If You Can't Handle The Heat...

Mikey was finding working with Tony a little different than working with Frank. Tony was a lot more strict than Frank about the rules and Mikey hadn't even been able to slip outside for a cigarette in the two hours since Frank left to take Gerard to the hospital...he was getting desperate now.

He was also desperate for news on his brother. Mikey knew that he was hard on Gerard before, and earlier it hadn't bothered him so much, but now, not knowing if Gerard was alright or not, he found himself regretting the way he'd treated him. He really regretted sending Gerard out with the trash. He looked over at the door for the hundredth time in the last ten minutes...why weren't they back yet?

Frank pulled his bike back up to his spot at the side of the diner and went inside. He went straight to the kitchen to send Tony home.

“I’m back, you’re good. Go back to whatever you were doing.”

“Is he alright?”

Tony asked with a look of concern.

“He will be, doc is gonna keep an eye on him overnight.”

Frank looked at the floor and set about picking up the work where Tony left it. Tony nodded silently.

“Call me if you guys need me alright?”

Tony said and Frank nodded back. Tony waved at Mikey on the way out. Mikey waved then went straight to the kitchen door and saw Frank busy flipping three burgers on the flat top that he'd ordered.

"Frank!...you're back, where's Gee?"

“He’s at the hospital, he has a concussion, they are keeping him overnight to keep an eye on him and don’t worry they’ve been warned, no needles. They have my number on file, they’ll call me to come get him but I’m going back to check on him later anyway.”

Frank put together one of the orders and put it up in the window. Mikey chewed his lip for a moment.

"Do you think I could come with you?...when you go to see him later I mean."

“Sure. He is your brother. Get these orders out and then take a smoke break before you spontaneously combust.”

Frank put up the other two orders. Mikey made a slightly inhuman noise at the mention of a cigarette, then picked up the orders and took them out to the only currently occupied table. After delivering the three burgers, he shot Frank a grateful wave then stepped outside and to the side of the building to light up.

Taking his first drag in what felt like forever, Mikey leaned against the wall and sighed, closing his eyes and enjoying the moment alone. It was short lived though, as he was broken from his relaxed state by someone clearing their throat. He opened his eyes and was pleasantly surprised to see Andy standing there, grinning at him. He went to say hi, and started choking on smoke.

“Woah, you ok? Don’t die on me, this is only the second time I’ve gotten to see you.”

Andy chuckled and shook his head. Mikey doubled over slightly and held up a hand to indicate "wait a minute", then coughed a bit more before straightening up and wiping his watering eyes with the bottom of his shirt, belatedly realising that he'd just flashed his pale, undefined stomach to the hot guy who probably had a six-pack, and that he was trying to impress...oh well, too late now.

"I err...I didn't expect to see you back here so soon."

He internally cringed at how lame he sounded.

“Well maybe I just wanted to see the cute waiter that caught my eye.”

Andy grinned widely at Mikey. Mikey giggled, his cheeks suddenly feeling rather hot.

"Really?...and who might that be?"

He asked, hoping Andy didn't describe one of the other waiters. Andy chuckled.

“Oh, he’s this really cute guy, has these weird green eyes. He’s not tall but not short either. I think he said his name was Mikey but I could be wrong. He’s really cute when he stumbles over himself and blushes though. Have you met him?”

Mikey giggled again and shook his head.

"No, I don't think so...guess you'll have to make do with me."

“Dammit...”

Andy chuckled.

“Well you’re cute too so I guess you’ll do.”

Mikey smiled wide, his blush feeling like it was taking over his entire face.

"Do you...want a coffee? On me."

He said, pointing toward the diner's door. Andy nodded.

“Coffee sounds good.”

Mikey stubbed out his cigarette on the brick wall to his left then grinned.

"Come on then."

He lead Andy inside with the grin still plastered on his face. Andy followed Mikey inside and sat at the counter the same as last time. Mikey went behind the counter and started the coffee, he glanced through the window into the kitchen, then ducked his head when he remembered his blush, and saw that Frank was grinning at him. Frank chuckled and shook his head. Then he remembered what Gerard said earlier and saw his opportunity to embarrass the absolute hell out of Mikey.

