Gerard woke up feeling warm and safe...for the first time in forever. He wriggled and squirmed until he was facing Frank, who was still asleep with one arm draped over Gerard’s waist. Gerard slipped one thumb into his mouth, and lay there staring at Frank. He was still surprised that someone as wonderful as Frankie had chosen to be with a mess like him, he didn’t understand it, but he wouldn’t argue.

Gerard was feeling something other than warm and safe right now too, something he hadn’t felt comfortable in sharing for fear of ridicule...he hoped that Frank would take it well. Gerard was feeling...little. He had found comfort in little-space several times in the past, but he’d never found someone willing to accept that side of him. Maybe Frank was the one.

He never went really little...he wasn’t into wearing diapers and sleeping in a cot or anything, cause that was just weird...but he would usually slip down to about 7 or 8 years old, and usually he would be there for quite a while. Sucking happily on his thumb, he watched as Frank started to stir awake. Frank slowly woke up and came face to face with a familiar pretty face and the prettiest green eyes. He smiled and leaned forward to kiss Gerard's forehead.

"Morning, Beautiful..."

Gerard smiled softly around his thumb...it was too early and he felt too little right now to talk very much.

"How you feeling today, baby?"

Frank watched him and noticed the thumb in his mouth again. He smiled, it was still kind of cute. Gerard shrugged slightly. Truth be told, after last night he couldn't face being a big boy. Frank sighed and kissed his forehead.

"No words today? You want breakfast then?"

Gerard looked away a little and shook his head, no.

"Not even bacon?"

Frank raised an eyebrow. Gerard thought for a moment, then nodded, his eyes lighting up and a smile growing around his thumb. Bacon sounded good right now. Frank smiled wider and pushed himself up out of bed to pull on some comfy pants.

"Come on you. Up you get, we can go upstairs and I'll make you some coffee and bacon."

Gerard pulled his thumb from his mouth and made grabby hands at Frank...he wasn’t sure he could walk with his feet so sore. Besides, he liked it when Frank carried him. Frank chuckled and grabbed a shirt for Gerard and held it up for him to put his arms through.

"Clothes, gotta get some clothes on you. No freaking your brother out."

Gerard smiled softly and put his arms up. Frank slipped the t-shirt up his arms and over his head.

"Do you want a skirt or some comfy pants?"

Frank asked him. Gerard nodded, pointing to the little white skirt sitting in the top of his bag by Frank’s dresser. Frank looked where Gerard pointed and went over to grab it. He kneeled beside the bed and held it out for Gerard to put his legs through. Gerard shuffled closer to the edge and put his feet through the top of the skirt, biting his lip at the thought of having to stand up to get the skirt over his hips. He pouted slightly, stuffing his thumb back in his mouth. Frank slipped the skirt up as far as it would go and stood up to wrap an arm around Gerard to lift him just enough to get the skirt up where it needed to be. Then he grinned and scooped Gerard up.

"Let's go you."

He kissed Gerard's face all over and chuckled. Gerard giggled around his thumb and clung to Frank’s shirt, resting his head against Frank’s shoulder. Frank carried him upstairs to sit him carefully on one of the stools at the kitchen counter so he could make him his breakfast. He pulled a pack of bacon out of the fridge and set up the coffee maker. Gerard watched with wide eyes and his thumb still tucked snuggly between his pink lips. He swung his legs like the little kid he was right now and wondered absently if his paci was somewhere in his bag. He heard footsteps coming down the stairs and sudden fear made him whimper, his legs stopping their movement. Andy walked into the kitchen and stopped when he saw Gerard and Frank.

"Uh, hey..."

He saw the look on Gerard's face and walked over to give him a gentle hug.

"You look cute this morning."

He offered a friendly smile and looked at Frank who seemed unbothered by someone hugging his boyfriend. Gerard shuffled uncomfortably, looking to Frank for reassurance. Frank looked at Gerard.

"You ok? He won't hurt you. I think he knows what Mikey and I would do to him."

Andy nodded and looked at Gerard.

"You're ok. I would never do anything to hurt you and if me hugging you makes you uncomfortable, then I'll bugger off and not do that anymore."

Gerard dropped his head to look at the floor...he didn’t want to be a bother, or make Mikey’s friend go away. Frank frowned at Gerard's reaction and nodded to Andy who gave him a gentle squeeze and moved away.

"Need help?"

He asked Frank.

"Sure, you can get the coffee mugs."

Gerard peeped up through his hair to watch as they moved around the kitchen. He wasn’t afraid of Andy as such...he just didn’t really know him. Andy was good looking and had tattoos like Frank, but there was just something that made Gerard nervous of him. Maybe it was his bright blue eyes...they reminded Gerard of someone he never wanted to think about again. He heard more footsteps and turned his head as Mikey walked in the room wearing a pair of basketball shorts and a faded Iron Maiden shirt. Mikey walked straight to him with a smile and wrapped him in a hug. Gerard practically purred as he snuggled against his brother's bony chest. Mikey pulled back a little to look at him.

"Morning Gee. How you feeling?..."

Gerard shrugged slightly, his thumb still in place and looked over at Frank for help. Mikey raised an eyebrow and turned his attention to Frank, who was looking back at them.

"Frank?...what’s going on?...everything ok?"

Frank gave Mikey a hard glare.

"Shut your mouth if you want bacon is what's going on. He's cute, he seems happy. Leave him be. Everything is fine but I think your sleepover buddy startled him."

Andy smiled innocently at Mikey.

"I didn't mean to."

Mikey frowned slightly, looking back at Gerard.

"You’re ok though, right?..."

He wanted to hear it from Gerard’s own mouth...but Gerard’s thumb was still firmly in place. Gerard only nodded. Mikey reached up to tuck Gerard’s hair behind his ear.

"Talk to me Gee."

Gerard looked down and Mikey looked at Frank for an explanation. Frank grumbled under his breath.

