If You Marry Me, Would You... (Frerard)

"So where are you taking me this time?" Frank asked, smiling softly into the morning air.

This had been, so far, the best morning in both their lives (not that they would ever admit it though). Frank woke up to find not only his hand around Gerard's waist, but felt the older man's fingers laced with his own. It was warm and convenient, and he wanted to wake up like this every morning for the rest of his life.

It wasn't awkward when the other woke up. The two just slowly unlaced themselves from each other and got up as if nothing happened. Although they were both equally hoping that the next night would end up the exact same way.

"To see a friend," Gerard simply replied.

"Friend?" Frank's eyebrows rose. "I didn't know you had these."

"Wow. Ouch," Gerard rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"No, that's not what I meant. Sorry," Frank rushed to correct himself. "You just never mentioned any of your friends."

"Well that's because I barely have any. I have one best friend, one good friend, and one I just know. Nothing much, but they mean a lot to me."

"That's nice," Frank smiled at him. Gerard hid his own smile and they kept walking.
Eventually they reached a small record store.

Frank's eyes opened wide once they stepped inside. He'd lived in Newark for a while now, but never got to see this place before.

The store itself was pretty small. It had only one story and there weren't too many people in there, maybe twenty, but it was filled with CD's, records, albums, instruments and posters. Frank knew he could just stay there all day in that store, just listen to those albums and play every instrument he saw.

He barely even noticed Gerard walking over to the bearded guy with the orange-blonde hair that stood behind the counter.

"Hey, Bob! It's been a while since I saw your pretty face," Gerard winked with a smirk as he took his sunglasses off. Bob laughed and returned the smile.

"Gerard! How nice of you to finally show up. Come here, you fucker!" he exclaimed happily. The two hugged tightly and then let go to look each other over.

"Your beard grew," Gerard commented.

"Yeah, still working on it."

"Matches your lip ring."

"Thank you. I'm trying my best," Bob winked and Gerard laughed a little. "Who's your friend over there?" Bob suddenly asked, looking behind Gerard at the dark-haired boy who stared at a shelf filled with rock albums from the 80's like it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"Oh this? This is Frank. He lives with me," Gerard said, grinning at the boy's eagerness to check out every single record on that damn shelf.

When he looked back at Bob though, the bearded man had his eyebrow raised and a confused look on his face, and Gerard just realized what he said.

"God, no, not in that way," he hurried to explain. "It's um... it's complicated."

"What do you mean?" Bob asked. Gerard knew he had to tell him.

He quietly stepped behind the counter so he could be as close to Bob and nobody would hear them. He glanced at Frank shortly to make sure he was still concentrated on the guitars area and didn't look for Gerard, before turning back to Bob with a serious expression.

"Michael is back," he said as quietly as he could. Bob seemed surprised, but didn't say a word, just let Gerard continue. "I sensed him a week ago near my house, and when I went to check on it, he had his fangs inside Frank. Luckily, I got there on time and there wasn't too much damage, so I took him to my house and gave him some anti-venom. But now I have to protect him. Michael is planning something, something big, and he decided to involve Frank in this."

"Oh man. You should've came over here and told me this a week ago."

"I know. I'm sorry. I was too busy with Frank. He's a human, Bob. A fucking human. If I don't help him through this he'll die for sure."

Bob nodded thoughtfully. He was one of the only vampires Gerard knew, and definitely the only vampire he could trust. They had been friends for years. Bob knew both him and Michael through their entire childhood. He knew Michael before he "changed".

"What should I do, Bob?" Gerard asked desperately. "Michael talked to me a while ago. He threatened me. He said such awful things. I've never been this worried in my life, especially not because of my brother. Please Bob, what do I do?"

Bob sighed. He always knew what to do, he always had a plan, and was the only person Gerard would ever confess his fears to.

"You have to protect Frank, for a start," he said eventually. "And as much as I'm sorry to say this, you need to wait. You don't know exactly what Michael is going to do, right?"

Gerard shook his head.

"So, you have to wait and see what he has planned. I'm sorry Gerard, I'm really sorry. But it's the only way to handle the situation for now."

Gerard felt tears prick in his eyes. Bob wiped them off gently when he saw Frank starting to look around, probably searching for Gerard.

"Look, Frank is waiting for you now. Go, and do whatever you want, as long as it doesn't put any of you in danger," Bob said, gazing into Gerard's eyes as he held his face tightly between his hands. "And don't break down, okay? I'm here to help you if you need me. It's going to be alright. Michael can be handled, and he will. Just wait."

