Pyre (Frerard, Rikey, Ryden, Petekey)

37: It Was Over Before It Began

Frank sighed under his breath as he locked up his clinic, his back aching slightly after his long day which wasn't over quite yet since he still had to feed the dogs in his care and clean up their cages before he could crawl into his bed.

Jamia had offered to stay behind and help him, but Frank had refused her company, mostly because his mood had been a bit foul lately and he didn't want Jamia catching on to how miserable he really was, although she was already picking up on hints that he wasn't as cheerful as he was pretending to be.

It wasn't that Frank didn't want to talk to her, in fact, he was sure that sharing his burdens would make his separation from Gerard easier to bear. Jamia always knew what to say to make things better, but the problem was that Frank couldn't think of a reasonable explanation for Gerard's disappearance, and it wasn't like he could tell his friend that the person he was dating had turned out to be a vampire.

He had considered telling her that they had broken up, but that wasn't true either, and he knew if he used that excuse, Jamia would insist that he get over him which would involve dragging Frank to clubs he didn't want to be at and attempting to hook him up with the first cute guy she saw, which Frank couldn't face right now, not when he was so fucking in love with Gerard.

And he was - he loved him so damn much it hurt. Frank didn't want to be in love with him, not right now, because it made everything worse, but he couldn't deny that he was, and no oddities or fangs could change how he felt about the other man.

He was glad he had told Gerard though, he didn't regret it at all even though he hadn't intended to air his affections so soon, but Gerard had needed to hear it, to have something to cling onto in the wake of the tragic death of his brother, and Frank was more than happy to give that to him.

It helped that Gerard was irrevocably tied to Frank as well, actually, it meant the world to him. He was still a bit confused about how vampire mating worked when a human was involved, but knowing that Frank was it for Gerard gave him a heady rush that was incomparable to any other relationship he had been in.

And even with everything stacked against them, from Gerard's species - which Frank was still a bit in shock over - to their inability to see each other, Frank still wanted Gerard. Those hindrances seemed paltry when compared to the aching loneliness that was eating away at him every second he spent without his boyfriend.

Frank missed Gerard - he missed him a hell of a lot, and no amount of hardships or common sense was lessening how head over heels he was for a vampire of all people.

Frank had attempted to talk himself out of this, to reason with his heart, but his efforts had been useless so far. Maybe with time, he would be able to forget about Gerard, but honestly, Frank didn't want that to happen. He was willing to fight for him, and although he wasn't ready to give up his home and his life here, he would do almost anything else if it meant Gerard could be his.

But for now, he had no choice but to wait for Gerard to try and work something out, which he hated. He felt useless and trapped lately, which was something he hadn't experienced in quite some time, but all he could do was hope that Gerard found a way around whatever ridiculous rules his leaders had set up and that they would be able to meet up sometime soon.

With the thought of being reunited with Gerard swirling around in his head and lifting his mood slightly, Frank went about opening the animal cages, ushering the occupants outside one by one, making sure to keep the two dogs that seemed unable to get along separated while they ran about in the yard and stretched their legs for a short while.

When everyone seemed to have calmed down a bit, Frank headed back inside, keeping the door open so he could hear any telltale growls which would mean that trouble had started, returning his attention to the one cat that was staying with him, scooping out some food for her and setting her on the ground to see if she wanted to stroll about for a bit as well, but once she was finished eating, she simply hopped back into her bed, leaving Frank chuckling since that was exactly what he wanted to be doing right now.