He Likes Me

The first thing Gerard did when he and Frank had finished eating - after washing, drying and putting away the plates and cutlery of course - was to go up to his bedroom in the hopes of finding some old clothes of his that wouldn't be ridiculously - and adorably, in Gerard's opinion - big on Frank's tiny frame. Frank followed close behind, so close in fact that if Gerard stopped walking suddenly, Frank would almost certainly walk into his back.

Gerard was surprised to see half of his wardrobe was filled with clothes that weren't his; clothes that were Frank's size. And Frank's style. And Frank's clothes, Gerard realised with a shock. Gerard was confused; he didn't know how Frank's clothes had got there because he definitely didn't remember hanging them there and if Frank really was Frank, he had only been in existence since Gerard wrote him into existence. How would he have had time to fill Gerard's wardrobe with his clothes? How did he even have clothes? How was he even real?

With a sad sigh, Gerard realised he didn't know anything about magic or how it worked. If he had written Frank into reality, who was to say he hadn't done the same for Frank's clothes, or his parents, or his childhood dog - even though Frank had never had a dog as a child, he'd always wanted one. That was, if Frank had had a childhood. Gerard was still struggling to believe this person standing naked in his bedroom wasn't really one of Mikey's friends from uni who he had put up to pulling a prank on Gerard.

But Mikey had only seen that paper yesterday...could he have really set this all up in that small amount of time? And what were the chances of Mikey knowing someone exactly like how Frank had described? It wasn't just not likely, it was almost impossible.

Then he realised that Frank actually thought they were in the relationship Gerard had written about; where he had found Frank homeless and friendless and they had fallen in love. Frank said he loved Gerard - Gerard couldn't help but feel his heart flutter at the memory and he felt compelled to bounce over to where Frankie stood, halfway through getting dressed, and snake his arms around Frank's waist from behind him.

Frank was wearing baggy cargo pants and was just about to throw on a loose fitting, navy blue sweater when he felt Gerard give him a backwards hug. He attempted to put his arms around Gerard to hug him back, but the position was awkward and Gee wouldn't let him turn around, so he settled for leaning his head back on the taller man's shoulder. He felt Gerard place an open mouthed kiss on the back of his neck, and would probably have moaned or shivered if Gerard's hair hadn't fallen over his face and tickled Frank's neck, spoiling the mood. Frank giggled and Gerard pulled away, viewing him with confused amusement. Frank just shook his head and continued dressing.

"So I thought we could go out for dinner tonight?" Gerard suggested, shooting Frank a sidelong glance to assess his reaction. When he saw his eyes light up, Gerard smiled lovingly and looked away quickly before Frank could catch him staring. "Where would you like to go?"

Frank chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully - which was adorable - and flopped back on Gerard's bed, who winced when he saw how untidy the bed was getting. The covers were wrinkled and the wooden bed frame had made a loud, angry noise when Frank's body hit it. Rather than complaining, he sat down gingerly next to Frank's feet and discretely smoothed down the sheets. If he was correct in his assumptions, Frank loved him for who he was - obsessive compulsiveness and all - but he didn't want to act like the bad guy and scold Frankie for making a small mess. He could appreciate that Frank was used to making mess rather than cleaning it up and he wasn't going to ruin their evening over it.

"How about that Italian place near the highway? Luigi something-or-other. That does great pasta apparently."

Gerard nodded approvingly. Luigi Carlotta's was one of his all time favourite restaurants, and he would go there whenever he was too exhausted or too lonely to call for a take-away pizza for one. He had become a regular and was on a first name basis with the staff. It was a perfect place for a date night; somewhere he could go with his boyfriend and not get judged for whatever reason.

"Yeah. That sounds great." To be honest, Gerard was a little surprised Frank even knew about that place. He knew by now he should stop being surprised at every little thing, since magic apparently was real, his prayers had been answered, a miracle had taken place. Something impossible had happened, and Gerard needed to stop overreacting whenever something else impossible happened. If that made any sense.

Frank turned on his side to stare at Gerard, who was perched on the edge of the bed looking awkward, like he wanted to jump up and sit on a chair instead. Frank grinned at him, even though he knew the older man wasn't looking at him, and propped himself up on his elbows. Then he remembered something and his face clouded, his eyebrows forming a 'V' shape and the sides of his lips turning down.

"Gee?" He asked tentatively, worried to upset his lover but unable to stop himself from bringing the topic up. "Would you really have kicked me out?"

