Mikey could not believe the change in his brother since New Years. It was like he was a different person completely, now he could feel Gee again, but it was different than it was before. It was all emotional and David was always smiling now. He knew Gee was happy and safe where he was. That along with knowing he was just across the river now made David feel wonderful. His grades picked up in school enough for him to get back on the football team by February. It was a complete 180.
Mikey was still shocked, but happy for him with the twins' birthday only two months away Mikey had a feeling something was going to happen that would be a huge help in finding their missing brother.

(time passes)

"So Gee, ever made chocolate?"

"Ch-chocolate?..."

Gee shook his head.

"No...why?"

"You idiot, we don't make the chocolate, we mold it."

"Oh fuck off Frankie, Gee knew what I meant, right Gee?"

"Um..."

Gee blushed warmly.

"I told you he didn't."

Frank walked into the kitchen with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

"Hey hey, no smoking in here! The chocolate is going to taste like shit!"

Frank dropped the cigarette in the sink and Bert screeched and ran over, calling him many names. Frank chuckled.

"Okay Kitten, so we take these little discs and either melt them in the microwave or over the stove. Then we take these molds..."

Frank held up the lollipop molds.

"...and we pour the chocolate in them. We place a stick here were the indent is and then put them in the fridge and we get chocolate pops!"

"O-ok..."

Gee tilted his head curiously.

"Why?"

Frank looked at Gee like he had three heads and then realised why. He walked over to Bert and smacked him in the head.

"You dummy, you didn't tell him why we make them?"

"Ow, I never got a chance! Geeze Frankie and you PMSing or what?"

"Yeah, Lindsey and I synced up this month so you better make sure I have lots of chocolate cake."

"Cakes for losers."

Frank flipped him the finger.

Gee giggled.

"C-cake's l-life."

"See, Gee agrees with me, so shove your pies up your ass."

Frank stuck his tongue out at Bert.

Gee giggled again.

"S-sounds painful."

Bert rolled his eyes and started boiling the water for melting the chocolate.

"Anyway, we make these and bring them to the hospital nearby for the kids."

Gee smiled wide.

"Y-you do that?..."

He looked between Frank and Bert in awe.

"S-someone b-brought chocolates w-when I was in hospital once."

Frank didn't press for why Gee was in the hopsital.

"So this is your chance to pay it forward."

Frank smiled. The air filled with the scent of chocolate as Bert melted the wafers in the double boiler. He then filled the piping bags with the still warm chocolate.

"Each bag has a different colour in it and there is dark, milk, and mint chocolate too."

Bert smiled as he pointed out each bag to the stray.

"Go ahead Gee and try and make a pop."

"Ok."

Gee picked up the bag of mint chocolate and tried to squeeze the warm liquid into a mold that was shaped like a kitten's head...the chocolate squirted straight across the breakfast counter that they were working on, and all over the front of Bert's shirt.

"Whoops, I guess there was a hole in that bag."

Bert laughed and took his shirt off.

"I think you scared the Kitten Bert."

Frank could see that Gee was waiting to get yelled at.

"Hey hey, Gee, don't worry, I wear old shirts whenever I do stuff like this for that reason. It was not your fault there was a hole in the bag."

Gee looked up nervously, his lower lip trapped between his teeth.

"Are you s-sure?"

He whispered out, moving closer to Frank's side slightly.

"Sure. no harm."

Bert walked off whistling to put stain remover on the shirt. Frank held Gee close and kissed his head.

"Don't worry about it Kitten, try again, just this time don't squeeze so hard."

Gee took a breath and nodded.

"O-ok."

He picked up a different bag, this one filled with dark chocolate, and aimed it into another kitten mold. He gently squeezed the bag, but nothing happened. He started to sniff.

"I c-can't do i-it."

He whispered over a trembling lip.

"Gee, look, the opening is blocked."

Frank grabbed the scissors and cut the tip. Then the chocolate flowed out of the bag gently into the mold. Frank grabbed a stick and spread the paste out and then placed the stick in the open section.

"See, you did it."

Frank smiled at Gee.

Gee smiled back, a single tear escaping his eye.

"I d-did?"

"Yes you did Kitten. So proud of you that you didn't give up."

Gee smiled sweetly.

"C-can I do a-another one?...p-please?"

"Sure, fill the whole plastic. I'll start on the more traditional hearts over here."

Frank picked up the pink bag and carefully squeezed a little in the center of three of the molds. He then repeated that with the red. He then grabbed the white chocolate and made two hearts. He did the same with the dark and then the mint, which was now in a new bag. Then he settled the mold by hitting it lightly on the counter three times. He then placed it in the freezer.

