classroom. 

His mind drifted yet again, his thoughts becoming all loopy and mixed up. 

He felt a light squeeze to his thigh that made his cock give an interested twitch. 

Eh. 

No. 

No. No. No. 

"Quit it" Frank giggled, pushing Patrick's hand away "gonna make me pop a boner in the middle of history" 

"That's the point" Patrick suppressed a laugh. 

"Mr Stump. Mr Iero. Care to answer the question?" 

The pair stared blankly at each other, and then back at the annoyed teacher. 

"Ehhh....." Patrick trailed off. 

"The cold War?" Frank attempted. 

"Hm. Wrong. Who can answer correctly?" 

A few eager hands shot up. 

"Vladimir Putin, sir" a girl sitting in the front of the class answered smugly. 

God, Frank wanted to punch her big, nerdy glasses right off her nose- 

"Thats right. Alright, class. Remember to bring your textbooks tommorow. Dismissed"

Frank's stomach churned as he walked cautiously towards the front of the class. 

The door closed upon the last student leaving the class. 

"Frank. How've you been?" Gerard began.

"Fine" Frank quickly lied "my parents came home at midnight last night" he added. 

"Interesting. Well, I've fixed your test results up for you. You'll have to settle for a B+ though-" 

"Holy shit" Frank cut him off abruptly. Gerard gave him a puzzled look. "Thank you! Jesus, thank you!" And he lunged forward to hug him. 

"Woah, calm down. You owe me now, no?" 

"Of course sir. Right now?" Frank pointed at the ground, hinting at what he meant. 

Gerard chuckled lowly and shook his head. 

"So eager... wow. I'm surprised." 

"I can't wait to pay my debt, sir" Frank reached out and put his hands on Gerards shoulders. 

He wished he hadn't. 

Gerards eyes flickered down to one of his hands, an innocent gesture- and he noticed something. 

His knuckles were 100 shades of black, blue and red. His middle fingers knuckle had a dried bead of blood that looked like it trickled down his finger not too long ago. 

Gerard frowned at Frank, who quickly pulled his hands back and shoved both of them into his pockets. 

"I have to get to my next class-" 

"No so fast" Gerard sighed, pulling Frank's hands out of his pockets to examine them. Frank put up no fight, but an uncomfortable feeling pinched at his empty stomach. 

"What's this?" He asked, tracing his fingers over the discoloured swelling. 

"Its really nothing, it was an accident-" 

"On both hands? I'm not buying that" He turned Frank's hands so they faced palm-up. He sighed when there were no further marks to be found. 

"Mhm. Listen, I have to go-" 

"I haven't dismissed you yet." Gerard tightened his grip to keep him put "What happened?" 

Frank took his hands back violently and shoved them back into his pockets. 

"I told you. Get off my back" he gave Gerard a frown. 

"Hm. Alright. You don't have to tell me" Gerard shrugged and waved his hand, dismissing the boy. 

He did this because he knew that Frank would cave. He knew Frank. 

He would cave. 

Frank was confused on why Gerard wasn't being pushy, but he shrugged him off and went to his next class. 

Frank knocked on Gerards classroom door at the end of the day. He walked in and shut the door behind him. 

Gerard was sitting at his desk, not even bothering to look up from the test he was grading. 

"Hello, Frank" he said calmly. 

"Hi sir" Frank shifted his weight and just stood there for a moment. He sighed.

Better to get this over with. 

"Look, I'm sorry for being so dismissive. I'm sorry for not telling you." 

Gerard looked up now, giving an interested nod as he put the paper down onto the table in front of him. 

Frank sighed heavily. 

Here we go. 

"My dad's not the best person..." he began "I can't stand him, and the hate seems to go both ways. We got into an argument..." Frank twiddled his thumbs nervously. "It got sort of heated. I'm sorry. I should have told you-" 

"Frank" Gerard cut him off quickly "No. Don't apologise. I figured you'd tell me anyway. I'm not mad" he put his pen down and stood up. 

"Did he hit you?" He asked, stepping up closer. 

Frank chewed at his lip peircing nervously. 

"It wasn't that hard. Just enough to hurt" Frank mumbled. He looked down. 

God, he felt stupid. Like seriously. Ashamed that he couldn't properly defend himself. 

Gerard felt nothing but sympathy. 

No, empathy. 

He wanted nothing but to kiss those feelings away from Frank's mind. He wanted him to be happy. 

He never wanted to see him hurting. 

Ever. 

Frank never had a problem with defending himself. Ever. He always found a way to fight someone, even if there were taller, older, etc. He won almost every fight he'd ever been in and he took pride in it. His dad was a different story. 

He feared him. 

He hated himself for fearing him. 

"Frank, come on, look at me" Gerard cupped his jaw and gently tilted his face up to look at him. 

"Listen to me. You didn't deserve that. It wasn't your fault. Do you understand? It wasn't your fault." 

Yeah, that was enough. 

Frank began to sob. 

"Oh, sugar" Frank buried his salt-stained cheeks in the crook of Gerards neck when he pulled him into a hug. 

Gerard ran his hand up and down Frank's spine slowly to soothe him. 

As much as Frank loved this, he hated this. 

He wasn't supposed to be crying. He had to stay strong. He had to be a man. 

And that's why he pulled away abruptly. 

"Frank-" 

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come. I'm sorry" he took a step back, but still couldn't prevent the tears that were bleeding from his eyes, worse then any wound he'd ever had.

More painful then any wound he'd ever had. 

"Frank-" 

"Just, I don't know. Forget this happened" he turned quickly and pushed through the door, taking a bolt down the hallway. 

Gerard didn't stop him. 

"Alright, please turn to page 164 in your textbooks. Read the source and answer the five questions" 

He sighed when he sat back down and opened his phone discreetly. 

No missed calls. One new text. 

Could it be?

All of Gerards hope was wiped when he saw it was from Mikey. 

Sent two minutes ago. 

Gerard looked up at his class, and saw Mikey looking down under his desk and it looked like he was typing something.

Gerard opened the message. 

"Can you check the schools system to see if Ray put in an absent note? I want to know why he's not in" 

Gerard almost snickered. He wasn't going to let him get away with little things like this because he was his little brother. 

He cleared his throat and some students looked up at him, including Mikey. 

"Mikey. Put your phone on my desk. You can get it after class" he pointed at his desk. 

"Are you serious, Gee-?" 

"That's Mr Way, Mikey." He frowned. "I won't ask again. Phone. Now." 

Mikey groaned and reluctantly complied. 

"Let that be a lesson to all of you, no phones during class-" 

Suddenly, the door opened. 

Frank walked in. 

Boy was he a sight to see. 

He had a black eye on his right eye. He was missing his plaster that was supposed to be on his brow, revealing his gnarly, unhealed cut. There was a scab on his lip, the dried blood looking almost black, with a yellowish bruise blooming around it. He clutched his phone in his hand and had his earphones in. 

Oh yeah, and he wasn't wearing his tie. 

Of fucking course. 

"Hm" Gerard was quite the bit at a loss for words. "Speaking of phones-" 

"Eat a dick, sir" Frank cut him off harshly, not even looking up from his phone and going to sit down.

Gerard blinked. 

The whole class went quiet. 

And, without missing a beat, Gerard told everyone to continue thir work. 

"And Frank, come outside. Let's chat" 

Frank groaned, reluctantly getting up and walking towards the door while shoving his phone into his pocket. 

Gerard only now noticed his slight limp and how he half-winced whenever he breathed. 

It pained him to see Frank in this state. 

It fucking stung. 

Once they were outside and the door was shut, Gerards demeanor shifted. 

"Fuck, Frankie, what happened to you?" He tilted Frank's head up with a finger under his chin to inspect his injuries. 

Gerard noticed how the boys breathing was shallow, almost non existent. 

He was frightened. 

Gerard immediately recognised this and let him go, taking a mental note to keep his hands to himself. 

Unfortunately. 

"Do I have to tell you now? Can I tell you like, after school?" He offered. 

Gerard gave a warm smile in an attempt to comfort the boy. 

"Of course. I'm willing to ignore your phone and your talking back if you just don't do anything for the rest of the class. Relax, ok? Just sit there and... you know. Pretend to pay attention" Gerard wanted to hug him so badly. He wanted to embrace him. 

To tell him it's alright. 

To run his hand through the boys untamed hair and to kiss him and-

"Thank you, Gee" the boy half-smiled, and Gerard took it as a win. 

"Ok, now, to not look suspicious, go in first and act all pissed off. Just please... for the love of God, don't say anything" Gerard explained. 

Frank complied and walked into the classroom angrily, making a point of slamming the door before Gerard could follow him in.

He was so good at being an asshole, it was shocking. 

Gerard waited patiently for Frank to turn up to his classroom at the end of the day. 

Frank procrastinated opening the door in front of him. 

Gerard glanced at his watch nervously. 

Frank chewed at his lip peircing instinctively. 

Gerard sighed and decided to come to terms with the fact that Frank wasn't showing up. 

Frank finally took a deep breath and opened the door. 

"Frank!" Gerard stood up quickly, but remembered not to cone too close. 

"Hey, Gee" Frank gave a weak smile. 

Before Gerard could ask even how his day was, Frank continued. 

"Can I spend the night at your place? Please?" 

Gerard smiled. 

"Of course you can. Come on, I'll drive you" 

"So, Frankie" Gerard placed a cup of tea on the coffee table in front of Frank, who was now curled up on the couch with his knees in his chest and his hands wrapped around them. 

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" 

"Do I have a choice?" 

"Not exactly" 

"Right" 

"Well?" 

Frank sighed. "Listen. My dad and I were never on good terms. I think the second he layed eyes on me, he knew he'd hate me. I just... I don't know. I can't control my anger and neither can he. Its a killer combo, really." Frank tried to lighten the mood with a light laugh, but pressed his lips into a line when all he was met with was a concerned look from Gerard. 

"I just.. need a distraction?" Frank silently prayed that Gerard would get the hint and just kiss him- 

"Hm. And they're still leaving on Friday?"

"Right after the meetings" 

"Alright. Less then two days then. D'you think you can sleep over here tommorow?" 

"I think my dad will give me a matching black eye-" 

"No he fucking wont" Gerard snapped. 

He didn't mean to sound so harsh. 

Frank didn't expect it either, so the words sent him flinching back slightly. 

Gerard stopped breathing. 

Gerard almost fucking cried. 

"Hey, I'm sorry. Its ok, I'm sorry. That's my bad, it just gets on my nerves. I-" Gerard would have usually put his hand on Frank's shoulder, but he had to hold back.

"Its ok, Gee. Natural reaction. It's not your fault" Frank giggled. 

And the guilt had gone, just like that. 

Gerard knew he was being sincere, so he dropped it. 

"Gee?" 

"Mhm?" 

"Are you scared of hurting me? You can hug me, you know-" and that was his queue. 

Gerard quickly grabbed Frank and pulled him into a tight, warm embrace. An embrace that he was so awfully thirsty for. 

And so was Frank. 

Upon pulling away, he saw Frank was crying. 

"Oh, no. No, let's not cry. Come on, what's wrong?" Gerard carded his fingers through Frank's hair. 

"I don't know, dude. I don't fuckin-" 

And to thoroughly shut him up, Gerard placed a quick kisss on his lips. 

Frank obliged, sighing slightly. 

He felt so wasted. So drained. 

Like he could cry, laugh, yell and scream, all at once. 

Gerard gave him a gentle smile, seemingly catching on. 

"Sleep?" He asked. 

"God, yes, sleep" Frank agreed.

Gerard woke up to Frank trying to talk to him.

Well, not really. 

He was on top of him, waking him up by giving him an almost painful hickey on the side of his neck. 

"Frank...?" 

"Shhhh, needed a distraction" Frank placed one finger on Gerards lips. "This is distracting enough." 

"Alright-" 

"Shhhhhh!" 

And Frank continued almost chewing at the skin, eventually working his way back up to Gerards face to bring him into a full blown make out session like a couple of teenagers. 

Eventually, Frank had realised that the man underneath him was half-hard and growing needier, from the uneven pattern of his breathing. 

He could help. 

Perfect fucking distraction. 

Chapter Text

 
"Fran- fuck. Frankie, I don't think-"  

Gerard tried to express his negative feelings about Frank attempting to use sex as a coping mechanism but found that it's a bit hard to talk coherently when someone's grinding up against you and panting wantonly in your ear.  

"What's that? Couldn't quite catch it, sir" Gerard could HEAR the smirk on Frank's voice as he continued working away at his neck.  

"Jesus- Ow! Son of a... Jesus, wait, hold on" Gerard was caught off guard when Frank practically bit him, his sharp canines undoubtedly drawing blood. He gently pushed Frank up by his shoulders.

 
"What is it with you? What's happening?" Gerard asked, looking at Frank in a concerned manner.  

Frank sat up and folded his arms, frowning like a child who was just confronted.

 
"I don't know what you're talking about" he huffed in an annoyed tone.  
Gerard pressed his hand to his neck and examined it.  

As suspected, Frank had drawn blood.  

"Jesus." He sighed, sitting up.  

He expected Frank to shuffle off him so he could get up and clean his neck off, but Frank very obviously didn't entertain this.  

"Frankie, come on. I have to get up. Can't risk getting any blood on my white shirt-"  

"Just let me-" Frank leaned forward and began sucking the blood off his neck like a starved vampire.  

"Alright. Alright. You've had your fun, Frankie. Parent teacher meetings are tomorrow. I have to be in school-" he glanced at his quite expensive wristwatch and gasped.  

"I had to be in school ten minutes ago. Frank, if you wouldn't mind" Gerard tapped the back of Frank's head gently.  

Frank finally pulled back and finally got off Gerard.  

"I'm gonna go get ready. You should do the same. I'll drop you off"  

"Alright, class. We're all aware of parent- teacher meetings, correct?"  

The class all gave a simultaneous nod and a mundane sounding "yes". 

"So, we're gonna be filling out some self-reflection forms that we can look over once I meet your parents. Jenny, can you hand these out please?" Gerard asked the Nerdy, friendless girl in the front. She nodded and began passing the sheets out.  

"Mr Way?" Mikey raised his hand and spoke quite sarcastically "what about me? I mean... I'm not even sure if they're turning up"  

"Yeah, Mikey, that's the magic of having me as your brother. I can just tell them over dinner. You're still filling in the form, though."  

Mikey groaned and glanced down at the sheet in front of him, and then at the empty chair next to him.  

Ray hadn't been in for two days now. He hasn't even texted or called Mikey, and he was getting more concerned by the second.  

Usually, Ray and he would have endless conversations about how their day went over the phone when they got home. Mikey hadn't gotten such a call since Thursday afternoon.  
He was just zoned out, staring at Ray's empty seat, when there was a note slid onto his desk by the kid in front of him.   
Mikey wasted no time in opening it.  

 
Couldn't help but notice you looked worried. Rays fine. Got drunk, broke his phone, skipped town to avoid parent teacher meetings. He told me to tell you, forgot. Sorry!  
-FRNK  
 

Mikey felt a tsunami of relief drown him in the best way possible. He looked up towards Frank's seat to see him giving him an apologetic smile.  

Mikey mouthed "it's ok, thank you" and stuck his thumb up with a grin.  

"So, dude, what happened to your eye? And your lip, I mean, Jesus" Patrick questioned.  

One thing that Frank had managed to learn about Patrick, was that he was one relentless, stubborn fuck. He wouldn't let down no matter what.  

"I got into a bar fight with some dude tryna touch up on me" he shrugged, as if he hadn't practiced that line in front of his mirror more times than he can count on his fingers and toes.  

"Oh, look at you, saving yourself for me" Patrick put a hand on Frank's shoulder and trailed it down his arm.  

Frank immediately felt the tense.  

Desperate to switch the mood, he quickly pointed out the first thing he thought of. 

"So, where d’you think Mr Way got that sucker of a hickey?" He asked before thinking.  

Patrick looked towards their teacher and shrugged.  

"That didn't look like a hickey to me. That looks to me like someone tried to eat him alive. Like, I can count every tooth mark on it" he dramatically pointed.  

