As he descended down the stairs, Frank fought hard to repress any anger he felt towards Gerard. One word played like a broken track in his mind: Compromise, compromise, compromise. It was a word his lovely mother had taught him all about when he was in his youth. She'd taught him that relationships required their participants to agree on issues for better or for worse. His mom had used his father as an example all the time. When he around the age of 3, they'd started to realize that married life wasn't working for them. His mother was not the one asking for the divorce, just maybe some 'time off', but his father had pushed for it. He said it was for "all of their sakes". In his decision to file for the divorce, his mother had gotten to keep Frank as part of the compromise. Of course, they two adults still saw each other, and over time mended their relationship and became friends again. Everybody needed to learn how to give and take, to negotiate, to compromise in order for things to work out well.

At this point, Frank knew he'd get nowhere with Gerard if he'd continued yelling and screaming and punishing him, as he'd only become more stubborn. His fear towards Frank was justifiable and necessary right now, but Frank only needed him to submit so their relationship would grow. It'd only just begun-Frank didn't want to set things back more than needed be. He had to admit to himself that he wasn't upset that Gerard been going through the boxes, it was the fact that Gerard had seemingly opened the only bin Frank hadn't wanted him to. Frank understood that sitting all by himself in the attic would get boring after a day or two, let alone over a week. Grant it, his pet had been asleep for the most part of it, but his reasoning still stood. He'd never warned Gerard not to look through the boxes either, so he could see no point in being pissy over it. He swore he wouldn't let it anger him, and that was that.

Frank also reasoned that at some point, he would have to tell Gerard about his life, so why not now? His pet had already found his box of childhood memories, so all he had to do was explain them a bit. It shouldn't be too hard, Frank tried convincing himself. ...Hopefully. Once inside the kitchen, Frank got to work on the two men's lunch. The fridge had been restocked a few days ago, so there was plenty to choose from. Frank settled on making simple wraps. He sliced some fresh cucumber, bell pepper, and avocado before then spreading hummus onto two whole grain flour tortillas. He delicately placed his chopped ingredients on top of the spread and rolled the tortillas tightly before cutting them into two. It was an easy, quick-fix lunch, and Frank loved making them. He loved cooking in general, and he knew Gerard would enjoy this. With the two plates and glasses of water in hand, Frank headed back upstairs, bracing himself for a trip down his haunted memory lane.

*****

Gerard sat stone still in the same place Frank had left him, for once with nothing going through his head. He stared at a small separation in the floorboards, just staring like it was the darkest void this universe had to offer. He was kind of afraid to move, as his last encounter Frank had been, to say the least, surprising. His head remained empty until he heard the door open and Frank step in. Then he internally scolded himself for losing perfectly good planning time. He could've attacked Frank once he came in, or found some sort of blunt object to knock him out with! Ugh, just stick to your plan Gerard. Christ, the man even brought you food. This won't be too bad. Gerard forced a smile up at his captor, as the man took a seat on the ground beside him.

"For you," Frank said as he placed the plate in Gerard's lap. "It's got all sorts of yummy stuff I know you like. Go on, tell me what you think." Frank looked like an overly excited puppy to Gerard, never taking his eyes off him as he hesitantly picked his wrap, smiled politely, and took a quick bite from it. Gerard still felt like the situation was off. He chewed thoroughly, expecting there to be bits of metal or something else that could potential choke and harm him. Alas, he found nothing. Hummus wasn't dangerous, last time he checked.

"This is really good, thank you Frank." Gerard didn't even have to lie about it. It truly was filled with delicious things that he loved. He took another bite, bigger than the last.

"Sir." Came the other's reply. Gerard looked confusedly over at the man, who'd proceeded to bite into his own meal. Frank finished chewing before continuing. "'Sir' is how you are to address me. Master works just as well- owner too- but it I think you'd be more comfortable with sir for right now. You are not to call me by my actual name unless instructed otherwise. If you use a name that you are not told to, it will result in punishment. It's another rule you'll need to abide by, love, do you understand?" Gerard sat unmoving. He must be kidding... He couldn't help but feel a little humiliated at now being forced to call Frank sir. He refused to use any other of the names provided, as he wasn't owned by anyone, especially not Frank. It riled him up a bit, but he couldn't let it show.

"Uhm, I-I got it..." Frank shot him a look, "-sir." A few silent minutes passed as the two men focused on their food. Gerard was okay with not having to talk. He felt like a kid who'd just been scolded by his mother. He didn't know what to make all this. It was Frank who eventually broke the silence. "So, let's start going through some pictures, yeah?" Gerard had only finished the first half of the wrap, but set the plate aside and nodded. Frank grabbed the first album, and set one side on Gerard's knee, and the other on his. After a quick glance in Gerard's direction, Frank began his journey through the past.