“Hey, Mikey…”

Mikey looked up.

"Yeah Frank?"

“Is it true that you have a stuffed unicorn named Pierce that you kiss goodnight?”

Frank laughed, he couldn’t keep it together anymore it was just too funny. Mikey's face went the colour of a ripe tomato and he dropped the cup he was holding.

"I...how...fuck!"

Mikey turned and saw Andy watching him with an amused look...he opened and closed his mouth like a fish for a moment before dashing into the toilets and locking the door. Andy shook his head and chuckled.

“That wasn’t nice, it was funny and absolutely cute, but very not nice.”

“He’s got a bit of a not nice attitude to his brother so he more or less had it coming once I figured out how to get him...”

Frank shrugged.

“I wasn’t sure it was true though, Gerard was a little out of it when he told me so it could’ve been bullshit for all I knew.”

“True...”

Andy nodded.

“I’m gonna go see if he’s ok.”

Andy got off the stool at the counter and wandered over to the bathroom door to knock on it gently. Mikey was sat on the closed toilet seat, he looked over at the door.

"Go away Frank, you ass!"

He said, throwing an empty toilet roll tube at the door.

“I’m assuming Frank must be the cook. It’s not Frank.”

Andy leaned against the door frame.

"Andy?...I thought you would've left?"

Andy made a face.

“Why would I do that?”

"Because of what Frank said...about my unicorn?"

Mikey said quietly. Andy chuckled quietly enough that Mikey wouldn’t hear him.

“So Pierce the Unicorn is real then?”

Mikey swallowed, chewing on his lip for a moment.

"Yes..."

He said quietly.

"...but it was a present from a friend, a long time ago."

“Sounds kind of cute...”

Andy smiled.

“I don’t know how I’m jealous of a fucking stuffed unicorn though, but I kind of am.”

Mikey leaned over and undid the lock on the door. He looked up at Andy with a small smirk.

"You...are?"

“Well yeah...”

Andy poked his head in.

“He gets kisses from you, he’s one lucky ass unicorn.”

He pouted a little. Mikey stood up and stepped toward the other boy.

"You know..."

He said, confidence raising and voice dropping low.

"...you could get kisses too, if you wanted?"

“I could?...”

Andy smiled gently.

“...and how would I accomplish that?”

"By joining me in here."

Mikey said with a full-on smirk. Andy’s smile widened a bit and went a little crooked as he stepped into the bathroom with Mikey. Mikey reached passed Andy to close the door and click the lock, before backing Andy against the wall.

"Hi."

He said quietly, his face about an inch from the other boy's.

“Hello.”

Andy chuckled and stayed there with his back against the wall, looking down a little at the shorter boy.

Mikey smiled.

"You wanted kisses?"

“Yeah.”

Andy chuckled and leaned his head down towards Mikey. Mikey tiptoed slightly, grabbing handfuls of the front of Andy's shirt to steady himself, then pressed his lips to the taller boy's. Andy leaned down a little more, realising Mikey was having difficulty, and slipped his arms around his waist. Mikey slipped his arms around Andy's neck and licked at the older boy's lip, asking for entrance. Andy parted his lips and made a little noise deep in the back of his throat. Mikey smirked slightly against Andy's lips before sliding his tongue into the warm, wet space and tangling his fingers in the back of the tattooed boy's hair, pulling lightly. Andy growled a little at Mikey pulling his hair, not because he didn’t like it. More so because he did and he just wanted to enjoy kissing the cute waiter right now. Mikey liked that noise. He pressed deeper into the kiss and pushed his knee between Andy's thighs. Andy made the noise again, even though he was sure that was what had spurred him on. Mikey pushed himself right up against Andy, his thigh pressing against the boy's crotch as he gripped his hair, twisting it slightly and kissing him harder.

Frank pounded on the bathroom door.

“Oi! Mikey, get your ass back out here. You have a customer, eh!”

Mikey pulled away quickly, a line of spit connecting their mouths for a second before it broke. His cheeks turned bright red again in a second.

"Ok Frank, I'm coming!..."

He turned to look at Andy as he heard Frank walk away.

"Are you?"

He asked with a wink, then opened the door and returned to work, leaving Andy to sort himself out if he needed to.