"Oy" Gerard pointed right back at the two with the marker in his hand. 

"Shut up. I'm teaching" he barked.  

"Yes sir" Frank threw his hands up defensively and pressed his lips into a line.  

Patrick just nodded his head and sat back into his chair.  

Not even a minute later, Patrick was nudging Frank's leg with his.  

"Psst. Dude. Mr Ways kind of pissy today, no?" Patrick whispered.  

Frank sighed before replying "I don't know dude, he's always pissy"  

"Yeah, but he's like... extra pissy-"  

"Mr Stump, Mr Iero, I swear to God if you talk again you'll spend the entire parent teacher meetings tomorrow in detention."

 
The two dropped silent instantly.

 
Frank felt an unfamiliar feeling he wasn't used to crawling in and nestling uncomfortably in his stomach.

 
It was guilt.  

Frank had taught himself to reject all authority after he got out of primary school. He promised himself to live carefree and ignorant towards all of it.

This was different.  

He felt like he needed to prove something.  

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he felt the unfamiliar, unwelcome feeling gnawing restlessly at his stomach.  

He shifted again. It wasn't right. 

Before he knew it, he was 6 years old again, fidgeting with his blood-stained hands in a desperate attempt to get the ache in his knuckles to stop.  

He felt unwelcome tears sting his eyes. He bowed his head to attempt discreetly blinking them back.

 
He can't cry.  

He won't cry.  

He folded his arms to prevent his fingers from fidgeting in the exact same way they did all those years ago.  

He felt himself start shaking from the core. His stomach churned and tightened against his will.  

His breathing became uneven and panicked.  

His mouth ran dry.  

He wasn't in this classroom anymore.  

He was in his first-grade classroom, chewing at the skin on his lip as the teacher asked him to stand up and walk toward the front of the class. To grip the edge of the desk... 

People around Frank started packing up and Patrick said a quick "see ya" to him before walking out.  

Frabk scrambled to pack his things up but ended up dropping his sheets with his shaky hands. He cursed under his breath and briefly squeezed his eyes shut to prevent the tears from flowing.  
By now, the whole class had filtered out, leaving only him and Gerard in the room.  
Frank hurriedly picked his stuff up, shoved it in his bag, and got up.  

Gerard was watching him from the front of the class, leaning against the front of his desk.        

“Frank-”  

“Sorry.” he cut him off quickly. Gerard returned a confused look.   

“For... interrupting you. And speaking over you. I- I shouldn't have” he went on.  

“No, it's ok. I wanted to speak with you about...” Frank watched Gerards lips move. He heard his voice hum familiarly in the background of his thoughts. He understood the words that he strung together in his head, but his brain wasn't present enough to compute the sentences.   

He was eerily aware of how his heart was thumping in his ears. He was too aware of how strands of his hair were sticking to the back of his neck where sweat had started building up.   

Usually, after getting told off, he’d be punished. The punishment was like closure for him. He’d know what to expect and when it would be over. He discovered (by himself) how to soothe the pain afterwards and how to forget it.   

There were two ways.   

Soaking in ice water, and  

More pain. 

Unfortunately for him, he’d usually pick the latter.   

“...Frank? You there?”   

“Hm?” Frank looked up from the ground and immediately flinched upon meeting Gerards apologetic gaze. He wasn't used to apologetic, and he knew what he needed.   

Pain.   

“Yeah, like I was saying, try keep interaction with your father to a minimum. And, for the love of God, don’t go looking for trouble. I can take you to my place once I’m done with the meetings?”  

“Yes.” Frank shot back. “Please.” he added politely.   

Gerard drew his eyebrows together.   

“Are you ok...?”  

“I should... uhm, go. Dad’ll kill me. Bye”   

Frank left so fast, he missed Gerard asking him to stay safe.   

If only.   

Frank raced into his bedroom the second he shut the front door to avoid his father.  

He lifted his mattress and took out a small, folded white piece of paper. He collected a dirty towel and a random t shirt off his floor and quickly headed to the bathroom, making sure to lock the door behind him.   

He stripped only his shirt, belt, and socks off.  

His eyes lingered on the folded piece of paper that was now resting on the sinktop.   

Taunting him.   

Whispering to him.   

God, how could he not?  

He unfolded the paper and slid the thin metal razor out.   

Yes, God, YES!  

He got into the bath, allowing his jeans to be soaked completely.   

He sighed and turned the water off, laying back in the bathtub.   

His brain buzzed as he held the razor up to examine it.   

It was old by now. He hadn't used it since half a year ago. About fucking time, huh? About a year ago, he’d scribbled the word “holy” on it with sharpie. The ink was faded and scratched but remained steadily.  

Frank put the blade to his skin, feeling the cold metal contrast his skin that was warmed from the water he was in. He tilted the blade at an angle, let the corner of it sink into his arm, and finally dragged it to the side.  

He did it slowly and with purpose, watching the beads of red liquid bleed into the water that already coated his arms. He watched the crimson spread over his arm like an infection as he decided to dig it deeper.  

Drops of blood decorated the bath water as they dripped rhythmically from his arm.  

Then, he lifted the blade and repeated the movements on a different spot on his arm.  

Then again.

Then again.  

Then again.  

He brought the blade to his chest and repeated, but this time he wasnt delecate and slow. This time his movement was jerky and fast, basically ripping the blade through his skin.

Then again.  

And again.  

And again.  

And again.  

Back to his arm, over the ones that he didn't deem deep enough.  

Back to his chest, back to the ones that stopped bleeding.

The bathwater was the same shade of red as the rosary he remembered getting as a gift for his first communion.

The wounds ached restlessly, but his heart hurt more.  

Chapter Text

Mikey Way was fucked.

Physically, mentally, and whatever other words that you can think of that end in `ally`.

He was on his fifth drink that night, and parent-teacher meetings were quite literally tomorrow.

“Hey! Four-eyes! I’m talking to you!” Mikey turned around to some guy whistling at him.

Great.

This guy had a very stereotypical emo look. Dark hair, clearly straightened and sprayed down to the point where it didn't move an inch. He was pointing at Mikey and kind of offering him a half-smile as he walked up to him.

“Don’t call me that” Mikey groaned into his drink- what was he drinking? God, he couldn't remember for the life of him.

“My bad, my bad. Couldn’t get your attention otherwise. I’m Pete. Nice to meet ya” he held his hand out but frowned when Mikey rejected it.

“G’way. I have a boyfriend” he gave him an uninterested look, but Pete took it as a challenge.

“Do you, now? I don’t see him” he emphasised his point by looking around the bar and then back at an unimpressed Mikey.

“He’s out of town. Like I said before, go away” Mikey tried to shoo him off.

Pete, being one stubborn motherfucker, didn't back down.

“Come onnn. If you’re not here with a boyfriend, you’re here looking for a new one. Thats common knowledge, that is” he said matter-of-factly. Mikey was just getting more pissed off.

He wasn’t a violent drunk by any means. He was actually usually quite laid back and chill after he drank enough, but not when someone was trying to get under his skin like this.

“No, Pete” he spat his name like a slur. “I’m here to get blackout drunk so I won’t be able to find my way home, and if I’m lucky, I’ll wake up in a bush”

Wow, Pete thought. Enthusiastic, this one is.

“Well maybe I can provide a more comfortable place for you to sleep?”

“God, I’m not gonna sleep with you! Back the fuck up!” Mikey spat in a bitter tone. People around them were starting to notice how messy this situation was about to get, and a man quickly intervened, asking Pete to leave as politely as possible.

Before he left, he slipped a folded piece of paper into Mikey’s (now empty) drink and yelled “call me!” over the music.

As if, Mikey thought.

But... a different thought lingered.

Very different.

Without much consideration, he took the piece of paper and tucked it into the pocket of his jeans.

Maybe, he thought, maybe I’ll need it?

Gerard was sitting on his couch, ready to pull his hair out from stress.

His brother never snuck out in his life. He’d never come home this late.

He clutched the phone in his hand, the dial tone ending once again. That same pre-recorded message played, as if taunting him.

“Heya! It’s Mikey. Can’t come to the phone. Leave a message-”

Gerard pressed the red button on his screen for the umpteenth time that night. He looked to the top left of his screen.

4:05am

There was no way this was happening. Should he call the police? Should he go out and look for him? Should he call their parents? Too many questions buzzed in his head as he realised, he needed to calm down. He took a deep breath and briefly closed his eyes.

I’m fine. He thought. Mikey’s fine. He’s almost an adult, he’s fine-

 Suddenly, a weak knock at the door.

So weak, it almost sounded like a scratch.

Gerard practically jumped out of his skin as he ran to the door and swung it open so hard that he thought it would rip straight off the hinges.

“Gee!” Mikey beamed at the sight of his older brother. Gerard didn’t share this enthusiasm.

“Jesus fucking christ, Mikey!” Gerard pulled his brother into a hug but quite literally gagged at the overpowering stench of alcohol, cigarettes and the weak finish of mint gum as a terrible attempt to conceal it.

“Fuck, Mikey, you stink. What were you thinking? You could have gotten hurt-”

“But I’m fine, right? I’m alive... I think?” Mikey pulled away from the hug to examine his hands.

“Jesus, how much did you drink?” Gerard sounded less concerned and just amused at this point. He noticed his brothers’ glossy eyes and almost absent and oblivious demeanour.

Gerard smirked. He had offered Mikey a drink about a month ago for this exact reason. He wanted to see Mikey drunk so that he could note how he acted and compare his drunk actions and appearance to his actions if he ever came home late.

To be honest, he wanted to do the same with Frank. And he KNEW Frank would want to.

“Too much... was hopin’ to wake up in a bush” Mikey said proudly with a smile plastered on his face before finally stumbling into the house.

Gerard watched as his brother desperately clung to any wall or surface around him to help steady himself as he made his way down the hallway and into their living room.

 Then, a concerning thought occurred to him.

Mikey didn't have a job. Or allowance for that matter. If he needed money, Gerard would happily offer it to him if he just asked. But Mikey hadn’t asked for any money in the past week.

Oh, jeez.

“Mikey” Gerard followed his brother into the living room, where he was laying down and half asleep on the couch already. “How did you... you know... pay for the drinks?”

Gerard, knowing that Mikey was in a relationship, was praying that he hadn't thrown himself at anyone who so much as looked his way for a drink.

Mikey gave a bashful smile and took his time reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. Then, he used both hands to pop off his clear phone case and slid out a blue credit card.

Gerard’s blue credit card.

“Sorry” he giggled, closing his eyes again lazily.

Gerard was stunned by this. Mikey’d never stolen anything in his LIFE.

“Mikey” Gerard groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“You could have just asked” he sat down on the edge of the couch beside his brother, who was half asleep and drooling onto the black couch.

“You wouldn’t have said yessss” Mikey slurred before yawning probably the weakest yawn Gerard has ever heard.

“M’kay, Mikey, let’s get you upstairs?” Gerard tapped him on the shoulder.

No answer. Obviously.

Gerard sighed and took Mikey’s thin-frame glasses off. He folded them and placed them onto the coffee table in front of him.

After placing a glass of water next his glasses, Gerard draped a blanket over his brother and made his way back to his room.

Another sleepless night, he thought while opening his laptop.

He saw a couple of e-mails from the school board in his inbox about parent-teacher meetings. Nothing interesting.

Until…

He saw one message that wasn’t mass sent, and only delivered to him. From the principal.

He hovered the cursor over the email for a few seconds, as if his brain wouldn’t let him click it.

Fuck it.

He clicked in.

Gerard Way, I hope this E-mail finds you at a good time. I would like to formally discuss the upcoming meetings with you. I’m fully aware of the rumours surrounding you-

Gerard gulped. It was suddenly impossible to breathe.

-and would like to clarify something. Smoking indoors, or even on the school’s property, is strictly prohibited. I’ve had multiple students bring your recent scent to my attention.

P.S: I don’t give a fuck if you smoke, just pop a chewing gum before the meetings please!!!

-Principal Flynn.

Gerard felt the wave of anxiety leave immediately. He’d hoped it wasn’t concerning Frank.

He sent a quick reply where he apologised and promised to not smoke before the meetings.

He wondered what Frank’s parents would be like. He wondered if they would be as horrible as Frank described.

He would find out the hard way.

Chapter Text

“Of course, Mr and Ms Ryan. I’ll keep an eye out for her grades and see if she’s improved.” Mr Way smiled and put the girl's self-reflection sheet back down onto his desk.   

“Thank you so much, sir. We really appreciate it” The girl's mother beamed.   

“It's no problem, really” he turned to the girl “and do you have any questions or requests for me?”   

The girl looked nervous at the eye contact and immediately shook her head while whispering a quick “no”.   

“Alright then” Mr Way stood up along with the two parents “it was nice to meet you both, have a great night”.   

“Likewise” the dad smiled while shaking the teacher’s hand.   

When the three had left him alone in his classroom, Gerard took a couple of minutes to fix himself up.   

He was meeting Frank’s parents. The infamously evil ones.   

Once he straightened up his desk and made sure everything looked decent, he called them in.   

A man, a woman, and a boy walked in and greeted him mundanely.   

He first paid attention to Frank.   

Jesus.   

He looked like a ghost.   

He was impossibly pale and had these dark circles under his eyes. His black eye was an emphasised contrast to his now almost white skin.   

He was wearing his tie, Gerard had noticed. It looked too tight and too perfect to be tied by him. The scar above his brow had clearly been bleeding recently, judging by the colour of the wound.   

“Good afternoon, Mr and Ms Iero. Nice to finally meet you guys in person.” Ger ard began.   

He studied the parents the best he could. He studied Frank’s dad  

Starting off, Mr Iero was NOT happy to be there. He had his brows drawn together seemingly permanently. His voice was low and gravelly when he grumbled out a quick reply.   

“Yeah, same”   

Ms Iero looked like she was in the middle of a punishment rather than a friendly meeting. She wore an unmoving frown and refused to speak unless she was asked a direct question that she was forced to answer. She had her arms folded across her front defensively. Gerard noted how pale and skinny she was, and how her teeth were any shade but white.   

She wasn't nearly as pale as her son.   

Frank was sitting the chair uncomfortably. Every three of four seconds, he would shift his weight or fidget with his hands or pick at the ripped part of his wrinkled school blazer’s sleeve.   

“So, I got your son’s class to fill out these self-reflection forms, but he didn’t have enough time to, so we can just assess him now.” Gerard tried to light the mood with a cheerful demeanour, but none of the three caught on.   

“So, Frank, how do you think you're doing in my class so far?” he directed his attention to the boy.   

“Uh, yeah, good... I guess.” Frank kept his gaze fixed on his shoes as if he was in trouble.   

“Mm, ok, and is there anything you’re particularly struggling with that you’d maybe want to go over?” He asked gently.   

Frank seemed to think about it for a second before replying “No, sir”.   

Gerard knew that this was a lie. Frank was struggling with most, if not all of the topics that Gerard had gone over this year. Quite frankly, Gerard had noticed that Frank rarely ever paid attention to what he was teaching. He never had a copy to take down the notes that Gerard wrote up in class. He was clearly struggling, and it showed by his grades.  

“Right, ya gonna talk to the kid the whole time, or are we here for a fuckin’ reason?” Mr Iero snarled.   

Gerard paused for a moment to examine Franks face. He slightly- but visibly- flinched at his father’s voice. He kept his eyes down like his life depended on it.   

“Of course, my bad. So, Mr Iero, have you been satisfied with your son’s grades so far this year?” He re-directed his attention to Frank’s dad.   

“Yeah, uh, haven’t really seen ‘em. We don t live with him, ya know? A handful, he is. I’m surprised he hasn’t been kicked out of this place yet” Mr Iero gestured to the building around him “He never held up for mor then 5 weeks in a school. Walking trouble, this one” he said before punching Frank on the shoulder.  

It was too rough to be casual or playful. Frank winced at the hit before immediately changing his demeanour and trying to laugh lightly along with his father. The laugh was put on and painfully fake.   

