Faded Lips ||Frerard||

Part 4

"Frank?" The Doctor called, looking into the almost empty waiting room. They had short, dark hair with matching dark eyes. They had the stereotypical doctor's outfit on; a white lab coat with black dress pants underneath and a white sweater. Frank stood up and walked over, looking back at his seat to ensure that he hadn't left anything. The doctor started walking to what was presumably the office in which he would be assessed today without waiting for Frank. Upon realizing they were leaving, he scrambled to catch up. They were quite a bit taller than him, so he had to nearly run to keep up. He passed countless rooms, some with patients and some without. One room, in particular, caught his eye as he was walking by. A teenager sat on a bed, their long hair covering their face. They were clearly crying, their doctor comforting them while their mother shook her head. Frank only had a split second to watch, but he assumed that they were pregnant. They looked too young for that. Well, then again, Frank-

"In here, Mr. Iero." The doctor said, pointing to room #13. He silently hoped that maybe, just maybe, that number could take a break from being unlucky today. He jumped up on the cot positioned against one of the walls, making himself comfortable before the doctor closed the door behind them. They sat down on a stool across from Frank, clipboard in hand, and looked up at him with a blank expression. Damn, those dark eyes looked like they could drain his soul if Frank made one wrong move. Gee's did too, of course, but at least their's looked human. Dr. Ballato's looked colder than steel. "Hello, Frank. My name is Doctor Lindsey Ballato. You may address me by she/her pronouns."

"He/him." He replied, swinging his legs back and forth off the edge of the cot, trying to burn some of his nervous energy. Lindsey took note of that and looked back up at him, a soft smile taking the place of her previously cold gaze.

"Nice. You're here for some scans, right?" Her professional act seemingly dropped, giving way to who she truly was. Now that Frank got a closer look, she was only in her early twenties. She wasn't much older than him. Suddenly, her acting more natural around him made sense.

"Yup."

"Here. You gotta put this on, unfortunately. Leave your underwear on but take everything else off. When you're done, meet me in the hallway." And with that, she threw him a hospital nightgown and left the room. He changed quickly, wincing a bit as his belt scratched his stomach. Slipping into the highly uncomfortable nightgown, he threw his clothes on the cot and ran a hand through his greasy, unkempt hair. He made another mental note to take a shower as soon as he got home.

~

Meanwhile, Gee's eyes shot open faster than a revolver. Another nightmare, same old same old. It was the exact same as last time; he came out to his parents as gay, they reacted....poorly, and that's it. He always woke up just before his father threw the first punch. He remembered that moment like it was yesterday. Well, how could he forget? It constantly played in his mind. Rubbing his sore eyes, he sat up and looked around. He was back in Frank's apartment, where he fell asleep. Thank god. His legs barely supported him as he stood up and wobbled over to the bathroom. Flick. The lights turned on and he sighed at who looked back at him. Did he feel like a 'he' or a 'they'? "Both." He said out loud. Feeling the cold water on his face, he sighed once more, but in relief this time. It felt good to wash off the dreams and go back to being numb. Numb is better than afraid.

~

Frank kept his eyes closed as the machine moved slowly. It was impossibly hard to not fidget while they scanned his entire body, but he managed somehow. This whole MRI thing kind of freaked him out, to be honest. They could see inside of your body by shining a green laser on you? Fuckin' weird. It was cool, but still a little unnerving. The machine made a high-pitched BEEP and he was slowly moved back to the harshly bright outside.