(time passes)

Frank finished shutting down the kitchen and getting things cleaned up. He looked up at Mikey to see how much longer he’d be with cleaning up the front of house. The diner had been basically dead for the last 20 minutes, so Mikey already had everything sorted. He'd wiped down all of the tables, swept the floor, emptied the trash, checked the bathroom and was just finishing cashing out his register. He felt eyes on him and turned to see Frank looking at him.

"I'm just about done Frank, you still ok if I come to the hospital with you?"

“Yeah, do you drive?”

Frank asked as he hung up his apron and put the last towel in the hamper. Mikey nodded.

"Yeah, I've got my car parked out back."

“Alright you can follow me or meet me there then.”

Frank shrugged.

"I'll follow you, I don't know how to get there from here."

Mikey said with a laugh as he grabbed his jacket. Frank nodded and stood by the door to wait for him.

Mikey pulled his car key out of his pocket ready, then grinned at Frank as he slipped out of the door passed him, and headed to the small lot at the back that held probably no more than 6 cars max.

He walked over to his beat up grey car, with its missing passenger door that he'd replaced with a mass of duct-tape, and unlocked the driver's door. He got in and slammed the door as it wouldn't shut otherwise, then put the key in the ignition.

5 minutes and 25 attempts to start the car later, Mikey got back out, slammed the door way harder than he had when he'd gotten in, and slouched over to where Frank was stood by his bike waiting, trying not to laugh with a cigarette in his mouth.

"Don't say a fucking word Frank."

Mikey huffed.

“What the fuck kind of car is that, Way?...”

Frank chuckled as he threw his smoke on the ground and stamped it with the heel of his shoe. He swung his leg over his bike and shook his head.

“Get on and let’s go.”

He indicated the seat behind him. Mikey wasn’t only half there like Gerard was so Mikey could damn well hold on, he was not sitting in front of Frank like a kid. Mikey huffed, muttering curses and all the things he wanted to do to the guy who'd sold him that pile of crap car. He climbed onto the bike behind Frank and grabbed Frank's hips to keep himself in place.

"Get us there in one piece, yeah Frank?"

“If I could get your brother there in one piece, I’m sure I can get you there. At least I’m not worried about holding you on the damn bike...”

Frank kicked it to life and kicked up the stand.

“Just hold on and if the wind is too much you can hide your face in my back, ok?”

He called over the rumble of the bike’s engine.

"I've been on the back of a bike before Frank."

Mikey grumbled...and he'd been in such a good mood before, after seeing Andy. He held on tight and they set off.

Frank didn’t go too fast but he did go faster than he did with Gerard. Traffic was a bitch right then and Frank wrinkled his nose as some asshole almost cut him off and then yelled at Frank like it was his fault. He flipped them off and kept going. He pulled into the parking lot but there were no spots near the doors this time so he parked his bike at the other end of the lot before he shut it off and put out the kick.

"About fucking time..."

Mikey muttered under his breath as he got off of the bike.

"Let's go Frank. What ward's he in anyway?"

“They hadn’t quite decided where to put him yet, the nurse will tell us where he is when she sees me. She said she’d be here most of the evening and didn’t get out till much later.”

Frank said as he headed off toward the doors. Mikey followed behind, hands in his pockets, muttering to himself.

"Trust Gerard to brain himself on his first day."

Frank shot a sharp glare at the kid behind him before he stepped inside and looked around for the nurse from earlier. Mikey rolled his eyes, but put a blank expression onto his face as a short woman in a nurse's uniform walked toward them with a smile on her face.

"Hi there, Frank wasn't it?..."

She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Glad you came back."

“Yeah, and how’s he doing?...”

Frank stood there with her.

“Oh, this is his little brother, Mikey by the way.”

The nurse smiled, nodding hello to Mikey. Mikey grunted his hello back.

"Well, I checked on him a little while ago and he was sleeping, the doctor said it's not as serious as it seemed earlier. Would you like to see him?"

“Yes, thank you. Where is he?”

Frank asked her politely.

"There weren't any beds free on the main ward, so he's been moved into the Emergency Assessment Unit..."

The nurse pointed to a corridor on the right.

