What's wrong with Way?...(edited)

Over the next week, Frank didn’t have as many episodes from his unknown mental illness. Gerard still clung to him like a limpet, and he didn’t know what to do.

Gerard would quietly mumble things in his sleep sometimes. He would panic if he saw a knife, or bizarrely, a frying pan. His hair was in need of a dye again, the red was growing out to reveal a dark brunette at the roots.

Mikey was quiet most days.

“Frankie, can I ask you something?...”

Mikey said switching the foot his weight was on and rubbing his hands; his finger nails had been chewed down as well. Frank nodded and looked at Gerard who had fallen asleep, his hand on Frank's thigh.

“Will you go out with me?...like on like a date, as a er...as a couple?”

Mikey sounded like he was doubting himself and Frank felt trapped. Frank liked Mikey just as friends, he was like a brother to him, but if he said no he would hurt him. Frank liked Mikey's brother though, as more than a friend. He looked up seeing Mikey with the look of hope in his eyes.

“Uh, y-yes?”

Frank stuttered out seeing Mikey’s face light up and his eyes shine brightly.

“Great! I will um…we will go out later.”

Mikey chirped. Frank glanced down and saw Gerard’s eyes open, a slight quiver in his movements. Mikey walked off and Gerard jumped up and clung to the smaller boy; his eyes filled with panic and terror. All Frank could do was sit there, unable to move. He felt even more trapped. Why did he agree to something he couldn’t handle?...that he didn't want.

Gerard looked up at him, his eyes hid secrets, dark ones...ones Frank wanted to fix. That’s how they sat, Gerard looking into Frank's eyes, looking for something as the younger tried not to panic.

"Omg...he said yes!"

Mikey was freaking out in his bedroom. He, skinny nerdy Mikey Way, was going out with the cutest, sweetest, funniest, most adorable guy in the world. He was going out with Frankie!

He'd been jealous before, when he'd seen Frank with his brother, he wasn't ashamed to admit it. He hadn't thought he had a chance, he thought Gerard was getting in there first, and some of the nasty daydreams that brought to his mind were damn-right un-brotherly.

But he was happy now. Frank was his and Gerard couldn't have him.

Now, what could they do on their date?

Gerard's eyes stared longingly up into Frank's, his lip trembling, hands gripping tight to the front of the younger boy's shirt. He wanted to kiss him, hold him, stroke him...touch him, but he couldn't. Mikey just asked him out and he'd said 'yes', and now Gerard wanted to crawl under a rock and die.

"Gee?...you ok?"

Frank asked, his voice quiet and concerned. Frank hadn't really looked like he'd wanted to say 'yes' before, he hadn't sounded like it either...he'd stuttered for God sake. So Gerard made a decision and did something he'd never done before...he made the first move.

Leaning forward, he pressed his lips lightly against Frank's, closing his eyes and savouring the moment. After just a second or two, Frank began to kiss back.

Gerard knew he'd been right. He moved his arms to wrap around the teenager's waist as Frank's hands made their way into Gerard's fire truck red hair, tugging slightly and pulling soft moans from the older boy's mouth.

The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs made the pair rip apart...Mikey! Shit, what had they just done?

Frank looked toward the living room door, eyes wide with guilt and fear while Gerard quickly returned to his normal position of clinging to the other boy's chest.

Heart racing fast, pure bliss behind closed eyelids, Gerard relaxed. This was where he was meant to be...Mikey couldn't have him.

As Mikey walked into the living room, his jealousy started to boil again. Gerard was curled up against Frank's chest, clinging to his shirt. His eyes were closed and there was a blissed out expression on his face. Frank on the other hand, looked like he'd just seen a ghost.

What had Gerard done to him? Had he hurt him, touched him...worse?

Mikey stared daggers at his brother. Sure he loved Gerard, and he knew that he wasn't himself right now, hadn't been since he came home actually, but Frank was his...Gerard had no right to do anything to him.

Plonking himself down on the sofa next to his new boyfriend, Mikey turned to speak to him.

"Hey Frankie, you ok?..."

Frank nodded, his eyes wide while his teeth worried at his bottom lip nervously.

"You sure?...you look scared. Did...did he hurt you?"