“I can’t help but disagree. Frank’s been an exceptional student this year. He can maybe improve on his attendance, but it’s been getting so much better recently. I’m proud of his improvement-”   

Gerard was cut off by Mr Iero’s snort of a laugh.  

“Come on, I’m not gonna believe that. Don’t sugar coat it, I’m sure he’s told you to suck him more times than he’s put his hand up to answer a question”   

Mr Iero was right. That was true.   

But Gerard wasn’t about to admit that.   

“No, I’ve never had any issues with foul language when it comes to Frank. Like I said, only thing that he arguably needs to improve on is his attendance”   

Mr Iero’s face contorted into an angry frown.   

“You know what? I don’t believe you for a sec ond. Not. A. Word. I don’t really trust these new... youthful teachers. No authority. No control over these kids-”   

“I can control my class just fine, thank you.” Gerard tried to keep his tone calm, but he had a hint of annoyance in his voice that was hard to mask.   

“My age has nothing to do with my a bility to teach-”   

“God, what’s your name again? Gerald? What are you, 20 years younger than me? You’ve got to respect your elders, you know” Mr Iero had this gross smirk on his face that Gerard wished he could just rip off and shove it right down his throat.   

A long pause of armoured silence.   

“I think we’re done here, Mr Iero. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to talk to your son-” 

“Yea, whatever. We have a flight to catch anyway, right Linda?” The man stood up abruptly and pulled at his wife’s arm to encourage her to follow.   

She stood up while throwing out a quick “goodbye” and a pat on her son’s back.   

The two walked out without another word.   

Gerard wasted no time in questioning Frank about his appearance while standing up to examine him.   

“Jeez, Frank, why are you so pale? I mean, paler than usual. You look like a ghost-”   

“I’m just tired. Drained, even. Hey, I’ve got an idea” Frank looked up at the teacher.   

Gerard thought he looked shaken. Scared. Closed in.  He had a bright, hopeful smile plastered across his face. 

Gerard could tell that there was a different emotion concealed behind his innocent smile.   

“Yeah? And what would that idea be?” Gerard sat down next to him.  

“I was thinking...” he beamed excitedly “...maybe you can let me get drunk?”  

Gerard gave Frank a hesitant look. But Frank had these large puppy eyes, and this innocent, fragile smile that Gerard didn’t want to shatter.   

He sighed.   

“What’s your drink of choice?”  

“I can’t believe this, Gee. Thank you” Frank beamed as he sat down on Gerard’s black couch. Gerard noticed how sweet he was today. He thought briefly about how his dad was probably the cause.   

Should he comment on it?  

He shouldn’t.   

He should.   

Oh god of course he will.   

“You’ve been awfully sweet today, haven’t you?” He said while pouring Frank a glass of wine.   

“I can be an asshole if you really want me to. I don’t mind-”   

“Yeah, quit it.” He handed him the glass “Tell me how that tastes”   

Gerard had taken the liberty of picking up his favourite bottle of wine after Frank insisted that he could choose and that he wasn’t picky with alcohol.   

White. Dry. Larousse.  

Usually he’d prefer Chardonnay, but he did want something less classy for today.   

Gerard gasped dramatically when Frank took the glass and practically inhaled the whole damn thing.   

“What?” Frank frowned when he realised Gerard was staring.   

“That’s not how you treat a glass of pricy wine, sugar. Smalls sips, big difference” And he took his time demonstrating.   

Frank hadn’t planned on becoming a damn wine critic. He just wanted to get drunk. He just wanted to forget everything and stay happy, even though it'd be temporary.   

“Oh, right. Can you re-fill my glass then, please?” Frank offered his glass back up.   

“Of course,” he poured the wine into the glass and handed it back.   

Gerard didn’t have enough time to blink before Frank had swallowed the alcohol down again.   

“My god, Frankie. What did I just say?”   

“Re fill?” Frank said without missing a beat. Gerard started at him, dumbfounded.   

“At this point just drink from the bottle- “   

“Say less!” Frank lunged at the bottle and managed about five full gulps before the burn was too much, even for him.   

Gerard stared at him, leaning back on the sofa, amused grin sparkling across his face.   

“How much percent is this?”  Frank asked.   

Gerard chuckled to himself and took another humble sip from his glass.   

“I’m not sure. You can read the label, no?”   

Frank knew he sure as hell couldn’t, but he figured that it was high due to the fact that his vision was already getting blurry on the edges and he felt like doing something stupid. 

So, he did.   

After placing the bottle back on the table, he swung himself over to the other side of the couch and jumped onto Gerard, straddling him with a shit-eating grin.   

“Well, hello” Gerard said in a surprised tone.   

Frank could only let out a groan as he leaned down and started sucking on the almost fully faded hickeys on Gerard’s neck, right under his ear.   

“Frank, maybe you’re a bit too tipsy for this-“   

“Shhhhh. M gonna… M so happy to see you” he slurred and giggled.   

“Hm. Well I can certainly feel that with the way you’re pushing against me”   

“Well sorry, sir . It’s been a while” Frank said and subconsciously rolled his hips forward.   

Not expecting the movement at all, Gerard’s hands rushed to Frank’s hips to keep him still.   

“Frank, like I said-“   

“Oh my god, relax a little, old man. Need some help with relaxing? ‘ve been told I’m pretty good at that…”   

“Maybe when you’re sober, sugar. C'mon. Up you get”   

Frank protested getting up by lifting his face to meet Gerard’s and meeting him in a spitty, sloppy, breathy kiss.   

Gerard was fighting DEMONS . He KNEW it was wrong and that he COUDLNT fuck him, but it was taking every fucking atom of strength and composure in his body to not bend Frank over the c ouch and fuck him until he couldn’t remember his own name.   

“C'mon Gee. M all tight and ready for you…” The fucking tone on Frank’s voice made Gerard go weak, which Frank took as an opportunity to roll his hips forward as roughly as he could.

“ Fuck - shit, off . Off, off, off” Gerard grabbed Frank and lifted him, then placed him down onto the couch next to him. He took a pillow and placed it between them.   

“Ok. Struck a fuckin… nerve” Frank shoved the pillow away stubbornly and rested his head on Gerards lap, so he was looking up at him.   

“You gonna sleep?” Gerard laughed down at him.   

“Nah. Just... needed a good angle of you..” Frank said and reached down to unbutton his pants.   

“Oh. No, sugar. Nononono. Let’s not” Gerard took Franks hands by the wrist to still them. Frank groaned and wriggled under the grip.   

“Pleaseeeeeee” he gave the man these huge, said puppy dog eyes. Gerard wasn’t gonna fall for it.   

“I don’t think so. How about today we rest, and tomorrow I can maybe consider rewarding you. How does that sound?”   

“Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ok” Frank stopped fighting and stilled.   

“Good. Do you maybe want to eat anything before you go to sleep? I think I might have some leftovers from Mikey’s dinner-”   

Gerard shut up when he looked down and saw that Frank was practically already asleep.   

“Guess that's a no” he whispered with a warm smile and leaned down to give him a small kiss.   

Gerard noticed how he was dozing off himself. Frank was already completely asleep on his lap, occasionally shifting or making a small noise in his sleep.  

Gerard tapped Frank on the head to try wake him up, no obvious avail.  

“Frankie, come on. Let’s go to bed, hm?”  

Even in his hazy, tipsy, half-asleep manner, he didn’t miss a single beat.  

“Mmm... buy me dinner first” Frank giggled and shifted but had no clear intention of getting up.   

“Very funny. Come on, wake up”  

“You’ll have to carry me, I think.”  

“Oh yeah?”  

“Mhm”  

“Alright” In a swift movement, Gerard grabbed Frank under the armpits and slung him over his shoulder, then grabbed his hips so he wouldn't fall as he stood up from the couch.  

“Heyy” Frank complained and wriggled under the grip.  

“You said to carry you”  

“Wasn’t ready” he mumbled.  

“You’d just go back to sleep if i didn’t get straight to the point”  

“Whatever”  

Gerard threw Frank onto the bed once they finally made it to his room.  

“You need some help getting undressed?”  

“Ooooo buy me dinner first”  

“You already used that one”  

“When?”  

“Like, 30 seconds ago”  

“Awh man”  

The light mood crashed down like a landslide when Gerard pulled Frank’s blazer off. He stared at Frank with eyes open wide with shock.  

“...Frank?”    

“Mhm?”  

“What... what happened to your arms?” Gerard used his thumb to run up Frank’s arm, and cringed at every bump he felt. He tried to count them mentally.  

He couldn’t.

Upon looking back at Frank, he immediately felt guilty.  

The boy had gone pale.  Even paler than he was just moments ago. His eyes had gone almost as wide as Gerard’s.  

Gerard felt Frank’s hands start shaking.  

“I’m sorry” his voice was small and bro ken. His jaw shook in sync with his hands. Gerard could hear his teeth chattering.  

The sound broke him.  

It broke him into a million pieces.  

“Just... was it your dad? Or was it you?” He reached towards the nightstand and turned on the dim, yellow lamp so he could examine him better.  

“I’m sorry” Frank repeated, even quieter this time. He refused to make eye contact.  

The tear that rolled down his cheek was the final nail in the coffin.  

“Oh, Frankie. I’m not mad. I’ll never be. Ok? Never.”  

Frank let out a strangled sob and pulled his hands back so he could shield his face to cry.  

“I’m still sorry. I should have called you. I’m sorry. I’m-”  

Gerard shut him up with a hug so tight, Frank thought his eyes would pop out of his skull. This gave him an opportunity to cry less openly, using Gerard’s shoulder to muffle his stomach-shaking sobs.  

“Call me next time. I’m always one call away. A press of a button. Even if I’m mad, I’d put that all aside to help you. Remember that. Ok?”  

Frank had stopped shaking, but he wanted nothing more than to go to sleep and forget that this ever happened.  

“Do...” he sniffled quietly “do we have to talk about it today?”  

“Of course not, sugar”  

“What about tomorrow?”  

“We can worry about the future when said future arrives.” He sighed.  

Frank dreaded the conversation, but he knew he shouldn’t avoid it.  

After Gerard double checked the wounds on his arms to make sure they’re not too deep, Frank admitted that he had more on his chest.  

Gerard did a phenomenal job in hiding his frustration while pulling Frank’s shirt up. The wounds on his chest were significantly deeper.  

They led Gerard to wonder if he was trying to cut into his heart.  

Chapter Text

The phone buzzed once.   

Then twice.   

Three times.   

Four times.   

“God, it’s 4am, what the fuck?” Mikey groaned and reached out to grab his glasses.   

He didn't bother to put them on, instead holding them up to look through the smudged lenses at his phone.   

The phone glowed; a single name displayed on the screen.   

Ray <3  

Mikey lunged at his phone and picked the call up.   

“Hello? Mikey?” a calm, composed voice.   

“Dude, fucking shit, where have you been?” Mikey tried to sound accusing and angry, but he was anything but.   

If anything, he was bathing in the relief of finally hearing from Ray.   

“Out of town. Avoiding that thingy with Mr Way. Phone busted. I’m sorry for not reaching out-”  

“So you’re reaching out at 4am? What the fuck, Ray?”  

“Is that the time? Fuck, sorry. I... uh... I’m outside”   

Mikey blinked.   

“Dude like, outside my house?”   

“Yeah dude.”   

“I… uh… I’m not home right now” Mikey glanced next to him on the bed.   

A body.   

A boy.   

Named Pete.   

The weight of the situation was suddenly crushing.   

“What? Well, where are you?”   

Mikey watched in horror as Pete blinked his eyes open.   

“At a… friend’s house. Sleeping over. Gee's having a “one night stand” over and wanted me out of the house”   

“Can I… come over? Send me the address-“   

Pete was now fully awake and getting closer to Mikey with probably the most wicked grin he's ever seen. Mikey tried to shake his head and mouth “no” but Pete was crawling on top of him anyway.   

“Now ‘s not the- shit ” he inhaled a shaky breath when Pete started to lick and bite away at his neck “-best time… Ray”   

“Oh.” Ray deadpanned. Mikey heard him go silent for a moment.   

“Which… uh… which friend are you sleeping over with?”   

Mikey stifled a groan when Pete suddenly bit down on his neck.   

Asshole .   

“You d- don’t know him. Met him while I was out with f- friends” Mikey went red from the embarrassment of the stutter.   

“Fuck. Alright, dude. Can we meet in the morning?”   

Mikey didn’t get a chance to reply before Pete snatched the phone and dangled it above him.   

“Give it back you dick”  Mikey whisper-yelled and tried to lunge at him.   

“Mmmmm how about no” Pete flipped the phone over to see the screen and hung up the call.   

"Dude, you suck" Mikey groaned

“I’ve been told” Pete purred and went back to working on Mikey’s neck.   

“Pete, you dick, get off.” Mikey giggled and pushed his shoulders playfully.   

“Well I’m trying to get off but you won't stop complaining”   

“Oh my god , always twisting my words.”   

“I’m good with words” Pete shrugged with a grin.   

“On a more serious note, I really should go and see him later” Mikey sighed.   

“Yeah. For the best, no? Maybe just don’t tell him we fucked”   

“You know, I wasn’t really planning on it” Mikey rubbed his eyes tiredly “he sounded really sad. I kind of feel bad…”   

“Don’t. He’ll be fine. Just don’t tell anyone about…” Pete gestured to Mikey's boxers “this”  

“Yeah. Jeez… maybe I messed up-“   

“Alright, enough sulking” Pete groaned playfully.   

“What? I'm a cheater now” Mikey in fact sulked even more.   

Even if he felt guilty about it. Even if he knew it would end the relationship that he had built with Ray. Even if Pete had told him not to.   

He was going to tell Ray.   

Mikey was going to tell Ray that he had sex with Pete.   

Mikey had never been good at keeping secrets. His brain would short circuit and crash whenever he had to remind himself that he couldn't share something that he was informed about.   

He was powerless against his urge to yap about ANYTHING, and that (unfortunately for him) included secrets that people told him in confidence.   

It was different this time. It was Mikey’s secret. He was allowed to tell secrets that were HIS, no?   

Mikey tried desperately to think about what consequences  telling Ray would lead to but Pete was annoyingly grinding against him.   

“How about we come back to the sulking after… oh… I don’t know… round two?” Pete grinned against Mikey’s neck.   

“Can you even count? This would be round four” Mikey giggled   

“You mean it WILL be round four”   

“Well…” Mikey felt guilt stab him in the chest and rip him inside out.   

Or maybe that was horniness.   

“…If you insist ”   

Chapter Text

Gerard forced himself to look at his food rather then the younger boy's arms the next morning. He couldn't shake the guilty thought of the fact that he could have done something to prevent this.

But he didn't. 

And that stung. 

"Do we have to talk about it?" Frank sighed. 

Gerard noticed that he still hadn't touched his food. 

Frank refused to make eye contact and stared at his sad, half empty bowl of cereal instead. He twisted the cold, metal spoon between his fingers in a very fidgety manner. 

"I would really rather we did." Gerard stood up. 

He hated sitting down in situations like this. He liked to assert some type of sense of control over the situation. The only way he knew how to do that was to make himself look taller. 

Aka: standing up. 

He leaned on the counter behind him and sort of mentally prepared himself for the conversation. 

He had no doubt that Frank would at some point get emotional or close in on himself, and he was fully prepared to comfort him through that. 

OK. 

Alright. 

Question one. 

"So, if I may ask, why?" 

Frank shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the question. He clearly didn't want to answer. 

"I was just... I had a lot of emotions. Not a lot of ways to deal with them." Frank took a moment to think while inhaling shakily

 "I sound like a child when I admit it. It's so stupid to talk about. Like, what? I'm a 4 year old who throws temper tantrums and can't handle a bit of guilt?" Frank bit at his lip ring instinctively. 

"That's normal though. Plenty of people can't handle their emotions-" 

"But I can't be one of them!" Frank yelled. 

Gerard looked at him in a confused manner. Frank didn't usually raise his voice, but when he did, he was clearly getting riled up. 

Knowing the type of person Frank was, things could get physical really quickly. 