"Go down there and take the first left, then follow the signs for the EAU..."

She smiled, patting Frank's arm lightly.

"Try not to look so worried, I'm sure he'll be ok."

“Thank you, and I’ll try, I just want to know what the hell actually happened to him.”

Frank sighed.

"As far as I know, he hasn't said yet. Maybe you can get him to talk...he was asking for you before he went to sleep you know."

The nurse smiled at the two men then returned to her work.

"He asked for you?!"

Mikey said with disbelief. Frank shrugged and shook his head.

“I guess...come on let’s go find him. Thank you again.”

Frank headed off in the direction the nurse said to, not really waiting for Mikey because he knew he could catch up anyway. Mikey huffed and trailed behind, muttering to himself about how he could've been home now, watching Porn and jerking off. Frank wandered till he spotted Gerard. He looked back to make sure Mikey had actually followed him and then moved over towards Gerard.

Gerard was curled up on his side on the narrow and uncomfortable hospital gurney...he hadn't even been given a proper bed. He had slept for a while earlier, but the Assessment Unit was too noisy and now he was just laying there feeling exhausted and alone. At least the pain killers had kicked in though, that was something.

Frank gently put his hand on Gerard’s shoulder and saw that he was awake.

“Hey you, how are you feeling?”

Gerard jumped slightly, turning startled eyes toward Frank, before relaxing when he realised who it was.

"Oh err, hey..."

He said quietly, a blush taking over his pale cheeks. He smiled softly.

"I feel embarrassed. I'm sorry you had to deal with me like that..."

Suddenly his smile dropped and a look of horror crossed his face.

"Wait I...I didn't throw up on you...did I?"

“It’s fine Gerard, you needed help and I wasn’t about to just leave you there. And no you didn’t, it’s fine...”

Frank smiled back softly.

“I brought your brother to see you.”

Frank chuckled and gestured at Mikey.. Gerard looked over at Mikey, Mikey huffed.

"There are easier ways to get out of working, Gee."

Gerard looked down and away.

"I'm sorry for b-being a bother."

Frank glared at Mikey.

“Go find a chair, sit in it and shut up, quit acting like a six year old...”

He said sternly then looked back at Gerard.

“You’re not being a bother, it’s ok. Can I ask you something though?”

Gerard swallowed, nodding silently with his eyes still lowered.

“Do you remember what happened to you when you went to take out the trash any better now?”

Gerard nodded again and he looked up shyly through his lasses.

"Y-yeah."

“Can you tell me what you remember?”

Frank asked him. Gerard chewed on his lip for a moment, glancing around to make sure no one else was listening. He looked back at Frank.

"S-something scared me...I turned r-round and t-tripped over. I m-must've hit m-my head on the wall."

He looked down, hoping Frank didn't ask what had scared him. Frank watched Gerard’s face and frowned.

“Gerard...is that all you remember? I’m not going to tell anyone else anything you don’t want them to know, not even Mikey. The only person other than me that will know is Tony and that’s because he has to know for paperwork crap. Don’t hold things back, ok?”

Gerard swallowed, looking up slowly.

"Promise?"

“Cross my heart.”

Frank nodded. Gerard took a deep breath, then let it out slowly before whispering...

"A cat."

Frank looked at him in confusion.

“A cat scared you? Are you afraid of cats?...”

Frank asked very quietly.

“Or did it just startle you?”

Gerard bit on his lip, cheeks flushing.

"It...it snuck up on me. I think it was a ninja."

“I don’t know about a ninja, but cats are sneaky as fuck, I’ll give you that...”

Frank chuckled.

“It’s ok, I’ll just tell the boss you were startled and fell.”

Frank held his arms out in offer of a hug. Gerard smiled brightly, moving up and into Frank's arms.

"Thank you Frank..."

He murmured, hugging back.

"Hey, maybe I could make a comic about a ninja cat...do you think that'd work?"

“I think that’d be funny, I would read that.”

Frank chuckled. Gerard pulled his face out of the crook of Frank's neck and grinned at him, all wide eyed and happy.

"You would?...really?"

“Hell yeah.”

Frank smiled wide back at the other boy. Gerard giggled.

"What's the joke?"