Mikey pointed at his apparently sleeping brother, and lowered his voice to a whisper. Frank's eyes grew impossibly wider and his mouth dropped open for a moment, shocked that Mikey could even think that.

"No Mikey!..."

He scolded, a small frown settling on his young face.

"There was a...err...a spider."

He stuttered out, thinking that this would be believable, considering his intense fear of the freaky little bastards. I mean, why do they need that many legs anyway?...to run all over your face in the middle of the night, that's why! Frank shuddered at the thought and Mikey relaxed a little before asking.

"Where is it?..."

Frank visibly paled, then pointed toward the kitchen. Luckily Mikey took his sudden pallor as a reaction to the arachnid, (that didn't exist) instead of to the fact that he was having to lie to his best friend. Mikey grinned at the smaller boy.

"I'll get it."

He assured him, patting his knee then heading in the direction Frank had indicated. Frank smiled weakly in reply then looked down at Gerard's happy, sleepy face. God, he really was beautiful, with his flawless pale skin, long dark eyelashes that currently hid his pretty hazel eyes, soft, fire truck red hair and thin, rose pink lips, curled up at one side in a crooked smile...he took Frank's breath away each and every time he looked at the older boy.

This was torture. He was being pulled in two different directions...one was toward his best friend, who he loved...just not like that, and the other was toward Gerard, the man he'd only known for a week, but was already desperately attached to, not to mention attracted to...urgh...nightmare.

Mikey was apparently still hunting for the phantom spider, so Frank took the chance and placed a soft kiss to Gerard's forehead.

"Sweet dreams angel..."

He whispered.

"I...I love you."

Gerard's eyes fluttered open, his smile spreading.

"I love you too."

He mouthed, silently.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?"

Shit! Mikey.

Frank's head spun toward the angered voice, his eyes bugging as he tried and failed to think of something intelligent to say.

"Mikey...I...I..."

His lip started to quiver as he saw something in his friend's eyes that he'd never seen before...he saw hate.

"Frankie..."

Mikey's voice became low and dangerous.

"You said you'd go out with me...then you kiss my brother? You tell him you love him? Am I just some big joke to you?"

His face was cherry red with fury as he leapt across the room and grabbed the front of the smaller boy's shirt and yanked him to his feet.

Gerard, who'd been curled up into Frank's chest, was sent sprawling to the floor, his forehead, just above his left eyebrow, striking the corner of the big wooden coffee table that sat in front of the sofa with a large, audible thump.

The sound he made as his head hit, was something akin to the noise a cat makes when you step on its tail, and as his hand moved up to touch his face, trying to work out why it felt wet, everything started to get a little hazy for him. Red. Sticky. Blood?

Gerard could see Frank and he could see Mikey...but something wasn't right. Frank appeared to be taller than Mikey, and it took the stunned boy several moments to realise that Mikey had in fact hoisted Frank clean off his feet,and was holding him up by his t-shirt, the smaller boy wriggling and crying as Mikey yelled in his face.

Gerard tried to push himself up to his feet. He had to get to his Frankie but his knees felt like jello, collapsing from under him. His head was spinning and splitting painfully and his eyes were now refusing to focus.

Crawling on his hands and knees, Gerard clung to consciousness as blood dripped past his eye and off his sharp cheekbone.

He was close now. Close to Frankie. Close to stopping his brother, who now seemed to be ramming the smaller teen repeatedly into the living room wall.

Gerard could tell that Mikey was shouting, but the ringing in his ears made it impossible to hear his angry words.

Everything was getting a little dark around the edges as Gerard closed the gap further. And then he passed out, his arms giving way beneath him as he slumped face-first onto the carpet.

Gerard didn't see the moment Mikey hit Frank, or the tears that followed. He didn't hear Mikey tell his best friend that he never wanted to see him again. Nor did he witness the moment when Mikey opened the front door and physically threw the boy outside.

And he was still out of it as Frank banged desperately against the door, begging to be let back in...and that went on for nearly an hour, during which time Mikey made himself a coffee and turned the TV on and up, and sat watching cartoons.

~time passes~

The house was quiet as Gerard finally stirred, alone on the living room floor. It took him a minute or two to recall what had happened, but when he did...

"F-Frankie..."