"You watch the bacon and give him his coffee, please."

He looked at Andy, who nodded with a smile. Frank grabbed ahold of Mikey and hauled him into the front living room where no one would hear them.

"What part of leave him be do you not grasp?"

"What?...look, I’m his brother and I’m worried about him ok? After what happened with dad last night, don’t you think I’ve got a right to worry when Gee's not talking?"

"Yes, I understand that but bugging him is not going to make him talk. Besides I'm pretty sure I know what's going on and it has nothing to do with last night. It's not the first time he's done this since he's been here, just never this much so I think this actually means he's comfortable finally..."

Frank shook his head.

"If I thought there was a reason to worry about it then I'd have said something, now wouldn't I?"

Mikey frowned.

"What are you talking about? I don’t understand."

Frank frowned and buried his face in his hands, grumbling and growling mostly to himself before he looked up at Mikey.

"I can't ask him about it right now and I won't, but if what I know about it is right then right now Gerard is...I cannot believe I'm fucking explaining this to you...it's like a safe place in his mind where he can kind of be a little kid and not worry about anything. There's nothing wrong with it and there's nothing wrong with him, he just needs to escape and it's what keeps him sane I think. He's still Gerard and he still knows what's going on around him, he's just not an adult right now. Lots of people do it and sometimes...it's a kink thing...sometimes it's just a defense thing...he's been through a lot of shit and this is probably his coping mechanism. You cannot tell me you've never noticed that Gerard can get very child-like about some things."

Mikey tilted his head curiously.

"He’s like a child?...but he’s 24.”

He didn’t get it. Frank groaned.

"It's called being a Little, and if you're that curious you can Google it because I am not having this conversation with you. I don't know just how Little he is but here's what I'm gonna say to you right now. Don't force him to talk if he doesn't want to, don't say shit about the thumb, and don't be a dick. As long as he's happy I don't care and I will protect him if that's what he needs."

"Ok Ok..."

Mikey held his hands up in surrender.

"I’ll look it up and I won’t be a dick. But if I think he’s upset, I’m not just gonna let it go. I am his brother you know."

"He's clearly not. There's a difference between showing concern and not knowing when to just leave it. He's fine. He was giggly and smiley with me this morning. He was happy to have someone else dress him and carry him upstairs so he wouldn't hurt his feet. He's ok, I promise you that he's ok and if he's not you'll be able to tell. The only thing that bothered him was Andy hugging him and that's because he doesn't know him...which...why is Andy in my house, by the way?"

Mikey’s eyes widened and he felt his face turn red.

"I...I was upset...I needed him. I called and he came..."

He looked down at the floor, shuffling his feet on the carpet.

"I didn’t want to wake anyone up to ask. Sorry."

Frank snickered.

"Uh huh and that has nothing to do with the noise that woke me up at like the asscrack of stupid? I wondered what the fuck was going on but I wasn't moving and fell back asleep..."

Frank shook his head and patted Mikey's shoulder.

"As long as he gave it to you good who am I to judge. Fucking be quiet next time though. People like sleep."

Frank shook his head and headed back for the kitchen. Mikey stood stunned for a moment, then chased after him. He caught him at the kitchen door and grabbed his arm to stop him. He whispered in Frank’s ear.

"Actually, I gave it to him. Why do you think he’s walking funny this morning?"

He smirked, then slipped past Frank into the room, walking over to join Andy at the table.

Gerard was sat where he’d been sat before, but now he had a plate of bacon on the counter next to him, and a mug of milky coffee held between both hands as he sipped the hot sweet liquid carefully. His eyes widened as he saw his brother enter and his boyfriend in the doorway. He smiled at Frank happily before taking another sip. Frank looked at Mikey wide eyed. He frowned at him for a second and then at Andy, before shaking his head and pushing the idea of that out of his head because no, he didn't need that. He looked at Gerard and smiled warmly before walking over to hug him tight and kiss his cheek gently.

"Hey baby, how's your coffee?"

Gerard smiled softly and nodded, humming quietly.

"Good."

Frank chuckled lightly and reached for Gerard's plate, playfully threatening to steal a piece of bacon just to bug Gerard. Gerard pouted, shaking his head and huffing at Frank.

"I would never, I don't eat it remember."

Frank chuckled and snuggled into Gerard's neck. Gerard giggled, yipping slightly when he accidentally spilt a drop of coffee on his bare thigh. Luckily it wasn’t too hot, but it was a waste of coffee.

"Oh no."

Frank leaned over and grabbed a towel off the counter to clean up any escaped coffee. Gerard’s lip wobbled as he saw a single drop of brown on his pretty white skirt. He sniffed, carefully setting the mug down on the counter. Frank looked at Gerard's face and then at the skirt.

"Oh, no. Hey, it's ok. If we clean that up quick it won't stain but you'll have to wear something else for a little bit. Ok?"

Gerard sniffed again, then nodded sadly.

Mikey looked up and watched the exchange from the table with interest and confusion. After a minute, he looked back down at the phone in his hand and carried on reading.

Gerard was done with his coffee now, it had betrayed him so he decided to leave it and concentrate on his bacon. He was just bringing the first piece up to his mouth when...

"HOLY FUCK. WHAT THE..."

He jumped and squeaked, dropping his bacon and nearly falling off his chair at Mikey's sudden outburst. Everyone looked at Mikey and Mikey nearly disappeared under the table with embarrassment.

"Sorry."

He murmured, red faced. He held the phone in his lap so Frank couldn't see, cause he knew the older boy would question what he was looking at that elicited that reaction. As Frank's attention returned to Gerard, and the pout he had because of his lost bacon strip, Mikey sighed in relief, then noticed that Andy was staring at him with curious eyes and a single raised brow. Mikey sighed again and showed him the search results he had on his phone, and the article he'd found on little-space. He pointed to it, then nodded silently toward his brother. He saw the second realisation dawned in Andy's eyes...it was almost funny how large they went. Frank glanced up at Mikey and frowned.