Mikey said abruptly, sipping on a cup of coffee as he walked over to the bedside. Gerard's smile slipped and he looked down, letting go of Frank and moving to lay back down.

"Nothing Mikes, doesn't matter."

He mumbled quietly. Frank frowned at Gerard’s reaction and looked up at Mikey.

“Didn’t I tell you to go find a chair and sit in it?”

Mikey shrugged.

"I did, I got bored and went for coffee...now I'm bored again."

“What happened to visiting your brother? You’re the one that asked me to bring you with me to see him.”

Frank looked at the boy with an unimpressed scowl. Mikey rolled his eyes then looked at Gerard.

"You're ok, right?..."

Gerard nodded, not looking up. Mikey looked back at Frank.

"See?...he's fine, can you drive me back now?"

“You think the duct tape mobile is even gonna work or do you want me to drop you at home?”

Frank frowned and looked at Gerard.

"Nah, if you can drop me home that'll be cool. I'll get my friend Spanner to pick up the car tomorrow."

Mikey said, pulling his cellphone from his pocket and typing out a text.

"Did you..."

Gerard started quietly. Mikey looked up at him like he just interrupted something supremely important. Gerard swallowed and started again.

"Did you tell mom where I am?"

"Yeah, she said that it sounds like you."

Mikey went back to his text. Frank made a face and leaned down beside Gerard.

“You want me to come back after I ditch this little shit at home?”

He whispered.

"You don't have to..."

Gerard said quietly, shaking his head slightly and looking down.

"I'm sure you've got much better things to do."

“No, not really, but if you don’t want me to come back then I won’t.”

Frank said gently.

"No please?..."

Gerard said quickly, and maybe a little desperately...ok, a lot desperately as his head snapped up, wide eyes meeting Frank's before he turned red and started to splutter with embarrassment.

"I mean...I'd like you to come back. I don't like hospitals..."

He leaned a little closer to Frank, dropping his voice as if telling a secret.

"They have needles...I don't trust them."

“I’ll be back in no more than twenty minutes then.”

Frank smiled and kissed the side of Gerard’s head without thinking again, immediately internally kicking himself in the ass for it. He straightened up and went over to Mikey to grab hold of him and leave.

"You kissed my brother..."

Mikey said with a smirk.

"Aren't you afraid you'll catch it?"

“Catch what?”

Frank glared as he hauled the idiot teenager out to his bike. Mikey laughed.

"Didn't you notice?...Gee's got a bad case of clumsy loser."

“Says the awkward teenager that kisses a unicorn. Get on the bike and shut up or you can walk home...”

Frank swung his leg over the bike.

“Your brother is far from a loser, clumsy maybe, but no more than you are.”

Mikey huffed.

"You don't know him like I do...but at least he didn't come into work in a skirt today, would've really had something to laugh at then."

“Does he wear skirts often?”

Frank raised an eyebrow. Mikey scoffed.

"He wore them all through high school. He used to go to school in jeans then change there cos dad would've kicked his ass if he saw him in a skirt...in the end, he did."

Frank frowned and started his bike.

“Get on the bike and shut up.”

Mikey rolled his eyes and climbed on behind Frank.

"You asked dude."

“Yeah whatever, you’re going to have to tell me which way to go, cause I don’t know where you live. Also is there a chance your parents will come after me for you being on my bike?”

Frank glanced back at Mikey.

"I live on Salter Place and no, mom will be at her club and dad will probably be at Mary's...you're good..."

Mikey chuckled.

"Do you know where Salter is?"

Frank nodded and gave Mikey that ‘hold on tight’ look before he took off. He knew where most things were so finding where Mikey lived wasn’t really a problem. Jersey drivers were testing his patience though. When he pulled up to Mikey’s place when he pointed it out it did actually look like no one was home. He stopped out front and stood to hold the bike steady while Mikey climbed off.

"See you at work tomorrow Frank?"

Frank waved and watched him go into his house just so he could say for certain he knew Mikey was at home and theoretically safe. He took off back to the hospital to sit with Gerard. He was sure Gerard would tell him to fuck off after kissing him like that yet again, Frank didn’t even know why his brain thought that was a good idea. He walked into the hospital and didn’t wait for the nurse this time. He knew where Gerard was so that’s where he went.