Plan A: De-escalate. 

"Listen. I understand everyone has standards for themselves and tries to be a certain version of themselves, but you can't forget to be true. Don't pretend to be someone you're not. Don't lie to yourself" 

Gerard tried to sound gentle, but his words sounded more like an attack then anything. 

"You don't understand. I have to" Frank hissed. "For myself. For my dad. For you-" 

"Whoa" Gerard put one of his hands up to stop him. "For me?" 

"I just..." Frank trailed off. He gaze was anywhere buy Gerard's eyes. "...I want you to like me" and he looked down. 

He looked guilty. Like he'd just been caught in a lie. 

"Frank. Sugar...." Gerard's turn for wordless breaks.

 "I like you. I... I fuckin love you. You don't have to pretend to be someone else. I love every version of you. A serial killer, a bank robber, an arsonist, even a fuckin psychopath. You can be anything and I'd still love you the same" 

A single tear travelled down Frank's cheek. 

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" He whispered. 

Even if Frank wasn't looking at him, Gerard flashed Frank an absoloutley tooth-rotting grin. 

"You don't." Gerard pushed off the counter behind him and picked up his plate. "You're just gonna have to trust me" 

Frank finally looked up and watched as Gerard ran his plate under the running water from the sink before popping the dishwasher open and putting the half-clean plate in there. 

"You know" he began "the point of dishwashers is that they wash your dishes. No need to rinse the plates before" he giggled, and used the hemm of the t-shift he stole from Gerard to wipe the hot tear from his face. 

"I don't really trust dishwashers. Mikey always says the same thing. He says I'm paranoid. Can you believe it?" Gerard closed the dishwasher and frowned when he saw that Frank was laughing at him. 

"Oh, come on. Not you too" 

Mikey thought about turning around and leaving as he stood at his front door. 

Gerard had mentioned that he had someone over the night before. Judging by the fact that it was just before 10am, whoever his mystery date was was still probably here. 

He really needed new clothes. And a shower. So, he tried to be as loud as possible when he slotted his keys into the door and turned them. 

He took a deep breath before walking in, and exhaled upon realising that the living room and kitchen were both empty. 

"I'm home!" He yelled. 

Then he waited for a response. 

How convenient. No answer. 

In Mikey's best dreams, there would be nobody home, and he could take a shower, get changed, and finally meet with Ray in peace. 

Instead, when he walked upstairs, he saw Gerard in the hallway. 

His brother looked messy. His hair made him look like he was struck by lightning. His usually pale face was now decorated with an angry blush. His lips were swollen, and Mikey could swear he saw a part of them bleeding. 

Oh. 

So he'd been making out. Great. 

"Hey, Gee. I just came home to take a shower and get some fresh clothes. Is she..." Mikey paused, pointing at Gerards bedroom "...still over?" 

"He." Gerard corrected "Yeah. He's in my room. Maybe you could come back later?" He offered kindly.

But Gerard’s heart was pounding. 

One door open and Mikey would not only find out that Gerard and Frank hooked up, but also that Frank was cheating on Mikey’s own ex boyfriend. 

"I suppose I'm not allowed say hi?" Mikey asked with a grin.

Gerards heart sped up to the point where he was genuinley concerned he might have a panic attack. 

"I wouldn't recommend that, no. He's quite tired and not... decent" Gerard emphasised the last word. 

"Jesus. That poor boy." Mikey put a hand over his heart in mock sympathy.

"Did you guys at least leave the shower clean?" 

"Yep." 

"Alright. I'll be in the shower then. Good luck with your little boy toy" 

Gerard opened his mouth to argue but Mikey was already gone. 

"Boy toy? Really?" Frank asked once Gerard stepped back into the room and locked the door behind him. 

"Ignore him. He's mad at the world for turning him gay, and his only coping mechanism is being homophobic about it" Gerard shrugged and laid down on the bed next to Frank. 

Frank blinked. 

"How does that even make sense?" 

"It doesn't. He's a weird kid" Gerard admitted. 

"Is he gone yet?" Frank asked. 

"Nope. He's in the shower. In the bathroom across the hall" 

"So I suppose he won't hear if we continue where we left off??" 

Gerard pressed his lips into a line. 

Then the corners of his mouth pinched into a grin. 

"Under one condition" he purred "when I hear the water of the shower stop, I stop also." 

Frank really didn't see a problem with this. 

He might eventually, but fuck it. Right?

Sex with Gerard!!!!

"Alright, sure" he grinned. 

"Great" and with that, Gerard climbed in between Frank's legs. 

Wasting no time, Gerard began untying the knot of the sweatpants Frank had borrowed from him earlier that day. 

"You know, you should really bring your own change of clothes when you come over" Gerard hooked his fingers into the waistband of the sweats and pulled them down.

"Why should I when you have a whole closet of comfy clothes right here?" 

Without warning, Gerard grabbed and squeezed Frank through his boxers. 

"Little less sarcasm, hm?" He rubbed his palm back and forth. 

"Ngh- OK. Fuck... sorry" Frank panted

Gerard only squeezed harder, making the sensation borderline painful and eliciting a beautiful whine from Frank. 

"Sorry... what?"

"S-sorry sir" 

Gerard hummed and took his hand away. 

Even if it was almost painful, Frank missed the feeling. 

He wanted it back. 

He needed it back. 

Instead, Gerard helped Frank pull his shirt over his head. 

Then, Gerard slowly started to take his clothes off too. 

Slowly. 

Emphasis on slowly. 

"God... what is this? A fuckin... striptease?" Gerard responded by kicking his knee straight into Frank's groin. 

"Motherfucker" Frank hissed. 

"Language" Gerard plainly reminded. 

"You can't just kick me in the balls, man" Frank whined. 

"Except for the fact that I can" Gerard finally kicked his sweats off. "And you're going to enjoy it, arent you? You'll get off on anything, as long as I'm the one doing it. Isn't that right?" 

Frank hated admitting people were right, but hell, Gerard was speaking cold hard facts. 

Frank was eager to feel any type of contact between Gerard and himself, and he was willing to enjoy every bit of it, even if it was painful at times. 

In complete transparency, Frank liked the pain. 

"Yes sir" Frank replied. 

He felt his brain shrinking, and his vocabulary went with it. He could practically hear the blood pumping in his ears above the distant sound of the shower. 

"That's what I thought. Now, let's take these off" as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Frank scrambled to kick his boxers off as quickly as his failing limbs would let him. 

"How eager" Gerard smirked and began removing his own boxers too. 

Oh my god, Frank thought.

Is he finally getting laid??

Oh my god!!!!

Gerard reached over to his bedside drawer and pulled out a bottle that wasn't unfamiliar to the both of them.

Frank watched as Gerard poured a quite generous amount of lube onto his hand and reached down to tease at Frank's entrance. 

At the first contact, Frank bucked his hips up and groaned. 

As punishment for the unnecessary loudness, Gerard wasted no time in pushing one finger straight in. 

Frank shuddered and gasped, but seemed to learn his lesson and stayed mostly silent, until Gerard added another finger. 

Frank's blood rushed even hotter and faster when instead of curling his fingers around and searching for his prostate, Gerard instead scissored his fingers repeatedly inside him. 

Ohhhh myyyyy godddddd. 

He was getting prepped. 

Oh. My. GOD. 

It was happening!!!!!!

"I'm gonna add a third, ok?" 

Frank wasn't surprised. Gerard wasn't... on the smaller side, and Frank wasn't... on the experienced side. 

Yeah, he's given more blowjobs then he can count. But he never ever went home with someone. 

So he nodded his head. 

The third finger slid in with ease. Gerard worked away with his fingers for a hot minute before finally pulling them out without warning. 

"Alright" Gerare sat back on his heels and popped the lube open again "that should have just about done me justice"

After lathering himself up and asking Frank if he was ready, like, a million times, he finally lined himself up. 

"Colour?" 

"Green" 

And with that, he slowly pushed the tip in. 

Frank's mind had short circuited, rewired itself, and shut down the second he felt the breach. And when Gerard just continued to slide further in, Frank felt as though he wasn't even in the room anymore. 

He was on his own little cloud nine, basking in the feeling of being so ridiculously full. 

"All OK?" Gerard asked between clenched teeth. 

"Mmhm" Frank just barley managed.

"Can you use your words?"

"Mmmmyeah" he replied lazily. 

"Good" 

In what felt like no time at all, Gerard finally bottomed out. 

The sight he was met with alone almost made him spontaneously combust right then and there. 

Frank was covered in a thin layer of sweat. His hair was still messy from the filthy make out session that Mikey so rudely interrupted. His eyes were lidded and watery. His lips were slightly parted. 

Delicious view to say the least. 

"Can I start moving?" Gerard asked, chest heaving. 

Frank knew he was not in fact capable of talking, but he managed to think of one word that his horny brain could still digest. 

"Please" 

That was enough of an answer for him. 

Faster then last time, he pulled out and pushed back in. 

Frank whined out a response that was mostly gibberish.

Gerard repeated the motion, slightly faster again. 

This time, Frank shut his eyes as tightly as he could and gripped onto the comforter under him as much as his trembling fingers would let him. 

"Hurts?" Gerard asked. 

Frank didn't have the words to say it, but it hurt so damn good. 

So, Frank shook his head 'no' and managed a weak "just... a lot" 

"I know, sugar. If you want to stop at ANY point and you can't say it, just tap me on the thigh." 

Frank nodded his head in understanding. 

"Can you show me? That you can tap my thigh?" 

Frank reached up and tapped Gerard gently. 

"Good. I'm gonna keep moving, ok?" 

"Mhm" 

And the motion was repeated once again. Then another, then another, until Gerard built a steady rhythm that he and Frank were both comfortable with. 

Frank was a mess. He looked oblivious and absent. His eyes were almost fully closed. His hands had stopped wasting energy on clawing at anything around and just laid limply. 

He wasn't quiet at all. With almost every thrust, he made some type of noise. 

Gerard figured it was ok to pick up the pace again. This time, he brought Frank's legs up and held onto his thighs. 

Judging by the way he reacted and the noises he made, Gerard was hitting Frank's prostate dead on with every thrust.

Frank wanted to warn Gerard that he was close, so he grabbed one of his wrists and squeezed it as hard as he could. 

"All OK?" He asked through laboured breath. 

"Mmm" 

"Are you close?" 

Frank nodded his head. Gerard looked satisfied. 

"Whenever you need. Just let go" 

And Frank did. 

Seconds later, he was convulsing and crying out Gerard's name. 

But Gerard wasn't finished. 

As he continued to stutter into Frank to reach his own high, Frank came down from his and realised that it just didn't feel as good anymore. 

He was oversensitive and the pain was beginning to overwhelm him. 

The pain was no longer drowned out by the pleasure. 

Too much. 

It was too much. 

But right as Frank reached forward to tap Gerard's thigh, he thrusted into him one final time and stilled. 

 Frank didnt even flinch when Gerard pulled out without warning. 

"Are you ok?" Gerard asked almost immediately, looking intently at Frank. 

Frank's eyes were closed. 

Oh. 

He was snoring. 

Gerard put two fingers to his neck to at least check his pulse. Just to be safe. 

Phew, heart rate was normal.

Gerard decided that he should probably clean Frank up. 

As he sat up on his heels to get off his bed, he froze as the realisation stabbed him suddenly. 

He was so swallowed in his own pleasure, he never heard that the shower was no longer running. 

Chapter Text

Mikey sat down on the couch downstairs. 

He was pissed. 

He was really fucking pissed. 

After he got out of the shower, he became unnecessarily aware of Gerards sex life due to the sheer loudness of it. 

But thats not what he was pissed off about. 

No. 

He was pissed because in between some obscene noises and rythmic thumping, he was forced to hear a name. 

Frank. 

Frank Iero. 

His fuckin classmate. 

This was NOT happening. 

After getting dressed as quickly as he could, he went downstairs and sat on the couch. 

Upon opening his phone he was met with the near hundreds of messages left by Ray. 

He had agreed to meet with Ray at 2pm, which was coming up in an hour. 

At this house. 

While Gerard was upstairs. 

With Mikey's classmate. 

God, he was gonna gag. 

When he scrolled down to the most recent message his heart practically stopped. 

"I'm coming over. We need to talk" 

Fuckkk. 

Mikey replied with a quick:

"now?? Srsly??" 

And suddenly, there was shuffling and giggling coming from the stairs. 

Frank and Gerard were joking about and laughing. 

And coming downstairs. 

Mikey looked over to them once they made it down. Gerard looked over at Mikey and gave him probably the most wide-eyed, surprised expression he's ever seen. 

"Hey, Gee" Mikey glared over at the younger boy. 

"And Frank." 

"Mikey-" 

"What about Patrick? 

He paused.

"No. You know what? It's none of my business." Mikey slapped his hands onto his thighs and stood up. "Just... Frank?" 

"...yeah?" 

"Are you... y'know.... over 18?" Mikey asked. 

"Mikey, who do you think I am?" Gerard interrupted. 

"Its ok, Gee. Yeah, I'm actually turning 19 later this year" Frank answered proudly, but still felt there was a guilty lining to the situation. 

A knock at the door caused all three of them to look over. 

"Fuck. I forgot he's coming over" Mikey cursed and went to open the door. 

"Who-?" Frank tried to ask but he was immediately shut up when the door opened. 

Much to Mikey's surprise, there were two people at the door. 

Ray, obviously. 

Ohhhh shit. 

"I suppose this is the boyfriend, then?" Pete pointed at Ray, who gave Mikey an accusing frown. 

"Mikey, who the hell is this?" Ray asked. 

"Pete, why are you here?" 

"You wouldn't answer my texts. Check your phone, dude" 

Then, Ray looked past Mikey and saw Gerard and Frank standing there, equally shocked. 

"What the hell is Frank doing here? You cheating on me with the whole fucking town now?" 

"My brother is fucking Frank." Mikey deadpanned, clearly not wanting to drag the subject. 

"Pete, can you go? Now's not the best time-" 

"What the fuck?" Ray very much wanted to drag the subject, and pushed past Mikey to confront Frank. 

"You're what??!!" He yelled. 

Frank gave him a guilty frown and shrugged. 

"Surprise?" He offered. 

"No. No, no. Nonono." Ray turned to his teacher. "What the fuck, Mr Way? You're... like... Frank's least favourite teacher, man. What happened? 

"Angst makes for good sex-" Frank tried to add. 

"I'm not asking you." He glared at Frank "also, TMI dude" 

"My bad" 

"Yeah" 

"This is so messy. How about we all-" Gerard attempted to speak. 

No chance. 

"No! You shut the fuck up! You're literally fucking my classmate!" Mikey yelled. 

"At least he's not cheating on him, right?" Ray barked back. 

Mikey looked at him like he'd just shot him in the face. 

"Come on, that's not fair." Mikey mumbled. 

"Oh my god, Wentz?" Frank suddenly spoke up.

Pete looked at Frank and went impossibly pale. 

"You motherfucker!" Frank barked. 

And to everybody's shock, Frank lunged at Pete and right hooked him straight in the jaw. 

From the shock and lack of preparation for the impact, Pete stumbled into a nearby wall and fell to the floor. 

Without missing a beat, Frank jumped on tip of him and grabbed him by the collar of the shirt. 

"You little fucking shit. I fucking hate you. Where the fuck were you?" Frank landed an unexpectedly strong uppercut to Pete's jaw that made his teeth clack together loudly. 

"Frank, stop" After getting over the initial shock from the unexpected attack, Gerard intervened by grabbing Frank up off of Pete and hauling him away from the fight. 

Pete got up, dazed and stunned, and reached up to inspect his face. 

He had bitten his tounge at the uppercut and he just tasted the blood filling his mouth. 

"What the fuck did you do to deserve that?" Mikey asked. 

"Probably an accessory to cheating on someone, I don't know" Ray mumbled. 

"Ray, dude, let it go" Mikey sighed. "If you want to break up-" 

"No, actually, I have to admit something too." 

Both Mikey AND Pete looked over. 