"I'll deal with you in a minute."

He shook his head and carried Gerard downstairs. Andy waited for them to disappear from sight.

"Well.....I guess that explains a few things."

Mikey nodded.

"I guess. How didn't I know that about him though?...I'm his brother, I should know these things."

Andy raised an eyebrow.

"Well...I mean...maybe not to that extent. I would never have guessed that but he definitely is different and that makes sense now that you know. I don't think I'd guess that on my own though."

"But...but why didn’t he tell me?...am I that horrible a brother that he couldn’t talk to me about it?"

Andy shrugged uncertainly.

"Maybe he was afraid you'd judge him. I don't really know what your relationship with him is like but in general I think anyone is afraid people they care about will judge them for things that make them different."

Mikey frowned, looking down and sighing.

"I guess. And I guess our relationship hasn’t been that great. Like I just found out the other day that he was scared of me..."

He looked up sadly.

"No wonder he couldn’t come to me."

Andy offered him a hug.

"It'll be ok, you just gotta get used to each other again and relearn how to be family, because from what I gather you didn't have great teachers on that front."

Mikey snorted slightly.

"You can say that again. Do you think I should talk to him about this stuff?..."

He pointed at the phone again.

"I mean Frank said not to push him to talk, but I should be able to talk to my brother, right?...and he should be able to talk to me...don’t you think?"

"I think that what Frank means is don't push him if he doesn't want to. And don't push him if he's being nonverbal like he is. If he wants to talk to you and answer your questions then yes. But don't push him too hard if he seems uncomfortable with it. He also seems to look to Frank to be his voice so that might be something you need to get used to. Frank is just being protective. You gotta think of what's going on in his head right now too. It's not just you and your brother anymore."

Mikey sighed.

"I don’t want to upset him...I just want to understand him."

"And you can do that without upsetting him. Just watch his face, how he reacts when you say something. You'll figure it out Mikey, just don't push and not all at once. Give him some time. He'll start to feel safer and more comfortable..."

Andy kissed Mikey's cheek.

"And if you aren't sure then look to Frank. Gerard does, and so can you. If you can't understand what Gerard is trying to tell you, especially when he's nonverbal, then Frank might or he'll let you know when to back off a bit."

"How do you know about this stuff?...I legit never heard of little-space til Frank mentioned it a few minutes ago."

"I'm just going by what I see Gerard doing right now and how Frank reacts, it's called being observant and applying the observations. But I've heard of it vaguely, just never knew what it was called or much about it. I've heard more about the kinky part of it."

Andy chuckled and shook his head. Mikey’s eyes widened and he looked toward Frank’s bedroom door.

"You don’t think..."

He looked back at Andy.

"Fuck. I don’t want to think about my brother doing weird kinky shit..."

He shivered dramatically.

"Please tell me they’re not?"

"I don't know and I'm not going to ask too many questions about it because they're grown adults and they can do what they want."

"True, but please lie to me and tell me they’re definitely not doing that."

Andy chuckled.

"I promise you that your brother probably doesn't call his boyfriend 'Daddy', while they do whatever various things to each other. And I highly doubt that Gerard acts like a slutty little kid during that."

Andy grinned evilly and kissed Mikey's cheek again before ducking away from him in case he tried to swat him. Mikey pouted and rolled his eyes.

"You know, you’re not too big to put over my knee young man."

Andy laughed louder.

"You may top but that doesn't mean I'm helpless, sweetheart, and I don't do spanking."

Mikey raised an eyebrow.

"You ever tried it?"

"You'd be surprised."

"Tell me?...what’s the kinkiest thing you’ve done?"

"Uh...now listen...I've done a lot of dumb shit while drunk..."

Andy blushed a little. Mikey poked his arm.

"Tell meeeee."

He whined, giving puppy dog eyes.

"I...uh...dated a girl for a while and I wasn't aware when I asked her out that...she was a dominatrix..."

Andy sighed.

"I gave it a shot because I was usually drunk and who was I to judge."

Mikey stared wide eyed for a few seconds...then burst out into loud, obnoxious laughter, tears running from his eye just at the thought of it.

"Oh my God!..."

He wheezed.

"Did she like tie you up and whip you?...were you her little bi-OW!..."

He rubbed his arm where Andy just punched him, his laughter fading.

"I thought she was the one who liked causing pain."

He whined, looking for a non existent bruise.

"She did but that doesn't mean I liked it. There were a few things I wasn't opposed to but for the most part it's something I won't ever do again..."

Andy shook his head.

"You are loud, shush. The whole house doesn't need to know."

"Sorry..."

Just then the door to Frank's room opened. Mikey looked up as Frank returned with Gerard in his arms. Gerard was now wearing a little pink skirt instead of the white. He had his head on Frank’s shoulder and was playing quietly with a lose thread on Frank’s shirt. There was a pink pacifier in his mouth. Mikey’s eyebrows rose but he decided not to comment on it.

"Hey Gee, you Ok?..."

Gerard looked over at him and nodded slightly before going back to playing with the thread. Mikey looked at Frank.

"Hey Frank."

Frank set Gerard back on his stool and took the coffee away for a minute to clean any coffee off the side of the cup. He set it in front of Gerard.

"Now, be careful and don't spill that..."

He looked up at Mikey.

"Hey, did you need something, Mikey?"

Mikey frowned slightly and looked down at his cup.

"No..."

He mumbled.

"Just saying hi."

"Oh, I wasn't sure. Did you get some breakfast?"

