F*ck and Run

Mikey and Alicia were saints, Frank decided. Patron saints. Mikey, the patron saint of... wolves, presumably? Or maybe bath robes? As for Alicia, she was the patron saint of booze. She probably deserved to be the patron saint of something more interesting than booze, but Frank was a little too busy freaking out to assign her to something more grandiose.
Mikey had slung a thick robe over his shoulders, which Frank had half-heartedly tied around his waist. Alicia had passed him the whiskey. He held it tightly in his shaking hands, trying his hardest to not drop it as the three of them made their way up the stairs and out of the basement. The last thing the basement needed was broken glass, it was already creepy enough with the giant cage, and the stench of wet dog and fear. He wasn’t sure if he was shivering from the cold or the shock. It was probably a little of both.
Mikey shut the basement door behind the three of them. It closed with an echoey thud in the otherwise silent house. He ushered Frank through the kitchen, the sliding glass door, out to the outlook. Most of the lights were still off in the house. The moon’s pale white light shone brightly through the windows and illuminated everything enough that Frank could sort of find his way through the darkness. Mikey did most of the work anyways, leading Frank to sit with Alicia on the couch by the barred windows.
Mikey lit three cigarettes and wordlessly passed them around. With a shaking hand Frank set down the bottle and accepted the burning cigarette. He numbly took a puff and flicked it over the ashtray on the coffee table in front of him, even though it hadn’t really accumulated enough ash to slough off.
As Frank took a deep breath he realized he was acting. It wasn’t for Mikey and Alicia. He was trying to keep it together for himself. A drink and a smoke would probably suit him in an hour or so. For now, he felt too empty and confused, still waiting for the part where a wolf rose from his flesh and bone, like some fucked up variation on a phoenix rising from the ashes. The longing that had been sitting in the pit of his stomach all week long was still there, heavy like he’d eaten rocks. Nothing felt real except for the cold settling in around him.

It was totally silent. Frank glanced towards the windows out at the tree line, the moon, and then back to Mikey and Alicia. They were both staring at him. Alicia, to his right, with a hand on his arm, looking concerned. Mikey was across the room, expression blank, paler than pale in the moonlight. They were both waiting for him to say something, Frank realized. Frank set his cigarette down in the ashtray to slowly fizzle out by itself.
“This is-” Frank rasped, clearing his throat so he could speak up, “This is good, right?”
“If you want my honest opinion, you dodged a fucking bullet.” Mikey offered.
“I mean I agree…” Frank nodded, “But then… why am I so… sad?”
The drying tears on his cheeks had gotten cold. It was cold in the window-lined room. The robe wasn’t nearly enough. Frank wanted his clothes. He wanted to lie in a warm bed with his too-warm boyfriend. But all of that would have to wait until the moon went away.
He wrapped his arms around himself in an attempt to stay warm.
Mikey seemed to get it and wandered inside to grab Frank a jacket. He returned a moment later and handed it over. Frank arranged the garment over top of the front of himself, pulling it up to just under his chin. He sunk down into the couch cushions and let out another deep breath.
“We all got you pretty fucking worked up over this...” Mikey offered, “I’d probably be upset too.”
“It was pretty anticlimactic.” Alicia agreed.
It wasn’t about any of that, but Frank nodded anyways.
“This is good...” Frank said again, mostly to himself.
“It is good.” Mikey agreed, “Gerard will be... relieved. He was pretty convinced he’d ruined your fucking life, Frank. I’m sure he’ll be happy to know he hasn’t yet.”
“Yet...” Frank smiled, “You think?”
“Yes. Absolutely.” Mikey said.
Frank rose from the couch, pulling the coat over the bath robe. The sleeves of the robe dragged under the sleeves of the coat, bunching up at his elbows. It was uncomfortable, but Frank would’ve been uncomfortable no matter what. Reality was just fucking… uncomfortable right now. He made no effort to fix the sleeves. He was sure he looked strange with his bathrobe, black coat, and tear-stained face.
He took a few curious steps towards the nearest window. His eyes started their search for the wolf, before he even realized that was what he wanted. His gaze darted along the treeline, looking for any signs of movement. Much of the snow had melted into the surrounding fields. The moonlight glistened off of the mud and grass, still saturated with the snow melt. It was harder to look for the wolf’s tracks in the remaining patches of brown snow withering away in the shadows.
He heard Mikey cross the room to stand beside him at the window.
