Early the next morning, Bandit nudged open the door with her nose and meowed noisily to be fed. Frank's eyelids twitched but he still slept, her pitiful squalling eventually waking him. Gerard nuzzled closer to him and pretended to still be asleep, not wanting to leave Frank's warm embrace just yet.
"I know you're awake, Gee," the tattooed man mumbled against his neck, a soft chuckle in his voice. "Your heartbeat sped up."
"Shhh," Gerard whispered, finally opening his eyes. "I wanted you to stay here with me just a little longer."
"I know, I wish I could stay too," Frank said softly, unwrapping his arms from around his slim waist. He gently pecked Gerard's lips before climbing out of bed, goosebumps popping up on his arms. "But listen to her; you've got to feed her, Gee."
"I have to give you your shirt back, too, don't I?" Gerard asked quietly, standing up and walking over to Frank.
"Fuck, it's cold," he whispered to himself, the thin hairs on his legs standing up as goosebumps appeared on his milky skin.
"I could just borrow one of yours..." Frank suggested, a small smile on his lips. "You seem to like my clothes so much, I'd hate to make you give it back." He grabbed his jeans off the floor, slipping them up his legs.
"Um, fuck, nothing's clean," he mumbled, looking around at the clothes scattered on his bedroom floor. Bandit meandered over to him and rubbed her head against his ankles, loudly purring as a persuasion technique to convince him to feed her.
"In a minute, Bandit," he cooed softly, careful stepping over her and looking in the bottom of the closet.
"Uh, here," he said awkwardly, tossing Frank one of his sweatshirts. It was dark gray and simple, nothing but a tiny American Eagle logo stitched on the left side of the chest. The cuffs were stretched and darkened from years of wear, a smudgy black stain on the bottom of the right one.
"Sorry, all my t-shirts are dirty, and the few dress shirts are so fucking wrinkly," he mumbled, scratching behind his ear.
"That's okay," Frank said softly, slipping the comfortable piece of clothing over his head. It was a little big on him, the hole for his neck sagging low enough that his collarbones peeked out the top. "I'll just be in the recording studio today, so I don't have to dress nice."
"Come on, Bandit! Let's get you some breakfast!" Gerard said cheerily, grabbing a pair of panties off the floor and quickly slipping them on before heading out to the kitchen.
Gerard and Frank's goodbye was awkward and melancholy, neither man wanting to be separated from the other. Frank halted in the hallway and turned back to the door, raising his hand to knock before dropping it back by his side. Gerard sagged against the door, Bandit waltzing over and rubbing against his legs. He picked the kitten up in his arms, her purring sending vibrations through his chest. He faced the door, resting his hand on the knob. He eventually worked up the courage to open the door, calling out to Frank who was now almost at the stairwell.
"Yeah, Gee?" Frank called back, a sad smile on his lips.
"Um, I'll see you soon, right?" Gerard said awkwardly, his words failing him.
"Yeah, of course," Frank said softly, his mouth quirking apologetically. "Bye, Gee."
"See ya, Frankie," Gerard replied quietly, Bandit mewing as if she too were saying goodbye. He plodded back into his apartment, sagging onto the couch with a sigh. He pulled the tv remote out from under the magazines littering his coffee table, turning on his tv. The ancient, late 80's age television flickered to life, the lonely stripper curling up with his new kitten and watching shitty soap operas to pass the time until he needed to go to work.
------
Gerard hadn't seen Frank in almost a week, and it was driving him crazy. He missed the tattooed man more than he had missed anyone before and he was struggling to keep up the facade that he enjoyed being with all the men he slept with for money. His performances lacked pizazz, the stripper losing some of his enthusiasm once he scanned the crowd and not finding Frank amongst the patrons.
"Hey, he'll show up again eventually," Ray said gently, nudging Gerard with his elbow.
"I know," the redhead sighed, brushing his hair out of his face. He smiled at his afro'd friend, getting rid of his melancholy attitude.
"Ray..." he dragged out the name, an amused smirk on his lips. "You never told me about that person you had to rush off to meet."
"Oh," Ray mumbled, a light blush tinting his cheeks. "You never asked..."
"Well, now I'm asking," Gerard retaliated lightheartedly, elbowing Ray in the ribs.
"I've been chatting online with someone for a while..." Ray began, pausing and awkwardly scratching behind his ear. "That was the first time I was going to meet him, and I was gonna be late to the airport. I didn't want to make a bad impression..."
'Him?' Gerard thought, his eyes widening.
"Wait, you're not straight?" Gerard said in surprise, Ray blushing even redder.
"I don't know, Gee. This guy... he's so different from other guys I've known," Ray answered, an embarrassed smile on his lips.
"What's his name?" Gerard asked curiously, washing the dirty cocktail glasses in the sink.
"Mikey," Ray replied, getting back to work and filling a server's order. "He lives in Seattle."
"That's so far..." Gerard said softly, Ray nodding his head sadly.
"That's why he had to fly here. And I'll be flying out next time," he replied, Gerard putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm happy for you, Ray," he said softly, his afro'd friend nodding and smiling appreciatively.
"Now, if you can just get the balls to tell Frank..." Ray said teasingly, an annoyed and embarrassed flush creeping up Gerard's neck.
"I'm not telling Frank anything," Gerard grumbled, squatting down to get more glasses from the refrigerated shelves.
"What aren't you telling me?" a familiar voice amusedly said, Gerard shouting in surprise and falling on his ass.