Gerard turned to him, his heart breaking when he saw the anxious expression on Frank's face. He was the very picture of insecurity; tugging his sleeves down over his hands and biting his thumb nail nervously. Gerard scooted down the bed - wrinkled sheets be damned - and snuggled up to Frank, reaching down to pull the covers over them both so they were surrounded by a warm shelter. The only sound audible was their slow, steady breathing, and as Gerard looked into Frank's eyes, it was like everything else melted away. Up until now, Gerard had laughed at those corny romance books who described these scenes in great detail. He hadn't thought that kind of love was real - but looking into Frank's eyes felt right. Like he could lie there for the rest of eternity just staring at the beautiful man in front of him. Like no one else mattered but Frank, and as long as they were together everything would be okay.

Jesus. Gerard was going soft.

Frank blushed and looked away from Gerard, breaking him out of whatever lovesick trance he had been in. He knew they would need to get going soon if they wanted to be back in time for Gerard to make his eight o'clock phone call to his parents, but Gerard was so comfortable, so happy with Frank, hiding under the bedcovers from the rest of the world. He never wanted to leave, so he reached out and put two fingers lightly under Frank's chin, gently guiding his face back to look at Gerard.

"What?" Frank asked, trying to look away, but Gerard wouldn't let him turn his head away.

"You're beautiful." Gerard replied simply.

"I love you, Gerard." Frank said softly, seemingly forgetting his earlier embarrassment. "You know that, right? I'd do anything for you."

Gerard was trying not to cry. He really was trying not to, but no one had ever said anything so profound and nice to him before - except his parents, and they didn't count - and Frank looked so sincere and serious when he said it that Gerard couldn't stop a few tears from falling. He looked down to hide his face but, like he had done just seconds earlier, Frank took his chin in his fingers and guided his face back up again. He leaned in slightly and kissed Gerard gently on the side of the mouth. He didn't go any further though, and before Gerard could open his mouth to ask him why he stopped, he remembered. If Frank was a submissive, he probably wouldn't feel comfortable instigating any kind of situation; he might kiss Gerard or make a certain expression that made his desires clear, but he would wait for Gerard to make the first move.

Frank watched carefully as Gerard leaned in, smiling slightly, his bright white teeth shining clearly in the dark. Placing one hand on the side of Frank's face to hold him in place, Gerard pushed his lips against the younger man's. He made a happy noise in the back of his throat when Frank pushed back with the same amount of force, and when Gerard moved his tongue to run along Frank's bottom lip lightly, Frank opened his mouth willingly, eager for more contact.
He reached out a hand without thinking about it and clutched Gee's sleeve, desperate to keep him and not let him go.

When they finally broke apart, gasping for breath and never taking their hands off the other, Gerard pulled the covers off them and blinked in the sudden light of the evening.

"We should go if we want to get a good table." Gerard explaining, disappointed to have to leave. Frank nodded, silently agreeing, and they clambered out of the bed together. Gerard tried to turn back to make up the covers before they left, but was distracted when he heard a peak of laughter from behind him. Frank grabbed his boyfriend's arm and started pulling him away, ignoring Gerard's complaints.

"Nuh uh." Frank refused to let him go. "What's the point of tidying it if it'll just get messy again when we come back?"

Gerard went red again, ducking his head and swallowing to stop himself from responding or having a coughing fit. Neither would do any good right now.

When they were seated in the car - Frank in the passenger's seat, because he hadn't passed his exam yet - Gerard heard his phone 'ping' notifying him of a message. He fished it out of his bag and chucked it at Frank, quickly asking him if he could read it out loud while Gerard drove.

"Answer me dickhead." Frank recited, smirking. "And it's from Mikey."

"Oh." Gerard tightened his hands around the steering wheel, remembering how he had never replied to Mikey's question earlier on. How was he going to explain this to his brother? He could try and pass Frank off as his boyfriend, but Mikey had seen the paper before Frank had ... shown up. It wouldn't wash with Mikey; he could always tell when Gerard was lying. He would have to tell his little brother the truth, even if it made him seem crazy.

"When can I meet him?" Frank's asked suddenly. "I mean, I've heard a lot about him. You obviously love him loads and I think I should meet him. And your parents. When can I meet them Gee?"

Gerard groaned, the thought of introducing his short, teenage punk-rocker of a boyfriend to his family made his head spin. His father would shake his hand and be way too friendly with him as soon as they met, and his mother would say something embarrassing like 'you're one of the family now, Frankie darling' and Mikey would raise an eyebrow and silently judge him so Frank would feel uncomfortable and inadequate. He tried to relay all this to Frank, but he wasn't having it. Gerard got the feeling like he would be arguing with him for a long time, and decided it would be a lot easier to just give in.

"Fine!" Gerard threw up his hands and then quickly gripped the wheel again so the car didn't veer of course and end up dead in a ditch or something. "I'll arrange to go down there while Mikey's still away from school. Happy now?"

Frank nodded, smiling widely. Smug asshole.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Gerard taunted as he pulled into Luigi Carlotta's parking lot and sticking his hand out to playfully slap Frank's arm. Frank just grabbed Gerard's hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing his knuckles.

Notes