Frank looked at the kitchen and Gerard's abandoned bacon. He motioned to ask Gerard if he wanted it heated up again. Gerard nodded slightly, pulling his paci from his mouth to take a sip of his coffee. Mikey had so many questions, but he knew Andy was right...he should wait until Gerard was back to being...well...Gerard. Frank picked up the plate and put it in the microwave for a bit, then put it back in front of him. Andy leaned against Mikey a bit. Frank looked over at them.

"What are you gonna do today?"

Mikey shrugged.

"Don’t know...hang around here I guess. I don’t think your dad's planning to open the diner...not after last night's dramas..."

Gerard whimpered quietly, a piece of bacon half way to his mouth.

"Where are your mom and dad anyway?...are they here?"

"I...actually don't know. I don't think they're opening the diner today but I didn't see them last night. I was busy with Gerard. I assume they are sleeping or something."

Frank shrugged. He wasn't terribly worried about them. Mikey nodded.

"Why don’t you check. We can stay with Gee."

Frank nodded and wandered toward the back to his parents' room to check on them. He knocked gently and heard Tony tell him to come in. He opened the door to see his father curled up in bed for the first time in a years, reading a book.

"What's up?"

"Just seeing what's going on today."

"Your mother went out to put a sign on the diner door. I don't think any of us is up to working today and then she said she wanted to stop at the grocery store."

"Oh...ok."

"You guys alright?"

Frank nodded and smiled at him.

"I made some bacon if you want some."

"I think I'm alright for now, thank you though. You look after those boys and your mother should be home soon."

Frank nodded and headed back out to the kitchen. Gerard had finished his bacon, and his coffee. He was sat on his stool with his paci in his mouth, trying to ignore the fact that his brother was feeling that Andy boy up under the table a few feet away. He felt really uncomfortable and was visibly relieved when Frank returned. He held out his arms making grabby hands at the other boy. Frank smiled at the little gesture and moved a little quicker to wrap Gerard up in a hug.

"You alright?"

Gerard pouted around his paci and shook his head, avoiding looking anywhere near his brother.

"What's the matter?"

Frank frowned. Gerard didn’t know how to tell him without actually...telling him. He frowned slightly, then let go of Frank with one hand to point to where Mikey’s hand was. It was currently on Andy’s dick beneath the kitchen table. Frank leaned a little and looked.

"Oh...um...well I'm not gonna get in the middle of that...so how about you and me go watch a movie downstairs?"

Gerard nodded quickly, wrapping his arms around Frank’s neck, and his legs around his waist. He really hoped that Frankie had some Disney movies they could watch. Frank chuckled and lifted him up to carry him downstairs, making a face at Mikey on the way past that made Andy laugh. He carried Gerard downstairs to set him on the bed.

"Alright, what do you wanna watch?"

Gerard looked at Frank with wide, bright eyes...how did Frank expect him to answer that? Frank gestured to the piles of movies.

"Do you wanna look through them again?"

Gerard nodded and crawled to the end of the bed where he could reach the DVDs. He looked over the titles for a minute, then reached out and grabbed something he hadn’t watched in a long time. He turned and crawled back to Frank, handing over the DVD case with a shy smile. Frank smiled and kissed his forehead as he took it from him before going to put it in the DVD player. Gerard sat on his knees with his paci between his soft pink lips, waiting for Frank to return to him. Frank set it all up and got the movie playing before he turned to crawl up on the bed with Gerard. He saw him sitting there and smiled warmly at him. He kissed his cheek gently and crawled up beside him, leaning against the wall and patting the bed beside him. Gerard looked at the spot Frank patted, then crawled straight into Frank’s lap, purring happily as he settled in. Frank smiled and put his arms loosely around Gerard as he got comfy. Gerard sucked quietly on his paci as the movie played...he was feeling the littlest he ever had, and he liked it. He felt safe and warm and comfortable...and hard. He frowned slightly, squirming in Frank’s lap a little and trying to ignore how hard he was in his panties.

Frank started to notice how much Gerard was moving around and he seemed uncomfortable.

"You ok?"

Frank asked him quietly. Gerard whimpered slightly, casting his eyes down. Frank raised an eyebrow at him. Gerard's cheeks pinked heavily. He closed his eyes and took the hem of his little pink skirt in his hands...and lifted it hesitantly to reveal his current problem.

"Oh...um..."

Frank wasn't really sure what to do with Gerard the way he was right now. He wasn't entirely sure what was allowed or okay, or what Gerard was comfortable with.

"What do you..."

Gerard whined, pushing his skirt back down and burying his face in the crook of Frank’s neck. He hated getting hard when he was little...mostly cause there was usually no one there to help him. He hoped Frankie could help him. Frank furrowed his brows together and mulled it through his head. Gerard was still an adult and he clearly knew what was going on. There was nothing morally wrong with it and he clearly wanted help or he wouldn't have told Frank. He took a minute and decided where to draw the line definitively.

He moved his hands up to Gerard's hips, leaning down to kiss his neck.

"Ok. You want help?"

Gerard nodded against Frank’s shoulder, his fingers gripping at Frank’s shirt tightly. Frank reached up to pull on the paci gently, asking if he could take it away for a bit. Gerard opened his mouth wide, eyes looking up at Frank expectantly. Frank set it aside and kissed Gerard gently, carefully watching for any discomfort. Gerard kissed back hesitantly...he knew how to kiss, of course he did, but in his little-space, he just wasn’t used to anyone wanting to kiss him at all. He liked this...Frank made him feel wanted. Frank kissed him a little harder, testing the waters but trying to stay as gentle as he could, and started pushing the bottom hem of Gerard’s skirt up slowly. Gerard smiled into the kiss, his fingers gripping Frank’s shirt as he practically purred with how happy he was right now.

Frank moved his mouth to Gerard's neck again, kissing gently as he pushed his hand up to brush over the bulge in Gerard's panties. Gerard moaned, his hips bucking up slightly into Frank’s touch. Frank pushed harder, palming him through the thin material.

"That feel good, baby?"