Gerard nodded weakly, and Bob gave him a friendly tap on the cheek and a sympathetic smile before sending him off to Frank.

"Say hello to Livvie for me!" Gerard called over to Bob when he was in Frank's earshot.

"I will!" Bob called back with a smile. Gerard approached the rest of the way to Frank as the younger's head lifted. Gerard crossed his arms and smiled down at the image of Frank curled up on a chair with a big black guitar in his hands.

"Seems like you're having fun," he chuckled.

"Yeah," Frank beamed at him. "Thanks for taking me here. Have you talked to your friend?"

"Yeah," Gerard put on a fake smile. "So do you wanna stay here, or go home? We need to make lunch soon."

"We can go home," Frank nodded and turned to put the guitar aside where he found it. Then he looked back at Gerard, who held his hand out for Frank to take it, which he happily did, letting the older man pull him up from the chair.

Gerard considered keeping his hand in Frank's, but decided against it. As much as he liked the younger's soft skin, he still didn't know how he would react to Gerard holding his hand.

They stepped out of the record store, followed by a friendly wave from Bob, which they returned with wide grins.

The two headed home, stepping in quietly and going to the kitchen.

"We still have some leftovers from yesterday's pasta. You want some?" Gerard roamed around the fridge. Frank hummed in approval as he was stood leaning against the table, and he may or may not have been staring at Gerard's ass as the older man bent down and pulled the pasta out.

He managed to avert his eyes to another direction just as the man stood up and went to put the leftovers in the microwave.

"So why is there venom in a vampire's bite?"

The question caught Gerard completely off guard. He slowly turned to look at Frank with his eyebrow raised.

"What?"

"You heard me," Frank shrugged. "You said you saved my life by giving me anti-venom. Why is there venom in a vampire's bite?"

Gerard looked at him for a long while. Why Frank was so interested in vampire stuff lately, he wasn't sure. Maybe because he never met a vampire or even knew they existed, but Gerard was willing to answer the man's questions as long as they weren't too personal.

"Well, it's basically supposed to kill you," he said, leaning back on the counter and crossing his arms. "A vampire wouldn't want you to survive the bite and be able to find him later, so the venom kills you, and then the attacker leaves you there and no one finds out. It's as simple as that. Plus the blood drinking makes you weak and will probably kill you later, so the venom gets the job done faster."

"Oh," Frank looked down. His hand just sort of instinctively reached up to go over the bite mark. He swallowed thinking about what might have happened.

When he looked back up, Gerard was standing in front of him, his hand taking Frank's from the other's neck, and he laced their fingers together.

"You're alive, Frank," he whispered, scooting a bit closer. Frank nodded quietly.

"I know," he whispered back. They looked down at their linked hands, and Frank gave Gerard's a reassuring squeeze, which he returned silently.

Their moment was cut off by the microwave beeping. They slowly slid their hands apart, letting their fingers brush carelessly as they broke away and went to eat their pasta quietly.

xoxoxoxo

It's been another week. Frank and Gerard really grew closer and closer. Every night they went to sleep pressed against each other. Not sexually at all. They were just used to the other's heat, and neither of then bothered moving when they felt a hand around their waist, stroking along their skin carefully and eventually touching their stomach.

It never developed into something further though. It was just their way of falling asleep at night and waking up in the morning.

And much to Gerard's surprise, it really helped him forget about Michael.

That, and the fact they hadn't heard from the man since two weeks ago.

So Gerard decided it was safe enough to make a decision.

"We're going out tonight," he said while they were watching a movie, cuddled up together against the arm of the couch Gerard found in some cheap furniture store and decided to place in front of the tv (yes, it was in the corner of his kitchen).

Frank, who had his head on Gerard's shoulder and his hand resting flat on the man's chest, looked up with a confused face.

"Out?" He asked.

"Yes. Like, to a restaurant or something."

"Why?"

"Because it's safe enough for now, and I want to go somewhere, get out of this house for more then an hour. Aren't you also sick of our short trips to Bob's store and the shitty walks in the park that last barely thirty minutes? I want to take you somewhere, Frank. I'm tired of spending another night in here."

Frank looked at him for a few seconds, and then nodded. Gerard was right. They needed to go out for a change.

"Good," Gerard smiled, and the two got up from the couch. "Now, I know a lovely Italian restaurant not too far away from here. With my car we'll be there in about ten minutes."

Frank chuckled and shook his head slowly. "You know, you told me you were half Italian, but you never told me how addicted you actually were to Italian food."

