ONE: Vanilla on My Hands

25: Turning Up to Work Looking like You Buttered the Biscuit

"What're you talking about?"

"You and... What's his name? Your boyfriend with all the patterns and flowers." Derek answered, making Frank realize that he had completely the wrong end of the stick. At least Derek hadn't somehow worked out what had actually happened over the weekend.

"Ryan?" Frank said his name, the word feeling alien on his tongue after having not talked about him for a month. Derek clearly had no idea that they had broken up. Frank snorted, "You think I was with Ryan?"

"Weren't you?" Derek queried, looking confused, "I know you guys were having trouble in paradise, but I thought you two had patched things up. Hence the whole 'turning up to work looking like you buttered the biscuit."

"What?"

"Ooh, biscuits," Derek muttered under his breath and he set his coffee down, bending to open one of the cabinets, scanning the contents. Frank watched Derek rifled through the wheat-thins and the boxes of bland cereal, quirking an eyebrow as Derek muttered about wanting a snack. He pouted, closing the small door before he stood up and pulled a small silver-foil packet from his pocket. He ripped it open, stuffing an entire Oreo into his mouth with a happy hum. Frank's eyebrows rose in surprise, sipping his coffee when Derek spoke, "You didn't take a trip to Pound Town?"

"What? Where?" Frank frowned as Derek picked up his mug, dipping an Oreo into his coffee.

"Jeez, square." Derek snorted, "I mean 'sex', new kid."

Frank went pink and looked down, "Oh, uh..."

"Well?"

"No, I wasn't with Ryan," Frank said, shaking his head, "We broke up about a month ago."

"Shit, Frank," Derek hissed, chewing through his third cookie in less than two minutes, "I just thought- Fuck, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," Frank waved a hand at him, "It's fine. I'm better off without him anyway."

"So, you met someone else?" Derek raised an eyebrow, and a quirk of a knowing smile, at him. So far from the truth but so spot-on with the fact that Frank had actually got laid, "Please tell me that it wasn't just Krispy Kreme that did some creaming this weekend."

Frank opened his mouth to answer, thinking something up in his head, but whatever he came up with didn't seem believable. Derek would probably see through whatever he told him, thinking that he was hiding something. Plus the person that had walked into the kitchen sent Frank's brain to a halt, slamming on the brakes so hard he was sure he had cerebral whiplash.

"Good morning, gentlemen," Gerard said brightly, looking between Derek and Frank while he grabbed his usual black work mug from the dish-rack, "How are we all doing this morning?"

"Not too bad," Derek answered, drinking more of his coffee while Frank just stood in complete silence, looking into his mug, wishing that he could just dive in and hide from the awkward situation.

"How are you this morning, Frank?" Gerard turned, watching Frank who was trying to hide the pink tinge on his cheeks. Frank swallowed as the memories flooded back, replacing every possible answer he had been trying to think of to say to Derek.

"I'm g-good," He stammered out, trying to hide his face behind his mug while he took a long drink, hoping that Gerard wasn't going to hang around for too long. The air was thick with tension that Frank swore he could easily cut it with a knife. The way Gerard was looking at him, it was enough to make Frank's stomach knot up. His heart hammered in his chest, much like it had done the other night. Not quite the same, but still, Gerard looking at him like that was enough to make Frank want to drop to his knees and give himself to his boss in front of Derek. The two of them now had a secret that no one in the office could know about, even though Frank wished that he could admit to someone that he was rather smitten. Gerard turned to look at Derek, giving Frank a moment to breathe.