“Where does he usually go?” Frank asked, training his eyes along the roadside leading up into the forests.
“Depends.” Mikey said, “He’s probably in the woods on the other side of the house... The wolf seems to like to run a lot when it first changes… I don’t know what’s over there. I’ve tried to figure it out on day hikes...”
“Are you ever worried he won’t come back?” Frank asked.
“I was at first.” Mikey offered, “He usually comes back long before the moon is down. You just have to remember, he’s not a dog. He’s… more than that. He’s okay out there by himself. No one is going to fuck with him.”
Frank glanced over at Mikey. He was looking out along the treeline too. He must’ve detected Frank’s gaze because he glanced over at Frank and gave him a long, calculating look.
“Are you okay?” he asked, pushing his glasses up his nose.
“Yeah…” Frank nodded, “Or, I will be.”
“I think so, too...” Mikey said, resting his forehead against the glass, “This really is for the best, Frank.”
Frank bit his lip and nodded, then retreated to the couch, grabbing the whiskey before folding himself up next to Alicia.
“You want a beer?” Mikey asked.
Frank was about to say he already had plenty of booze but quickly realized Mikey was talking to his girlfriend. He took a swig of the whiskey, kept cold by the chilly room. Exhaling smoothly, he blinked as it burned down his throat. When he looked down, the bottle and the brown liquid inside of it were reflecting in the moonlight.
It occurred to Frank that Alicia had never been to the cabin before. At least, not under these circumstances. The place was still pretty new to him as well. He glanced around the room, trying to picture it the way it had looked the first time he’d seen it. He heard Mikey disappear into the kitchen to retrieve beer. So maybe that made him the patron saint of booze, not Alicia.
“So uh…” Frank said, “Your boyfriend disappears once a month to lock his monster of a brother up in a cabin in the woods… That’s gotta be weird, right?”
“You’re one to talk.” Alicia scoffed, “You’re boyfriend’s the one he’s locking up. Isn’t that weirder?”
“Probably.” Frank agreed, “But it’s still new for you. I’m… getting used to it, I guess?”
“I always wondered where the fuck he was going. He’s just such a bad liar, you know?” Alicia smiled, “When he told me… I didn’t really believe him at first. But he just like, doesn’t really joke about stuff. Not when it comes to Gerard.”
Frank nodded, taking another long swig of whiskey.
“I thought maybe he’d started some secret band and didn’t want me to come to practice.” Alicia continued in all seriousness.
Mikey slipped back into the room to hand a beer to Alicia. They shared a look that Frank felt weird for including himself in on.
“Secret band?” Mikey asked.
“Yeah, the one we’re gonna start.” Alicia teased.
“I’ve got to take care of a few things for the morning…” Mikey sighed.
“I’ll watch the pup.” Alicia said, glancing over at Frank. It took him a moment to realize she was talking about him.
“Frank if you need anything…” Mikey trailed off.
“He’ll bark.” Alicia finished.
Mikey nodded, suppressing a small twitch of a smile, and disappeared into the house again.
“Pup?” Frank asked once the glass door slid shut behind him, almost taking offense at the pet name.
“You’re still a pup if you wanna be...” Alicia shrugged, “But like, seriously dude, are you okay?”
Frank took a deep breath before answering.
“I mean… yeah?” he said eventually, glancing at his untouched cigarette still resting in the ash tray. He leaned forward and clamped it between his teeth, glancing around for a lighter.
“It’s okay if you’re not okay.” Alicia said, handing her lighter over, “Just like, if you wanna talk about it…”
Frank glanced up at Alicia as he took her lighter and sparked up, considering her offer. He was quiet for a moment, allowing himself to savor the cigarette. Once the taste was on the back of his tongue, he felt something inside him settle.
“I might take you up on that, maybe.” Frank sighed, “Uh, later.”
~

“Playing cards?” Alicia asked, pen hovering over a scrap of paper.
“No.” Frank slurred, shaking his head, “First of all those are for old people and children. But there’s already a deck in the front room, also...”
“But drinking games.” Alicia pointed out.
To pass the moonlight hours, they’d been making a list of things they wanted to bring up to the cabin for the next full moon. Unbeknownst to the younger Way, ‘WIRELESS ROUTER’ was at the top of the list, circled and underlined. It hardly seemed fair that Mikey was the only one with internet access.