"F-Frankie?"

Gee called quietly from where he was stood, shuffling his feet nervously.

"I m-made a m-mess."

He had filled all of his kitten molds, but had somehow ended up with chocolate on the front of his hoodie, on his face, and even in his hair.

"Oh Gee, you look like a chocolate kitten yourself!"

Bert came out of his room with a new, old shirt on. Frank came back from the fridge and looked with a little chuckle on his own face.

"We have our own chocolate Kitten."

Frank reached up and wiped his finger through the mess on Gee's cheek. He sucked it into his mouth.

"Mmmm sweet. Why don't you go shower Kitten, I can put these in the fridge for you."

Gee nodded, eyes wide and cheeks pinking.

"O-ok."

He squeaked, then turned and scurried from the room.

"Frankie, you made him blush."

"What, what did I do?"

"Oh Frankie."

Bert could not believe that Frank did not even notice what he did to the poor stray. Gee may have been young, but he was still a growing teenager and he had feelings and urges. He had a feeling that he was going to be in the shower for a while.

(time passes)

Gee turned on the shower, then stripped off his chocolate covered clothing and dropped it in his hamper.

His mind had been filled with thoughts of what happened at New Year, when he and Frank had accidentally kissed, and he'd been kind of internally freaking out about it ever since.

Frank was nice and sweet and funny and really fucking gorgeous, but he was so much older than Gee, and definitely a hell of a lot more experienced than him. There was no way that Frank could think of him as more than just another stray, but that didn't prevent Gee from thinking about how soft Frank's lips had felt on his, or how strong and warm his embrace felt whenever Gee got scared.

Gee stood under the warm flow of water, remembering the look in Frank's eyes when he sucked the chocolate from his finger, and the way his voice dropped when he'd said "Mmmm sweet."

He didn't realise that his hand was moving almost of it's own accord until his fingertips brushed over the tip of his semi-hard cock. He gasped and looked down at himself...he hadn't even noticed that he was aroused, but now he did, he couldn't help but wrap his long fingers around his length, a quiet whimper escaping his lips. If this was the result of the memory of an accidental kiss, and Frank sucking chocolate off his own finger, Gee couldn't imagine what he'd be like if Frank were ever to kiss him with intent.

Biting his lip to keep quiet, Gee stroked himself with a loose fist as daydreams of Frank being there and touching him like that played through his head.

(time passes)

Gee turned off the water that was starting to run cold and stepped out of the shower. He grabbed a large pink towel and roughly dried himself off before wrapping it around himself like a girl would, and returning to his bedroom to dress.

He dug out a pair of pink panties; the only really girly clothes he was confident in wearing, as no one but him saw them, and pulled them up his slim legs. He then grabbed a clean pair of black skinny jeans and struggled into them, and finished with an oversized and faded shirt that Frank had lent him and never asked for.

Gee blushed as the shirt reminded him of what happened before, and his thoughts and actions in the shower. He sat down on his bed, then lay down and curled up on his side, hugging his knees to his chest.

How could he face Frank after he'd just done that?...would Frank notice he was an awkward blushing mess?...would he ask why Gee had taken so long in the shower?...would he know what Gee had done?

Gee sniffed slightly as he felt tears brimming...he couldn't face him, he would just have to stay in his room forever.

(time passes)

"Hey Bert you think Gee is okay? It's been a while and I know we don't have that much hot water."

Bert of course knew why it was taking so long.

"He just likes to take his time that's all."

"I'm gonna check on him."

Frank went to leave.

"No, I'll do it. You get the pops out and set up the packaging."

Frank looked at him weird but nodded and let Bert go. Bert walked over and saw the bathroom was empty. He went to Gee's room and knocked.

"Gee?"

Gee was on the verge of falling asleep when he was startled by a knock at his door. He had his back turned toward it and was still curled up in a tight ball, like he used to do to keep warm on the streets at night. He swallowed but stayed silent...if they thought he was asleep, maybe they'd just leave him there when they went out, then he wouldn't have to face Frank.

"Gee, it's Bertie, can I come in?"

Gee chewed on his lip and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Gee? Please let me in?"

Bert was getting concerned now.

Gee bit back a sob and rolled over before climbing off the bad and trudging over to the door. He wiped at his face with the hem of Frank's shirt, slapped on a somewhat weak smile, then opened the door...just a little bit.

"H-hi..."

He whispered through the gap.

"Is s-something wr-wrong?"