Gerard was curled up on his side with his knees pulled up to his chest and his face buried in his arms when Frank walked in. He was shaking slightly, soft sobs escaping his lips.

“Hey, what’s the matter?”

Frank moved over to crouch beside Gerard. Gerard lifted his face a little, a pout on his lips and tears in his eyes.

"They...they..."

He held out his left arm to show Frank the small white bandaid in the crook of his elbow.

"They stabbed me!"

He cried, bottom lip wobbling.

“What? I told them not to do that. For fuck sakes, come here...”

Frank held out his arms for Gerard again.

“I’m sorry.”

Gerard sobbed loudly then threw himself into Frank's arms, burying his face into the side of Frank's neck and clinging to his shirt like a baby koala.

"I w-wanna g-go home...why won't th-they let m-me go home?"

Frank shushed him and held him tight, rubbing his back soothingly.

“I know, Gerard, I know. I’m sorry. They want to keep you here to keep an eye on you incase there is something really wrong. You hit your head so they are just taking precaution. I don’t know why they gave you a needle after I fucking told them not to though, what the hell was it even for?”

"They s-said everyone has to h-have blood tests done. I s-said no but th-they held m-my arm and took it anyw-way."

Gerard whimpered against Frank's neck.

“They can’t do that to you, if you tell them no they can’t touch you. What the fuck, where is that nurse?”

Frank looked around. Gerard held on tighter.

"Don't leave me alone Frank, please?"

He begged, looking up with big wet eyes.

“I won’t, it’s ok, I’m not going anywhere. You’ll be ok, I promise.”

Frank automatically slipped into focusing on making Gerard feel better. He still watched for the nurse but Gerard was his priority. Gerard nodded shakily then rested his head against Frank's chest.

"Th-thank you Frank, I'm s-sorry I'm such a m-mess...dad always said I n-need to toughen up, but needles..."

He trailed off, whimpering quietly.

“That is complete bullshit, if it scares you then it scares you. End of story. This toughen up shit is just...no...”

Frank frowned, and sighed.

“I can’t go across foot bridges. They freak me the fuck out.”

Gerard hiccuped slightly then looked up curiously.

"You...you can't?"

“Nope and if something is on the top shelf and I can’t reach it then I don’t need it and it stays there. I can’t climb up to get it usually.”

Frank shook his head. Gerard giggled slightly.

"I c-can climb, but I can't walk d-down stairs on my own...if I c-climb up for things for you, would you h-hold my hand walking down the stairs?...and escalators?"

Frank nodded and laughed.

“Yeah, that works. I can climb up people funnily enough.”

"You can c...wait, what?"

Gerard tilted his head in confusion.

“My buddy Bob is usually the target of that, he’s fun to bother and he doesn’t mind when I climb up onto his shoulders but he makes sure I don’t fall so that’s probably why I can do it.”

Frank smiled widely. Gerard giggled, then yawned.

"I'm tired Frank, would you lay down with me?...I don't want them to come stab me again when I'm asleep."

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you...”

Frank smiled.

“I’ll sit here with you but I don’t know how they’d feel about me laying down with you. I’ll stay for as long as you want me to though.”

Gerard swallowed and looked down, his smile dropping. He lowered his arms from where he was still hugging Frank.

"O-oh, ok..."

He said quietly.

"...you d-don't have to."

“I can try, but they might yell at me...”

Frank hugged him tight again.

“Ah fuck it, they can yell all they want, if they don’t like it too bad. Scoot over a bit.”

Gerard brightened up again, looking up with a grateful smile.

"Thank you Frankie."

He pressed a quick kiss to Frank's cheek then shuffled over a bit on the gurney and lay down on his side, facing Frank and smiling sweetly. Frank smiled and hopped up onto the gurney gently to lay down facing Gerard. Gerard snuggled against Frank's chest, curling his fingers into the front of Frank's shirt.

"You're warm..."

He said with a small yawn after, just like a kitten.

"...and cuddly."

“That’s because cuddles are good.”

Frank smiled down at him and put his arms around him the best he could. Gerard hummed in agreement, yawning again.

"Wish I had Toby to cuddle..."