The rest of the whiskey, a few beers, and several chain-smoked cigarettes had passed. He and Alicia were sitting on the kitchen floor in front of the fridge, to shorten the distance between themselves and the rest of the beer. At first Frank had just wanted to warm his numb fingers in the warm air blowing out of the vent underneath, but then the floor had just seemed most comfortable. This was, of course, after Frank had ditched the bathrobe in favor of real clothes.
Mikey was off in the house somewhere, preparing for the morning. Frank would have to ask the younger way to show him everything when he was in a state to actually remember all of it. He figured he might have a future in pet sitting if he played his cards right.
Mikey had popped a tape into the stereo system in the corner of the room, one of the times he’d come into the kitchen. Some punk band Frank didn’t recognize blared from the speakers. Frank suspected it was to mask the piercing howls that came from outside every now and then. Alicia didn’t seem to notice them at all. She wasn’t listening for them the way that Frank was, anyway.

Frank wasn’t entirely sure how much of the whiskey he had personally consumed. The bottle hadn’t been all the way full in the first place, so at least he knew he hadn’t drunk all of it. He lowered himself further onto the floor, rolling around in search of a comfortable position, ending up on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He’d been too distracted to tell himself not to mix whiskey and beer. It never ended well. And it wasn’t until now that he realized Alicia had been trying to get him drunk this entire time, but now, room spinning, it seemed so obvious. She’d been doing an excellent job of pacing him. The empties from the beers left in the fridge had grown in an even number. He was grateful for the accompaniment, even if he was at least half a bottle of whiskey ahead of her.
Things would’ve gone so differently if it had just been him and Mikey, he realized idly.
“So what do you think? Are you gonna stay up all night and wait for him?” Alicia asked.
“I don’t know if I can.” Frank admitted, a little slurred, “But I don’t want to sleep either… What would you do if you were me?”
“I cannot possibly answer that.” she laughed.

“Okay so I know it’s selfish... “ Frank confessed, “But part of me wanted to be... Like Gerard, you know? I wanted to be… Infected or whatever. I know that sounds bad.”
He angled his head to glance over at Alicia. She set the pen down and lowered herself onto the floor, too, laying on her side so she could look at Frank.
“Before me and Gerard… he just… he’s been with a lot of people.” Frank tripped over his words, not really sure how to summarize it, “Which isn’t a judgement, it’s just... a fact. And I don’t think I have any reason to feel threatened by that, but I just wanted something no one else could say they had with him. I thought, if we were in this together… maybe that feeling would go away? I know how that sounds...”
Alicia’s expression was unreadable as she listened. Maybe thoughtful, maybe disagreeing.
“I mean, I wasn’t trying to get infected on purpose. Don’t get me wrong.” Frank amended quickly, “Gerard hates the moon so it must be just... awful. But I spent the last two weeks thinking it was happening to me, too, and after awhile the idea just kinda... grew on me.”
“So getting cursed…” Alicia mused, “Was almost like a baby fix?”
“Baby fix?” Frank frowned, feeling around for the half of a beer he’d left on the floor somewhere. He nearly knocked it over as his hand connected with it.
“Well it’s like, sometimes, when a marriage isn’t going so well, women will get pregnant to try and fix it, you know?” Alicia explained, “It never works, but it’s like, if they just have a kid they never really have to sort out their problems, or even address them, really. It’s like, a way of forcing that commitment and distracting both parties. Cause who has time to figure out their emotional problems when they’re changing diapers, you know? More often than not the dude isn’t even interested in babies…. ”
“Oh my God. This was a terrible analogy.” Alicia backtracked, taking in Frank’s horrified stare, “I just… wow. My friend Martha-
“No, I think I get where you were going with that.” Frank said, sitting up enough to take another swallow of beer. A few dribbles rolled down his chin and soaked into his shirt anyways.
“But I mean, you guys aren’t married. And I didn’t mean to suggest you have issues.” Alicia ranted, “And I’ve seen the way Gerard looks at you, Frank. He totally wants your puppies, no matter how strange and... implausible that may be.”
It had been awhile since Frank had blushed. Maybe he wasn’t blushing. Maybe it was just the alcohol warming his cheeks. It felt like someone had stolen the breath from his lungs. He nearly choked on his gulp of beer. He sat up the rest of the way to try and make himself breathe properly.
“We do have issues...” Frank pointed out in a wheezy voice.
Frank had to look away, glancing out the windows at the moon again.
