Gerard heard a knock at the door. Putting down his battered Superman comic, he navigated his way around his cluttered apartment to get it.

"Hey Gee... Jamia kicked me out. Could I crash with you for a while?" Asked a worn out looking Frank.

Frank was surprised at the Gerard that opened the door. He had been expecting a skinny waif in pajama pants and an old band tee, but what greeted him was quite different. This Gerard wore skinny jeans that were entirely too well-cut, showing off his body fantastically. Frank mentally thrashed himself for thinking this. But the jeans were not the most noticeable part of the ensemble. He wore a pink feather boa that clashed fantastically with his red hair, drawing all attention away from his well dressed lower half. His eyelashes looked suspiciously like they were sporting mascara.

"Yeah man, come in." Gerard responded, opening the door all the way.

Gerard kept a calm face but inside his stomach was turning somersaults. He and Frank had always been close and he'd had somewhat of a crush on him for a while but it had never progressed beyond harmless flirting and the occasional kiss onstage. He was starting to give up hope that it ever would.

"Thanks, I'll only be here for a couple of nights, hopefully"

Gerard nodded "You want some coffee? I just made a bowl."

Frank muttered something that sounded like a yes so Gerard moved into the kitchen, grabbed a mug and started to pour the steaming liquid into it. He reached into the cupboard and pulled out a bowl of sugar and creamer, balancing them carefully in his hands as he moved back into the shabby living room. He handed the mug to Frank, putting the creamer and sugar on the coffee table and sitting down on the soft leather couch next to him. He cast his eyes around his apartment. The coffee table was strewn with old comic books, cigarette butts and a half eaten slice of pizza from God knows when. He was embarrassed that Frank saw him living in this state. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while until Frank broke it,

"Sometimes you remind me of Jamia." he said, a bit absentmindedly. His eyes widened fractionally, as if he was afraid he had said the exact wrong thing. How could he bring up Jamia at a time like this? In Gerard's house?

Gerard laughed, looking only slightly taken aback "I've thought at times that I do look a bit like her, but you have to admit that that girl doesn't have half the sass that I do. Has she ever worn a boa like this?" Gerard flipped the boa up and over his shoulder to emphasize, flicking his head back to move the hair out of his eyes. Frank put on his most casual manner in addressing that horrible pink atrocity Gerard had slung over his thin shoulders.

"Watch yourself, brother, you know how it turns me on when you wear women's clothing" He prayed Gerard couldn't hear the desperate plea in his voice, the slightly too casual air with which he spoke.

"Oh does it now?" Gerard asked, butterflies turning his stomach around. He reached around the back of the sofa and pulled out a couple more boas, flinging a few blue ones at Frank. He draped a black sparkly one around his arms and a couple of green ones on the back of the couch, fake feathers flying everywhere. Frank stared in relative amazement. Gerard seemed to be producing boas from thin air. There could have been hundreds tucked away in the couch cushions or under pillows. He couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips as he tied another pink boa around Gerard's head like a turban. Laughing at himself, he removed it seconds after putting it on. Turbans were definitely not Gerard's style. They blocked too much of that pretty face.

That face.

Frank nervously crossed his legs and directly avoided looking anywhere near Gerard's eyes. The pink feathers were utterly ridiculous. But they highlighted the even pinker flush that was creeping up Gerard's neck.

Gerard stared nervously at the ground for a while, wondering if this was all a dream. They had always been close friends but Gerard had never acted like this in front of Frank, besides on the stage. But that didn't count, they all acted differently on the stage on the stage. He dug around under the couch cushions for a while and pulled out a box of cigarettes. He stuck one in his mouth and started fumbling for a lighter.

"Gerard."

Gerard looked up in surprise, unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth. He unconsciously wrapped the pepto-bismol boa around his right hand.

"I... You look damn good in drag."

Oh god, why? Frank's mind withered in horror. What was he saying? He internally slapped his own hands with a ruler, harder than any catholic school nun would ever dare to. Gerard let out a surprised laugh. Why should Frank hold back? He looked like a proper fool already, and if he was going to be staying with Gerard... well, why not?