"There are many things you don't know about me, Frank Iero. Most of them you don't even want to find out," Gerard simply replied as he grabbed his jacket and threw Frank his.

"I'll get you some day," he said.

"Don't be so sure about it," Gerard said with a cheeky smile as the two left the apartment.

xoxoxoxo

"Sapori Dolci?" Frank raised a playful eyebrow as they stepped out of the car and headed towards the front door.

"It means 'sweet flavors'. Believe me, this is the best Italian restaurant in Newark, if not in Jersey."

"Well, I guess I'll see for myself then."

The two found themselves a distant booth in the corner and looked down at their menus.

"See anything you like?" Gerard asked to break the silence.

"I was thinking about that ravioli, there," he pointed at the dish, and Gerard looked at it before nodding approvingly.

"I ate it once. It was pretty good. I guess I'll order that too."

Frank smirked. "We gotta stop having things in common."

"We just get along too well, Iero. Get used to it."

They soon ordered and then started a small talk about things they didn't really care about. It was just one of those conversations that are simply meant for killing time until the food arrives.

And eventually it did, but just as the waiter placed the pizza on their table, Gerard hissed in pain and grabbed his forehead.

"Gerard, are you okay?" Frank asked and reached worriedly to the older man's hand as the waiter left to get their drinks.

"Yeah yeah I'm good it's just... fuck," the man said, and slowly took his hand off of his forehead. Frank took his hand back, too, keeping his worried expression as Gerard grabbed his glass of water and drank half of it before placing it down on the table, maybe a little too harshly. "I'm fine," he said again, and Frank didn't speak.

The waiter came back a few minutes later with the rest of their food. Gerard still had that stinging feeling in his head.

He carefully looked up and scanned every single person in the restaurant.

No, Michael wasn't there. And if that's so, why did he have such a strange feeling, this annoying poking warning him, telling him he had something coming for him?

He went back to staring at his plate. The waiter left again, leaving him only with Frank, who was silently nibbling at his ravioli, looking up at the other man from time to time and then back in his food.

It worried him how every few minutes Gerard would wince or make a quiet pained noise, but he knew the man would just keep denying things, so didn't bother.

xoxoxoxo

When they were finally done, Gerard waited anxiously for that waiter to arrive. As much as he wanted to get out of his house earlier, the night became a nightmare when the headaches and stinging got worse.

But except for the pain, he couldn't see anything (or anyone) that could cause it.

The place was vampire free (apart from him, of course). He couldn't recognize any person in that restaurant that could've been a suspect.

Vampires could sense other vampires, and Gerard sensed no one.

Is it possible that the man was just going insane?

And then finally, the waiter arrived with the bill. Gerard reached for his wallet, hands shaky with the same stinging. He spent the past forty minutes trying to think about what might have caused this feeling, or at least manage to distract himself by chatting aimlessly with Frank, yet nothing worked.

He payed for the meal, leaving a generous tip to the waiter, until the young man spoke up suddenly.

"Thank you, beautiful."

Gerard was frozen. No. It couldn't be happening. Not now.

Everything hit him at once. When he eventually found it in himself to move again, his head snapped up to see the guy in waiter's uniform, smirking down at him. The man's red orbs glistened in the dimmed light of the restaurant, the dark strands of hair surrounding his head messily, his muscular features showing under his shirt, the hot pink tongue that darted out to lick his lips sinfully, and Gerard could just smell the blood reeking from his body.

He had no doubt in his mind about who it was.

"Jonathan," he gritted out, almost in a growl. Frank was just confused about the whole situation.

"Good to see you again, Gerard. It sure has been a while," the young man said cheekily and placed a hand on his hip. "Still looking gorgeous after all these years. That's nice."

Gerard's eyes changed their color suddenly. Frank gasped as the bright hazel disappeared and became a shiny shade of red, matching the waiter's eyes.

And then Gerard was standing up. He looked at Jonathan, dead in the eye, and used every bit of self-control not to smash the man against the nearest wall.

"WHAT are you doing here?" He whispered dangerously. Jonathan only chuckled.

"Well isn't it obvious? I work here," he sassed.

"That's not what I asked. What are you doing in Newark, HERE?" Gerard continued to push.

"I was just visiting an old friend. Is that wrong all of a sudden?" Jonathan stuck his lower lip out, pouting like a small child in a way that pissed Gerard off beyond belief.

"You're never good news Jonathan and we both know it. You're never just here to 'visit a friend'. So tell me why you really came around and I might not have to break your arms."