He whispered into the silence. The first word he'd spoken in nearly a month. Where the Hell was his Frankie?

Gerard's head hurt. Lifting trembling fingers to his face, he felt the dry, crusted blood that covered the whole left side. Flecks of red crumbled at his touch and he whimpered at the sharp pain when his index finger brushed against the cut above his eyebrow. God that table was vicious...it needed a fucking Warning! label on it.

Gerard kinda remembered what had happened...something to do with Mikey and...Frank! Oh shit, where was Frank? The last time he'd seen him, Mikey was screaming at him and hurting him. Fuckfuckfuck!...where is he?

Gerard pulled himself awkwardly to his feet, staggering a little and having to lean on the wall for support. Squeezing his eyes shut against a wave of dizziness, he took a couple of deep breaths then went in search of Frank. It quickly became clear that the ground floor was empty, so Gerard headed toward the stairs. Head still spinning slightly, his vision blurring in and out, Gerard crawled on his hands and knees up to the 1st floor landing, pausing several times to fight back the nausea that threatened to redecorate his parent's staircase.

As he reached the top, the corridor in front of him seeming to stretch away like in some horror movie, Gerard could hear music coming from his brother's room at the far end of the hall. It was a guitar, just being played solo and Gerard took a moment to appreciate how good Mikey had gotten since he last heard him play.

Staying low to the ground for fear of falling, the elder Way brother crawled toward the noise, looking into each room as he passed. His parents room, the bathroom, the guest room...well currently Frank and his room, but all were vacant...no sign of the small boy who'd won Gerard's heart.

Reaching Mikey's bedroom, finding the door to be just ajar, Gerard pushed it quietly open. From his spot on the carpet, Gerard watched as Mikey played some tune he'd never heard before. The younger Way had his back toward the door and didn't hear it open. Frank was not there.

Feeling like he was intruding, and realising that Mikey had left him to bleed on the living room floor, and so it followed that he was as angry at him as he was at Frank, Gerard turned to crawl away.

He didn't get more than a foot or two before his brother's hostile voice sounded out behind him.

"He's gone..."

Mikey spat. Gerard froze, tears slipping from his eyes and making a trail through his blood-stained cheek.

"I threw him out..."

Oh God no! Gerard started to shake.

"He was supposed to be mine..."

Mikey hissed, getting more irate by the minute, advancing on his now quite frightened brother.

"You've been back one whole week, and you ruined everything..."

Mikey leaned down to look in Gerard's wide hazel eyes, a sneer on his young face.

"I hate you. I wish you were dead."

Gerard sobbed in despair as Mikey returned to his room and slammed the door. Maybe he should be dead. Fear and pain swept through him as he collapsed onto his side, shaking and whining, his vision starting to blur again. He needed Frank...and it happened that Frank was a hell of a lot closer than he could've imagined...cause Frank needed him too.

Frank needed Gerard. He needed that certain something that stopped him from being a total train-wreck, that stopped him from flying around the place like a two year old on a sugar rush, then collapsing as if someone had shot him with a tranquilliser dart. He didn't know why, but Gerard seemed to be that something.

Frank had seen the blood on Gerard's face, he'd seen the glazed look in his eyes and the shake in his limbs...and he'd seen him pass out. Mikey had seen it too, he'd actually laughed when he looked at his unconscious brother, laying prone on the living room carpet, before he'd turned to throw the rag doll in his hands (formally known as Frank Iero) out into the street.

Frank was scared. He knew from personal experience that head injuries are dangerous, and he was pretty sure that in Mikey's current state of mind he wouldn't think to check on Gerard's well being. He had to get to Gerard, he had to make sure he was ok.

So, frightened Frank, starting to feel his hyperactive side returning already and knowing that at some point it meant him crashing out again, decided to risk his own little neck, and climb up the trellis that clung to the front of the Ways house.

There were no plants growing up the old woodwork, Donna and Don weren't really into gardening and had basically let both front and back yards turn to weed infested wildlife habitats, so there was nothing for Frank's hands and feet to get tangled in, as he made the perilous climb to his and Gerard's partially open bedroom window.

The trellis itself was a bit of a worry though, as it creaked and cracked under even Frank's small weight. Hands and feet scrabbling for grip, Frank took a good ten minutes to navigate his way up, having to go around certain parts of the wood that were clearly rotten through. But eventually, he reached the window and hauled his tired and aching ass into the room.

