toxic | | | frank iero au

.19.

Frank sits on his bed, a fluids IV attached to his hand. His eyes close involuntarily, and he forces them back open.

Mikey and Aeron stand against the wall, opposite to him. As soon as he drops off, he knows they'll kill him.

"Just go to sleep, Frank." Mikey hisses, pushing hair from his eyes.

"N-No. I c-can't."

"Damn right you can't, Killer Boy." Aeron stretches his legs out, sitting on the floor.

Frank twists his lip ring in a sharp fashion, the pain jerking him awake.

"A shower.." he mutters, "T-That'll wake me up."

He looks up, remembering it's lights out. He walks over to the door and begins to weakly pound on it.

"Ana!! Ana!!"
__________

Ana exits the solitary area, her hands trembling. Ray is sitting in one of the rooms, strapped in a jacket, mumbling about messages and poisons.

"Ana!!"

She diverts her attention to sound of Frank's hoarse voice echoing past the hall.

Its been 2 or 3 hours. He should be asleep.

"Frank?" She opens the door, carefully and he backs away from it.

"Ana, I g-gotta go take a shower."

"Frank, what-"

"I need to stay awake. I need to stay alive."

"Frankie. You need to go to sleep."

"Please, Ana."

He holds her shoulders with shaking hands.

"I need to take a shower."

"No, you don't."

"Yes!!"

Frank gets more frantic by the second. She studies him. Thus is far from the cool and collect person she saw earlier.

But what could a shower hurt?

"Okay, Frank. You can take your shower."

"Yes," he hangs his head, hand wrapped around the IV stand,"I'll live. Even if for a couple more hours."

She wraps an arm around hid waist and helps him toward the showers.

He had to have a full body flush for all the cyanide that was in whatever he ate. His last 3 meals had small doeses in each portion, without it being expelled from the body, it collected.

It manifested during his panicked response to whatever he was seeing, choking him from the inside.

Ana props Frank against the wall, outside the showers, and unlocks them.

Frank rushes in, turning on the water, and standing under it fully-clothed.

"Frank?"

He keeps his head down, the water cascading down his haw and cheeks, plastering his hair to his head.

"Your clothes are wet."

He grunts in response.
_________

Ana sighs behind him.

"I'll go get you new clothes."

She walks out as he turns. They could kill him in the showers. Slit his throat. Choke him again. Slam his head against the wall.

He tries to call her back, but water enters his open mouth.

"You really think water is gonna work." Aeron scoffs, just out of reach of the spray.

"I should slam your head against the wall." Mikey growls, voicing Frank's earlier thoughts.

"You can't. Aeron's afraid of water."

That was one thing he was sure of. Aeron had never bothered him if he swimming or boating, or showering. The fear of water had been his only escape for a while.

"That may be true, but Mikey isn't."

Mikey gets up in his face, under the spray of the showerhead. His hair drips, water collecting on his glasses.

"Give me one reason not to kill you here and now."

Frank's heart beats against his ribs and his whole body shakes violently.

Not from fear of the threat, death has never bothered him too much, no, its fear of the fact that he can't think of one single reason, Mikey shouldn't kill him.

He's hurt and killed so many people. It'd be safer for everyone if he were dead.

"Frank?"

Ana's welcome voice rings through the room, and Mikey backs off.

"I have your clothes."

He runs to her, and wraps his soaking arms around her, getting her wet as well.

Luckily, she's able to drop the new clothes on a bench, so they stay dry.

"Did you miss me that much?" she jokes, hugging him back.

"You have no idea." he mutters.

Mikey and Aeron have mysteriously disappeared.

WOO. UPDATE. SORRY IT TOOK FOREVER.