"Oh Gerard, such a mean way to talk to people. You should really learn how to contain yourself," Jonathan said, faking being offended, and then he was bringing his finger to slowly brush over Gerard's lips. "Unless it's in the bedroom, and in that case you can go crazy," he whispered.

"Jonathan, I swear to god, I-"

"Who are you?" A voice suddenly came behind them. Both of them turned their heads to the boy sitting in the booth, completely unaware to who Jonathan was and why Gerard was so furious with him.

"Oh, hello there hot stuff. I didn't know Gerard had a new friend," Jonathan smirked at both of them. "Or a new fuck-buddy," he wiggled his eyebrows. "I'm offended by you baby. I thought we had something special for once."

And that was what really broke Gerard. In one moment of losing it, he grabbed the young man's head and smashed it down on the table.

That dragged the attention of everyone in the restaurant.

Not that Gerard noticed, of course. Not that he would have cared anyway.

He yanked the boy's head up again by the hair and threw him away from the table. Jonathan stumbled a few steps towards the bar, and Gerard kicked him hard in the chest, sending him backwards so his back hit the wooden counter.

"Gerard!" Frank called behind him, but he didn't hear. It was one of those times when Gerard's vampire side took over. His fangs were showing, his eyes red and murderous, his breath heavy, his voice coming out in low growls.

And he was unstoppable.

He grabbed Jonathan's head again, pulled on his hair hard and then smashed it a few more times on the bar, so hard the wood started to crack.

The young man whimpered in pain, but all Gerard could hear was his own panting and the sound of his rage pounding inside of him. Jonathan couldn't just show up and fuck around like Gerard still belonged to him, like Gerard owed him something. No, he couldn't do that, and the elder was already making him pay.

Before he knew it, he had the other man thrown to the floor. By this point all the other customers had ran away and left the place, desperate to get away from the obvious risk of getting hurt, and some stayed to watch with horror as Gerard beat the other man up.

The only person who tried to get any closer was Frank. The smaller boy was desperately trying to reach out and just grab Gerard and pull him away from the man on the floor, but it wasn't as easy as it sounds. Gerard was throwing punches and scratching Jonathan's face without a moment of pause.

Until Frank decided to make a brave move and ran towards the two men on the floor, one struggling to get the other off of him, but he was too determined to give up now. Jonathan had got him mad. This he couldn't handle anymore. He wouldn't even try to.

Frank stepped even closer, and without giving it much thought reached out and to try and grab Gerard's hand, when a sudden hit from Gerard scratched his wrist painfully. He hissed out in pain, grabbing his wrist immediately, and before he managed to move again or get Gerard to notice him, a couple of people who were still in the restaurant watching, came over and took him to the safe side of the scene.

"No wait, I need to help him!" Frank tried to protest.

"No. Young man, you need to stay here," the old lady that dragged him out of the danger zone said.

"But... he's my friend," Frank said, hand still holding his wrist, which was now bleeding. He looked up with sad eyes at the man who hit him. What had gotten into Gerard? He never saw him like this, not even once in their two weeks of knowing each other.

Whatever it was, though, it terrified him to the bone, and he didn't like it at all.

Meanwhile, in the scene, Jonathan had noticed what happened to Frank and came up with an idea.

"YOU FUCKER!" He spat as he finally made it to dodge some of Gerard's strikes. "You just hit your own friend! Fucking look at him!"

And somehow, in Gerard's animalistic state, the words got caught in his brain and made him freeze.

"What-"

Before he could even look up, Jonathan slapped him and the older man fell off of him.

"You need to be ashamed of yourself baby. Hurting the innocent boy like that," Jonathan teased as he stood up and straightened his uniform. "You're a monster."

Gerard winced at his words, because he remembered saying it to someone else just two weeks ago.

But something else was bothering him at that moment. He looked up and immediately spotted Frank, who was standing in the crowd of people, all of them staring at Gerard with horror.

He didn't see them though. All he could see was Frank, the short man, who stood there with his wrist dripping blood, his hazel eyes boring holes into Gerard.

All the anger from earlier vanished, faded, and now he was left with only the guilt of what he had done. He had hurt Frank. He promised he won't but he did. How could he let that happen?

And suddenly the boy was running away. Before Gerard could make a single move, Frank turned around and made his way quickly through the crowd and out of the restaurant, into the cold night.

Gerard then shook himself out of his trance and all he wanted to do was to chase after him.

Shit, what had he done?

Notes

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, stay amazing, and I'll see you next time!

Xoxo<3

[May 28th, 2017]