“It’s okay to have issues.” Alicia said soothingly, “You work them out.”
Frank didn’t have a response to that. Sure, working out their problems was an easy enough suggestion. Actually working them out didn’t feel so easy.
“Mikey told me about the other part of the curse...” Alicia said, “The bind.”
“Yeah, um, that.” Frank said.
“That’s something he doesn’t share with anyone else, isn’t it?” Alicia asked.
“I mean, I didn’t say what I wanted was at all rational.” Frank said, “I know what we have is different. I just wanted to even the playing field. That’s all.”
He paused to finish off his beer.
“If we were both monsters…” he trailed off with a sigh, setting the bottle down and hugging himself, “I mean, I guess I'm a monster in my own way…”
“Let me get you another.” Alicia said, lifting herself off the floor.
She frowned as she stared into the fridge, rocking on her heels.
“I totally can’t drive, but we could enlist Mikey to drive us to get some more?” Alicia suggested, “I think he said there was a gas station about 20 minutes into town? If he leaves now he might make it before they close...”
The both froze as a piercing howl ripped through the otherwise quiet night. Frank bit his lip, listening for any other indication that Gerard was back. When had the tape ended? What time was it? The microwave above the stove said it was just past 9am, which had to be wrong. The sun wasn’t even up yet.
“Was that…” Alicia trailed off in a low voice, listening intently as she stared at Frank.
“It was.” Mikey said, appearing in the doorway to the kitchen again. He leaned against the doorframe. He had a faraway look in his eyes, like he was listening too.
“Mikey, we messed up.” Alicia complained, when no other sounds came. She closed the refrigerator door and crossed the room to drape her arms around Mikey’s neck.
“I probably agree but…” Mikey paused, “What are you talking about?”
“Out of beer.” Alicia informed gravely.
“We can’t leave until my brother changes back.” Mikey reminded gently, leaning in to press a kiss to her forehead, “He’d tear us to shreds before we got to the car.”
“I could make him change back?” Frank joked, turning away as Mikey pecked Alicia on the lips.
“I’m sure Gerard would be delighted to change back early in the name of a fucking beer run.” Mikey laughed. He hadn’t meant anything by it, but Frank still felt a little stung anyways.
He started milling through the refrigerator to distract himself. When he found nothing of interest in the fridge, he moved onto the freezer, immediately eyeing a bottle of vodka. He broke it out of a thick layer of frost with an icy hiss, and began looking for something they could chase it with.
“What happens if you cut yourself while you’re cooking and like, need stitches?” Frank wondered aloud, “You can’t like, drive to the emergency room with him out there...”
“Usually he’s locked up in the basement.” Mikey pointed out, “Besides, do I look like I cook in the middle of the fucking night on a regular basis? Microwave burritos, sure, but anything involving chop work?”
“Valid point.” Frank nodded, “By the way, I found vodka.”
Alicia floated back towards Frank and reached for the bottle, inspecting the label. He continued rifling through the cabinets looking for something to chase the booze with.
“There’s not a chance you keep extra soda in the basement?” Frank asked, shutting the cabinet and turning to raise an eyebrow at Mikey.
Mikey looked thoroughly unamused. Frank briefly considered handing him the bottle and insisting he chug it. The younger way needed it more than anyone, but someone had to be sober enough to help Gerard when he changed back at moonset. Frank would’ve loved to be that person but he was a few drinks past responsible.

Frank filed into the den after Alicia. Mikey had built them a fire to help warm up the house faster than the small furnace in the far corner of the basement could work. Gerard had mentioned it needed updating.
Mikey and Alicia took the couch. Frank curled up in a dusty old wing chair for a few moments, relishing in the warmth of the fire. The flickering light from the flames bounced off the bottle of liquor on the table in front of him. He wasn’t drunk enough to drink it straight, and when he thought about how much the room was spinning, realized he maybe didn’t need anymore to drink at all.
“Mikey, what do you do when you’re up here?” Alicia asked, “There’s no cell reception. It’s so…”
Frank waited patiently for her to finish her sentence, though as the seconds ticked by it didn’t seem like she was going to. He could think of some words for this place, but no one had asked him for them.
Mikey sighed, burying his face in her neck.
“I thought we’d have a second wolf to deal with.” Mikey explained, “I didn’t bring my laptop. I usually just work while I’m up here… Do you wanna play cards or something?”