He murmured, half asleep already.

"...but you're better cos you cuddle back."

“Who’s Toby?”

Frank smiled gently and cuddled his face carefully into Gerard’s head, being extra cautious of where he’d hit it.

"He's my Toby..."

Gerard mumbled.

"...my...teddy bear."

Frank chuckled and kissed Gerard’s forehead.

“Sounds really cute.”

"He's got a...tutu like...like mine."

Gerard mumbled as he started to drift off to sleep, curled up safe in Frank's arms.

“Go to sleep, I’ll still be here when you wake up and you can tell me about Toby some more if you want.”

Frank said softly. Gerard mumbled something as he rubbed his face against Frank's shirt, then sighed deeply as he slipped into his dreams. Frank settled in to stay with him until he woke up or someone woke him up. It vaguely crossed his mind that visiting hours have limits and he frowned. He didn’t want to have to leave Gerard here. He promised he wouldn’t.

(time passes)

"Sir..."

A nurse with black hair and bright blue eyes shook Frank's shoulder gently to wake him.

"Sir, it's nearly ten o'clock at night...you can't stay. I'm sorry but you have to leave now."

She said quietly, trying not to wake Gerard, or any of the other patients in the room. Frank sat up carefully and looked at the woman.

“He didn’t want me to leave, seeing as how people here can’t be bothered to listen when they are told not to do something and freak him out.”

Frank glared, remembering that they’d taken blood from him even after being told no needles. The nurse frowned slightly, tilting her head to the right.

"What do you mean?...what happened?"

“The staff here was told no needles were to go near him because he’s afraid of them and gets freaked out. They apparently forced him to let them take blood anyway.”

Frank frowned angrily. The nurse frowned deeper.

"Do you know who it was?...you can put in a complaint if they caused your boyfriend distress."

“No, I don’t and he’s not…”

Frank looked at Gerard.

“He’s not my boyfriend, he’s my coworker...I just...he makes you want to take care of him. That’s all.”

Gerard whimpered, shifting at Frank's at side and clutching tighter to his shirt. The nurse smiled, raising an eyebrow.

"I can see that..."

She sighed, shaking her head a little.

"I shouldn't really do this, but you can stay with him. Just don't make a nuisance of yourself, you hear?"

“I won’t be a problem, I promise, thank you.”

Frank nodded and looked back at Gerard. The nurse seriously thought they were together. Frank chuckled to himself as he heard the nurse walk away. Gerard was cute and talented, Frank could only be so lucky. Frank shook his head and laid back down.

"F-Frank?"

Gerard whimpered, pressing himself tighter against Frank's chest.

“Yeah, Gerard, I’m right here.”

Frank wrapped his arms back around Gerard.

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

“I won’t but you gotta whisper if you want to talk or they might kick me out. She said I could stay the night with you as long as I behave.”

Frank chuckled. Gerard nodded with his face smushed against Frank's shirt.

"I d-dreamt he c-came back."

He whispered shakily.

“Who came back?”

Frank frowned and whispered back. Gerard sniffed.

"The n-needle man."

Frank made a funny face.

“I’d like to see him try, that’s why I’m here. He can’t get you if I’m here.”

"Y-you'll protect me?"

“Of course I will.”

Frank pressed a gentle kiss to Gerard’s forehead. Then he froze and pulled away, he sighed. He could see where the nurse got such a dumb idea from and he honestly didn’t know why he kept doing that. It was just kind of...instinctual and it made no sense. Gerard yawned and wriggled against Frank, pressing himself in closer.

"Thank you Frank..."

He murmured, leaning up a little to press a small kiss to Frank's cheek before settling back down.

"You're a g-good friend..."

He closed his eyes and sighed quietly.

"Good night Frankie."

“Good night, Gerard.”

Frank sighed, kind of deflating. Good friend. He knew that’s all he could be in Gerard’s mind and now it was confirmed. He listened to the other boy’s breathing and let that lull him back to sleep.

Notes

Hi there chipmunks, how's you?

So Mikey's a little shit still, but apparently Andy doesn't mind...and Frank likes Gerard, but Gerard's maybe a little oblivious right now... do you think they'll get their act together soon?

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