Frank felt quite proud of himself for managing the climb. It was so long since he'd been well enough to do something like that, and if he tried, Mikey would always stop him, fearing that the smaller boy would fall and hurt himself. Mikey had a point.

Sat on the floor, just inside the window, Frank panted from the exertion and prayed that he wouldn't fall asleep before he reached the injured red head. When he'd finally got his breath back, he pushed himself up onto his feet and headed out of the room. He could hear Mikey's music playing loudly down the hall and feared what the older boy may do if he were to catch Frank sneaking about after being thrown out. But as Frank stepped into the hallway and looked toward his friends (?) bedroom, all that fear evaporated, to be replaced by all new fear at the sight of Gerard's body, slumped awkwardly on the floor, right outside Mikey's door.

"Gee?..."

Frank breathed shakily, before tiptoeing along the landing to the limp form of the boy he loved. Upon reaching him, Frank moved Gerard's red hair out of his face, and gasped in shock at the blood covered skin beneath. With trembling fingers, he felt for a pulse...thank God, it was there!

Gently, Frank shook Gerard's shoulder and whispered urgently to him.

"Gee?...come on...wake up...we gotta go..."

He was panicked at the thought of Mikey possibly hearing him and coming out of his room, and that upset him even more, cause he'd never been afraid of his friend (?) before.

"Gee?...p-lease?..."

He whimpered, shaking the older boy's body a bit harder til a soft, low groan escaped Gerard's thin pink lips.

"Gee?"

Slowly Gerard's eyes flickered open, and as his once blurry sight began to return to normal, a small pained smile spread across his pale, blood stained face.

"F-Frankie."

He murmured. Frank's eyes grew wide with shock.

"Gee...you spoke."

Just then, the door next to them swung open and a furious Mikey Way stepped into the hall.

"WHAT THE FUCK?..."

Mikey yelled, towering over the pair.

"Can't you take a hint, Frank?..."

He spat the smaller boy's name at him.

"You're not welcome here!"

But as he reached down to grab Frank's arm, Gerard threw himself onto the younger boy, wrapping his arms protectively around him and shooting a death stare at his angry brother. Frank held him close, stroking his hair and hushing him gently.

"Shhh...it's ok Gee...it's ok. I'm not going anywhere..."

Then he turned his eyes up to Mikey, who had withdrawn his hand and was now just looking really pissed off.

"Mikey?..."

No reaction. Frank sighed.

"Mikey. Gerard's hurt. He's still your brother Mikey..."

He waited for Mikey to finally come to his senses...that didn't happen, instead Mikey turned and disappeared back into his room, slamming the door behind him. Gerard flinched and buried his face into Frank's shirt.

Frank closed his eyes for a moment, breathing deep and trying to relax himself. Opening his eyes a minute later, he looked down at the shivering boy in his arms.

"Gee?..."

Gerard's head lifted slowly, his wet eyes meeting the other boy's.

"Gee, let's get you cleaned up, ok?"

Gerard nodded silently. Climbing to his feet, Frank pulled Gerard carefully up next to him, the older boy practically putting all his weight onto the younger one as they walked slowly over to the bathroom. Once inside, Frank sat Gerard on the closed toilet seat and extricated himself from the redhead's grasp.

"I gotta get the first aid kit, sweetie..."

He murmured, stepping over toward the vanity unit and crouching down to retrieve the small blue box. When he turned back, he saw that Gerard was watching him, an unfamiliar expression on his banged-up face.

"Gee?..."

He stepped toward him.

"You ok?"

Frankie asked, hesitantly. Gerard sighed, looking down at his hands. He really a wanted to talk to Frank, but he couldn't. He couldn't tell him what had happened back at college. He couldn't even tell him what hurt...he just couldn't get the words to come.

Lifting his head back up, Gerard tried to communicate everything with his eyes. He attempted to tell him about Bert, about the frying pan and all the staring people...and he tried really hard to get across his feelings right now. But Frank didn't seem to understand, he just stepped forward, smiling sweetly and proceeded to clean the dried blood from Gerard's pale face, with a cloth he'd found and wet in the sink.

