Romantic Notions (Frerard)

Six: Unfriendly Felines

Mitch scurried off the counter as he heard the click of the door being unlocked, rushing to meet Gerard at the door. He wrapped his body around the blonde man's ankles as soon as the door was opened, purring and rubbing his face against the rough fabric of his jeans.

"Hiya, Mitch," Gerard said happily, setting down his briefcase and lifting the squishy cat in his arms.

"Nice to meet you, Mitch," Frank said softly, reaching out and scratching the cat behind his ears. Mitch backed away from his hand, squirming in Gerard's arms.

"Aw, come on, Mitch, be nice to Frankie," Gerard pleaded with his cat, eventually giving up and putting him down.

"He's not really used to meeting new people..." he mumbled, apologetically smiling at Frank. He really didn't know what'd gotten into Mitch, he was normally just timid around strangers, not almost hostile.

"It's fine, Gerard," Frank softly chuckled, putting a reassuring hand on Gerard's shoulder. "He can probably smell the dogs on me, anyways."

"You have dogs?" Gerard asked, perking up at the thought of Frank adoring over pets of his own.

"Sadly, my apartment building doesn't allow them, but I volunteer at the shelter whenever I can," Frank replied, casually leaning in the doorway of the kitchen as Gerard chased after Mitch. "Guess that means it's time to wash this jacket, huh?"

"That's really nice of you, Frankie" Gerard said with a smile, his breathing faltering when he looked up at Frank. All the tattooed man had done was casually lean against the doorframe, but he someone managed to make even that alluring.

"Come on, Mitch, I know you've got to be hungry..." he tried to persuade his cat to come out from under the couch, crouching down to see if he could reach him. Mitch replied with an annoyed meow, backing further under the piece of furniture. "I'll keep Frank away from you this time, okay? Please come out."

Mitch seemed to understand, for he began to slowly creep out from under the raggedy sofa. He warily headed towards the kitchen, scurrying past Frank's legs before the tattooed man could have a chance to touch him, if he even tried to. He jumped up onto the counter, meowing for Gerard to hurry up and feed him.

"Good boy," the blonde man praised, stroking his ears a few times before getting his food down out of the cupboard.

"You sure you don't want to give me a chance, Mitch?" Frank asked, leaning his elbows on the counter a little over a foot away from the eating cat. "I'm a nice guy, I promise."

He slowly reached out a hand and touched the squishy cat, gently petting him down his back. Mitch stiffened for a moment before he continued eating, a smile spreading across Frank's face and an even bigger one on Gerard's.

"So, he does like me, after all," he happily chuckled, listening to Mitch's soft purrs.

'He's not the only one who likes you...' Gerard thought, staring at Frank's smiling face for a moment before quickly blinking and looking away.

"I knew he would," he replied with a smile, feeling his heart skip a beat when Frank's eyes met his and he smiled.

Mitch hopped off the counter when he was done eating, leisurely making his way over to the couch and kneading the worn-out cushions with his little paws for a few moments before settling down and curling up in a ball.

"Alright, Mitch, we've got to be going. Don't wait up for me, okay?" Gerard called to his cat, Mitch lifting his head and blinking twice in reply before nuzzling back into a sleepy ball of grey fur.

"He really means a lot to you, doesn't he?" Frank asked once they were out in the hallway, Gerard quickly making sure that he had his wallet and to lock his door before leading the way down the hall.