"I uh... yeah... did the same. I was at a random party I managed to slip into. I had a joint or something, but that's not an excuse-" 

"Wait. You cheated on me?" Mikey asked with a smile on his face. 

Ray blinked. 

"Yeah" he sighed. "I'm sorry-" 

"That's amazing!" Mikey beamed. "I have a suggestion" 

Ray looked over at Pete, who looked just about as confused as Ray felt. 

"I'm all ears" 

"What do you think of an open relationship?" 

Mic drop. 

What. 

Ray opened his mouth to say something, closed it, opened it again, then decided to just nod. 

"Yeah. You know what? Yeah" he finally managed. 

"I don't know how comfortable I am with having my dick inside someone that's taken" Pete slurred, trying his best not to spit blood around like a fucking fountain. 

Mikey wanted to answer with something snarky like 'you already did' but when he looked over, he saw that Pete was just barley managing to not spit blood onto his floor. 

"Ok, Ray? Sit down on the couch. I'll show Pete to the bathroom"

Frank thrashed around as he was slung over Gerards shoulder and carried to the kitchen. 

"Get the fuck off me! Get off!" Frank kicked his legs like a child. 

Gerard put Frank down and immediately trapped him up against a wall, with a hand on either side of Frank's waist to keep him still. 

Frank tried his best to pry said hands off, but ultimately realised it was no use. 

"Frank, what the hell was that?" 

"Just- let go! Fucks sake- get your fucking hands off me!" And he tried to push Gerard. 

Again. 

No use. 

"I am not letting go until you calm down. You're just gonna go back in there and assault the poor boy-" 

"Hell yeah I will! You can't stop me, the bastard deserves it! Let go-" 

"No." Gerard was very firm. "Stop acting like a fish out of water and tell me what's happening." 

Frank gave him an angry frown, but reluctantly stopped moving and crossed his arms angrily over his chest. 

"Good. Ready to talk?" 

"You're talking to me like I'm a child" 

"You're acting like one" 

Frank didn't have a smug reply to that. He just huffed and frowned even deeper. 

"See? You're sulking like a child. Talk" 

"Fine!" Frank barked "he owes me a lot of money. Like, a lot." 

Gerard hummed in understanding "for what?"

Frank looked away and chewed at his lip ring. 

Gerard knew Frank long enough to tell that he was trying to conceal guilt. 

"Hey. I won't be mad. Just tell me" he assured, rubbing one of his hands up and down Frank's side. 

"I'm not proud of it" 

"That's ok" 

"Stop looking at me like that" 

"Like what?" 

"You're judging me" 

"No I'm not" 

"Yes you-" 

"Frank." Gerard warned. 

"Fine. It was drugs ok? And not some pussy shit like weed, it was some rough stuff" he admitted. 

Gerard nodded. 

You promised not to be mad, he told himself. You promised not to be mad. 

"How much does he owe you?" 

Frank swallowed. 

"About two thousand dollars" he mumbled. 

Gerard felt his eye twitch. 

How much??? 

"That's a lot. But that doesn't give you premission to lunge at him and almost break his jaw" he demonstrated staying calm and composed. He didn't raise his voice. 

Gerard was impressed with himself. 

Frank wasn't. 

He continued to chew at his lip ring and look at his socks. 

"I'm sorry" he mumbled. 

"That's ok. I'm going to let you go and you're going to behave. You're gonna go into the living room and apologise to him."

"I'm not-" 

"It wasn't a question." 

Frank nodded. 

And rolled his eyes. 

Just to show his anger. 

Gerard let go very cautiously. 

"Ok. Let's go back in there" 

Pete was sitting on the floor with an ice pack held to his jaw. Mikey was sitting next to him. 

Ray was sitting in one of the sofa chairs. 

Gerard walked next to Frank, observing every one of his movements. They sat down next to each other on the main couch. 

Gerard noticed Frank getting more tense when he saw Pete, and the final straw was when Frank balled his fists up tightly. 

"Ohhhh kayyyy so" Gerard began and casually slipped an arm over Frank's shoulders. 

The action would have been comforting, if it wasn't solely for the purpose of keeping Frank on the couch. 

Gerard felt how stiff Frank was beneath his touch. 

Frank felt how Gerard was trying his best to keep him calm. 

If not for that stupid arm around his shoulders, he'd already be on top of Pete again, beating the living hell out of him. 

"Pete, Frank has something to say to you" Gerard continued. 

Frank folded his arms and scoffed. Gerard nudged him with his leg. 

"Alright. I'm sorry" 

A stiff silence cursed the room.

Until Ray started laughing. 

"Wow, Mr Way. You must have a good grip on him. Never, EVER, have I seen the Frank Iero apologise for something" 

"Oh, shut your yap, dude" Frank stiffened up again. 

Gerard gave his shoulder a light, reassuring squeeze. 

"Its ok, dude. Forgive and forget or whatnot" Pete smiled. 

"Yeah, well, don't think I haven't forgotten the money you owe me-" 

"Oh, please. That was like, what, 2 years ago?" 

"And I'm still scraping money up week by week to pay him back! I was 16 and in debt because of your fucking mistake-" 

"And how much have you paid him back?" Pete asked. 

"I haven't even gotten to the thousand mark, Wentz. God, I've been planning to punch your stupid fucking face ever since you robbed me" 

Gerard squeezed Frank's shoulder harder this time. 

A warning. 

A warning that Frank was numb to. 

"Jesus, ok. I'll get you the money next week-" 

Frank suddenly stood up, shaking Gerards arm off him. 

"That's what you said two fucking years ago!" 

In a moment of high risk, Gerard grabbed Frank by the back of the collar of his shirt and yanked him back onto the couch. 

Once he landed, Gerard quickly wrapped an arm behind his shoulders and around his neck, as if putting him in a headlock, but just to hold him there. 

Mikey looked at the two and cringed 

"So... Frank, you're cheating on Patrick?" 

Frank clawed at the hand around his neck while Gerard stayed annoyingly composed and still. 

"Its not cheating. Its a cover-up relationship so me and your brother can stay under the radar."

"And... Patrick knows about this?" 

Frank started yanking on Gerards sleeve. No use. 

Still annoyingly unphased. 

"No" he grunted.

"So... that's called cheating" 

"Ok, whatever, four-eyes. Let's not pretend that you weren't just caught cheating-" 

"We're in an open relationship, dickhead. Right, Ray?" Mikey snapped. 

"Oh" Frank stopped moving for a brief second, before getting the bright idea to just straight up bite down on Gerards arm. 

"Ow! Jesus-" Gerard tightened his arm so Frank wouldn't be able to access it with his teeth anymore. 

"Frank, stop." He warned. 

But Frank persisted. He kicked his legs and yanked on Gerards arm over and over. 

"Alright. You three should go. I'll deal with this temper-tantrum here." 

They all nodded and got up, and within a minute they were all out of the house. 

"They're gone! Now let go of me!" Frank growled.

"No. You're just gonna chase Pete down and try kill him. I'm waiting till I hear the car drive off." 

Once the car was heard pulling out and away, Gerard let go of Frank. 

He sat up and crossed his arms like an angry child. 

"You should really learn how to control your anger" Gerard began.

"You should learn when to mind your own business"

"You would've killed the guy" Gerard deadpanned. 

"Good." 

Chapter Text

Frank used his phone camera as a mirror to fix his hair as he waited patiently- a little too patiently -for Patrick at the bar.   

 
He checked the time almost every slow minute that passed by, and every time he watched the number become higher, his heart sunk a little lower.  

 
His cold beer was a thing of the past, along with his hope of Patrick showing up.  

 
And maybe that was for the better.  

Gerard was the one that convinced him to go on this date. Frank had no intention of actually going, but he let it slip that Patrick was asking to go out during a conversation, and Gerard had reminded him that he needed to keep the relationship afloat in order to keep Gerard's career and Frank's reputation clean.  

 
But it was hard to keep a relationship afloat when it was already drowning.  

Even if Frank was cheating before his relationship with Patrick was even confirmed, it still stung to see how little Patrick cared about him. He would put little to no effort into being on time for their "dates". Not to mention he wasn't affectionate or romantic at all .   

 
Frank couldn't help but ask himself if Patrick was cheating too.  

 
"Well hello there" Frank looked up from the wooden counter that he was previously staring at and was met with the unpleasant sight of a very obviously drunk Patrick.  

 
"Hey. Was uh... starting to think you were a no-show" Frank laughed to himself awkwardly and traced his finger along the rim of his empty pint as Patrick hopped onto the stool next to him.  

 
"Really? What time is it?" Patrick asked.  

 
Frank's lips pressed into a line.  

 
"You haven't checked the time?" He phrased it like a question, but he meant it more like a tired statement.  

"No, I just..." his voice trailed off and he smirked at Frank "...why? Did you miss me?"  

 
Frank frowned.  

 
"I-"  

 
Patrick cut him off with an unwelcome hand on his inner thigh.  

 
"Wanna show me just how much you missed me?" Patrick mumbled with a drunken smile.  

 
Not really, Frank wanted to say.  

 
But he didn't. 

Because that would be blatant and rude .  

 
"Listen. I don't think we should this... early in the relationship. I'd like to wait" Frank replied quickly.  

 
"You're no fun" Patrick complained. Instead of listening to Frank, he just moved his hand higher up.  

 
"Please? I'll be quick. I saw bathrooms in the back-"  

 
"Patrick. I'm not gonna have sex with you in a bar bathroom." Or ever.  

 
"Thenn.... why don't you take me to your place?"  

 
"I don't think-"  

 
"My place then?"  

 
"Patrick listen to me." Frank snatched Patrick's wrist and pushed it back towards him.  

 
"I'm not having sex with you today."  

 
"...today?"  

"Yeah. Today."  

"What about tommorow?"  

 
"I don't know, dude"  

"Why not today?"  

 
Frank groaned and pinched his eyes shut.  

"Yeah, no. You're drunk dude... I don't know. Can't I just... not want to? It's my choice-"  

"Alright! I get it, god ." Patrick turned to flag down the bartender and asked for another drink.  

 
"Boner killer" he muttered under his breath once the bartender walked away.  

 
"Ok. Patrick, if you have something to say to me, say it to my face." Frank felt like he was confronting a stubborn child.  

 
"What? I didn't say anything" Patrick shrugged passive aggressively.  

 
Such a childddddd. 

 
"Oh my god. Ok-"  

 
"I mean, like, what's the point of a date if it doesn't end in someone's bed... you know?" The bartender shot Patrick a judgemental look as he slid him his drink.  

Frank stared at the condensation on the outside of the glass as he thought about his answer.  

 
Because, let's be realistic, who the hell asks that type of question?  

 
The drink looked fake and pretentious. Radioactive, even. A bright slice of fruit barley clung onto the rim of the glass. A small umbrella bumped into the fruit when Patrick raised the glass to his lips. The actual liquid was a stale orange colour that blended into a piss-coloured yellow further up in the glass. Frank almost laughed at the realisation of how much the drink matched Patrick's personality.  

 
"A date is for two people who want to get to know each other more. Not just to get someone on their knees by the end of the night" Frank tried to sound as gentle as possible.  

 
But in what world has anything EVER gone his way? 

 
"I do want to get to know you..." Patrick's hand was back on Frank's upper leg, more unwelcome than ever.  

 
"I want to get to know your body... and your preferences-"  

 
"Ok. Enough." Frank stood up and shook his leg to get Patrick's hand off.  

"What-?"  

" Enough , dude. Gross, God , I'm going home" Frank called the bartender over and asked to close his tab.  

 Patrick pleaded some nonsense gibberish to him while he talked to the bartender, who knew Frank as a regular.  

 
"Closing off already, mate?" The bartender, Gray, was an experienced bartender that had moved from Australia about 2 years ago. He and Frank have had many deep, drunk conversations over the bar during late night, depression induced binge drinking or post-show adrenaline fueled drinking.  

 "Yeah dude. Tomorow's Sunday, I got things to do, you know?"  

 
"I hear you" he handed Frank his card back.  

 
"See you in a week?"  

"You know you will" Frank winked "see ya then"  

 
Frank chose to ignore Patrick's drunk complaining behind him as he walked out of the bar and into the early October night.  

 
He turned his phone on and after zero thought, he called Gerard.  

 
The line barley managed to ring a second time before the call was picked up.  

 
"Hello?"  

 
"Hey, Gee, can you pick me up?"  

 
There was a brief, armoured  silence.  

"Where are you?" He sighed.  

  
"Just walked out of the Battery Bar. Headed down the road towards the abandoned factory off the main road."  

 
"And why have you already abandoned the date? You've barley been an hour" 

 Gerard sounded tired. Almost half-asleep as he spoke.  

 
"Yeah, and Patrick only turned up like, 15 minutes ago." Frank said angrily.  

 
He heard keys moving and a door opening on Gerard's end. 

  
"And is that why you left early?"  

 
"Nope. He was being pushy about sex. The word 'no' means nothing to a stubborn drunk person" Frank had stopped in front of said abandoned factory and kicked a piece of broken glass next to his foot.  

"Right. Where are you?"  

 
"At the factory gates. The old ones with the gap in them, not the new ones"  

 
"I'll be there in 5."  

 
And the line went dead.  

The glow of light from Frank's phone told him that it was 10pm. The shops around him closed. The streets deserted. The sky black and decorated with stars.  
Frank looked towards the moon, which was full tonight.  

 
It seemed to smile down on him as it glowed in the darkness.  

 
Frank leaned back on the rusty, chipping factory gate and stared at the moon like a man possessed.  

A black Mercedes pulled up in front of him, snapping him out of his little trance.  
The window passenger window rolled down, revealing a tired-looking Gerard.  

"Hop in"  

When Frank sat down and closed the door, he felt the immediate relief of warmth envelope him.  

"I turned on the seat's heating for you" Gerard pointed out.  

"God, you're a saint" Frank looked towards Gerard and had to hold back from actually laughing .  

He was wearing black and white plaid pyjama bottoms that hugged him in all the right places. With that he wore a plain black hoodie, some slippers, and nothing else.  

"Sorry. Did I wake you up?" Frank teased.  

"Yes, actually. You did." Gerard said blankly.  

"I can see that" He giggled.  

"Do you want to go to your place or mine?"  

"Is that even a question?"  

When the two slid under the covers of Gerard's ever-so-comfortable bed, Frank attempted to fall asleep but was interrupted every so often by the sound of a page flicking.  

 
When he opened his eyes, he saw Gerard had left the night light on and was sitting up, reading a book.  

 
"Wacha reading?" Frank rested his chin on Gerard's shoulder.  

"Titanic" Frank frowned.  

 
"Why not just watch the movie?"  

 "I have. Not as authentic as actually reading it"  

"You are such a nerd , Mr Way" Frank smiled lazily.  

 
"I take pride in it" Gerard snuck one arm around Frank's waist.  

 
"Of course, you do" Frank leaned forward as far as his neck would let him and stamped a kiss to Gerards jaw.  

 
Then right below his jaw.  

 
Then even lower.  

 
Lower... 

And with that, the arm around Frank's waist also got lower.  

And lower.  

 
Until it reached Frank's waistband.  

A flash of embarrassment mixed with panic struck Frank, causing him to pull back.  

 
"Wait, no, no, no. Hold on" Frank pulled away and gave Gerard a look so pleading, it made his heart ache.  

 
"What's wrong?" He asked gently.  

 
"Can we not... you know? I'm still..." he sucked in a breath through clenched teeth "...Uh... sore"  

 
"Frankie, why didn't you tell me before?" He pulled his hand back up to Frank's waist and pulled him closer.  

 
"I didn't wanna admit that it was my first time-"  

 
"This was your first time?!" Gerard sounded genuinely shocked.  

Frank chewed at his lip ring.  

 
"Are you mad?" He asked timidly.  

 
"Oh, Jesus, I'm not a monster. Of course not"  

 
Frank smiled and laid his head down on Gerard's chest, mumbling a quiet "thank you" and closing his eyes in comfort.  

"I asked for extra sauce on my burger. What is this? This is not extra. Do better" a lady shouted from her table.  

