Frank screamed.
I shot out of bed, half asleep and confused, tripping over him on the floor. I quickly fell to my knees next to him, pulling him against my chest. “What's wrong?” I gasped out, clinging to him. He grabbed at my cheeks, crying softly. “I t-twisted my bad knee..”
“Oh sweetie,” I murmured, rocking him slightly. “Oh baby, don't cry. I'll put you back in bed and go get you a painkiller, okay?”
Frank nodded shakily and I picked him up as carefully as I could, laying him out on the bed comfortably. He was still crying, gasping and shaking. I ran off, scrambling to get him one of his pills. I went back to him about a minute later and helped him sit up, then handed him the glass of water and the pill. He took it and smiled faintly, looking almost sick from the pain.
“Oh, baby,” I mumbled, stroking his hair slowly. “How can I help?”
Frank sniffed and rubbed his eyes. “Cuddle?”
I obliged and climbed into bed next to him, stroking his chest slowly. “You're so beautiful. We gotta think about the wedding plans, love,” I said quietly, trying my hardest to distract him from the pain. “Do you wanna wear a tux or a dress?”
Frank giggled and grabbed at my hand, holding it a little too tightly. “Tux, silly.”
“That's a shame,” I teased. “You'd look wonderful in a big white dress.”
He huffed out a breath and rolled his eyes. “I’d look like a lady and I don't wanna.”
I kissed his cheek. “I know, baby boy. What're we gonna do, though? Like a big ceremony or something really small?”
Frank shrugged and shifted, whimpering softly. “Who would we invite to a big wedding?”
I stroked his hair away from his face, glad to see him beginning to relax. “Well...Angelo and Ari, of course. But that's kind of about it.”
Frank hummed. “I could invite my mum.”
I blinked, staring at him. He never really spoke about his mother. “But...I..”
He smiled sadly at nothing in particular. “I don't hate her. I just don't talk to her much at all. She didn't stop him. She didn't hurt me, but she didn't stop my dad from doing it.”
I rubbed his side soothingly. “If you want to invite her, we can, but I don't want you to be all upset. It'll be your special day, getting married. And you shouldn't be made to feel sad.”
Frank sighed and looked away. “I'm gonna be kinda sad anyway.”
I frowned and gently turned his chin so he was facing me again. “Why?” I asked as evenly as I could.
He shrugged. “You're twenty six, Gee. That's like...normal married age. But I just turned twenty. And you're the first man I've ever loved. I don't doubt that I love you, I'm just scared I'm...jumping into something and...I'm not ready.”
I snorted and sat up. “You're the one that asked me,” I snapped, not entirely sure why I was angry. “Maybe you should have mentioned this earlier. Wanting to leave me. That really fucking hurts Frank! You have no idea.”
I got out of bed and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind me.

---

Frank wandered out of the bedroom about half an hour later. I could hear him approaching my spot on the couch. He leaned over and touched my shoulder lightly. “Gee? Can we have a real talk about this?” He asked softly, his voice shaky and hoarse. I sat up, hugging my knees as I nodded.
Frank shuffled around the couch and sat down next to me. “It's not that I want to leave you. It's more...I want to be engaged longer. I don't wanna get married just yet, I want us to have some more time together. Think about it, sweetie. We kinda got thrown together and...I dunno. I feel like we haven't had that much time to get to know one another properly, like to the core. We need to start over again, sort of. Like going out on dates and talking and stuff.” He sighed and rubbed my knee. “I love you, Gerard Way. More than anything in the world. And I don't want to hurt you. I hate that we fight like this, Geebear. I feel like maybe if we spent more time just...getting to know one another again instead of worrying about money or talking about when dinner is gonna be, we wouldn't fight so much.”
I smiled slightly and leaned over, kissing him softly. “You're right, sweetie. I'm so sorry I shouted at you, I just panicked and I...I can't ever lose you.”
I hugged him tightly and we sat there for a while, in a comfortable silence.
My phone rang suddenly, breaking the magic, and I sighed as I got up. “Sorry, baby,” I mumbled before I answered it.
“Hey Ange.”
I could hear kids yelling in the background, and Angelo sounded exhausted when he spoke. “Hey Gee. You okay?”
“Frank and I had a fight, but we sorted it out.”
“Good. I uh...I have something to tell you. Have you watched the news this morning?”
I snorted. “You know I don't, it's depressing.”
“Well…” He sighed and moved the phone away from his ear to shout something at the kids. “Chris has been arrested. He's going on trial soon and they're looking for people to testify against him. They've got a whole bunch of his cronies too.”
I blinked and looked over at Frank. “Shit, really?”
“Yeah. I think you and Frank should testify, but it's up to you guys. Have a talk about it.”
“We will, thanks.”
I hung up and walked back over to Frank, kissing the top of his head.

---

“Jesus Christ,” Frank mumbled, leaning into my side and hugging my arm.
“I want to testify,” I said quietly, stroking his hair with my spare hand. “For Ryan.”
Frank shivered and I felt his tears soaking into my sleeve. “Y-yeah. F-for Ryan.”
I leaned down and kissed Frank's cheek, nuzzling him. “I'll call the police tomorrow, they'll put me in touch with the right people.”

---

Frank sobbed the whole car ride home. Angelo sat on one side of him, me on the other. We tried to calm him down, but I myself was crying and Frank was completely hysterical. Chris had been sentenced for three consecutive life terms and he'd never bother us again, but the trial itself had dredged up so many agonizing memories.
As soon as we got home, I carried Frank to bed and tucked him in, then went to make him some pancakes. I couldn't stop crying, my hands shaking as I measured out ingredients.
My poor little Ryan had been murdered by that man. By Chris's own hands, not simply one of his men. And he'd serve one of his life terms for that alone.
I managed a plate of decent looking pancakes and took them into the bedroom. Frank was curled up on one side, still crying. I put the plate down on the bed and kissed his cheek. “I wish I could take the pain away,” I murmured, running my fingers through his hair. “I wish I could.”

---

It took us a couple of weeks to pull ourselves back together completely after the trial. Frank skipped work most days, staying in bed instead. I couldn't miss work, and had to go in as well as continue with my university programs. I felt like a dead man walking. But Frank and I recovered and were soon cuddling and going on dates, when we could carve out enough time. And life went on as normal.

Notes

The next chapter is going to be really important...