"Correction- you look hot. I kinda like it." Jesus fucking Christ, what was he doing. This was all wrong, SO wrong. He had promised himself these days were over, that the past was behind him. He took Gerard's carefully composed face in the best way he could. He inched ever so slightly closer to Gerard on the battered leather couch, ragged Superman comic lying forgotten on the paint-smeared coffee table.

Gerard's eyes widened a little and his heart started beating faster, was Frank flirting with him? He didn't know how to respond. He had played different versions of this over in his head before but never with intentions of it ever happening. His hands started nervously fiddling with the boas, he was surprised they weren't shaking.

Frank, operating nearly on autopilot, reached over to the multicolored plethora of feathers in Gerard's hands. He gently removed them, first a red one, then a blue one, then a green one with golden sparkles woven through it. Gerard began to nervously pick at his nails. Frank reached over in a stroke of boldness and firmly grasped Gerard's hand in his own. His heart hammered, and he half prayed that Gee would jerk his hand away and laugh it off. The other half wished desperately to cling to that hand with all of his strength.

Gerard looked up, his heart was sprinting in his chest, he wanted to pull Frank to him and kiss him. He always wanted to kiss Frank. Not like they kissed on stage. He wanted to truly kiss him. He had never thought that they actually would before this. He caught himself staring at Franks lips and automatically looked away. After a couple of awkward seconds he looked back at Frank.

"Hi, Frank" He said, although it came out barley audible.

"... Hi Gerard." Frank's brain was utterly blank, devoid of all coherent and rational thought. He didn't know where they stood now. He didn't know what Gerard wanted, what he wanted. All he knew was he wanted that warm hand holding his. He wanted the arms attached to the hand. He wanted Gerard. This realization made him drop his eyes, a flush creeping silently up his neck. Surely Gerard could feel the embarrassed heat waves rolling off his face.

Gerard saw Frank blush. A smile crept onto his lips, Frank was adorable when he was embarrassed. Frank was always adorable.

"You look cute today, Frankie." He couldn't believe he just said that. It was like he didn't have any control of his brain. He moved his hand to cover his mouth but stopped when he saw a blush creep up Franks face.

Frank scuffed the toe of his beat up shoe against the polished wooden floor.

"You always look cute." he said. Goddamnit, there that blush was again. His face must have been glowing like a neon sign. Frank knew of only one way to combat these butterflies, this feeling. And his solution had worked in the past. He put on his bad boy attitude, coupling his own trademark form of flirting with the full knowledge that Gerard found his short stature adorable.

Gerard giggled nervously and pulled a feather out of the black boa on his lap.

Frank looked devilishly up at Gerard, cleverly masking his sheer nervousness. He noticed that there was a slight tremble in his hands from being this close to Gee, from playfully shoving him around. "What, do I make you nervous or something?" He winked brazenly at a considerably flustered Gerard.

Gerard's stomach flipped over onto itself. He could feel his hands shaking so he shoved them under a green boa.

"Yeah, a little..." He replied, his voice breaking. He frowned. His voice never cracked, he was a singer for fucks sake, his voice shouldn't crack.

Frank's insides turned to ice. He pulled away from Gerard, quickly moving to the opposite side of the couch, as far away as he could be without physically leaving. He and Gerard were now on opposite sides of the three cushion couch, separated by what seemed like miles.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... I guess I got kind of carried away." He met Gee's eyes briefly, trying to convey all of his emotions in that one glance. I'm sorry I make you nervous. I'm sorry I never told you before. I'm sorry things have to be this way. I'm so fucking sorry for every inch of pain I have ever caused you. I just want to be with you. He broke his gaze and allowed his eyes to roam about the apartment. The news flashed by silently on the TV. Gerard must have been watching the atrocities of the world before he had come in. He sighed in defeat. He wouldn't make Gerard feel uncomfortable. He was in his house, and he owed Gee far too much to be carried off by his own emotions.

Gerard was startled. He thought that Frank had understood that he made him nervous, but in a good way. In the way that you get nervous on a first date or, or with the guy that you want to have a first date with. He bit his lip and looked over at Frank on the other side of the couch.

"Come back Frankie," he said, pouting "it's a good kind of nervous"

Frank reassumed his cocky attitude with vigor. He slid even closer to Gerard than he had been before, sitting so they touched from hip to ankle.