He whispered against Gerard's skin. Gerard whimpered, nodding as he felt his panties becoming damp with pre-cum. Frank lifted Gerard a little as he slid the panties down and got them off of him, before wrapping his hand around him and stroking him, slowly and gently at first. Gerard gasped, his mouth falling open and his eyes rolling back for a moment. It felt so good and Gerard knew that even if he could talk, he wouldn’t have the words right now. Frank took this as encouragement and kissed at Gerard's throat again as he moved his hand a little faster. Gerard moaned, loud and high pitched as he started to tremble, his completion rushing up on him like a freight train. He wasn’t going to last long like this.

Frank loved that noise, he grinned against Gerard's skin. He moved his wrist as he stroked him, trying to pull more of those little noises out of him and help him finish. Gerard’s hips flicked, breathy moans and mewls slipping from his lips as his heart raced in his chest.

Frank moved his hand a little faster and looked up at him, speaking softly between kissing him.

"Come on, baby, I've got you. Cum for me."

Gerard mewled and whimpered and then, with a gasped cry...he came, body trembling as he covered Frank’s hand in white. Frank held onto Gerard and cuddled him close while he slowly came down from his orgasm. He kissed his forehead and wiped his hand off on the sheets that he was going to have to change again anyways. Gerard panted quietly as he came down, his body limp and slick with cooling sweat...he didn’t remember watching Beauty And The Beast ever being this exciting before. He shivered, pressing into Frank more for warmth. Frank pulled him tight against him and wrapped his arms around him, hugging him close.

"You ok?"

Gerard looked up with tired, heavily lidded eyes...and a blissful smile. He nodded and leaned up to kiss Frank chastely. Frank smiled and gently kissed him back. Gerard looked very sleepy and cute and it made Frank's heart turn to mush.

"Nap time?"

Gerard nodded, yawning with a little squeak as he curled up in Frank’s lap and closed his eyes. He could watch the movie another time. Within a minute, he was asleep. Frank smiled and set him gently on the bed to tuck him into the comfy soft blankets. He kissed Gerard's forehead and quietly ventured upstairs for some of the coffee he never got to.

Mikey looked up from his own coffee. He was alone.

"Hey."

He said quietly. Frank nodded and went over to the coffee.

"Hey."

Mikey sipped his coffee, stealing himself for the conversation he knew was coming.

"How’s Gee?"

"He's good, napping right now."

Frank got his coffee and stood leaned against the counter drinking it.

"I’m sorry about before by the way...I didn’t mean to upset him."

Mikey said with his eyes cast down.

"It's ok. He seems fine. It's gonna be a bit of a learning curve for all of us, Mikey."

"Yeah, but you had at least heard of this little-space thing...I had no idea it even existed."

"Well it'll be a steep learning curve then. Yes I'd at least heard of it but that doesn't help me much. I don't know how Little he's gone or what is ok with him so I have to guess most of it too. I just know that it puts a lot of mental stress on him to try and push too much..."

Frank sighed and shook his head.

"You can't blame yourself either. Most people have no idea."

Mikey sipped his coffee quietly for a minute, thinking of all the things he wanted to ask, but not knowing what was an acceptable question and what wasn’t. After a while he looked up again.

"He’s...vulnerable when he’s like this...isn’t he?"

"Um...to an extent, yes. He lets you know what's not ok, so far mostly just by whining and making faces. He'll point or nod when you ask him something. He's still Gerard, like adult Gerard is still in his head and he knows all of the things that he should. He's just like...a very intelligent kid with no way of conveying that. I don't know that he'll always be non-verbal when he's little though."

Frank shrugged and watched Mikey thinking it over. Mikey frowned.

"Do you...do you think anyone’s ever, you know...taken advantage?"

"I...don't know. I think he's had at least one shitty relationship he doesn't like talking to me about, but I don't know about that..."

Frank honestly didn't have an answer for that and the thought worried him.

"I really hope not but unfortunately there are some real assholes out there that would."

Mikey nodded, thinking again. His eyes widened as something came to his mind.

"When he first came back. He mentioned that boss...do you think he..."

He swallowed, feeling slightly sick at the thought.

"Maybe there’s more than Gee told us."

"Hopefully not but we can try and ask him when he's not little, if you want."

Frank frowned at his coffee. If that sleezebag had so much as touched Gerard, especially when he was Little, Frank was going to be pissed.

"I think we should try...not sure if he’ll tell us though. That's all we can really do though, is try. The rest is up to him."

Mikey nodded thoughtfully.

"How old do you think he is right now?"

"I'm not really sure. To me the pacifier says maybe three but he's more interactive and cooperative than a three year old. But I'm not sure if that's the adult part of him or if it's that he's older than I think."

Frank furrowed his brows together and tried to think about it.

"Do you think he knew?"

"I don't know. I doubt it. He may have seen Gerard as childish but not known why. Somehow I doubt he had enough of a brain to comprehend that kind of thing, let alone have talked to the right kind of people to have heard of it."

Frank shook his head. Mikey nodded in agreement, then finished his coffee as he thought more, frowning at each new question his mind posed.

"Frank...Gee can't get stuck like this, can he?...I mean, he's gonna be my big brother again...right?"

He knew it was probably a dumb question, but he was genuinely worried about this. Like what if Gee got stuck as a 3 yeah old or whatever, and they had to get him a baby sitter or something...Mikey somehow doubted that scenario, but he didn't know enough about this whole thing to totally dismiss the idea from his mind.

"No, I don't think so. I've never heard of that at least if that helps."

Frank highly doubted that would ever happen. He honestly hadn't ever heard of anything like that happening and Gerard had already gone back and forth between the two if he was honest, just never this severely. Mikey sighed in relief.

"Good. I was kinda worried that if he couldn't snap out of it or whatever, then that could make it hard for him to testify against dad..."

He looked up.

"Do you think he can handle that?...even as big Gee?"