*****

Gerard couldn't believe how much he had learned about Frank's life in a short amount of time, including all sorts of details from his very first memories, his parents' divorce, his high school experiences. In a way, Gerard almost didn't believe him. Everything they talked about seemed relatively normal. There was nothing too traumatic or groundbreaking that he thought would make Frank so... odd. It didn't quite add up, and it made him question just how much Frank was actually telling him, and even the stuff he maybe was leaving out.

In reality, hours had passed by the two men, not that either had noticed. They both seemed deeply enthralled with one another- Frank with Gerard for obvious reasons, but Gerard with Frank for... something else. Something Gerard couldn't quite place. He had to say, Frank was a fantastic storyteller. He had loved watching him as he spoke. He liked the sparkle in his eyes when he got excited about a certain topic. Frank's hand were constantly in motion, as if they were just as important as his voice. Oh fuck, his voice. There was something about it that made Gerard want to listen to Frank all day. It was soothing and filled with emotion, and while Gerard hated to admit it, it was enticing as well. There were moments of silence, too. Times when Frank seemed to be reflecting on a certain photograph, or when they were flipping the pages and he'd glimpse over to admire Gerard before the other could see.

Frank also proved to be a pretty comical guy. He'd throw in bits of humor while recounting a tale behind a certain photograph, or crack a joke about one of his relatives. The first few times Gerard made himself suppress his giggles, but then Frank told the story of how this dad's mother came to visit Frank after the divorce. He was only around 5 when the story occurred, but to him, it was unforgettable. Supposedly his mother and grandmother had gotten into a heated argument, turned screaming match over his mother's life choices. It was all pointed fingers and fiery, cursing tongues before his grandmother knocked over his mother's flower display out of rage, sending glass and water all over the table. With what Frank could only describe as a battle cry, his mom then chased her out the door with a frying pan wielded in her hands. Needless to say, Frank hadn't seen that grandmother since that little 'incident'. By the end of the story, they were both dying of laughter. Gerard had fallen into Frank, his sides hurting from all the giggling he was doing.

It was a good 5 minutes before Gerard had gathered himself enough to get off Frank and wipe the tears from his eyes. Gerard would be damned if that wasn't one of the funniest tales he'd ever been told. From that point, everything had felt a little more comfortable. Both were free to laugh and giggle or make little side comments. Had it been under any other circumstance, Gerard would've loved this. He loved the laughter, and stories, and the nice meal with Frank. Unfortunately the fact still stood that he was being held captive in this same man's attic.

Frank was finally putting away the final book, their journey coming to an end. He sat back down beside Gerard, titling his back against the wall and sighing. "I'm quite tired now. Are you, pet?" he questioned softly. Gerard let out a little yawn as he nodded in response. Frank gave him a sleepy smile before hopping up and moved over to one of the bin. He opened one or two before finding the correct one. "Of all the boxes you could rummaged through-" he said while pulling out a large quilt and a pillow, "-you couldn't have gone through this one?" Gerard gaped at his own stupidity. He never would've guessed that Frank kept those things up here. He handed the blanket and pillow to Gerard, who took them gratefully. "You should use those tonight. Would you like to have another shower, or maybe more water, sweetheart?"

Gerard was too tired for either of those things. He just wanted to sleep right then. "No, thank you though, sir. And thank you for showing me all of the pictures. Today was really, really nice." Gerard fluttered his eyelashes, hoping to appease Frank in any way possible. It wasn't as fake as it previously had been though. Gerard could get used to this Frank, he'd like for him to stick around longer than the meaner one.

Frank smirked, and pushed Gerard's bangs from out of his eyes. "You're welcome, darling." He bent over and placed his hand on the side of Gerard's neck and partially his jaw, tilting his face upwards so he could kiss the sitting man's forehead. "You've done exceptionally well lately, I'm proud. Goodnight Gee." Frank sauntered out of the room, locking the door behind him, leaving Gerard to deal with butterflies in his stomach. He didn't know what had made him so antsy, and he didn't care to investigate his thoughts.

Gerard set up his blankets and pillow in the place he had slept before. He laid down, a hint of a smile gracing his face. For the first time since he'd been here, he fell into a comfortable, untormented sleep.

Notes

Hello again! Oh god this chapter is kinda cute... I hope you guys think it's cute anyway. This was a step towards growing Frank and Gerard's relationship, so I hope I executed this properly! Annnywaaay, fantastic news- I'm getting to see Fall Out Boy in concert July 12 this summer AAAHHH!!! I'm so excited! Is anyone else getting to see FOB or maybe some other concert? Let me know in the comments if you want along with what you thought with this chapter! I'd very much appreciate it. Thank you readers, I'll see you next time.

-xo OfSaintsandSinners