"Well I'm certainly glad about that." He had never been exactly gifted with words. That was Gerard's area of expertise. He expressed himself musically, using his beloved guitar. He could have written a sixteen minute symphony to describe the feelings rushing over him in that moment, but he could not articulate it for the life of him. He had to trust that Gee would know how to read the glint in his eyes, or the slight pauses in his speech.

In another uncustomary moment of boldness, Frank leaned close to Gerard's ear, putting on his most sultry, seductive voice, playing it up ever so slightly so he could pass it off as a joke if need be.

"You know, Gerard, you're looking quite sexy tonight." He leaned slightly away and stared at the ceiling with the air of a child feigning innocence. He couldn't completely wipe the smile still playing about his lips. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a blush starting to creep its way up Gee's neck. He felt something brush his thigh and looked down to see Gerard's hand. Frank covered his hand with his own. He couldn't help but notice the way his slightly longer fingers fit perfectly between the spaces of Gerard's open hand. It was as if they had been specifically made to fit eachother. Frank was painfully aware of the slight tremble he felt in Gerard's palm.

"You know you can trust me, right?"

"I always have, Frankie." Gerard replied, his mind racing.

"Hey Gee?" Frank said, looking over at him

"Yeah?"

"You have something in your eye." Frank withered at the similarities of his role in the I'm Not Okay music video and this moment. The speck of glitter danced tauntingly on Gerard's eyelash, begging to be removed. Frank leaned in toward Gerard's face, hand moving to brush off the offending object. He attempted to keep his breathing even and regular, though it seemed to be the loudest sound in the nearly silent room.

Gerard picked up on the similarities, too. He knew in the video that Frankie leans in, picks the thing out, and resumes the conversation as if nothing had happened. He braced himself as Frank leaned in and flicked the piece of glitter off his eyelash. He was prepared to resume the painfully awkward flirting that had been going on, but Frank's face lingered near his longer than necessary.

"Hi Gerard." he breathed.

On impulse, Gerard moved even closer, pressing their thighs together.

"Hi Frankie."

Frank traced one finger down the side of Gerard's face. He was stepping far over the line, and he knew it. At this point, he couldn't possibly turn back.

"You okay?" he asked. He didn't want to make Gerard anything like uncomfortable. But he also wanted him.

"Perfect." Gerard replied. And he was. Frank was here, this was happening.

Frank grinned, tapping him on the nose with his index finger.

"You certainly are."

Gerard's eyes clouded slightly with confusion. "You." said Frank. "You're perfect." Frank leaned in and traced his lips along Gerard's jawline, not quite kissing him. He drank in every inch of Gerard's soft skin, kissing him gently in the hollow right under his ear and jaw. He leaned back as Gerard inhaled sharply, cocking his head slightly to the side. He was asking for permission.

Gerard sat in confusion for a second before realizing that he was supposed to make the next move. He took a deep breath and moved his face closer to Franks.

Frank leaned in slowly, and tilted his head ever so slightly to the right. His eyelids seemed to become heavy of their own accord, and began falling shut. The sheer gravity of the moment struck him. He was about to kiss Gerard Way. This was the moment he had been waiting for since he had met Gee. And here he was, in his apartment, sitting on a torn old leather couch, surrounded by cheap comics and stale coffee. Frank placed a hand on the side of Gerard's face, his eyes fully closed. He felt Gee's breath playing across his lips, he felt the electricity in the air between them. He was like a middle schooler about to have their first kiss. He pressed his lips to Gerard's slowly and tenderly, kissing him in the soft way he had nearly forgotten existed. There was no lust, no pushing for more. This was what he wanted. Here and now. His head began to spin as Gerard began to kiss him back. Frank noticed his hand trembling against Gerard's face. Despite his attempts to hold steady, it remained shaky. In that moment, he didn't care.

Gerard breathed in the kiss, his hands moving slowly down Franks chest and lingering at the zippers of his leather jacket. He pressed himself even closer to Frank, leaving no room between them. His hands continued to play with the tip of his jacket as the kiss deepened.

Frank reached up and brushed a few stray locks of hair out of Gerard's face, tucking playfully behind his ear.