"Sorry ma'am" Frank sighed. "I'll get that out for you right now"  

And he strolled back into the kitchen.  

Frank worked Sundays at the Diner. He needed to pay his rent somehow. But because he was a busy person and just didn't have enough time to disperse his shifts throughout the week, he worked two back-to-back six-hour shifts from 8am to 8pm on Sundays.  

 
He asked the chef I'd he could just put some more sauce on the burger, which the chef gladly did.  

His name was Noah, he was probabl y around 25 years old, and he was almost always high on the job.  

Frank always assumed that's why the food was so good. It was different every time.  
Noah was this tall, skinny man with buzzed brown hair and eyes so brown, they were almost black.  

Frank thanked him and went back out to his table to serve the food again.  
"Here you go ma'am. So sorry for the inconvenience"   

He was serving a table of two. Both were women, around early 20's. They looked to be gossiping the whole time.  

"Yeah, y'better be, kid."  

How does one even reply to that politely?  

You can't.  

So you dodge it.  

"Is there anything else I can help you with?"  

"No. Go do your job. Properly this time"  

Frank felt his blood boil.  

He was always told he had issues with anger management. By his teachers, by his parents, by his friends, hell, even his pastor said so.  

Amd it took every ounce of strength in his body to contain that. Especially at work.  

“You know what, ma’am? I care a lot about your satisfaction here. Why don’t you try the burger right now and see how it tastes?”  

The woman shrugged and took a large bite.  

“A little dry, but better” she said, mouth still full of food.  

“Let me help with that” Frank grabbed the glass of water on the table next to him and threw it straight at the woman’s face.  

“How’s that? Still too dry? Here, by all means, have some more!” and with that, he cleared his throat as loudly as possible, got all the phlegm into his mouth, and spat straight in the woman’s face.  

The woman cried out and wiped her face desperately as Frank stormed off.  

When he got to the break room, he opened his locker violently, almost tearing the blue metal door off the hinges.  

He shoved through a pile of his stuff to look for his phone.  

He couldn't fucking find it.  

He ended up throwing almost all the contents of his locker onto the floor and punching the locker unit until he felt someone stop him.  

His manager.  

Mint.  

“Frank? What the fuck is happening?”  

“I fucking quit, motherfucker! Fuck this place!” Frank scooped up all his shit off the floor and tried to get past his manager, who was painfully aware of his sinking financial situation.  

“Frank, no you don’t. You need this money”  

Again, in his temper-tantrum state, Frank refused to admit that his manager was right.  

“Get the fuck out of my way before I bite your nose off” he snarled.  

His manager moved out of the way but as Frank made his way to the door, he stopped him again.  

“Hey Frank?”  

“What.”  

“Come back next Sunday. You’re not fired”  

Frank shrugged dismissively, but internally, he was insanely grateful for this.  

“Yeah, whatever man” and he left.  

 
 
After walking up to his door and fishing around in his jacket pocket for his key, he felt his sore knuckles bump against something cold. 

He pulled it out and stared at it, feeling a whole metric tonne of shame squash him like a bug.  

His motherfucking phone.  

Chapter Text

Frank threw his bag under his desk and sat down. 

His usual seat. 

Next to Ray. 

Who didn't say a word. 

Frank tapped his pen on his desk as students talked excitedly around him to their friends about their weekends. 

Frank's weekend was... less exciting. More dramatic. 

Scrap that, catastrophic. 

"So..." Ray suddenly began without looking up. "...Mr Way... huh.." 

"Yeah..." Frank continued awkwardly. 

"I'm sorry. I just don't understand. How long?"

Frank looked shocked. Then, he shrugged and held his hands up, trying to demonstrate. 

"No! Gross, dude! How long have yous been together! Nasty" Ray swatted Frank's hands down. 

"Oh." Frank scratched the back of his neck. "A week before parent teacher meetings?" 

"You know" Ray smacked on the chewing gum he was very obviously enjoying "You're a good actor. I'd never be able to tell" 

Frank sighed. 

"Thanks" he deadpanned 

Ray suddenly leaned in, hushing his voice to a whisper.

"And Patrick doesn't know?" 

When Ray pulled away, Frank shook his head 'no'. 

"Jeez, dude. You know, Mikey's pissed" 

Frank frowned.

"At me?"

"No, dude, at Mr Way" Ray paused and thought about it "...and probably you too, yeah" 

Frank groaned and looked over to the other side of the classroom, where Mikey was chatting away to some new girl in the class. 

"Who's that?" Frank questioned, pointing at her. 

"Not sure." Ray shrugged and pulled a pack of oreos out of his bag. 

"She's new if that helps" he offered. 

"Vaugley, but thanks." Frank smiked down at the cookies. "You gonna.... finish all that?" 

"Yeah" 

"By yourself?" 

"Yeah" 

"Fatass" 

"Let's not pretend that you don't raid my kitchen every time you come over-" 

The two were interrupted by Mr Way walking in and greeting the class. 

"Anyone excited for the Halloween break?"

The class all gave enthusiastic nods and hums of agreement as the teacher began writing on the board. 

"I was asked by the principal of the school to give you a quick lesson on safety for Halloween, seeming as most of you guys are immature young adults" 

Gerard moved away from the board and revealed the writing he left on it in big, bold letters. 

"D.B.A.I" Gerard read the writing off the board. 

"Does anyone know what that stands for?" 

Everyone looked around, slightly confused. 

"Nobody? Not even a guess?" 

Frank looked down at his shirt and remembered the tie that he promised to commit to was missing. 

He was definetly gonna hear about that later. 

"Dont be an idiot?" The new girl suddenly said. The class all shared collectively shocked glances amongst each other. 

"Very good! How did you know?" Gerard beamed. 

"Lucky guess" she brushed a strand of her milky blonde hair behind her ear. 

"What's your name?" Gerard asked. 

"Lindsey" 

"Oh, right! I spoke to your parents last night! Welcome to the school, Miss Ballato" 

"Thank you, sir" she smiled. 

"Alright, so, what we can mean by "Don't be an idiot"?" 

A few people in the class held their hands up. 

"Yes, Mikey?"

"If your friends offer you cheap alcohol, don't accept it" 

"Very good-" 

"Instead, show them what the real shit is and introduce them to Buzzbalz" Mikey finished. 

"Oh" Gerard sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

"Come on" Ray groaned "buzzbalz are the cheap alcohol." 

"They are not-"

"They are too! They're like $5.99 in my local target"  

"Six dollars American is not cheap. That's like, a months salary" 

Ray whistled "which scam artist are you working for?" 

"That was sarcasm" Mikey grumbled "you know what I mean-" 

"How about you all pretend to want to avoid alcohol so I can move on" 

The whole class kind of shrugged and nodded in agreement. 

"Great" he sighed "now let's talk fireworks" 

The class was full of arguing and debating morals and threats of detention, but eventually came to an end. 

Frank pretended to shuffle through his bag so he was the last to leave the class. 

"Well hello" Gerard said, leaning up on his desk. 

"Hey" Frank did the same next to him. 

"Where's your tie?" 

There it is. 

"I don't know, lay off me" Frank groaned and threw his head back dramatically. 

"You're gonna be wearing it tommorow, I hope" 

"Make me" Frank bit back almost instantly. 

"God, and why can't you just listen?" Gerard moved so he was standing in front of the boy, arms folded in an unimpressed way. 

Suddenly flustered, Frank's eyes stuttered away from his teachers, instead choosing to closely examine a desk behind him. 

"Dont want to" he muttered, still powering on with his attitude as his weapon. 

"Hm. Ok, and what are you planning on doing this evening?" 

As if on queue, Frank's phone pinged in his pocket. 

He clicked it on to reveal a message from Ray, asking if he could come to the bar that night because Ray had a crush on a bartender that worked that specific Monday night shift. 

"Looks like I'm hitting the Battery Bar again" he typed out a quick agreement and slid his phone back into his pocket. 

"On a Monday afternoon? Jesus, Frank" 

"Alright, sir, but if you wouldn't mind I have to go find some clothes that don't smell like asshole and B.O" 

"God forbid" Gerard kissed Frank quickly on the cheek. 

"Good luck" 

Frank held his hand up in front of his face. 

"I see spots" he said blankly to Ray, who was busy ogling said bartender. 

"Huh?" 

"I see spots" he repeated, slightly more slurred this time. 

"Jesus, isn't that your first drink?" Ray pointed at Frank's glass. 

"Yeah dude, and I've only taken like, 2 sips" Frank wiggled his fingers, watching them blur into almost a cloud of colour. 

"Ray, did they fucking double shot me? I asked for a single shot, come on" 

Ray's attention was now even more fixed on Frank. 

"You're swaying" 

"Hm?" 

"You're like, rocking back and forth, dude" 

"How do I feel so drunk already?" Frank raised the glass to his lips and took another swig. 

"You're becoming a lightweight" Ray laughed lightly, looking back at the bartender. 

Frank could hear his heart beating a little faster. He called the bartender over and asked if he double shotted his drink by accident. 

"No, I made that drink like normal. D'you want it re-don, hon?" 

Frank squeezed his eyes shut as a sudden headache attacked him. 

"No. Can I get a water, though? Ice would be nice"

He tried to be polite, but it was no secret that he was getting irritated. Maybe he was sick and shouldn't drink?

"Of course" the young bartender smiled and went to get his water. 

Ray frowned at Frank. 

"What?" Frank grumbled. 

"He called you 'hon'. That's not fair" he pointed out sadly. 

"Oh cry me a river. Simp" Frank smiled as the bartender handed him a water. 

"Can I also close my tab?" 

"After one drink? You ok?" The bartender asked while reaching for the card reader. 

"Not feeling well. Just, swipe the card, please?"

Frank was feeling increasingly annoyed with the stabbing migraine in the side of his head that seemed to migrate to his face. 

The bartender handed his card back. 

"Stay safe" he smiled. 

"Yeah, will do" Frank snatched his card up and got up. 

"Will you be OK to get home?" 

"I'll be alright" He ran and hand through his hair.

"I'll see you tommorow?" 

"Yeah, ok" 

Frank elbowed and pushed his way through the crowd in the bar. It was busy because there was some sort of match happening and everyone flocked to the bar to drink and watch on the big screen with their mates. 

Frank wasn't bothered to apologise when he bumped into some guy in a red football jersey. He just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. 

"Oi, c'mon, not even gonna excuse yourself?" The man grabbed Frank's wrists and pulled him back. 

"Sorry" Frank muttered and attempted to pull away, angry that the man would even stop him.

"No, no, hold on. In a hurry?" The man pulled him back roughly. 

"Let go of me" Frank growled and before he could stop himself, he jumped up and headbutted the man. 

Naturally, he let go of Frank and stumbled back. Frank took a step back, knowing what was coming next. 

The man was about three feet taller then him, and easily came back at him with a solid right hook to Frank's jaw. 

Frank refused to let this put him down, and he returned the favour by punching the guy in the neck to hopefully immobilise him. 

The guy grabbed Frank's sleeve as he stumbled to the ground. In a swift movement, he pinned Frank down onto his stomach and pressed a knee to Frank's back. 

He grabbed the younger boy's hair, pulled his head up, and then slammed his face down onto the ground. 

"Oh my god! Stop!" Frank heard some people around him yell, but he was too busy trying to get out of under this guys crushing weight. 

The man repeated the motion more times then Frank could count before he finally managed to roll over and out of the grip. 

"That all you got?" Frank smirked sickeningly, showing all his blood-stained teeth. 

The man lifted Frank up by the collar and pushed him against a wall. 

"You still want more, you little shit?" 

"Mmmm... harder" Frank then cleared up all the blood in his mouth by spitting right at the guys face. 

He watched the crimson spit migrate down the man's face, which was now painted with 100 shades of disgust. 

"You're fucking gnarly" The guy said, grabbing Frank's hair and thrusting his head back into the wall behind him. 

Frank was seeing less then spots now. In full honesty, everything around him was a foggy cloud of blurred colours that he couldn't make out. 

The man was surprised when Frank suddenly became a dead weight beneath his hands after he watched his wild, crazed eyes roll to the back of his head.

He let go of Frank's hair and collar, and unexpectedly, Frank collapsed. 

"You fuckin killed him!" Someone yelled. 

The man looked down at Frank fearfully, realising that he wasn't moving at all. 

He tried to make a run for it, but to his dissapointment, he came face to face with a cop at the exit of the bar. 

"And how old is he?" 

Frank woke up but didn't dare open his eyes, knowing damn well how bright the lights around him were, judging by the fact that they poked through his eyelids unwelcomely. 

He felt a comforting arm around his shoulders.

He was sitting on a horribly uncomfortable chair. 

"He's 18, sir" Frank heard Gerards voice next to him and his attention was immediately brought back. 

Thank god, he thought. 

"And he was drinking? In a bar?" The other voice sounded rough and strict, making Frank feel attacked and angry. 

"I wasn't aware that he was, sorry. I'll keep an eye on him" he felt a light squeeze on his shoulder, and thought this was the perfect moment to open his eyes. 

When he looked around, he recognised the place immediately. It was the local police station's waiting room.

"Well good morning" the man sitting in front of him said. 

A police officer. 

Mint. 

"Officer" Frank acknowledged and tried to reach up to shake his hand, but was stopped. His hands were cuffed together uncomfortably.

Mint. 

At least they were in front of him this time. 

"You were out for a while. How do you feel?" Frank felt around his mouth with his tounge and noticed that he was missing a tooth. His bottom left premolar. 

So not cool. 

"I'm fine" he adjusted his hands "Why... uh... am I here?" 

"Uh, you got into a fight, it seems. Can you just asnwer some questions for me?" 

Frank's nose felt fucked up. He scrunched his face up a couple of times and noted how badly it hurt to move his nose. 

"Yeah, ok" 

"Alright. Who threw the first punch?" 

Frank licked over the spot where his tooth was missing. God, it burned. 

"He did" Frank lied. 

"Alright, why?" 

"I bumped into him. Apologised and everything. He just pounced on me" Frank heard Gerard snicker next to him. 

He clearly knew that wasnt true. 

"Right. Well, I gotta file this in. Just for your information, the man that attacked you was heavily intoxicated. Multiple illegal drugs, a multitude of alcohol, the whole lot. You'll probably get off the hook here, seeming as this is your first offence, and you were just defending yourself" 

Frank almost choked at that. 

"Oh wow. Thank you" Frank said gratefully. 

"No problem. I'll be right back" 

The officer left and Frank let out a powerful yawn, snuggling up to Gerard. 

"Hey, Gee" he said sleepily, closing his eyes. 

"Is that really what happened?" He asked gently. 

"Guess" Frank giggled. 

"That's all that I need. You know I'm mad, right?" 

"You don't sound mad." 

"I was having a very good dream, for your information" Gerard scoffed dramatically. 

"Mhm" Frank was close to falling asleep. He was tired and sore. 

And bloody. 

"You really need to learn to control your anger, you know" Gerard spoke gently, but Frank took offence. 

"I do not" he frowned, opening his eyes. 

"You do, though. And don't worry. I figured it out for you." 

Frank sat up to look at Gerard properly. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

Frank immediately caught on after that. 

"No, nonono, anything but the counselor, come on!" He frowned. 

"I don't know why you hate her so much, she's lovely. She called you an energetic kid, you know" 

"Gee, come on." He grumbled "Please, that's not fair." 

"I'm not changing my mind." he smiled. 

"I don't need therapy!" 

"And I'm not the one in handcuffs right now." Gerard shrugged. 

Touché. 

"This isn't fair" Frank would have folded his arms if he could. "And these cuffs are killing me" 

"This is all preventable, you know" 

"Whatever." 

Gerard observed Frank, who was slouched back in his seat. His faced was still puffy and swollen in places. There's was dried blood crumbling off other parts. 

Something around his neck that resembled a necklace caught his eye. Tucked under Frank's t-shirt collar. It looked to be a gorgeous blood red. 

Blood. 

Red. 

Without even thinking, he reached over to the unsuspecting Frank and pulled the necklace out. 