Alicia faked a gagging noise to express her disinterest. Frank tossed her a smirk.
“You know, I’ve been coming here since before the internet.” Mikey pointed out, “There’s lots you can do without internet.”
“You’re literally always online.” Alicia shot back.
“I have a bass upstairs if you wanna play?” Mikey tried.
“Too much work.” she complained.
Frank tuned them out, finding himself drawn to the cold radiating from the drafty windows lining the wall on unsteady legs. He pulled a tattered blanket around his shoulders and fingered at the curtains covering the windows.
He hadn’t noticed that the windows on the front of the house had bars on them as well, even though that made a lot of sense. The angle of the moon cast a long shadow across the muddy fields in the shape of the cabin. Snowbanks were tucked into the shadow of the house, where the sun didn’t hit as frequently. Frank squinted in the dark, doing the same check along the tree line, looking for any sign of movement. A few branches rustled at the edge of the clearing, drawing Frank’s attention. He held his breath as he waited for the wolf to emerge.
He took a step back away from the windows as he noticed movement in his peripheral vision. Frank darted his gaze towards it and was met with a set of piercing yellow eyes, just above the nearest snowbank. The eyes were focused directly on him. The shadowy creature crawled over the browning snow, stalking towards the front porch, much more magnificent and terrifying than Frank had remembered it to be. He could barely make out its full outline in the shadows. It didn’t even blink as it gracefully sauntered up the front steps and onto the porch. It kept its head low as it sniffed at the air around it. It was inching closer to the windows. Thank fucking fuck for the bars.
Frank was paralyzed in some strange place between terror and curiosity. He could admit he perhaps didn’t know the first thing about wolves, but the creature before him seemed much too large to pass as a common wolf. The fur was too dark, the eyes too bright, still glowing without the moonlight reflecting in them in them.
Frank felt a hand close around his arm and it made him jump. Mikey pulled him back and snapped the curtain shut.
“You’re familiar with little red riding hood, yes?” he asked, staring at Frank, “You realize you would be little red riding hood in this scenario, right?”
“Well, yeah.” Frank started, “I just-”
“He can’t get in here.” Mikey interrupted, “But he will certainly try. Do you have any idea how many times I’ve had to refinish the front door?”
“Sorry.” Frank said, taking another step away from the windows and out of Mikey’s reach.
“You have to… Gerard would just…” Mikey faltered, letting himself take a deep breath.
“It’s alright to be curious.” Mikey amended, opening the curtain a few inches, “Alicia, did you wanna see?”
Frank watched as Alicia crept up behind Mikey, standing on her tiptoes so she could peek through the window over his shoulder.
“I didn’t mean to snap.” Mikey said quietly, “I’m just… still adjusting to having you both here. If it’s only me here, I have escape routes, battle plans... a gun full of silver bullets. If the wolf got in here right now I’d have to find some way to protect both of you and it’s more than a little… stressful.” Alicia curled an arm around his middle as he spoke.
“Are you scared of him?” Mikey asked, “I’m not.”
“I’m… sort of scared of him.” Alicia said, answering before Frank could even think of an answer.
“I’m too drunk to be scared.” Frank decided on.
Mikey smiled at him fondly.
“Just try to not draw him towards the house like that.” Mikey shrugged.
Frank crept forward and peered through the curtains. He knew it was just the beer talking, but the temptation to step out onto the porch and call Gerard’s name was driving him crazy. He didn’t want to wait any more. He wanted Gerard to scoop him up in his too-warm arms and tell him it was alright if Frank wasn’t a wolf, too. He wanted Gerard to kiss him until it didn’t matter who was what anymore.
Frank realized he was still hurting over this, after everything. He let himself sigh, let the disappointment wrap around him like a wet blanket.
“Sorry, I just…” Frank trailed off, unable to find the words. He slipped away from the window, still hearing the wolf’s claws clacking on the wooden planks out on the porch.
“It’s okay to be curious.” Mikey reiterated.
“I think I should go lay down.” Frank suggested, still listening for any other indications of the beast outside.
“Sure.” Mikey nodded, “You need anything?”
“Nothing a little shut eye can’t fix.” Frank said, heading for the stairs.
“Goodnight Frank.” Alicia called after him, “Dream of puppies.”