"Are you alright? You kind of scared Frankie and I."

Gee's eyes widened.

"I d-did?"

"Yeah, you were in the shower a little too long and..."

Bert saw the boy's eyes widen.

"No no no, Frank doesn't think that! He doesn't he just...he was worried that you were hurt or scared.

Gee felt his lip start to wobble.

"I'm o-ok..."

He cast his eyes to the floor.

"I f-fell asleep."

"Gee...you know you can talk to me right? I mean I have no judgement and I remember what it was like to be 16 and confused."

"New Years."

Gee whispered, opening the door enough for Bert to step inside.

"What about New Years?"

Bert walked in and sat down on the edge of Gee's bed, but with plenty of room for Gee to stretch out if he wanted to.

Gee peered out of the door then closed it and crossed to the bed. He perched on the edge, as far from Bert as humanly possible, and hung his head so he could hide in his long hair.

"At m-midnight."

"We all said happy New Years and kissed the person to our left on the cheek. Was Frank to your left? I can't remember now."

"He...he was n-next to m-me."

Gee stuttered out.

"I w-went to k-kiss his ch-ch-cheek...and he..."

He could feel his face heating up and prayed that Bert couldn't see it through his hair.

"He went the wrong way. Ah, I see now. Hey, hey, don't get upset about it."

He lightly rested his hand on Gee's knee.

"It's a normal reaction, it really is."

Gee tilted his head, not quite understanding.

"It...it is?"

"Sure."

Bert kept his voice even so he didn't scare the boy.

"You said yourself that you had a boyfriend right?"

Gee nodded, still not getting it.

"So I mean, Ray was a good looking guy right? I mean you liked kissing him too and..."

Gee nodded.

"So didn't he make you feel...special, like..."

Bert was trying to hard to find the right words.

"W-what do y-you mean?"

"...in your heart and other...places?"

Gee frowned, looking up through his hair.

"I d-don't u-underst-stand."

"I mean when you were with the o-other guy, didn't you...you know...in the shower?"

Suddenly Gee understood.

Eyes widening he stood quickly and turned away, wrapping his arms around himself and shaking his head.

"No...n-never."

"Oh, so...you didn't...um...sorry, I didn't mean to...I'll just...yeah."

Bert felt like an idiot now. He should have known better. He got up to leave.

"But I..."

Gee sighed, turning around slowly with his eyes glued to the carpet.

"F-Frankie's d-different.

"Different how?"

Bert sat back down.

Gee sat down cross legged where he was...on the floor. He twisted the hem of Frank's shirt between his fingers.

"I f-feel safe h-here...F-Frankie m-makes me f-feel safe."

He looked up slowly.

"I l-like h-him."

He became quieter with each word.

Bert looked down at the stray and then he figured it out.

"Oh Kitten...sorry, I mean Gee, you really like him don't you?"

Gee nodded, sniffing slightly as he felt tears forming again.

"Are you worried that you are too young for him to care about your feelings?"

Gee shrugged, looking down.

"I th-think I'm j-just another s-stray."

He whispered dejectedly.

Bert thought about how differently Frank was treating Gee compared to how he treated Brendon, Lindsey, even himself.

"Trust me Gee. You are truly special to Frankie."

Gee didn't believe it, but he smiled slightly anyway.

"I-I'm gonna h-have a nap n-now."

He said softly, getting up and moving over to the bedside.

"Okay."

Bert pulled the covers back for Gee, then tucked the small boy in.

"I'll let you know when we're ready to leave for the hospital."

Gee nodded, snuggling down so just his eyes were peeking out.

"B-Bert?"

He called as the older boy turned to leave.

"Yeah Gee?"

"Thank you."

Bert smiled.

"Anytime."

He turned off the light and shut the door quietly.

(time passes)

"Hey Gee. You almost ready to go?"

Frank decided to close the shop early in order to spend more time with the kids at the hospital.

Gee looked up from where he was sweeping the shop floor and smiled softly.

"N-nearly done."

He'd recently started helping out around the place a bit. He'd been getting bored just sitting around and watching, so one day he'd gone and cleaned the break room and toilets to pass the time, and it had sort of gone on from there. Now he was sweeping, cleaning and even clearing and setting up the artists' stations...as long as there were no needles in sight of course.

Sweeping into the back room, Gee collected all the dust and bits of screwed up scrap paper into a pile and scooped them into the trash can in the corner. He put the broom away, grabbed his Hello Kitty hoodie from his locker and slipped it on, then headed back through to the shop.

"F-finished."