Frank gasped and smacked Gerard's hand away from him, tucking the rosary back into his shirt. 

"Frank, I'm sorry-" 

"Dont." Frank snapped. "Just.. don't. Ok? Forget it" he sighed, slouching back again. 

Gerard sighed too. 

Because he didn't want to have to, but he had to.

"You know, I'm not really big on religion myself" 

There was a brief pause before he began again. 

"I used to want to be a priest, you know" he continued. Frank looked up from the linoleum floor, suddenly curious. 

"What?" 

"I'm from a religious background too, just like you. My family have all been preists, monks, nuns, you name it. Well... uh..." Gerard scratched at the back of his neck, where he was surprised to feel the amount of sweat that had already attacked him. 

"...when my churches head priest was holding confessional sessions, I admitted to him that I was gay and that I wanted to pursue it" he sucked in a breath through his teeth and caught Frank looking at him curiously. He half-smiled. 

"He told my parents, who were pissed off about it. Well, come to find out that their favourite child, who was and still is Mikey, came out as gay. They accepted him with open arms and realised that now, they had to do the same for me. My church on the other hand, they started complaining. At the time I was an altar boy and a choir boy-" 

Frank giggled slightly and Gerard gave him a warm smile. 

"I know, I know. Choir boy. Ridiculous. But the other altar boys started making fun of me, until one of them came to me asking for help. He said he was gay too, and he offered to... euh... do quite unholy things with me. Well, nobody was surprised when they found us together in a supply closet." 

"Wow. Inside the church?" Frank gasped. 

"Inside the church." he confirmed with a bashful smile. 

"Well, what happened?" 

"Well, first, we got marched to the front of the church and got told off by the Preist in front of everyone who was just there for Sunday Mass. He called for our immediate emancipation from the church but he was declined. It got really weird when he pulled me and the other kid into a different room and explained to us how we were 'doing it wrong'"

"Nooooo" Frank gasped and covered his mouth. "And after that?" 

"He asked us to kiss in front of him" 

Frank's jaw dropped. 

"And did you?" 

"Yeah" he laughed "we thought we had to." 

"Oh my god. That's insane" 

"Would you believe me if I said it gets worse? 

"You're serious?" 

"Mhm. He asked us to do other things while we were kissing, if you know what I mean" Gerard tried to laugh about it, but inside he was seriously uncomfortable. This was his first time talking about this with someone other then his parents, and they didn't even believe him. They went as far as telling him that he was lying even though he knew they believed him. 

Deep down. They believed him. 

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry." 

"Its ok, we didn't anyway. I stopped it there and told him that he's a creep. He got mega defensive and told us to leave." 

"I really hope you left the church after that" 

"I resigned myself legally from all religion the day I turned 18. It was funny, you know? I always thought I'd be a preist. It was relieving. How freeing it felt." 

Frank wondered if he would ever have the confidence to free himself of that too. 

The officer came back, holding a brown envelope and a set of keys. 

"Alright, here, this is a copy of the incident report. Frank isn't being charged with anything, considering he was the victim here. Show me your cuffs, please." 

The officer handed Gerard the folder and Frank lifted his hands up. The officer quickly unlocked the cuffs and pocketed them. 

"Thanks" Frank rubbed his sore wrists. The cuffs were way too tight, so having them off was more then relieving. 

"Take care of your boyfriend" he said to Gerard, then turned to the boy "...and Frank, I don't want to see you in here again" 

"Yes sir" Frank said obediently. 

"Alright. You guys have a good night, ok?" He nodded at them and stood up.  

"Thank you" Gerard shook the officers hand. 

"I swear, I didn't go looking for it" Frank insisted as he undressed, getting ready to get into bed with Gerard. 

"I believe you. You're still not gonna change my mind, though." 

Frank bit his lip as he curled up under the covers. Gerard sounded mad. 

"A- are you mad at me?" He asked, still not bringing himself to face Gerard. 

"Frank, look at me." 

Frank fearfully looked over to the other side of the bed. He was greeted with a warm smile. 

"Do I look mad?" 

"No. But you sound-" 

"You're overthinking, sugar." Gerard reached over to squeeze Frank's hand. Almost as an anchor to help ground him. 

"I know. I- I feel like I need to make it up to you" Frank paused "you know, waking you up, having you come down to the station, I feel bad-" 

"Go to the counseling appointment. Simple."

Frank groaned. But he knew he had to. 

"Alright. I'll go to the stupid counselor with the stupid haircut..." 

There was a light laugh, then a heavy pause. 

"Hey Frank?" Gerard suddenly asked. 

"Mhm?"

"You're... uh... the first person I've ever told. About... you know... the preist thing" he felt like he HAD to mention it to him.  

"Well... I'm glad you trust me enough" Frank hugged into Gerard's side. 

"So am I"

"And Gee? Did you tell that cop that I was your boyfriend?" 

"Mhm. Is that OK?" 

Frank bit back the most cheek splitting smile he's ever beamed. 

"Yeah. Wow. I have a boyfriend. Sweet." 

Chapter Text

"Mr Iero? Back so soon?" The counselor chirped and scanned over Frank as he slumped down into the chair in front of her lazily. 

"Against my will." He muttered and crossed his arms. 

"Oh, don't be like that! Last time wasn't that bad, remember?"

Frank did remember. Because it was bad. She pushed on and on about him having some sort of management issues and even offered to call his parents to recommend medication and treatment. 

Yeah. Not fucking happening. 

Frank glanced over at the clock in the corner of the room. 

Or rather, where the clock should be. 

"Where's your clock?" Frank pointed at the empty wall. "You used to have a clock. The annoying one that ticked really loudly." 

The counselor practically laughed in his face. 

"It was the only thing you looked at during our session. Figured I'd take it down so you can focus harder." 

Oh. Oh fuck you. 

"Right." Frank frowned. How was he supposed to tell the time? 

He wasn't.

Mint. 

"Let's begin! You were referred to me because you got-" 

"Got arrested. Yeah." Frank finished her sentence for her. 

"Remind me, what were you arrested for?" She asked. 

"I- a fight? But it wasn't my fault. The other guy was like... high or something." He justified. 

"Mhm. And... remind me. Why were you in a bar on a Monday afternoon?" 

Frank very bluntly scoffed at the insensitivity of her tone. 

"Was there for a friend." He replied, technically truthfully. 

"Aha. OK." She scribbled something down in her notebook. 

Then followed up with silence.

Oh, she was waiting for him tor respond. 

Right. 

"I didn't drink." He lied. 

"I'm sure you didn't." She couldn't have sounded less convinced. 

"Ok. This sucks. I don't know why I'm here." Frank glared at her through his eyelashes as he slouched even further into his chair. 

"Because you get angry and-" 

"Everyone gets angry, Cathy." Frank used the counselors first name for that extra sprinkle of disrespect. 

He could see her plastic smile flicker off her face for a moment before it was right back, faker then before. 

"You need to learn to control it. What do you usually do to calm yourself when you feel that your anger is getting... too much?" 

Frank didn't answer. 

Because he didn't have an answer. 

He didn't do anything to "calm himself". He would just lash out. 

"Are you going to talk to me?" 

And this time Frank grabbed his bag, stood up and walked out without another word. 

He was tired. Tired of people telling him the same thing over and over as if he hadn't heard it a million times before. 

As he walked out of the school, he clicked his phone open and took a quick look through his unopened messages. 

Patrick. 

Of course. 

Wanna come over tn?

Frank groaned. This was another painfully obvious attempt to have sex with him. 

He quickly tapped out a message. 

I'm alright. Thanks, though. 

He almost immediately got a reply. 

Why do you have to be so salty? I made a mistake. Ok? God, I said I was sorry. 

Frank clicked out of the chat with a sigh. 

Even if they'd be the last two people on earth, Frank wouldn't fuck him. 

Before he clicked out of his messages app, he spotted a text from an unsaved number. 

One glance at the profile picture confirmed that it was his mother. 

Why was she texting him? She never texted him. 

Frank clicked into the message and physically stopped walking at the insensitivley short message. 

Your grandmother's dead. Funeral's this Sunday. Address:

Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 3300 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90010, United States

A single tear burned like acid as it managed its way down his face. 

No. No.

Chapter Text

Frank cried. 

Frank cried a lot. 

His grandmother was more of a mother then his actual mom ever was. She taught him everything he knew today. She let him sleep over when things got rough. She helped him buy the shitty little apartment he lived in. 

And now, she was gone. 

The bubbly, optimistic old lady that would bake him pies when his mom forgot to feed him was gone. 

Without a goodbye. Without any last words. Gone. 

Frank was even more pissed off when he tapped the church's address into Google maps and learned that it was all the way across America. 

He didn't care. He had to be there. 

Flights weren't that expensive, thankfully. About 359.99 USD for a one-way one-person flight. 

...maybe they were expensive. 

Frank scraped up all the money he found in the shoe box under his bed. 

Then he searched his entire house for anything extra like a man possessed. 

He sprawled the crumpled bills and rusty coins out onto his bed and pulled his calculator out. 

After counting the pile about 100 times, the total came to about $234.67. 

Frank hated asking for favours as much as the next guy, but there was just no way he could miss this funeral. 

So he called his boss. 

"Hey! Frank! I was just gonna call-?" 

"How many extra shifts do you have this week?" Frank said while pulling his shoes on. 

"Let me check. Ehhhh... I have... looks like there's about 6 doubles and one single on tuesday-"

"When's the first one?" 

"Looks like it started about 2 minutes ago. Is every thing ok-" 

"If I get there now, will you still pay me fully?" 

"I- sure? But-" 

Frank hung the phone up and dashed out his door. 

"Frank, my office, please?" Frank's boss looked sad. Almost apologetic. 

Yeah, Frank knew that look. 

He sat down in the chair opposite his boss's. He made sure to look him right in the eye. He made sure that he could tell how much Frank had cried on the way over here. 

"So. The lady that you spat on?" Frank flinched at the mention. God, not this again. Please, he can't catch a fucking break. 

"She... uh... said she'll sue. Unless.. you know..." the man stalled, hoping Frank would catch on. 

Naturally, Frank refused to catch on. 

"Unless what?" 

"I'm sorry Frank. Your last paycheck will come in 2 weeks." 

Fired. He was getting fired. 

"No, I... can you give it to me now? The paycheck?" He didn't mean to sound so greedy. 

"I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do-" 

"Fine." Frank's chair made a soul-crushing scrape accrss the linoleum floor as he got up. 

"Fuck you." He whispered as he walked out.

"I'm sorry" his boss called after him but it was no use. 

When he got back home, he refused to make peace with the fact that he wasn't going to that funeral. 

He cried pathetically into his mattress for what felt like hours before his phone lit up with a text. 

From Patrick, because of course it was. 

Saw you weren't in class today. I'm sorry if I upset you.

Frank scoffed. He couldn't believe how bipolar this guy was. One second he was unembarassingly begging to get laid and the next, he was crying about hurting him. 

Before he could stop himself, Frank had thrown his old, cracked phone against the nearest wall and watched as it shattered. 

Then he turned back into his pillow and continued to cry. 

He didn't care anymore. He could lay in this bed and cry until he died of starvation or dehydration or just exhaustion. 

..Ok. 

He needed to get to that funeral. 

OK. He sat up and reviewed his options.

He could ask his band for a flash gig? 

No. They weren't ready for that and it always took them weeks to prepare. 

He could sell his stuff?

What stuff? The creaky, old wooden bed he was sitting on? The 16 pieces of clothing he owned? The one beer in his kitchen? 

No. 

He could sell his body?  

That would be cheating on Gerard. 

Oh my god! Gerard!

Frank scrambled towards his phone that was laying down crumpled in the corner of his room. 

He scrambled to jam the peices together, but somehow managed to cut his palm on the broken glass instead. 

The cut instantly bloomed red. 

Shit shit shit. 

Frank stared at the phone beneath him. 

Yeah. Unsaleable. 

Instead, he popped out the SD card and placed it between the pages of a book on his nightstand to keep to safe. 

The address was in there. 

Frank sat down on his bed and thought about what to do now. 

Out of everything productive, he decided to cry. 

And boy did he. 

"Open this door or I'll kick it down, I swear to god!" Frank scrambled out of bed at the loud voice demanding his presence. 

He ran clumsily through his apartment and opened the door. 

It was Gerard. 

He was dressed in his usual school attire. Fancy and presentable. 

But he looked dishevelled. 

"Frank!" Gerard pulled him into a hug quickly. 

Upon pulling apart, he examined the boy. 

"You haven't been to school in two days. God, I was so worried. And calls! You didn't pick up any calls-" 

"I'm sorry. I- my phones broken." 

Gerard eyed him suspiciously. 

"I can show you." Frank offered "it's still... uh, in a heap on the floor" 

Gerard followed Frank into his bedroom where there was in fact a phone crumpled on the floor. 

"Jesus, what happened?" 

"I... its my grandma" Frank shuffled his feet and shifted his weight nervously. 

"What about her?" Gerard looked past Frank and onto the bed behind him, where there were countless coins and bills in neat little piles. 

"She... uh. She died." His voice cracked as Gerard immediately turned to face him. 

Frank couldn't hold back the tears anymore. 

He stumbled against Gerard chest and cried uncontrollably. Gerards arms wrapped around him in the blink of an eye. 

"I'm so sorry, Frankie. I'm so sorry." Gerard repeated in a hushed tone. The words went straight to his heart and acted almost as a glue, mending the oh too many cracks. 

"I.. the funeral's in Los Angeles." Frank sniffled. "And I- I looked for money. Its not nearly enough.. a- and then I got fired-" 

"Shhh... it's ok. I've got you. It's ok." Gerard traced his fingers up and down Frank's spine to soothe him. 

"I'll pay. It's ok." 

Frank broke away from the warmth of the hug to look Gerard in the eye. 

"Y- you would do that?" The pure desperation in Frank's glossed eyes shattered Gerard's heart into a million tiny pieces.

"Of course I would. I love you." 

It seemed to get warmer in the room. Not in an uncomfortable way, but in a more comforting and positive manner. 

"I love you too." Frank went back to sobbing, but this time with a smile on his face. 

The airport was busy with the Friday crowd and late evening panic. Frank was sitting on the floor of their terminal, nervously counting his articles of clothing again. 

"You didn't have to buy me a suit. I could have worn something normal." Frank said with a nervous smile. 

"I wanted to. Besides. You aboloutley pull off a black button down." He replied with a smirk. 

"As well as you do?" 

"Almost as well as I do." Gerard corrected. 

Frank laughed and zipped his suitcase closed again. 

"Nervous?" Gerard asked. 

"Nervous." Frank confirmed. 

Gerard replied by reaching over and squeezing Frank's hand tightly.

"You'll be fine. I just confirmed the hotel and flight information. We leave in half an hour." 

Frank looked around the airport. There were too many people. It smelled like hand sanitiser and burnt rubber. He could hear the squeak of shoes on the linoleum floor near constantly. The lady behind him was talking too loud. The lady in front of him was looking at him and Gerard intensely. 

God, what was her problem? 

"I need to to go to the bathroom." Frank suddenly said, deaperate to get away from the lady.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Gerard offered kindly. 

Uh... duh?? 

"Yeah, please." 

Checking in went smoother then Frank thought. All he had to do was look up and smile at the attendant and Gerard did the rest. 

Boarding also came easy. Frank had Gerard help him slide his suitcase into the overhead compartment before sitting down. 

Frank insisted on sitting at the window seat. He also insisted on clutching Gerard's hand as the plane started moving. 

"Nervous flyer?" Gerard asked with an amused smile. 

"First time flying." He admitted. 

"What?" Gerard looked at him in shock. "No way." 

"Yuh huh. Parents never took me when they went." 

"Let me know if you need anything then." Gerard smiled kindly. 

Without warning, the plane started down the runway at an impossible speed. Frank kept his eyes closed and his head down and slowly, the plane lifted into the air. 

The sight was near crushing for Gerard. The poor boy was flying to a funeral for the first time. It was shattering knowing that this kid was forced to greive at such a young age. It wasn't fair. 