After he'd finished the cleanup job, Frank assessed the damage. There was a cut, just above Gerard's left eyebrow. It was about an inch long but didn't appear to be very deep, and it had luckily already stopped bleeding. The area around the cut was bruised and already swelling to near egg-like proportions. Frank frowned and gently prodded the lump, causing Gerard to squeak, his eyes widening and his whole body jerking backwards at the sudden increase in pain, tears threatening to fall.

Frank withdrew his hand and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry Gee..."

He whispered.

"You got a bump."

Gerard relaxed a little and raised his fingers to touch his forehead. He felt the bump, and for a second worried that his brain was trying to escape his scull.

Frank held up a small tube of antiseptic cream to show Gerard, then squeezed a bit onto his fingertip and gently stroked it over the length of the cut. Gerard flinched slightly at the sting, but allowed the younger boy to continue.

Once done, Frank wiped the remaining cream from his finger onto a piece of toilet roll, then opened the first aid kit again and took out a large Band-Aid. Taking it from its packet and removing the backing, Frank carefully placed it over the cut and pressed lightly on the sticky edges to secure it.

Smiling at the result, Frank turned his eyes to meet Gerard's.

"There...all done..."

He murmured, leaning in and kissing the older boy's lips, softly. Just a light touch, then it was over. Frank pulled away and grinned at Gerard.

"You wanna go watch a movie?..."

He asked, taking both of Gerard's hands in his and hauling him to his feet. Gerard smiled and nodded, though the nod made his head hurt a bit and he stopped quickly. Leaning against each other, Gerard using Frank for support as his legs still felt a bit like jello, they made their way carefully down the stairs to the living room. Once there, Frank settled Gerard on the sofa with a box of DVDs, while he went to fetch a cloth to try and clean up the blood that was now dried into the carpet. How were they gonna explain that to Don and Donna?

A few minutes later, and Frank was still on his hands and knees, scrubbing mercilessly at the stain that seemed like it would never come out.

"Out, damn spot..."

He muttered, then turned to look at Gerard as he heard the redhead giggle slightly.

"Oh, you think that's funny?..."

He enquired, a wicked glint in his eye as he dropped the cloth onto the table and...crawled toward Gerard. Gerard swallowed nervously, the giggle dying in his throat as Frank crawled up into his lap, knees either side of Gerard's slender hips, and pressed their bodies close together.

"Still think it's funny Gee?"

He purred into the older boy's ear, before slowly licking the lobe. Gerard shuddered, his breath hitching in his chest as his eyes fluttered closed. Frank began to subtly grind down onto Gerard, as he whispered dirty thoughts and ideas into his ear.

Gerard was trembling slightly and he could feel himself, and Frank, getting harder by the second. He really wanted to suggest that they take this upstairs, but of course, he couldn't say a word.

But the sounds he was making, the whimpers and soft moans, were enough to spur Frank on. Hands were beginning to slide under clothing, buttons were coming undone, and Gerard's lips were pressed against Frank's collarbone, sucking and biting at the sensitive skin as Frank continued to drip filthy words into his ears. Who knew that such a sweet boy could have such a dirty, sexy mouth on him?

Things were starting to get pretty hot, when suddenly they flew apart as the front door opened and Donna Way bustled inside, already talking a mile a minute about whatever it was she'd done at work that day.

Both crossing their legs, Gerard hastily shoving a cushion onto his lap as they tried to look like they weren't just about to fuck on the couch, they blushed furiously and were infinitely grateful that Donna hadn't even looked at them as she hurried through to the kitchen to put away the groceries she'd collected on the way home.

Turning to each other, full-on laughter threatening to pour out of them. They took a few deep breaths to calm themselves down, then curled up against one another. Gerard tucked himself into Frank's side and sighed contentedly, as the younger boy gently kissed his head and wrapped his arms around Gerard's thin frame.

"Gee?..."

Gerard looked up at him.

"We'll continue this later...yeah?"

Gerard grinned. Oh yeah, definitely wanna continue later.

All thoughts of Bert and the frying pan lost to the back of his mind, Gerard snuggled down happily against Frank's chest and closed his eyes...and a few minutes later he was fast asleep. They never did watch that DVD.

Notes