Return To Me, My Love

After Frank and I manage to drag ourselves out of bed we stumble into the shower where we help each other wash and when the hot water runs out we climb out again and dry off, Frank leading us naked back to his room and I dig through the closet for some clean clothes, finding another one of my shirts and a pair of jeans I left behind. Once I'm dressed again I grab a pair of Franks old converse and pull them on, Frank finally dressed too and as he joins me on the bed again I tell him "I should probably get going." "Wait, you could....I mean would you want to maybe...." Frank trails off and I slowly shake my head as I say "I don't think that's the best move for us right now. We have a lot of things we need to work on and I think we need to keep a little distance until we do. Plus Mikey was expecting me back last night so I should probably get home before he sends a search party out for me," my tone going playful at the end to try and lighten the situation and Frank nods, letting out a long breath before saying "Well at least let me go with you, so I know you get there safe, please?" "Ok Frankie" I tell him, standing up and Frank follows, grabbing his keys and phone and wallet and I grab my own wallet and phone, taking my bag of clothing from last night and we head out, grabbing a cab and heading across town to my apartment and when we get there Frank looks so pathetic I can't stop myself from asking "Do you want to come up for a while?" Franks face almost splits in two as he nods, reaching out to take my hand and I slip my fingers through his as we go inside and get in the elevator, riding up to the right floor as Frank stares at me looking ready to burst with happiness.

When we get to the apartment I knock on the door, having not taken keys with me and when the door opens and Mikey sees me he launches himself on me as he says "You fucking idiot, where have you been? You didn't call and your phone isn't on and....Oh hey Frank," his tone going slightly icy at the end. "I'm sorry Mikes, I kinda ran into some trouble last night and my phone....." I start but Mikey cuts me off by saying "What trouble?" "Uh, these guys tried to...." I trail off, feeling myself start to panic and Frank steps up and wraps his arm around my waist. "It's ok, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, remember?" He whispers in my ear as I turn and bury my face in his neck, his arms tightening around me. "Gee are you ok?" Mikey asks and I nod, my face still buried in Franks neck and Mikey steps aside, letting us in and Frank gently guides me through the door, his arms still wrapped around me until I feel ready to pull away. After I'm ok again I take Frank on a tour of the apartment, Mikey going back into the living room with Pete and after we've seen everything I take Frank into my room and close the door, Mikey and Petes reaction making it too awkward for us to want to be in the living room. "I like your room" Frank tells me as he looks around, stopping to browse all the new CDs I've bought since working at the record store before crossing and joining me on the bed. "Thanks for bringing me home" I tell him after a few long minutes of silence and Frank shifts around and pulls me into his chest, his arms holding me close as he says "Of course, thanks for letting me."

Frank ends up hanging out for an hour before he goes home again, asking what I have planned for tomorrow and I tell him I'm working if I still have a job and he frowns apologetically before telling me to call him if I want to hang out. After he's gone I go into the living room and hang out with Mikey and Pete, filling them in on what happened after the show and Mikey frowns and says "Gee how could you be so stupid?" "I was angry and I wasn't thinking" I tell him and he crosses the room to sit on my couch with me, pulling me into his side as he says "Well I'm glad Frank came looking for you then." It starts to get late and I decide to go to bed, my body feeling exhausted and as I strip down and climb under the blankets I smile to myself as I replay why I feel so worn out and just as I reach out and turn the lamp off my phone buzzes on the table so I reach out and grab it, pulling the charging cord from it before laying back and opening the message from Frank. 'I wouldn't think it's possible after earlier but the scent of you on these sheets is making my dick hard again.' I feel my cheeks flush as I type out a reply, 'Aww that's so sweet of you' smiling wide as I hit send and a minute later Frank sends back 'Haha smart ass. Get some sleep and have a great day tomorrow. Love you.' I smile even wider as I sit the phone back down and I curl up around a spare pillow, letting my eyes slip shut and I drift off to sleep almost immediately.

The next morning I wake up late and I have to rush to get ready, not having time to stop and eat anything on the way to work and as I rush through the door I'm only just on time and Andy looks up from his place behind the counter, his cheek and eye discoloured and swollen but not bad enough to have an actual black eye and I freeze in place, swallowing hard before approaching the counter and I stand on the other side, not going around yet as I say "Andy, I'm really sorry about the other night and...." "Look you know what Gerard I don't think...." But he's cut off by the bell over the door ringing and when we both turn to look we see Frank coming into the store, a smile on his face as he looks at me before he turns to look at Andy and his expression goes serious. "Hey man, can we talk?" He says to Andy and Andy glares at him before saying "Actually I'm in the middle of something with my employee and you're not welcome in this store so...." "Please, just five minutes?" Frank presses, his eyes darting over to me before focusing on Andy again and Andy sighs and tells me to go get the new shipment from out the back and start stocking the shelves, his tone harsh and demanding and it's the first time he's ever spoken to me this way. I nod, making my way out the back of the store and as I grab a knife to open the first box I hear Frank say "Look what happened the other night, I'm here to apologise. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did and touched you but seeing someone touching my husband I...." "You think you're so fucking high and mighty because you're famous but really you're just a pathetic piece of shit that likes to abuse his own husband. Maybe if you were a better human being Gerard wouldn't be scared of you and try to replace you" Andy spits at him and I tense up, waiting for a fight to break out again but as I wander back over to the door to go back into the main part of the store I hear Frank say "It's true, I deserve that and I'm only here to help him, I know he's scared to lose this job because of what happened and I don't want to see that happen." "Well I guess that's just another way you've fucked up his life then" Andy spits before calling out my name. I slowly make my way into the front of the store and Andy steps across and opens the register, counting out money before holding it out in my direction and as I reach out and take it he says "That settles us up, get out of here, you're fired." I feel my heart momentarily stop and my eyes well with tears as Frank steps over and wraps his arm around my waist, gently guiding me towards the door as he turns his head and says "You're a fucking cunt," pausing as I continue out the door and onto the street and after a second I hear a loud crash and when I spin around I see Frank has pushed over a full stand of new CDs and records near the door, scattering them all over the floor and breaking some of them and he flips Andy off before stepping outside and grabbing my hand, leading me down the block and away from the store.

I follow Frank for two blocks, both of us remaining silent before Frank stops and pulls me into a coffee shop and he leans in and presses a soft kiss to my temple before telling me to go take a seat and after he's ordered us coffee he comes and joins me, sitting in the same side of the booth as me and once he's arms around around me I break, leaning in and burying my face in his neck as I start to cry a little. "Oh baby, I'm so sorry, I never meant to be ruin this for you and I know this is my fault and it's just another way I've let you down. Don't you worry about the money though ok, I'll take care of it for you" Frank whispers to me and I continue to cry into his neck, not offering anything back and we stay that way until the waitress brings over our coffee and we pull apart to drink, Frank having also ordered us brownies which we share and by the time we finish I feel a little better, Franks arm wrapped securely around my waist where it's been the whole time.

Notes