"Frank?" he spluttered, awkwardly getting back to his feet.
"Hi, Gee," the tattooed man replied cheerily, looking incredibly short next to Ray. It didn't help that his hands were shoved deep in his pockets, his shoulders hunched slightly.
"Uh, hi," Gerard said with a smile, brushing the dirt from the floor off his bare legs.
"Almost out of vodka... I'll be right back," Ray said to Gerard, winking at him before he disappeared to the storage room to get more alcohol.
"Can you get off early tonight?" Frank asked, a happy nervousness in his demeanor.
"Maybe... Why?" Gerard replied, fiddling with the black frills of lace on his underwear.
"I want to take you somewhere--it's a surprise, so don't pester me for where. Just can you get off early or not?" Frank responded, chewing his lip as he waited for Gerard to answer.
"I'd have to ask Pete," the redhead replied, licking his lips quickly. "Um, I'll be back."
"Uh, Gee," Frank said, Gerard halting in his steps and turning back to look at him. He stepped closer to the redhead and softly kissed his lips, a loving smile on his face when he pulled away. "It's okay if you can't."
Gerard just nodded and smiled back, rushing off to his boss's small office backstage. He took a deep breath before knocking, bracing himself for one of Pete's bad moods.
"It's unlocked," Pete called from inside, his voice surprisingly chipper. "Hey, G, what's up?"
"I was wondering..." Gerard began, chewing his lip and gauging Pete's mood. "If I could, maybe, if you'd let me.."
"Spit it out, G, I can't possibly say yes if I don't know what you want," Pete chuckled, Gerard flushing embarrassedly.
"Can I cut my shift short tonight?" Gerard asked in a rush, smiling sheepishly.
"Alright," Pete sighed lightheartedly, grinning at the huge smile that spread across the redhead's face.
"Oh, thank you! I won't ask for any more favors, I promise!" Gerard said happily, Pete just chuckling and dismissing him from his office.
There was a bounce in his step as he made his way back out to the main area, excited to tell Frank the good news. He abruptly stopped walking when he saw the compromising position Frank was in, a scantily-clad man poised in his lap and his tattooed hands on his hips. Angry tears pricked Gerard's eyes, his hurt a fiery sensation in his chest. He hurriedly blinked away the tears, clearing his throat and putting up a stone cold expression before continuing towards the bar.
"Can you back off, please? I'm not here for this," Frank said frustratedly, trying again to push the stripper off his lap. His hands were firmly pressed against the man's lower back, unable to force him off of him.
"Oh, come on, hot stuff... Everyone in this club is here for something like this," the sex worker replied confidently, refusing to leave Frank alone.
"Fuck, if I give you money will you leave?" Frank sighed, struggling to pull his wallet out of his jacket pocket.
"Here, take it!" he yelled, shoving the money into the stripper's hand. "Now get off me!"
"Fine," the stripper sighed arrogantly, finally lifting himself off Frank's lap.
"Prick," he spat as he walked away, Frank just sighing in relief and running a hand through his hair. He shoved his wallet back into his pocket, his eyes widening when he realized Gerard had seen the exchange between him and the clingy stripper.
"I can leave early," the redhead said casually, doing his best to act as if nothing had happened. His voice cracked and his eyes were red, that and his general body language betraying him.
"Gee, I don't know what you saw, but-" Frank started, Gerard cutting him off with stiff hand gesture for him to stop talking.
"It doesn't matter," he said quickly, not meeting his gaze.
"I only paid him so he'd leave. I didn't call him over, Gee, I swear, he just sat on my lap and wouldn't leave and I didn't know what to do," Frank rambled, apologetic tears brimming his eyes.
"I told you, Frankie, it doesn't matter," Gerard replied coldly, shutting down his emotions completely. "You can do whatever you want, I don't care."
"Gee, please, I didn't," Frank tried again, Gerard just shaking his head and stepping away from him.
"I wouldn't, Gee, I promise," he said softly, Gerard finally meeting his eyes.
"I hate to be nosy and interfere, but he's right, Gee, he wasn't doing anything," Brendon said from behind the redhead, startling him a little. "Sorry, I was just making rounds over here and saw the whole thing."
"Thanks, Bren," Gerard said softly, Frank smiling appreciatively.
"Um, well, I'll leave you two to figure this out," Brendon said a little awkwardly, reassuringly smiling at Gerard before continuing to serve drinks.
"I'm sorry, Frankie. I shouldn't have assumed anything, I know you better than that," Gerard rambled, averting his eyes.
"Gee, it's okay," Frank said softly, lifting his chin with his fingers. He softly pecked his lips, maintaining eye contact when he pulled away. "I don't blame you, I know how bad that looked."
"Yeah..." Gerard chuckled softly, a small smile quirking his lips.
"D'you still want to come with me tonight?" Frank asked a little doubtfully, chewing his lip nervously.
"Oh, I am definitely coming with you tonight," Gerard said suggestively, Frank just grinning and shaking his head.
"Just go get your clothes on," Frank giggled, lightly pushing his shoulder.
Gerard slipped off to say goodbye to Ray before heading to his dressing room, an excited and happy smile on his face as he got dressed into casual clothes.
~~~~~~
Ayy I've been sick the past week but I'm starting to get better now so I guess that's cool
-Bren xo
**Mikey & Gerard aren't brothers in this, just fyi**