Bound

Gerard doesn’t mean to fall asleep. He really doesn’t. Frank was the first to nod off last night, and Gerard was going to go back down to his own bed, but he didn’t want to wake Frank. He decided he’d let him sleep for a while, get into a deep rest, and then slip out from beneath him, and Frank wouldn’t notice a thing.
But fuck, the sound of Frank’s breathing was just so soothing, and every rise of his stomach into Gerard’s was like a shot of morphine.
Gerard was out cold in minutes.
Which was totally fine, except for the fact that the next morning, their two cabin mates catch the two boys snuggling together in their sleep, completely unaware.
The snickering grows so loud that it wakes Frank up, who takes a few moments to adjust to the situation. He kicks away from Gerard, almost falling off the bunk as he scrambles to get away, waking up the boy in the process.
“Fucking faggots!” one of them laughs. “Look, Iero’s shirtless, too!”
“Who took it in the ass?” the other questions. “Now’s the time to raise your hand.”
Gerard just lies there, bracing himself motionlessly. He’s used to emotional abuse; he just hopes that the boys don’t get physical. Gerard decides to do what he always did at school; sit quietly, and then wait for the bullies to get bored with you. And about half of the time, he walks out unscathed.
Frank’s having none of that silent shit though. He insists, “We didn’t do anything!”
“Then where’s your shirt, you freak?” the boy demands. He grabs Frank by the hair, pulling his head forward to meet his eyes. “You’re fucking disgusting, you know that?”
“Bring Iero down here,” the other orders.
“Gladly.”
Frank’s lifted right out of bed and tossed to the floor harshly. He tries to crawl away, but a foot is planted hard against the base of his spine, and he cries out in pain.
“Don’t let him get away!”
They pin Frank to the floor, reaching down the back of his pants and bringing his Marvel boxers up his back.
Frank turns beat red, and he squirms uncomfortably, pleading, “Stop!”
They don’t quit, only continue to pull on his underwear, but harder. Gerard is conflicted, sitting up in bed, but unsure of what to do. If he goes down there, that just means that the boys will target him, right?
Gerard doesn’t have any time to react; the bell rings and Frank is released. One of the boys smirks,
“You’re saved by the bell, Iero.”
Frank remains on the floor, whimpering slightly into the wood.
Gerard gets up, changing quickly into his swim suit, even in front of Frank. He knows that if he doesn’t hurry he’ll be late, so there’s no time to be bashful and hide away in a stall to change. “Frank, come on. We’ll be late.”
Frank sits up, wiping his nose on his forearm. “I don’t want to.”
“You have to, come on,” Gerard urges, grabbing Frank’s arm.
Frank breaks free, muttering, “Don’t tell me what to do.”
“Fine,” Gerard replies. “You’ll be the one in trouble.”
“I’ll just say I’m sick or something,” Frank calls as Gerard leaves.
Gerard gets back to the cabin after his final period to see Frank in bed, trying way too hard to look ill. He’s surrounded by wadded tissues, and he looks perpetually annoyed. “Hey.”
“Hi,” Gerard responds. He sets his bag down on his bottom bunk, and begins to climb up to Frank’s mattress when he stops, knowing that this will only evoke more ridicule from their cabin mates, which is the last thing he wants at this juncture.
He slumps on his own bed, and asks,
“Frank, you will go to class tomorrow, right?”
Frank shrugs. “I dunno. I just want to leave.”
“You don’t think I wanted to?” Gerard challenges. “It’s not that simple, Frank. Sure, I’d like to quit everything that causes me problems, but if I did, there wouldn’t be anything left to do.”
Frank considers this, lying in bed. “All I know is I hate it here. You’re the best part of this fucking camp.”
“I… I am?” Gerard questions, unable to hide his smile or prevent himself from blushing.
“Of course,” Frank answers. “I hate everyone and everything else. You’re the only perk of this Goddamn place.”
“I could say the same for you,” Gerard counters. “I don’t really have any other friends.”
“We’re…. friends?” Frank asks.
Gerard realizes what he had said, and the fact that he hadn’t even thought of it, that his brain automatically defaulted Frank as a friend. “Y-yeah. I guess so.”
The two boys lie there, completely silent. Gerard’s about to strike up a conversation again when their cabin mates come into the room, laughing obnoxiously as they enter.
Gerard pretends to be asleep; shutting his eyes and steadying his breathing.
Unfortunately, Frank lies there wide awake, and the other two boys make note of this.
“Hey, Iero, I bet you’re aching for another wedgie, right?” one questions.
Frank blushes and shakes his head, murmuring, “No.”
“Get down here so we can give you one,” the other orders. “If not, we’ll just climb up there.”
“Please, just let me go to sleep,” Frank begs. “I’m sick.”
“More like you’re a pussy that can’t take a few hits,” one of them challenges. “God, we didn’t even punch you, and you fucking play hooky. You are such a woman, Frank.”
“Yeah,” the other agrees. “Just go fuck yourself, Iero, you giant wuss.”
The two go to bed without touching Frank or his underwear, and Frank’s thankful for that, especially because his favorite boxers were stretched out enough by those two that morning.
He’s exhausted; perhaps faking illness really does take it out of you. He yawns, and hears a whisper,
“Do you think they’re asleep?” below him.
Frank grins, knowing it’s Gerard. “Yeah.”
Gerard reaches a hand up next to Frank’s, and Frank can just picture Gerard sitting up in bed, stretching as far as he can just to get his fingers close to Frank. Frank strokes Gerard’s palm before Gerard withdraws, telling,
“Goodnight, Frank.”
Frank wants to tell Gerard he loves him, he really does. About twenty percent of him is afraid that their cabin mates have actually been listening in the entire time, but the other eighty percent is terrified that Gerard won’t love him back. “Night.”

Notes

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