Frank heard Mikey quietly asking her what the fuck she was talking about as he dragged himself up the first couple of stairs. He hadn’t realized he wanted to be alone until he was. He felt around for a lightswitch along the wall, but his fingers never connected with one. He’d look for it in the morning so he could stop wandering the house in the dark like his creature-of-the-night boyfriend. He rounded the corner and tried to remember which room it had been. He opened a few wrong doors before he found the room he wanted. He left the lights off, even after he’d closed the door behind him. Enough moonlight came spilling through the windows for him to make his way. He sat on the edge of the bed, mind still spinning from having seen the wolf again.

It hadn’t even growled at him.

Frank was no expert, but the wolf hadn’t seemed like it was looking to swallow him up. Maybe that was exactly what it wanted Frank to think. He still couldn’t believe Mikey had compared him to little red riding hood. He hoped that had been a joke. That was ridiculous. He’d recognize a wolf dressed in his grandmother’s clothing any fucking day of the week, drunk or not.
He got up and walked over to the windows, almost surprised to find the wolf was still at the front of the house. It had laid itself out on the nearest snowbank, head resting on top of it’s paws. It wouldn’t be able to notice Frank as easily from the second floor, but Frank made a point to move the curtains more carefully so as not to attract it’s attention. Frank watched the creature with burning curiosity.
He couldn’t figure out what the fuck it was doing. It laid there, unmoving, staring at the front of the house. Frank wasn’t sure how long he stood there, watching the creature, before it got up and started to pace.
Some part of him told him he should maybe be afraid. Maybe the thing was looking for a way into the house so it could tear them to shreds. Even if he could stop it from hurting anyone, being hunted was still being hunted.
He backed away from the windows as the creature glanced up to the second story. He collapsed onto the bed, pulling a quilt around himself. The last time he’d been in this bed, Gerard had been all over him, telling him how good he tasted. It would only be a few more hours before Gerard turned back and they could do it all over again. Frank held onto the thought of pulling Gerard close as sleep pulled him in.
~

Frank’s eyes shot open. He hadn’t meant to sleep so hard, if he could even call the last couple of hours sleep. He was still sort of residually drunk, still fully-clothed. Why had he slept in his jeans? Seriously? A wave of nausea crashed over him as he made the mistake of sitting up too quickly.
He made a dash for the bathroom and immediately emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet. There wasn’t much to empty out, so he found himself dry-heaving for a long time. The sounds of his body trying to turn itself inside out seemed incredibly loud in the otherwise quiet house. In between bouts of retching he listened for indications that anyone else might be awake.
He leaned over the toilet, trying to spit away the bitter taste in the violet-grey light, panting and miserable. He hadn’t meant to drink so much. He’d just wanted to be comfortably numb, but now he was uncomfortable and could feel everything twice as much, which hardly seemed like a fair trade. But since when was anything ever fair?
Leaning his weight over the sink, Frank splashed some water over his face first, letting himself breathe through the chill. He swished some around in his mouth as well to try and get the bitter taste out. His mouth still felt pickled, like his tongue had been floating in a bottle of whiskey overnight, which, ew.
He avoided looking at himself in the mirror. He didn’t want to know. He ran a hand through his hair to mess it up first, then smooth it back down.
If the sun was on it’s way up, that meant the moonrise would be over soon. Frank darted over to the window to try and find the wolf, but he couldn’t see the snow banks from where he was standing.
On shaky legs, he made his way downstairs, hugging the wall as he descended the stairs. The fire was out, but the room still smelled of wood smoke. The bottle of vodka was still sitting on the coffee table, untouched. Thank fucking God Frank hadn’t tried to drink any of it. He listened carefully for any signs Mikey was awake, but the house was completely still.
“Mikey?” he asked, voice hoarse, floating over to the front windows to pull back the curtains. He tried to clear his throat, but it only made his voice more crackly.
“Oh.” he rasped.
The creature was on the front porch, head rested on its paws. It lifted its head as it noticed Frank. He hovered by the window, staring back at the beast.
“Hey.” He mouthed at it, quickly realizing it probably didn’t understand him. His breath fogged up the glass.
The wolf twitched a few times and slumped to one side. Its fur began to slough off in patches, taking flesh with it. It contorted into a smaller and smaller ball, crying out as its bones snapped. This was seriously so fucked up, what the fuck. The mass of fur and blood and flesh and bone grew more and more Gerard-shaped as it folded in on itself until it was just Gerard.
The sound of the locks turning on the front door startled Frank. He glanced to his left to find Mikey unlocking the front door, towel in hand.