"I don't know. It's gonna be rough but I think if we're there to support him, it'll make it easier at least on him, big or Little."

Mikey stood up from the table and walked over to stand in front of Frank.

"I'm...I really am sorry for being a dick to him before...I understand why you got mad at me..."

He said quietly.

"Do you reckon we could start again?...to try being friends?"

He looked at Frank hopefully.

"I wasn't aware we ever weren't..."

Frank raised an eyebrow and looked up at Mikey.

"I don't let just anyone into my home to stay with my family. You're Gee's brother. You've been through some shit. I know you're trying the best you can and learning."

Mikey smiled wide, relief clear on his young face.

"Thank God! You know, I actually thought you hated me cause of how I treated Gee before. I'm glad you don't...I don't have that many friends, and I liked thinking of you as one of them."

"Oh I was mad, don't get me wrong. However, you did make the attempt to make up for it and you clearly mean no harm. I don't hate you though. I hate your father but not you..."

Frank sighed and shook his head.

"You're a kid that no one thought to raise right, that's not on you. Everything you do from here on out though, that is on you. So hopefully you can learn..."

Frank smiled at him.

"I'm more than happy to be your friend, Mikey."

Mikey grinned like the child he essentially still was and grabbed Frank into a hug.

"Thank you thank you thank you!...I promise I won't let you down."

Suddenly there was a dull thud, followed by a short pained scream from the direction of Frank's bedroom. Frank jumped and looked towards the basement. He gently moved away from Mikey to run downstairs to see what was going on.

"Gee?"

Gerard was laying in a crumpled pile on the floor, whimpering slightly and looking at his bandaged feet reproachfully. He looked up as Frank appeared with Mikey right behind him. He pouted and pointedly at his feet.

"Hurts."

He mumbled quietly. He was still kinda feeling little, but not as little as before. Frank rushed forward to scoop him up and set him back on the bed.

"Well you're not supposed to walk on them right now. Of course it hurts."

He looked to make sure they weren't bleeding again.

"I forgots."

Gerard mumbled, looking down with pink cheeks.

"It's ok, baby. You're ok. What did you need?"

"Cuddles?"

Gerard looked up through his lashes with a shy smile on his lips. Frank smiled and crawled up to kiss Gerard's cheek.

"Sorry I wasn't here for cuddles. I was upstairs having coffee and talking to Mikey."

Gerard giggled and looked over at his brother.

"Hi Mikey."

Mikey grinned and waved.

"Hi Gee, you OK?..."

Gerard nodded, smiling softly. Mikey smiled back.

"That's good."

Gerard giggled again, then looked back at Frank.

"Cans we play Fwankie?"

"Well what do you want to play?"

Frank chuckled at the pure, innocently happy look on Gerard's face. He liked that. He glanced at Mikey to see the younger Way smiling too and it was a refreshing sight. Gerard thought for a minute, then started bouncing slightly in excitement.

"Cans we play Shoots and Ladders, Fwankie?...pweeease?"

"If you want to, I think I've got that here somewhere. Do you want Mikey to play with us?"

Gerard nodded enthusiastically. Mikey smiled happily, moving further into the room to join them.

"We used to play this when we were kids. Do you remember Gee?"

Gerard frowned slightly.

"I's still a kid, silly."

Mikey chuckled slightly.

"Of course...I'm just being silly."

He hoped he hadn't upset Gerard...that was the last thing he wanted to do. Luckily, Gerard giggled again.

"Silly billy."

Mikey smiled with relief, then looked to where Frank was digging around in his closet, presumably for the game.

"You OK there Frank?...need any help?"

"No, I'm good. It's...well...maybe I could use a little help...I'm a short ass apparently and someone put it up on the shelf."

Frank huffed indignantly. Mikey chuckled.

"Out the way then short ass..."

He moved over to Frank’s side and reached up, easily grabbing the little dust covered box.

"See, my tall skinny ass has some uses around here after all."

He handed the box over to Frank with a grin.

"Go sit with your brother before I kick your tall skinny ass."

Frank chuckled and shooed him.

"You couldn’t reach..."

Mikey giggled, hurrying away before Frank could try. He climbed onto the bed and grinned at Gerard, who was sat on his knees with his pacifier back in his mouth.

"You ok Gee?"

Gerard nodded, smiling behind his paci. Frank shook his head as he moved to join them and set up the board. He held up the game pieces to Gerard.

"What colour do you wanna be?"

Gerard pointed to the little pink rabbit in Frank’s right palm. Frank smiled and put that one in Gerard's hand. He held his hands up to Mikey.

"Mikey?"

Mikey took a small blue disk, chuckling at the fact that none of the pieces actually matched. He remembered the Monopoly game when he and Gerard were growing up having a similar issue. He put his piece on the start square and looked at Gerard to do the same...though the older boy was currently stroking the small plastic rabbit with the tip of his finger like it was a pet. He looked so happy right then that it made Mikey smile wide.

Frank put a little green house, from a monopoly game he was sure, on the board and set the die in the middle of the board.

"Alright, Gee, do you wanna go first or do you want Mikey to?"

Gerard looked up, eyes wide like he’d forgotten what they were even doing. He giggled slightly, then reluctantly put down his rabbit on the start and picked up the die. He shook it in his hand then held it up to Frank’s mouth, looking at him expectantly. Frank chuckled and blew on the die, grinning at Gerard. Gerard giggled happily, then rolled the die onto the board. After a few seconds, it came to a stop. Gerard leaned over to look at the tiny cube, then looked up at Frank questioningly.

"What's the matter?"

Gerard huffed slightly and looked at the die again.

"Free?"

He mumbled around his paci. Counting really wasn’t his thing when he was little. Frank looked over at the die and nodded.

"Yeah, it's three."

Gerard smiled shyly, then put his thin fingertips around his little pink bunny piece.