"You have lovely eyes, you know that?" He knew it probably sounded stupid and juvenile, but he had been dying to say it. Gerard's eyes were one of the first things Frank had noticed about him. Frank was doing his best to maintain his composure as Gerard tugged at the front of his jacket. He leaned back, giving Gerard open access to anything he felt like adjusting. Jacket included. And, Frank noticed, feeling particularly devious, Gerard's eyes darted up and down his body, stopping for fractions of a second in all the right places.

The tips of Gerard's ears turned pink from the compliment. He felt like a school girl, this feeling at this pit of his stomach was ridiculous.

"I've always thought that about you, Frankie."

Frank blushed. He adored when Gerard called him Frankie, though he would rather die than admit it.

A grin paraded itself across Frank's face of his own accord. How could he possibly be using one of Gerard's lyrics on him at a time like this? Though, he thought to himself, it was rather clever of him.

"Kiss me, you animal."

He pulled Gerard forward by the tips of his pink boa, pressing their mouths together. Despite handling Gee a little more roughly, he still felt nothing but tenderness for the man in front of him. A thought began to flit around the back of his head. The thought that he had had for years but never directly admitted to himself.

Gerard, caught off guard by Franks forwardness, let a startled noise escape him as his body was pressed into Frank's. Frank took this as a sound of approval and deepened the kiss. He grazed Gerard's lower lip with his teeth, and smiled internally as he heard a slightly strangled sigh escape Gerard's lips. Gerard smiled into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Franks neck.

"Now Gerard," Frank said with slightly mocking sternness, "You are downright beautiful when you smile, but your teeth get in the way! Makes it a little difficult to kiss you" He grinned and kissed the tip of Gee's nose, then kissed his way back to right around his ear. "Though I could think of some fun things we could do with those lovely teeth of yours." Frank threw in an exaggerated wink for good measure.

Gerard was filled with a sudden happiness. He could think of nothing but Frank and what was happening right now. He heard a giggle and a second later realized that it has come out of his own mouth. He moved his hands slowly down Frank's back. Frank stood up and pulled Gerard to his feet. The difference in height was more accentuated this way, but neither party was bothered by this. Frank looked up through is eyelashes at Gee and stood up on his tiptoes to kiss him on the same level. He had one arm slung loosely around Gerard's waist, as the other trailed delicately from the nape of Gerard's neck down dangerously close to his tattered belt in the small of his back. He was rewarded as a small shudder ran it's way through Gerard's body.

Frank kept one arm around Gerard's waist and brought the other up to lay flat against his chest. Time froze for a moment as he felt Gee's heartbeat against his hand, a perfect reassurance of everything he had hoped. This wasn't a dream, this was perfect reality. The moment passed and Frank applied gentle pressure to Gerard's chest, moving him slowly to an available patch of wall. Once Gerard's back was only a few inches away, he applied the full force of his weight against that chest, shoving Gee back against the wall with a satisfying muffled crash. He heard Gerard's sudden intake of breath and wondered for a moment if he had actually hurt him. He broke the kiss and looked concernedly into his eyes.

"You okay...?" His sentence trailed off awkwardly. He had just barely silenced the 'baby' that was longing to attach itself to the end of that question.

Gerard, not trusting himself enough to speak, nodded and moved back in to kiss Frank.

Frank was relieved. The thought was there again, prickling around the edges of his mind, refusing to be ignored. Why should he care of Gerard got a little banged up in the process? Things were better rough, right?

For some reason, Frank was not convinced. The thought of hurting Gee, even accidentally, even if Gee wanted him to, asked him to, was unbearable. Frank kissed him with a passion he himself didn't know he possessed. It was as if he was trying to apologize for those long years of silence. He was apologizing for every time he had looked away, every sarcastic comment he had made. Apologizing to himself for being so afraid... But here he was. There was no doubting what he was feeling

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to kiss you properly..." Even the brief time he had taken to speak seemed like a century. He couldn't deny Gerard's hungry lips, and resigned himself from attempting to speak unless it was absolutely crucial.

"I could say the same about you, Frankie." Gerard whispered, his heart frantically skipping beats as he took it all in. He was kissing Frank. He was kissing Frank.

. "You don't have to." Frank's kisses spoke for him. But one word remained on the tip of his tongue, clinging to his last sentence.

"... baby."