He said quietly as he walked up to where Frank, Bert and some of the other strays were stood talking about how loud Bert's last client of the day had been. Gee had kept his distance from the guy...he reminded him a little of his dad.

"Good. Um..."

Frank didn't know why he was nervous, he just gave Lindsey a whole bouquet of roses.

"...I uh...Happy V Day Gee."

Frank held the rose out for the boy to take. Once he did, Frank turned around.

"Alright guys, lets get going, we got kids to make happy!"

Frank speed walked out the door. Bert looked at him and chuckled. He then stepped next to Gee.

"See? Special."

Gee looked from the rose to Bert and smiled.

"M-maybe."

(time passes)

The hospital was a success as it always was, but something about this year made it better.

Frank was sitting on his sofa looking at photos of the strays with the kids. One picture kept standing out to him though. It was Gee crouched down handing a kitten pop that he made to a small little girl that was hiding behind the nurse's legs. She was peeking out and holding her hand out to Gee as he smiled and handed her the pop.

"He's really cute isn't he?"

Frank jumped as Bert spoke over his shoulder.

"Fuck! You trying to give me a heart attack so you can take over the store!?"

Bert laughed and plopped down next to him.

"No, I'm trying to see what has you keeping that goofy smile on your face."

He reached over and took the picture of Gee.

"Oh, pictures of kittens huh?"

"Fuck you, I'm gonna wake the kid up. We gotta work in a few hours."

Bert laughed at how much Frank was blushing. Frank made his way to Gee's door.

"Gee?"

Gee was curled up under his blankets with his thumb in his mouth, snoring softly.

He had been drawing late last night and lost track of time. When he'd yawned and looked up at his clock, he'd been shocked to see it was gone midnight. Yawning again, he'd left his pictures out on his desk and stumbled sleepily over to his bed. He'd thought he would have the chance to put his things out of sight in the morning.

"Gee?"

Frank opened the door quietly. He saw that Gee was still in bed sleeping. He would normally not open the boy's door up, but he had to wake him.
As he walked over, Gee shifted and he saw that he was in a barely there t-shirt that showed his slender tummy. Frank swallowed hard and turned away. That was when he saw the drawings.

He walked over to the desk and picked one up. It was a boy that looked a little like Gee, but he was drawn more masculine. He was holding a football and laughing. Next to him was another boy. He was skinny and Frank could tell he would grow to be tall. He had on glasses and he was in the middle of pushing them up. Gee was on the other side. He was smiling too. Frank saw the picture that Gerard drew from.
It had to be his brothers.

"Poor Kitten."

He noticed that as they got more into the new year, Gee was sadder. He really missed them, but he would not let Frank contact them at all.

He saw other pictures that Gee had drawn from, plus some free format ones. A very detailed sketch of an eye and more of his brothers. Then he found one of himself. he was impressed.

Gee shifted in his sleep.

"David?...c-come back..."

He mumbled, his face scrunching up as he started to fidget.

"Davey?"

Frank looked over at the boy. He was squirming around and it looked like he was dreaming.

"Davey p-please don't g-go."

Tears rolled down Gee's cheeks and wet his pillow. His breathing was fast and shaky.

Frank put the drawings down and went over to the bed. He touched the boy's face gently.

"Gee, hey Gee, wake up Kitten."

Gee whimpered, pushing his face into the touch.

"D-don't go."

"Gee, come on, open your eyes baby, It's Frankie."

Gee's fingers latched onto Frank's sleeve.

"Don't g-go Da..."

He sobbed slightly in his sleep.

"...Frankie."

"Shhhh."

Frank moved around to the other side of the bed and he pulled the stray into his arms.

"It's okay, I'm not going anywhere and I promise, we are going to get you back to your brothers."

Frank didn't want to think that it meant he would lose his kitten, but he just wanted him to be happy.

Gee clung on tight, curling up in a ball as he started to wake and realised it had been a dream. He cried even harder.

"There there Kitten, it's okay."

"D-don't l-leave m-m-me."

Gee sobbed, his face buried in Frank's chest, his fingers gripping tight to Frank's shirt.

"P-please?"

"I won't I promise, I'll never leave you Kitten."

Gee looked up slowly. His hair was plastered to his face with sweat and tears, his eyes were red and wet and his lips were parted and trembling as he shook with every sob.

"Y-you promise?"

Frank lifted the boy's face close to his and spoke quietly.

"I promise."

Gee's breath hitched and he licked his lips subconsciously.

Everything in Frank was telling him to close the gap and kiss the boy, but he was 16. Barely legal for anything in the country and certainly not legal for anything Frank wanted.

