'Today's the day' Frank repeated to himself, looking at the ragged mess that stared back at him in the mirror. He truly didn't own many nice outfits, so he supposed a Pink Floyd shirt and jeans would suffice. Grabbing his keys, he walked by his living room and halted upon seeing Gee. They were curled up on the beanbag chair once again, not exactly having anywhere else to sleep. Frank made a mental note to buy an air mattress while he was out. Fighting the urge to say goodbye to the str- house guest, he walked outside of his apartment and closed the door as quietly as possible. Locking it behind him, he made his way outside and looked up and down the street. Once again, he didn't have a car, so it looked like he would be walking to the doctor's office. Good thing he had earbuds. Music always made things go faster for him and right now, he really didn't want to dwell on what he was going to do. He began his journey to the doctor's office, feeling more like he was walking the green mile. Popping one earbud in, he pressed shuffle on his playlist and shoved his cell phone back in his pocket.
"Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends
Like my fathers come to pass
Seven years has gone so fast
Wake me up when September ends"
Frank kept walking as the song continued to play, his mood not increasing one bit. Great choice, shuffle feature. Streets faded together, passing without leaving an impression in his memory. He skipped a few songs, not wanting to feel any more depressed than he was right now. A song finally came on that wasn't depressing (which just so happened to be a rarity on his playlist).
"She paints her fingers with a close precision
He starts to notice empty bottles of gin
And takes a moment to assess the sin
She's paid for
A lonely speaker in a conversation
Her words are swimming through his ears again
There's nothing wrong with just a taste of what you've paid for."
Walking into the office, he pressed pause on the song and took his earbud out. The office lady gave him a smile that was all too happy for someone who works at a hospital. How could someone smile at a place full of pain?
"Hi there! Do you have an appointment?" She asked, still grinning at Frank. He forced a smile on to his face and at least tried to look happy.
"Yup. Frank Iero for 9:30." The lady looked down at her computer, a slightly puzzled expression. She clicked a few things on her computer and frowned.
"You're late." Frank rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
"I'd like to see you get here at 9 when you've got a four-year-old living in your house that you've got to take care of."
"Fair enough. Dr. Ballato will see you soon." Frank took a seat in the chairs provided, not wanting to stand any longer than he had to. They were those really deceiving chairs that looked strangely comfortable but in reality were extremely uncomfortable. Frank waited there for what seemed like decades, looking around the bleak and barren waiting room. The office lady and Frank were the only two people in the office at the time, which didn't help the empty feeling in his chest.
A small snicker escaped his lips, breaking the silence temporarily. He had told that lady that Gee was four. Well, they certainly did act like a four-year-old sometimes. Gee was just...something. In two days, Frank had found himself almost always thinking about them. He didn't even know them and he just let them move in. Just like that. Maybe he felt bad for him. Frank, unfortunately, knew what it was like to hit rock bottom. Hell, he was still trying to climb up. But at this point, it didn't seem like he was going to be able any time soon.
"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.
"You can sit up now, Frank." A voice, who he'd come to recognize as Lindsey's, stated. Doing as the voice said, Frank rubbed his eyes and looked around at the grim-faced doctors.
"W-What... what is it?" He asked, his voice shaking. Lindsey shook her head and sighed, her eyes falling to the floor.
"I'm sorry, Frank."
~
Frank hadn't left a note for Gee, so they assumed that Frank was just out for groceries or something. Gee cooked frequently at ...home, but as they were searching Frank's kitchen, they found nearly nothing edible. Frank must be out for groceries then. That only really leaves....cleaning. Gee was good at that too, fortunately. And Frank's flat...seriously needed it. 'This place looks like twenty people live here. How the fuck did Frank manage this?' Everything was out of place. EVERYTHING. It was making Gee's OCD go bezerk. The TV wasn't hung up straight. Nor were any of the pictures.
"Does Frank clean this place? Like, ever?"
Gee rolled their eyes and got to work. They started by straightening out their little beanbag chair and quickly moved on to the rest of the living room. Nudge a picture frame here, move a few books there, stack some CD's over there.
'In time, this place could actually look like a home' Gee thought to themself with a smile. They hardly had time to smile, though. There was a LOT of work to be done.
~
"W-What?"
"You have terminal cancer." Tears welled up in Frank's eyes, spilling over in a matter of seconds. "I'm really sorry, Frank. There's nothing I can do about it. When it's gone terminal, the best we can do is let you have fun until it kills you. I'd say you have three, maybe four months max."
At that, Frank just couldn't help but cry. After everything he'd been through, he still lost. He still lost. He let them use him, he let his family leave him, and he let the world chew him up and spit him out. Lindsey sighed and shook her head, looking away while the other cried. "We're going to let you go home. Spend time doing what you like. We'll call you back in a month or two to see how badly it's progressed. Just...try to enjoy the time you have left, okay?" She patted Frank's shoulder gently and walked away, her heels clicking on the floor. Frank scrambled to the room with his clothes and changed as quickly as possible, leaving the hospital without a word.
He ran home as fast as he could, people flying by in a blur. They mattered so much, but apparently, he didn't matter enough. Anyone who gets a death sentence deserves it, so what did he do to deserve this? Was it that he was gay? He couldn't change that, obviously but damn it, if that's what god wanted for him, then why would he make Frank gay? Fuck, Frank didn't even believe in god and here he was, silently pleading for mercy. He shot up the stairs to his apartment and unlocked the door in a hurry, his vision glowing blurrier by the second. The door slammed behind him, Gee visibly jumping and cringing in fear.
"Jesus, Frank. You scared me." Gee said, looking the owner of the flat up and down cautiously. They were quite used to assessing situations and seeing when others were a dangerous level of angry.
Sure, Frank looked angry, but when he burst into tears, Gee instantly dropped their cautious behavior. They ran over and instantly wrapped his arms around Frank, holding them tight but not too tight. Frank melted into the other's arms, letting go of all the emotions he'd been holding back. He was fucking angry and fucking sad and fucking numb and fucking oversensitive. The tears just kept coming, long after Frank even knew why he was crying. Sighing, Gee picked up the smaller of the two and carried him back to his bed. Frank normally would've protested being carried wedding-style by anyone (especially Gee), but he just couldn't find the words to argue with them. He just kept crying silently as he was placed on his bed.
"Hey hey hey. It's okay." Gee said softly, sitting down next to Frank on the bed and biting their lip in concern. Frank sniffled a few times and sat up, his normal and spiteful self returning.
"Don't fucking carry me like I'm a baby. I'm 18 for fuck's sake." Gee giggled and damn it, it sounded like music to Frank's ears. He glared at the wall and tried not to smile, but it was pretty hard considering Gee just wouldn't stop giggling. Sighing, Frank closed his eyes and rubbed them harshly. Maybe if he rubbed them hard enough, everything would just go away. At the very least, he might go blind. Then he won't have to look at himself in the mirror ever again. That's a plus.
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong or what?"
"Nope."
"Really?"
"Yup."
"Dickhead."
"You're lucky I was just crying or I would roast you so badly, you'd have to go to the hospital for third-degree burns."
"Oh really? Is that a fact?"
"Yup."
A few beats went by, the apartment going silent.
"Will you stay with me?"
"Only if you want me to."
"Yeah. I do."
"Alright then."
Gee moved next to Frank and slowly wrapped their arms around him, the two of them laying down together and getting cozy.
Another pause.
"Your hands are cold, you know."
"Well your stomach is warm, so shut it."