"One...two..."

He moved the piece carefully.

"Free."

The pacifier was still trapped between his pink lips, so his words came out mumbled, but recognisable. When his counter was on the right square, he looked up at Frank for confirmation, and hopefully...praise. It would be a first if someone bothered to praise him though, so he tried not to be too hopeful.

"Good job, baby..."

Frank kissed his cheek gently and smiled. He was glad Gerard was trying to count even if it seemed to be hard for him.

"Your turn, Mikey."

Gerard smiled happily, sucking his paci as he watched Mikey take his turn. Mikey rolled the die and got a 5. He grinned and moved his piece.

"Beat that Frankie boy!"

Frank gave him a stern look and picked up the die to roll. He only got a four but he wasn't bothered by it. It was a good enough roll. Gerard looked at Frank and smiled, then pointed to his own chest.

"Me?"

He mumbled.

"Yes."

Frank nodded. Gerard smiled and picked up the die. He rolled it, bouncing in excitement when it stopped on the six.

"Sicks?"

He asked Frank with wide eyes and a smile than nearly made his pacifier fall out.

"Yup. You're doing good. Go on. Move your little bunny."

Frank smiled widely at Gerard's excitement, putting a finger up to stop the pacifier from falling out of the boy's mouth. Gerard giggled, then started his piece on its journey.

"One...two...free...four...um...five?"

He looked at Frank hesitantly. Frank nodded to him.

"One more."

Gerard nodded seriously, his eyes going back to the board.

"Sicks..."

His eyes went wide as he saw he was at the bottom of a...

"LADDER!"

Frank laughed and nodded.

"Up you go."

Gerard giggled, jumping his bunny up the rungs of the ladder til he was at the top. He then looked at Mikey and nodded, pointing to him with a smile behind his candy pink paci.

"Mikey turn."

He mumbled. Mikey smiled and nodded.

"Yep. My turn..."

He rolled the die and it landed on a two. He made a rude noise at the low number...which made Gerard giggle, which in turn made Mikey grin wide...then he moved his piece before looking over at Frank.

"You're turn man. If you get a five, you can join Gee up the ladder."

Gerard started bouncing happily at the thought, and chanting a mumbled...

"Five five five..."

Frank grinned a little and scooped up the die to roll it. He rolled it gently and looked up at Gerard as it landed on five, just as his face lit up. Gerard squeed, bouncing on his knees, his skirt riding up his thighs.

"You gots five!"

Frank laughed and moved his piece.

"Yes, yes I did."

He held up the die for Gerard to take them. Gerard giggled and reached for the die, but stopped part way, frowning slightly as he glanced down at the board. Within the next six squares, there were three shoots and only one ladder...he didn’t like this bit of the board. Frank looked at the board and back up at Gerard. He choked a little when he noticed his skirt had ridden up to an almost dangerous and non-PG level. He gently tried to discreetly tug it back down a little as he spoke up.

"It'll be ok, baby, just roll the dice."

Mikey had noticed his brother's minor wardrobe malfunction, but ignored it. Gerard whimpered slightly, then nodded and did as he was told. The die rolled for a moment and stopped on the two...one of the only squares that didn’t have something on it. He sighed in relief.

"Two?"

He said, looking up to Frank with wide eyes. Frank nodded and motioned for him to move his piece. Gerard smiled and moved his little pink bunny, making it hop on the squares before looking to his brother.

"Mikey turn."

He picked up the die and handed it over. Mikey accepted the die with a smile and rolled. It landed on the two and he grinned.

"Looks like I’m joining you..."

He moved two, then up the ladder to join Frank.

"Your turn."

He handed the die to Frank. Frank rolled the die quietly, smiling at how simple this was and yet how happy it felt. Frank moved his piece and wrinkled up his nose as he moved it down the snake.

"Of course."

Gerard frowned.

"Nasty snaky..."

He leaned up to kiss Frank’s cheek softly.

"You Ok Fwankie?"

Frank smiled a little at Gerard's response to it.

"Yeah I'm fine. It'll take more than a little snake to get to me."

Gerard giggled.

"Good, cause I don’t likes snakeys."

Frank scooped up the die and gave it to Gerard.

"Snakes aren't very nice are they? Here you go, baby."

"My turn?..."

Gerard looked at the board and was still worried by the snakes ahead of him.

"Be nice snakeys."

He whispered before rolling the die...a little too hard cause it rolled right off the edge of the bed, across the floor and straight under Frank’s dresser.

"Fuck sake Gee!"

Mikey snapped. Gerard’s lip quivered for a moment, then he burst into tears. Frank glared at Mikey and got off the bed to run over and retrieve the die from under the dresser. He brought it back with him and snapped at Mikey a little bit.

"He didn't do it on purpose, Mikey. It's not a big deal..."

Frank set the die on the board and held his arms out for Gerard.

"Shhh, come here. Mikey isn't really mad at you. It's ok."

Gerard sniffed, then climbed into Frank’s lap, shoving his thumb into his mouth as he had somehow lost his pacci when he started crying. He buried his face into Frank’s chest and clung to his shirt, small hiccuping sobs escaping his lips. Mikey sighed, rolling his eyes slightly.

"I’m sorry, force of habit I guess. I’ll try harder...sorry Gee."

Gerard kept his face hidden, he’d had enough of shoots and ladders...and Mikey for one day. Frank shushed Gerard and wrapped an arm around him, reaching over to rummage through to blankets for the pacifier to give it back to Gerard.

"I know you're used to yelling at him but all he did was drop the dice Mikey, which he's supposed to do, but he can't really control where they go after that..."

When he found the pacifier, he held it up near Gerard's face.

"I know it'll take some time for you to learn how to be normal but I promise you don't have to be angry or yell at him. If he does something I'll let him know that he did."

Mikey raised an eyebrow.