"Hey, it's time to get up. We have to be at the store in a few hours. Bertie made bacon and eggs for breakfast."

Gee's stomach grumbled at the mention of bacon and he giggled slightly, a blush colouring his cheeks as he released his death grip on Frank's shirt to wipe at his wet face.

Frank kissed the top of his head and then reluctantly let him go. It was the right thing to do.

"Hey Kitten, these are some amazing drawings and sketches you did. How would you like to do some sketches for the shop? Nothing to do with the needles, but we put them in a book and people can look at them and choose to have them tattooed. We don't even have to put your real name on them, we can give you a pseudonym."

"A pseudonym?..."

Gee tilted his head.

"Like w-what?"

"Hmmm, How about Kitten G.?"

Gee smiled wide, like he hadn't just been crying his eyes out and snotting all over Frank's shirt. He nodded excitedly.

"I l-like th-that."

"Awesome! Now get dressed and we can talk about it more at the shop."

Frank kissed his head again and then, untangling himself from the bed, headed to the door.

"F-Frankie?..."

Gee squeaked out, causing the other man to turn and raise an eyebrow in query.

"D-do you r-really th-think they're g-good?"

He pointed a shaky finger toward his drawings on the desk.

"Yeah Kitten, I really do."

He smiled and winked and then left.

Gee smiled happily and got out of bed to get dressed.

After a few minutes he walked into the kitchen hearing Frank and Bert arguing about peanut butter.

"The peanuts get stuck in your teeth and it feels gross!"

"No way! The best part is that extra texture!"

"You're fucking crazy!"

"Then make your own sandwich!"

"I will!"

Bert grabbed the knife from Frank and grumbled about short people being weird as he put the crunchy peanut butter away and pulled out the smooth jar.

Gee went to the cupboard and pulled the crunchy back out, shrugging and smiling apologetically at Bert as he started to make his own sandwich.

"Ugh, you both deserve each other."

"Well the boy does have good taste...waffles, Star Wars, dogs, roll facing down..."

Frank clicked off his fingers.

"I'm gonna go take a piss."

Bert dropped the knife in the sink and wrapped his sandwich up tossing it in a paper bag. He then stormed away.

"Shake it three times, your playing with yourself!"

Frank called after.

Gee giggled as he folded his slice of bread in half and put it in a sandwich bag.

"Eat you eggs Kitten."

Frank took all the sandwiches and placed them in his back pack.

Gee nodded and climbed up onto his chair at the counter. He was feeling nervous about the prospect of people seeing his drawings, and he tended to get quiet when he was trying to prepare himself for something that worried him. He picked at his eggs.

"So, I'm going to get you a fresh sketch book and pencils. After you sweep and do..."

Frank waved his hands around as he shovelled in a mouthful of eggs.

"...you can relax, either in the back or you can use the private room, I have no clients today till three, and just sketch. You don't have to show anyone, even me, just have fun."

Gee smiled slightly, nodding as he scooped a little egg onto his fork.

"You two ready?"

Ten minutes later Bert came back. He grabbed his coat and handed Gee his.

"Here Gee, it's chilly today."

Gee nodded, slipping on his black fake fur jacket. He loved that jacket, it had a hood with ears, and even a little tail.

"You look cute Kitten."

"Yeah, but soon its going to be too warm for that."

Frank thought about what Bert said. Gee didn't have many clothes when he came and now they were all for winter. As they headed down the outside stairs to open the shop Frank got an idea.

"Hey Bertie, your birthday's coming soon."

"Yup! next week!"

"So what do you want?"

"Hmmm, I'll have to think about it."

Gee followed quietly behind with his hands shoved deep in his pockets.

"Hey Kitten, when's your birthday?"

Gee looked up, eyes wide.

"A-April 9th?..."

It came out as more of a question than an answer.

"W-why?"

"Just wondering."

They got to the bottom and Frank opened the door.

"Bertie, you and Gee get started, I'll be right back."

He patted Bert on the shoulder and kissed Gee on the head and then he was gone.

"What was that all about?"

Bert was scratching his head.

Gee shrugged and headed to the back room, slipping off his coat on the way.

Bert knew Frank was up to something asking about the stray's birthday. He just hoped that whatever he planned would be perfect in showing how much he really cared about his Kitten.

Notes

Hi there chipmunks...how's you?

Chocolate pops, SHOWERS, and Valentine's Day, oh my!

Hope you enjoyed.

Until next time...PLEASE COMMENT, and peace out babies.
<3