Darling Aka, I hear you are having a shitty day. Here is that ficlet I still owe you. <3
Fandom: Bandom - MCR
Title: Take What You Want
Pairing: Frank/Gerard (Frank/Jamia)
Length: 1300 words
Rating/Warnings: M, angst
Summary: Set after
Not As AdvertisedA/N: This was a quick-write and it's not been beta'ed. All mistakes are mine.
"You want him, don't you?" Frank asks the question softly but Gerard still startles, turning around abruptly and placing his body in front of the window like it will block the view of the other Frank out in the parking lot, half naked and dousing himself with the hose.
Frank pushes a take-away coffee into Gerard's hands (powdered creamer, two sugars), "I don't get it."
"Don't get what?" Gerard asks, his voice high and shrill. He won't meet Frank's eyes. Frank doesn't understand how this awkward, nervous guy can be the same one who gets up on stage and yells at a screaming crowd that they can be something, do something. It doesn't add up.
Frank glances past Gerard out the window to the other Frank, and back to Gerard, who's not even drinking his coffee yet. "You want him, but you've never even tried, have you?"
"It's not that easy,' Gerard says, sounding resigned. He seems to remember he has coffee and focuses on drinking it instead of on Frank.
"It could be." Frank says, because in his experience, it often is, "What's stopping you?"
Gerard doesn't answer, he just leaves the bus.
*
Two stops on the tour circuit later, Frank finds out what's stopping him. A cute brunette who might have been Frank's type in another life, if he'd swung a different way. She's smiles like the sun when the other Frank bounces down the bus steps and hugs her, lifting her off her feet.
"She always comes out for the Jersey shows," Mikey says, voice droll as always.
"Huh?" Frank asks.
"Jamia," Mikey clarifies, "Frank's fiance."
*
"Oh my god," Jamia coos, as her fingers trace gently down Frank's face, "You weren't kidding."
Frank holds still, feeling a lot like someone's pet that's been brought for show and tell. He doesn't have to go through this that often, only the band themselves and the very inner circle of their staff know about him. His haircut matches the other Frank's and they're careful not to be seen out together at the same time. Brian still manages to find a million dull things to keep him occupied though, secrecy or no.
"Pretty good, match hey?" the other Frank grins at Jamia and Frank pastes on a smile.
"Do you-" Jamia starts to ask the other Frank, then seems to think the better of it and turns to ask Frank, "do you have the same tattoos?"
"No," Frank says, weirdly charmed that she's making an effort, "I've only a got a few, and none of them match his."
Jamia's hands hover over Frank's like she's afraid to touch, so he raises his hands, spreads his fingers, showing her his bare knuckles where the letters for HALLOWEEN would be.
She sucks in a startled breath, "Holy shit."
*
Frank finds Gerard in the back studio. His sketchbook is in his lap but he's holding his pencil upside down.
Frank slips inside, "Do you mind?" he holds up a handful of markers, "I told Frank I'd sit in the interview for him this afternoon, give him some more time with Jamia."
Gerard nods and pats the floor beside him, "That was good of you. You gonna wear long sleeves?"
"Of course." Frank says, and settles himself on the floor, holding still while Gerard uncaps a black pen and leans in. They've done this so many times now, Gerard doesn't even need to see the designs anymore, he just draws them from memory. The pen tip is cold against Frank's skin, Gerard's breath tickling warm on Frank's neck as he concentrates, creating the design. Frank can feel the form of the scorpion take shape on his neck. He knows when it's finished, but waits for Gerard to tell him to relax before he moves again, offering up his hands.
They don't talk as Gerard switches markers and starts drawing the Halloween letters on Frank's knuckles. It's kind of nice, actually, to just be still and listen to the cadence of Gerard's breathing as he draws. Frank's gaze settles on Gerard's hands, the way his black polish-tipped fingers grip Frank's, firm but gentle. It's a shame when Gerard finishes, and lets go.
"It's her, isn't it? She's the reason." Frank's not sure why he's asking, maybe just to give him a reason not to leave yet.
Gerard turns back to his sketchbook and picks up his pencil. It's not until Frank's nearly out of the room that he answers.
"Yeah."
*
Frank's careful with the drawn-on tattoos, taking care not to wet or smudge them, even after the (somewhat boring) interview is over. When the guys are onstage, he steals into the dressing room and raids Frank's wardrobe, stuffing a few items in his rucksack for later.
It's a hotel night, and Gerard has the single. Frank knocks carefully, the other Frank's clothes feeling just a little loose around his body, his hair damp with product he doesn't usually wear. The illusion must work, because when Gerard answers the door - still in his stage gear and smudged eye makeup - he says, "Frankie?" in that soft tone he only uses with the other Frank.
"Hey," Frank says, offering him an easy smile like the other Frank would, "Can I come in?"
"Sure," Gerard steps back, looking a little confused. "Is everything okay?"
Frank waits for the door to shut behind him, "Everything's okay, I just," he reaches for Gerard's hand and tangles their fingers together and seeing how the ink on his knuckles looks against the pale skin of Gerard's hand. "Gee?"
"Yeah?" When Frank looks up, Gerard's looking at him. Except he's not looking at him, he's looking at the other Frank, with one of the expressions Frank's never been the target of before. Frank's breath catches in his throat and for just one moment he wishes for something impossible. Then he leans up and kisses Gerard.
Gerard makes a startled noise against Frank's lips, but he doesn't pull back, so Frank deepens it, catches a handful of Gerard's hair and holds him to it. It takes a moment, but Gerard gives in and kisses back. HIs fingers grasp Frank's shoulders tight, breath hissing in through his nose as his lips move against Frank's, kissing him like he wants to devour him.
Frank presses closer, until Gerard's body is pressed warm and eager against his front. Gerard's the one to break the kiss, "Frankie, we shouldn't."
"We can," Frank whispers between messy kisses, "It's okay."
"What about J-"
Frank presses a finger to Gerard's lips before he can get the word out, trying to wear the expression he thinks the other Frank would have right now. Gerard stares at him, his brow furrowing, his lips wet. Then he reaches down and pushes back the sleeve of Frank's shirt, showing bare skin. "You're not him."
Frank pushes the sleeve back down again, "I could be." He lifts a hand to brush Gerard's hair out of his eyes, the movement carefully gentle. "I am, tonight."
"That's not how it works." Gerard's voice sounds almost desperate as Frank presses back in, lining up their bodies again, "You're not our Frank."
"But you said I was," Frank says, remembering how sure Gerard had sounded that first night, the first time. He leans in and kisses Gerard again, swift and hot. Gerard groans against his mouth and kisses back, tasting like desperation. "You said I was your Frank and I can be." He slides his mouth across Gerard's cheek, kissing gently, tasting salt. "Just take it." He whispers the words right in Gerard's ear, "Take what you want tonight, Gee. You can have it. It's okay."
For a moment he thinks he's gone too far. Gerard's trembling in his arms, his breathing laboured and rough. Frank mentally prepares himself for a brush off, for a fight. What he gets is Gerard's fingers pushing up into the long hair at the back of Frank's mohawk, gripping gently and pulling Frank's mouth back to his.
He kisses back with everything he's got.