The warm air was sucked out of the room as Mikey opened the door and went out to bring Gerard in. Frank shivered as he watched his bloody, naked boyfriend stumble into the house. The towel around Gerard’s shoulders didn’t seem to cover it. Mikey closed and locked the door behind them.
“Where’s Frank?” Gerard asked.
“Uh, hi.” Frank said hoarsely, clearing his throat again to make his presence known.
Gerard glanced over, face changing unrecognizably under the gore. Frank wanted to go over and hug him, but he could just imagine the stains. He found himself moving towards Gerard anyways, stopping short as he examined the blood more closely. A very distinct smell came wafting off Gerard, like rust and wet dog. Frank’s stomach turned.
“I have to uh, get cleaned up.” Gerard said, his voice light and scratchy with exhaustion, and perhaps a hint of embarrassment. He beckoned for Frank to follow him, and Frank obeyed, floating after Gerard into the bathroom. There was a stack of towels waiting on the bathroom counter. All part of the routine, Frank guessed.
Gerard leaned over to start the shower, cursing under his breath as he got a smear of blood on the shower curtain when he pulled it back.
“I’m gonna make coffee.” Mikey said, closing the door behind them.
The smell was stronger in the confines of the small bathroom. The pounding water made Frank's head hurt. He leaned against the bathroom door for support, closing his eyes and swallowing hard.
“You don’t have to stay in here.” Gerard said, “I’m sure I’m a vegan’s worst nightmare right about now.”
When Frank opened his eyes again Gerard was close, eyeing him worriedly.
“What did you drink?” Gerard asked with a tiny smirk.
“Everything.” Frank answered weakly.
Gerard reached out a hand to touch him and pulled it back, glancing down at the drying blood. He flipped his hand over to examine further.
“Hold that thought.” Gerard said, turning back towards the shower. Frank watched him climb in, cursing more as another smear of blood made its way onto the shower curtain.
Gerard poked his head out a few seconds later, droplets of reddish brown water slipping down his otherwise pale and identifiable face.
“You could come in, if you want to.” Gerard said, “You don’t have to stand there.”
“Oh...” Frank said, tugging on the zipper of his sweatshirt.
“But you don’t have to.” Gerard added.
If Frank had been in his right mind, he may have declined, but he couldn’t remember the last time he’d longed for physical contact like this. He stripped off the rest of his clothes and climbed into the shower.
The gore had mostly melted away. As soon as Frank was under the warm spray, he helped Gerard get the rest of it off, running his hands over Gerard’s skin until he was nothing but pale again. The blood circled the drain. The smell was replaced by something vague and perfumed - whatever soap Gerard had started to lather up.
As soon as he was mostly cleaned off he pulled Frank close. Frank was relieved to be in Gerard’s arms again, skin on skin. He kissed Frank, gently, carefully.
“Miss me?” Gerard asked.
“You left me alone with Mikey.” Frank complained quietly, resting his head on Gerard’s shoulder.
“Seems like you did alright.” Gerard smiled.
“He called me little red riding hood.” Frank pouted.
Gerard let out a breath of a laugh as he ran his hands over Frank’s back.
“Don’t laugh.” Frank scolded.
“I just… hadn’t thought about that one before.” Gerard said, “You do look cute in red.”
“I do not.” Frank protested.
“That red cardigan you wear to work sometimes…” Gerard pointed out, hugging Frank closer.
“I hate you.” Frank informed.
Gerard hummed happily. He turned his head to kiss Frank’s cheek.
“Listen… I wanted…” Frank trailed off.
“Wanted what?” Gerard asked gently.
“I wanted to be infected.” Frank admitted quietly, “I know why it’s better this way. But I wanted to change with you...”
“I know.” Gerard said quietly, “I kinda wanted it, too.”
Frank turned his face away as his lips twitched into a private smile. Gerard probably wouldn’t admit to it again, so Frank told himself to remember that he’d admitted it at all.
Gerard reached up and tilted Frank’s face back towards his and kissed him slowly, carefully.

They didn’t bother getting dressed after their shower. They trailed shower water all the way up the stairs, with towels loosely covering them.
The sun had come up over the grey skies, and the light felt like daggers in Frank’s eyes.
Gerard stopped to kiss Frank in the doorway. Frank was thankful for the excuse to close his eyes. He dragged Gerard the rest of the way into the room so he could lock the door behind them.