"You want me to be normal when he’s the one sat in your lap wearing a skirt and sucking on a pacifier?...seriously?"

He didn’t mean to be bitchy, but he didn’t like being called out by Frank for just acting the way he was used to acting.

"He's not hurting anyone with his behaviour. He likes skirts and the pacifier makes him feel better. There is nothing wrong with that and he's in my lap because you scared him..."

Frank sighed and looked at the younger boy.

"I'm not trying to be a dick, Mikey. I meant normal in the sense of someone who's not put in a position of having to treat someone he cares about shittily to protect himself. No one in this house is going to hurt either of you. I know that you know that kind of thing isn't normal."

Mikey looked down, sighing heavily.

"I know. I’m sorry..."

He looked up timidly.

"Look, why don’t I go get us all some ice cream and give you two a few minutes alone, yeah?...strawberry still your favourite Gee?"

Gerard nodded slightly, but refused to come out of his hiding place. Mikey looked at Frank for his answer. Frank shrugged.

"Just chocolate is fine."

Mikey sighed, he could tell ice cream wasn’t going to be enough of an apology, he’d have to think of something else on the way to the store.

"Ok, I’ll be back in a bit."

He stood up from the bed and headed out of the room. Gerard shivered, looking up at Frank with wide sad eyes.

"Why'm I such a freak Fwankie?"

"You're not a freak baby, you're different but not a freak. There's nothing wrong with being different."

He kissed Gerard's forehead.

"But, but I’m not normal. Mikey said."

Gerard sniffed.

"Mikey isn't normal either, though. Normal is highly overrated anyways."

"It is?"

Gerard asked sweetly, tilting his head slightly to the right.

"Yes. Normal is rather boring and if everyone was normal the world would be an incredibly dull place."

Frank smiled widely at him. Gerard giggled slightly, hiccuping part way through.

"I think Mikey’s dull..."

He whispered as if it were a secret, hiccuping afterward.

"And he’s a meany head."

"He's definitely mean but I think there's probably more to him than you know."

Frank chuckled and shook his head. Gerard hiccuped again.

"I got hics Fwankie."

"Yes, I see this. How'd you get those?"

"Cause I was...cwying."

Gerard looked down, hiccuping again. Frank hugged him a little tighter.

"It's alright, they'll go away. You feel ok now?"

"I feel...*hic*...Little. Can I..."

Gerard trailed off, chewing on his pacifier unsurely.

"What? You can tell me."

Gerard sniffed then hiccuped again, avoiding Frank’s eyes.

"When I's Little, can I...call you...daddy?"

Frank raised an eyebrow at him a little bit. That was about the last thing he'd ever expected but it didn't bother him. It might take him a bit to get used to it and respond when Gerard called him that.

"You can if you want to."

"You...you d-don’t think I’m a *hic*...freak now?"

"Nope..."

Frank snuggled his face close to Gerard's.

"You're Little and you're cute and you're my baby, and there are others like you in the world."

Gerard gasped, looking up into Frank’s eyes.

"There are?...do they have daddies too?"

Frank smiled and nodded.

"Yes, some of them do. Then some have mommies and some haven't found theirs yet."

Gerard tilted his head.

"Who looks after them if they don’t have mommies or daddies?"

Frank thought about it for a minute.

"I don't know. I mean, you can look after yourself sometimes. Maybe they do too."

Gerard considered this for a moment, then leaned his head against Frank’s chest with a sigh.

"I’m happy I have you now...daddy. It’s better. I’m better."

Frank rested his chin on the top of Gerard's head and smiled.

"I'm happy too, baby. I'll take care of you and keep you safe."

"Thank you daddy..."

Gerard yawned, closing his eyes. After a few seconds he opened them again and looked up at Frank.

"Hey daddy, guess what?"

Frank grinned and looked down at him.

"What?"

Gerard giggled.

"My hics have gone..."

He opened his mouth wide, lifting his chin so Frank could see to the back of his throat, then closed his mouth and grinned wide.

"See daddy?"

Frank laughed and cuddled Gerard close to him.

"Yes they are."

Gerard yawned again, snuggling in happily.

"Now I caught yawns though...can I sleeps on you?"

"Of course."

Frank shifted to lean back against the pillows and moved Gerard with him. Gerard whined slightly, tensing up for a second before going limp in Frank’s arms and letting out a soft sigh.

"Go to sleep, baby."

Frank mumbled quietly. Gerard whimpered softly, nuzzling against Frank’s shirt.

"Paci?"

He wasn’t sure when it had fallen out of his mouth again, or where it had gone. Frank smiled and rummaged around the bed until he found it again and held it up for Gerard. Sleepily, struggling to keep his eyes open now, Gerard opened his mouth to accept his pacifier. Frank set it in his mouth and smiled at him. His heart felt fluttery at how cute he was like this. Gerard closed his lips around it and smiled slightly as he drifted toward sleep.

"Night daddy. Love you."

"Love you too."

But Gerard didn’t hear him as he was already asleep.


~time passes~


Mikey came back with the ice creams and an idea on how to apologise properly, but when he opened Frank’s bedroom door with tubs of ice cream and spoons in hand, he was met with the sight of his brother and Frank both sleeping soundly on the bed. Quietly he stepped back out and closed the door. He smiled, things were still far from perfect between him and Gerard, but they were better, and given time he hoped everything would work out ok.

He took the ice creams up to the kitchen and put them in the freezer for later before heading to his room to call Andy. Yeah, everything was going to be just fine.





~THE END!~

Notes

Hi there chipmunks, how’s you?

So FINALLY we’ve finished writing this last chapter. We probably could’ve carried on writing this indefinitely, but we've told the story we set out to tell, and didn’t want you to get bored, so we figured this was a good place to stop.

We hope you enjoyed this fic, MAYBE we might collaborate on another fic sometime.

Until then...PLEASE COMMENT and peace out babies!
<3