for Frank [dated May 13th]

[colbert_bump]

It was Stephen's second birthday on the island. Why was he still there? Shouldn't there be a time limit or something? He wanted to go back, back to his show and his money and his fans...And his wife and kids

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[refugeforlosers]

It wouldn't have been Frank's first choice of outfit to wear today but the clothes box had been handing them out all day to him yesterday so he figured it was probably a sign. So that was how he ended up walking around the Compound wearing a Property of Colbert Nation t-shirt with a picture of Che Colbert on the back.

And that was how he greeted Stephen.

"Wait a minute, I know you..." He pointed vaguely at him, then lifted the hand to stroke at his chin, faux deep thought. "Where have I seen you before?" He turned around slowly so Stephen could see his back and when he completed the circle to face him again, he had a smile on his face. "Oh, that's right. You're the birthday boy."

[colbert_bump]

Stephen, who had not been able to resist the temptation to sing mournfully along to the depressing song, fell silent when Frank walked in. He blinked at the sight that greeted him, feeling oddly warm.

"You...you remembered," he finally said, as if he hadn't announced to Frank just when his birthday was a few days back.

[refugeforlosers]

"I didn't forget," Frank corrected, because to him there was an important difference. Remembering implied forgetting in the first place. He held up his hands, a t-shirt in each. "Do you want to wear the one that says I Am America with 's Next Top Model crossed out or..." He shook out the other one, an exceedingly happy, shaved Frank on the front and held it up beside his head, "the one that calls me a forty year old virgin?" So not true...

[colbert_bump]

Stephen couldn't help but actually smile at the shirts offered to him. His first instinct, of course, was to take the America one, because - well, obviously, but that other one was really amusing...

"Can't I have them both?" he asked. Wasn't that only fair? Not that they were exactly his style.

[refugeforlosers]

Good question. Very good question.

Frank looked between his hands, a little surprised that Stephen hadn't scorned them both to be honest, which was why he was more than happy to hand them over with the smile growing on his face.

"Sure. Whatever the birthday boy wants the birthday boy gets." Probably the only entirely positive thing Frank remembered from his childhood. "Have you eaten yet?" His tone clearly gave away that he hoped the answer was no.

[colbert_bump]

Now this was more like it. Sure, Stephen didn't actually really want to wear either of the shirts, but getting them both was a good thing.

"Nope," he answered distractedly, looking at the ridiculously happy Steve Carell on one of the shirts. Another movie Stephen had refused to see. "Last year I had to make myself a cupcake. I was stalling before having to do that again."

[refugeforlosers]

Frank put his hands together, backing away slowly, deliberately, so Stephen knew to follow. His account of last year sounded a little sad but then Frank wasn't sure just who had been on the island back then or how long exactly Stephen had been. Maybe he hadn't known that many people.

He raised his eyebrows at him. "Just the one?"

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"Yes. I don't cook much," Stephen said as if that wasn't painfully obvious. He followed without any argument, because it turned out it was easy to get Stephen to do things when he was sad and lonely and then given things. "And Joey stole half of the one I did make."

[refugeforlosers]

Ah, Joey. Frank had had a hard enough time convincing him to stay away today but a few white lies about scary little girl ghosts in the basement had done the trick.

Which was exactly where Frank was headed, bypassing the kitchen altogether. He knew Stephen liked attention and a lot of people around him but it would have been hellish trying to decorate a room that was constantly full of people and even harder to keep the food from being eaten. Especially when it looked like it did.

Lew's giant American flag draped along the ceiling above Stephen's bed and on the mattress sat a few trays of food. The boar burger had been easy enough to make but Frank had had to ask a ton of people to find out which berry to use to dye some of the potato wedges. He'd cut them into strips and dyed half as red as he could, leaving the other their natural colour. They made up the 'red and white' stripes of the make-shift flag on the plate; the burger (wrapped in blue paper with white cut out stars glued on top) sat in the corner. When Joey had been going

[colbert_bump]

Stephen's foot hit the floor after the last step and he froze.

"Holy fuck!" he proclaimed eloquently.

It was so - red and white and blue and beautiful. Plus, the food looked tasty.

Frank did all this for him?

[refugeforlosers]

That was enough to incite a laugh from Frank. He stepped away, held out his arms to present the room to him.

"Welcome to America, Stephen." Almost-home sweet almost-home.

[colbert_bump]

The shirts were tossed onto an empty bed as Stephen continued staring at the display.

His instinct would be to hide how happy this made him, to act like he was entitled to it anyway and more people should have been jumping to do things like this for him. Which was all true, of course, but after last year and the way he had felt in recent weeks...

He was secure enough to go up to Frank and throw his arms around the man in thanks.

[refugeforlosers]

Frank had been about to apologise for the lack of seafood but it appeared that didn't bother Stephen much.

Stephen who was voluntarily hugging him. An openly gay man. Not just that but a so-called elitist academic one. If Frank had known the secret to getting Stephen to like him before, he might have used it sooner instead of working to build up a relationship like this. Though now, as he hugged Stephen back, he was pretty glad he had stuck with it because these fruits of his labor were definitely worth it.

"Happy Birthday."

[colbert_bump]

Who knew that Stephen's best friend on the island would be Frank? The elitist academic! The gay elitist academic! It was crazy.

But Frank, even though he kept asking Stephen about things he didn't ever want to think about, was nice to him and seemed to sincerely like him. It was sad that that seemed to be his only criteria; God, how had he sunk so low?

Anyway.

"Thank you," he said, still hugging the other man. Stephen really needed to get his anger back, or he would embarrass himself...

[refugeforlosers]

The continued embrace was another surprise since Frank would have guessed Stephen would've leapt back to protect himself from the gay by now.

"You're welcome," he replied honestly, 'cause he'd been truthful up in the rec room. He patted Stephen on the back, then dropped his arms a little and re-clasped them. "Like I said, birthday boy, it's your day today." One day of the year wasn't much to get exactly what you want but Frank knew you had to take what you could get in life.

[colbert_bump]

Stephen finally moved back, clearing his throat. Signs of affection between men were frowned upon, dammit.

"So all of this is my present?" he asked, gesturing around. "Or do I get more?"

He couldn't help but sound little-boy hopeful.