“I can barely taste you...” Gerard said quietly, sucking on Frank’s neck, “You’re too clean.”
Frank still felt disgustingly hungover, so he couldn’t imagine what there could possibly be that Gerard wanted to taste. It felt like his entire body was made out of poison. He tried to focus on breathing as a wave of nausea hit.
They were still dripping as Gerard pulled Frank into bed with him. Frank could feel the beads of shower water soak into the sheets. Gerard pulled a quilt over top of them.
Frank blinked in the dim underneath the quilt. Gerard was kissing him all over. He had already worked his way down to Frank’s ribs, and was pressing his lips all over Frank’s skin.
“Gerard, slow the fuck down.” Frank commanded weakly, biting his lip against another wave of nausea.
“Sorry.” Gerard said in between slow kisses, “Sorry, Frank.”
“It’s nice…” Frank amended, brushing Gerard’s damp hair out of his face, “I just don’t want to fucking puke on you.”
“Hot.” Gerard smirked.
Frank frowned.
Gerard crawled back up to peck Frank on the lips.
“I’m sorry I’m just so fucking relieved.” Gerard explained breathlessly, “You’re still… just you.”
He collapsed at Frank’s side and wrapped an arm around his middle to pull him closer. Frank’s heart fluttered as Gerard buried his face in the crook of his neck and inhaled deeply. They were quiet then, tangled up in each other under the covers, nursing the wounds leftover from the full moon.
“I’ve been thinking…” Gerard started quietly, “I wanted you to meet my parents...”
“Yeah?” Frank asked.
“Well, yeah. Like I already met your mom.” Gerard explained, “But...”
“But not as my boyfriend?” Frank finished.
“Well that.” Gerard agreed, “We should do that. But, no, actually what I meant is it’s just like… she’s gonna ask how we met, right?”
“Oh.” Frank said.
“And I can lie to my mom, actually. Sort of.” Gerard smiled, “I don’t have to tell her… how we met. But it made me realize…”
Frank wasn’t following and he wasn’t going to pretend to try. But Gerard would get to his point eventually if Frank waited him out.
“People are going to ask.” Gerard said, “For as long as we’re together, people will ask.”
“You can lie.” Frank offered, “I don’t care.”
“Well if we’re going to lie, I want our lies to match up.” Gerard explained, pressing a kiss to Frank’s shoulder.
“Mikey set us up.” Frank supplied easily, “That’s not even a lie, really.”
“But you left in the first five minutes of our first date...” Gerard pointed out.
“Yeah, cause you’re an asshole.” Frank scoffed, “But that’s the part where you start the lie.”
“Okay…” Gerard said, “So I’m lying... I’m not an asshole and in the first five minutes of our first date you were so blown away by how interesting and great I am that you asked me right away if I wanted to go home with you and be your boyfriend forever.”
Frank laughed. When he turned to face Gerard, Gerard was smiling, too.
“Wow. Fuck you.” Frank said.
“My mom knows I’m an asshole.” Gerard explained, “She’d see right through me.”
“Does she know what you are?” Frank asked.
“No. I’ve never told her.” Gerard said.
“Does she know you’re gay?” Frank asked.
“She figured me out pretty early on, yeah.” Gerard smiled.
“So she won’t be surprised…” Frank trailed off.
“No. I think she’ll like you a lot actually.” Gerard said, “They both will.”
“I don’t know.” Frank sighed, “I’m not so good with parents… I’m sure yours are lovely but… Parents fucking terrify me.”
“Dating a fucking monster… no problem.” Gerard scoffed, “Meeting my completely normal human parents on the other hand…”
“Shut up.” Frank commanded.
“Make me, red.” Gerard tested.
“R- Oh, you’re so dead.” Frank informed.
“What? It’s a cute nickname!” Gerard protested.
“I’ll show you red.” Frank threatened, tackling Gerard, pinning his arms above his head.
“What big eyes you have…” Gerard said, gazing up at Frank.
“The better to fucking kill you with.” Frank growled.
“That’s not how the story goes.” Gerard teased.
“Thank fuck this isn’t a fairytale.” Frank scoffed, “I don’t want to be eaten by a wolf crossdressing as my grandmother.”
“You have a funny way of showing it.” Gerard said.
“I know I do.” Frank smiled, leaning down to press his lips to Gerard’s.

~End.

Notes