About thirty seconds after liftoff, Frank opened his eyes cautiously and looked up at Gerard. 

"Is it really high up?" 

Gerard looked out the window and was forced to squint at the intensity of the sun shining through the window. 

"Oh wow. The sun is setting." 

Frank turned to the window to see a mural of orange, red and yellow painting the blur of sky and clouds around them. He gasped at the sight beyond the grimy plastic window. It even distracted him from how high up they were. 

And for just a moment, he felt at peace. 

Authors note:

Sometimes, the things that we are weary of or that we don't like are overshadowed by things that we love and want to think about. Don't let a maths exam, a dentist appointment or a forgotten homework assignment overshadow the date you have with that cute boy, the holidays you're going on or even the wonderful meal you're going to have for dinner. The glass is, and will always be half full if you don't let your thoughts drink from it. 

Chapter Text

Frank kicked at a rock in front of the large, oak church doors, debating if he should go in. 

He's never felt welcome in a church setting. Not by the people around him. Not by "God". Not by the lingering smell of damp wood that always seemed to be present. 

He was wearing a fully black suit that Gerard had ever-so-kindly bought for him. His hair was neat for once, and his face was clean and washed. 

Every so often a family member or old friend would come up to him and explain how bad they felt and how sorry they were. 

They weren't sorry. 

Nobody was really sorry. 

"Doing OK?" Gerard asked. He was wearing a matching black suit and had his hair hanging loosely down to his shoulders. 

Despite what Gerard had said, Frank had practically begged for him to come with him to the funeral. Frank clung onto Gerards arm and sobbed quietly with his head down for the past half hour. 

He didn't want to go inside. The large, colourful rose window taunted him. The oak doors were unnecessarily tall and pretentious. 

Everyone around them wore plastic expressions of condolence. Liars. They were all liars. 

"Frankie! Oh, come here, love!" A lady who had just walked out of the church gave Frank a tight, unwelcome hug after spotting him. 

"Oh, Frankie, I'm so sorry for your loss! You two were so close! God, you must be devastated!" The unfamiliar lady pouted. 

"Yeah. Pretty fuckin' devastated." Frank mumbled. 

"And who's your friend?" The lady turned to Gerard. 

Great. Now Frank was forced to make a choice. He could tell the lady that Gerard was his friend and live in peace, or he could admit that he had a boyfriend and totally fuck up the way people viewed him. 

"He's Gerard. He's my boyfriend." Frank decided. 

Gerard looked down at Frank in shock. Even he wasn't expecting Frank to be honest. 

"That's... lovley! So... so happy for you!" The lady patted Frank's arm and walked away with an undoubtedly disgusted expression that she hid behind a tight smile. 

"She switched up really fast." Frank frowned. 

"Yeah, I'm sorry. People are cruel." Gerard squeezed Frank's arm. 

"I think I wanna go inside now." Frank breathed deeply. 

He had promised himself that he'd never go into a church again when he was a kid. He didn't want to break that promise. 

But he had to. For her. 

"Are you sure?" Gerard asked. 

"Mhm. I have to at some point. Come on." Not wanting to overthink it, Frank walked confidently towards the door and without hesitation, stepped inside. 

People were talking in little groups. Some people were sat down and cried alone. Some people were standing at the coffin. 

The coffin. 

A beautiful, polished black that was lined with red silk on the inside. 

Blood red. Just like the rosary tucked under Frank's shirt. The one that she had given him all those years ago. 

Frank walked carefully down the aisle. He glanced to his side where Gerard walked next to him every so often. Just making sure he was there. 

By the time Frank reached the coffin, the people who were there previously had dispersed. 

He took a deep breath before looking in. 

His grandmother was impossibly pale. She had on makeup that desperately tried to cover that up, but it just didn't do the job very well. She wore a black dress. Silk and lace down to her ankles. Her pale, veiny hands were wrapped around a bouquet of red roses. 

The tears just wouldn't stop. Frank reached out to hold her hand, hoping with his whole heart that she would still be warm. 

She wasn't.

Her hands felt like rubber and ice. 

Frank still clutched her hand as tight as he could. He didn't care that one of the Rose's thorns were jammed into his skin. 

"I love you." He whispered between silent sobs. He meant it. 

With a lot a hesitation, he reached for the rosary tucked under his shirt and pulled it up and over his head. He balled it up and snuck it between two of the roses.

He was going to bury what he hated most along with who he loved the most. 

Frank leaned down and placed a small, timid kiss to his grandmother's forehead. 

He took a deep breath before mumbling out his last words to her. 

"So long, and good night." 

"We are here to celebrate and remember the life of Jennifer Iero." The stranger began his eulogy. 

Frank couldn't sit still. He constantly shifted his weight. He chewed at his fingernails. Then at his lip ring. 

The he picked at the wound on his palm. The one he got from throwing his phone across his room and then trying to put it back together. 

Gerard noticed his fidgeting and grabbed his hand tightly. 

"You ok?" He mouthed. 

Frank nodded his head and smiled. He could get through this. 

"...and so let's all stand up and say a prayer." 

He couldn't do this. 

Especially when he heard the introduction to the "Our Father" prayer. 

"I can't do this." He grabbed Gerards hand and whispered to him as they stood up. 

"Keep your head down and pretend you're crying." Gerard offered. 

Smart. So that's what Frank did. 

The prayer ended and everyone whispered a quick "Amen" and sat down. 

Countless eulogies swept smoothly by. Strangers that Frank had never seen spoke about how they loved his grandmother and they would give anything to talk to her one last time. Some were sadder then others, and that was evident. 

All seemed to be going smoother then either of the two expected. 

 Until Frank's mother came up. 

Gerard tried his best to not look up or make eye contact as casually as possible. 

But the nightmare had only begun. 

"My mother... was an amazing person. She helped me through high and low. She helped my son out when I was too poor. She put food on our table when we had nothing. She put money in our accounts when two jobs each and endless night shifts weren't enough." 

Lies. These were all lies. 

"And my son managed to make it today. Bless his soul." She pointed at Frank in a definetley unfriendly way. "She would have said she loved you one last time if you'd been around." 

Gerard felt Frank's hand tighten around his. He gave him a gentle squeeze to remind him to stay calm. 

Frank forcefully relaxed. 

"I, as a mother, have been through a lot. My father died when I was young. My mother is now passed on too. My son moved across the continent and came out as gay..." 

Frank saw red. Gerard put a hand on his thigh and squeezed in a more warning way. 

"Relax." He encouraged. 

"She can't say that!" Frank whisper-shouted.

"I know, sugar. I know. Relax." He smoothed his hand on Frank's leg. 

And Frank took a breath. 

And he relaxed. 

For once in his life, he controlled it. He relaxed. 

"...and so I'll miss you, mom. I'll see you in heaven." 

Bold of you to assume you're going there. 

Everyone clapped and told her how brave she was when she went to sit back down. 

She didn't look sorry. Or sad. She looked smug. 

But Frank didn't care. One glance to the person next to him and he was reminded of how good he had it back home. He just needed to push through the funeral. 

"And so, let's say one last prayer for Jennifer. Everyone rise." The preist was now standing at the altar. 

Everyone stood and mumbled along to a prayer that Frank didn't even know. He just stood there with his head down. 

Gerard mumbled along too. He knew the prayer. Because of course he did. 

"Amen." Everyone whispered in mourful unison and sat back down.

The funeral was coming to an end. Six men, including Frank's father, stepped up to the coffin and closed it. Then they all grabbed one handle, three on each side, and hoisted it up over their shoulders. 

And painfully slow, they marched the coffin down the aisle. Step by excruciating step. 

Frank has never seen his dad express any emotion other then hatred and anger. It was strange seeing him crying. 

Frank couldn't help but feel like he got exactly what he deserved. 

Frank, along with tens of people, followed the six with the coffin out the door. The coffin was rolled into a car and the door was closed. 

Frank whispered a final goodbye to nobody as the car drove out of the church parking. 

Frank turned to his mother. She was surrounded by people expressing their condolences and comforting her. 

It was useless comfort. Comfort that she didn't need. 

"I'm gonna go say something. Alone." Frank decided out loud. 

"Dont... do anything irrational." Gerard asked. 

Well, more like commanded. 

"I won't." Frank smiled incenserley. 

He will. 

He walked quickly towards his mother. 

"Hey mom." The people standing around his mom moved aside so he can storm up to her. 

Without warning, he grabbed her by the collar and pulled her up to himself intimidatingly. 

"If you ever- EVER- say anything about me being gay again. If you ever contact me again. If you ever talk to me again. I'm gonna rip your perfect, pearly white teeth out one by one. Understood?" He growled. 

His mother said nothing.

 She looked at him with an unexpecting, wide-eyed expression. 

Frank dropped her and she stumbled back. 

"Never talk to me again. Never." Frank mumbled before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking back to Gerard. 

"Now we have to get out of here." Frank grabbed Gerards arm and started pulling him towards the church gate. 

"What'd you do?" Gerard laughed "D'you hit her?"

"I wish. Just threatened her a little. She won't be talking to me anymore." He laughed lightly. 

"Hotel?" 

"Hotel." 

Settling into bed that night, Frank felt something that he hadn't felt in a long time. Relief. 

His mother would never bother him again.

 His father wasn't ever bothered to contact him. 

He swore to himself that this was the last time he'd be in Los Angeles. The last time he would see his family. 

Gerard was all the family he needed. 

"You ok?" Gerard asked as he slid under the covers next to Frank. 

"My mom should've been the one to die." He deadpanned.

"Oh. Jesus christ, Frank." Gerard chuckled. 

"I'm being so honest. She didn't deserve to die. She was so sweet." Frank's voice cracked. 

"I'm so sorry for your loss. She sounded lovley." Gerard offered a hug that Frank gladly slid into. That was the first sincere apology Frank had received that day. 

"Its just not fair." He whispered. 

"I know. Life is cruel sometimes." 

"Gee?" Frank looked up to make eye contact with him. 

"Mhm?"

"Life feels less cruel when I'm with you." 

Chapter Text

"Please, Frank? I miss you. Seriously."  

Frank pinched the bridge of his nose. 

"I'm literally across the continent right now. It'd be a bit hard to meet up, don't you think?" He grumbled in annoyance. 

It was two days after the funeral. Frank had been peacefully crying on the bathroom floor when he suddenly got, like, 100 messages from Patrick on the phone that Gerard had so kindly bought him.

Frank tried with all his power to talk Gerard out of it but it was no use. He insisted that he Still needed to communicate with friends, fake boyfriend, etc. 

 Call after call buzzed like an annoying mosquito in his pocket until he eventually picked up. 

He didn't have the time nor the energy to deal with this crap. 

"When are you back?" Patrick asked quickly. 

"In maybe... two days? I think?" 

"Let's meet up then! Go to a bar or something. I'll pay-" 

"Give me a minute." Frank muted himself on the call and stood up. He dragged his feet as he walked back into the hotel room, where Gerard was sitting up in bed reading some proper smart- looking book. 

"All OK?" He slid the bookmark in between the pages and closed the book. 

Frank had fallen into a sort of routine. Every few hours, he'd get extremely overwhelmed with grief and raw emotion, and he'd go cry it out in the bathroom.

 Gerard insisted that he could cry around him and that he wouldn't judge, but Frank explained that he'd rather just cry alone. Gerard occasionally checked up on him if he was taking longer then usual, but overall understood and kept his distance safe and comfortable for both of them.

"Patrick's on the phone. Asking to go out once I come back." Frank mumbled, holding his phone up. 

"You asking for premission?" 

"Mhm." 

"Then yes. You can go. He's your boyfriend, after all." Gerard joked. 

Frank giggled and stuck a thumb up before he walked back into the bathroom to unmute again. 

"Yeah. I can go out for maybe a few drinks." Frank sighed. 

"Awesome! Also, sorry about what happened with your grandma. You must be so sad." Funny how this was coming up after everything else he said. Like it was less important. 

"I'm alright. Thanks." He mumbled. 

"Alright. Two days? Battery Bar at say... 8pm?" 

"Sounds good. Bye Patrick." Frank hung up before he could hear a reply. 

Having a fake boyfriend was exhausting. He was like this little animal that needed all this attention and care. Frank didn't have enough attention to give him. All of his attention went to Gerard. 

Frank wordlessly walked back into the bedroom and threw himself onto the bed next to Gerard. 

"You know, you really should eat." Gerard pointed out as he placed his book on the nightstand. 

"I ate." Frank lied. 

"I've been here all day with you. You ate a stick of gum and you drank a glass of water that I practically shoved down your throat." Gerard reminded. 

"I'm just not hungry." Frank nuzzled his face into the crook of Gerard's neck and stamped him with a gentle kiss, hoping to distract him from the subject. 

"Seducing me isn't gonna work." Frank groaned at the way Gerard read him so easily. 

"Do we even have any food?" Frank asked quietly. 

"No. But I have money and two working legs." Gerard said. 

"Its- like, 8pm or something. What the hell is open at this time?" 

"There's a KFC down the road. Open 24 hours." He offered. 

"Last time I had KFC, I threw up for like... 2 hours. No thank you." 

"Gas station?" 

"And eat the gross, ready-made sandwiches that taste like ass and regret? No." 

"You're very picky. You know that?" 

"Mhm." 

"What would you like to eat then?"

"Nothing. I don't wanna eat. Not hungry." 

"Alright." Gerard slipped out from under the covers, leaving Frank alone and cold. 

"Hey!" He protested and reached out to grab Gerard, who was already out of reach. 

"I'm going to the gas station. Want anything?" 

"Wait, don't go! Stay." Frank complained as Gerard pulled his shoes on. 

"D'you want to come with me?" 

"Do I have a choice?" 

"Nope." 

"Right. Let me find some jeans that aren't snotty and gross." 

Frank had his hands in his filthy jumper's pockets. He scanned through all the shelves of refrigerated gloom and chemicals. The sandwiches looked soggy and indigestible. Frank had somewhat of a delicate stomach, so he was not about to take that risk. 

"Found anything you like?" Gerard appeared beside him with a cup of coffee in hand. 

"Coffee? At like.. 9pm?" Frank guessed. 

"I just got to an interesting part of my book. Want to stay up and read it." He said proudly. 

"What are you even reading?" 

"A book on the second world war." 

Frank snickered. "What's the interesting part then?"

"A short biography of Hitler's intentions and how he thought the holocaust would go. Why do you care?" 

"Just want to make fun of you." Frank grinned. 

"Right. Food?" 

"Ehhhh.... everything here looks like it would take years off my life." 

"That's fair. There was some instant noodles in the back I think?" 

Frank looked up immediately. 

"Seriously?" 

"Mhm. That way." Gerard pointed. 

After taking about 15 whole fucking minutes because god help him Frank was probably the most indecisive person in all of existence, the two walked over to the register to pay. 

Frank took one look at who was behind the register and actually flinched back. 

"Frank? Oh my god, how are you?" His dad spoke more softly then he ever has to him. It was so alien to Frank. His father had never once been nice to him throughout his entire childhood. 

"You... work at a 7/11?" Frank asked. 

"Yeah. I'm in between jobs right now... your mother and I... we're struggling." There it was. 

A cry for help. A plea for sympathy that God knows Frank didn't have left in him. 

"Good." He deadpanned. 

His father looked bewildered. Then he looked at Gerard and frowned. 

"Do I know you?" Mr Iero asked with his brows knitted together. 

"I don't believe you do, no." Gerard smiled. 

"Hm. Listen, Frank. I was gonna ask. Maybe you could uh... move in? With me and your mother? Help out with rent-" 

"Absoloutley not." Frank frowned. 

His father looked less then impressed. 

"Why not? We've been so good to you, and this is how-" 

"Shut the fuck up!" Frank wasn't aware when, but at some point he started crying. His fists were balled up at his sides. His shoulders drawn tight. 

Gerard knew what was about to happen. 

He didn't want to stop Frank, but he knew it was the right thing to do. 

"I fucking hate you! More then I've ever hated anything ever! You're fucking nobody to me!" Frank took a steady step toward the counted to lean on it.