Legalities of the Heart

[lightisbreaking]

Legalities of the Heart - Part Two

They say time flies when you’re having fun. Frank didn’t know whether you’d call what he was having fun exactly, but time seemed to be flying nonetheless. Frank was slowly beginning to work his way into the firm, figured out who he could mess around with, who to avoid, what wins first priority and what he could put off until later. And then there was the day that Way finally told Frank to shut up and call him Gerard. Frank was pretty sure that his heart exploded then.

He was left to his own devices most of the time. After a week or so, Adam’s watchful eye had relented, moving onto Ryan Ross, the new apprentice. Frank felt a little guilty, but he liked that he was older and more experienced than Ross. While Ross was running errands and filing papers, Frank was settling some pretty fucking tough cases, and while he tried to act mature about it, he couldn’t help that he was proud he wasn’t the bottom rung of the ladder.

‘Frank. Frank, quick.’

Frank looked up from the new stack of papers on his desk -- kindly delivered to him that morning -- to where Brendon from finance was standing in his doorway.

‘Yeah, what?’

Brendon was grinning, and from what Frank has come to know about Brendon, that could be dangerous. ‘Follow me. Quietly.’

Brendon ushered him out of the office and down the hall, coming to a stop outside Adam’s office. The door was closed, but Brendon merely leant up against it, ear pressed to the wood. Frank stared at him incredulously. ‘Brendon, what the fuck?’

Brendon hissed at him to shut up, and Frank shook his head in bewilderment. ‘What exactly are you listening in on?’ he whispered, and Brendon smirked.

‘Listen,’ he ordered, and Frank looked around guiltily before leaning in next to Brendon.

‘Just keep it under wraps, Ross. This place is full of more gossip queens than you’d expect.’

Brendon’s eyebrows raised, mouth opened all, who, me? and was just about to continue eavesdropping when a voice startled them from behind.

‘Anything juicy?’

Frank jumped a mile, head whipping around to see Gerard standing behind them, an amused smile tugging at his lips. Frank’s heart fluttered a little. Brendon didn’t seem fazed.

‘Adam’s telling the Ross kid to keep something on the DL,’ Brendon explained, and Frank thought that Brendon was just about the only adult ever to use teenage slang and get away with it. Granted Brendon was only barely an adult at twenty-one, but still.

‘Oh, the fling with Hayley?’ Gerard asked, and Frank turned back to him. He was again amazed at just how much Gerard seemed to know about his employees, even if he didn’t make it known.

‘What?’ Brendon gushed, but he didn’t get an answer.

‘All three of you are pathetic!’ Adam shouted at them from behind the door, and Frank frowned.

‘How did you know I was here? I didn’t even say anything!’

He heard Adam laugh, and even Gerard chuckled from behind him. ‘If Brendon’s there, you’re there,’ Adam explained carelessly, and Frank shrugged because okay, he couldn’t really argue with that. This was hardly the first time Brendon had come into his office to haul him out on a gossip hunt.

Frank’s days at the office consisted of much the same thing, but he was hardly complaining. He spent his lunch breaks with Jon and Brendon, who he had managed to pick up a lot of office politics and tips from. Luckily for Frank, despite the fact that he and Ross had started work on the same day, it was Ross who was seen as the new guy. The kid. Gerard appeared to get immense amusement out of watching Ross follow Adam around the place like a lost puppy. Adam retaliated by telling Hayley that Gerard had said she could have the day off. Without a secretary and personal assistant, Gerard was surprised at how unorganised he was, and vowed never to take her for granted again.

Frank was further surprised by just how often he caught himself staring at his boss. He knew it was inappropriate, unprofessional, and he almost started to hate Gerard for it. Obviously, it was Gerard’s fault that Frank couldn’t take his eyes off him; Gerard’s fault that Frank got to the office early most mornings in the hopes of having time to talk to him.

All spurred on by Jamia’s constant and somewhat immature encouraging, of course.

‘As fun as this is, back to work,’ Gerard said, and Brendon saluted him before hurrying down the hall to his office. Frank lingered, laughing at Brendon before Gerard nudged him in the shoulder.

‘Watch out for him. If he gets you on Adam’s hit list, you’re in trouble.’

‘Hit list?’ Frank echoed, and Gerard laughed.

‘His list of people to terrorize, basically. From what I’ve seen of it so far, it’s me, Brendon and Ryan, so watch yourself.’

Frank nodded, half hoping that Gerard would nudge him again, and then wanting to kick himself. Gerard stared at him a moment longer with eyes that shone with amusement and Frank had to look away for a second. He heard Gerard laugh, and when he looked back up again, Gerard was already heading down the hall, away from him.

‘Do not step another foot in this office if you’re bringing bad news,’ Gerard warned. Hayley stood in his doorway, and he could already tell by the look on her face that he wasn’t going to like what she was about to tell him.

‘You prefer to be left in the dark about your own firm?’

Gerard thought about this. Frustration versus ignorance. He could probably deal with that, he thought. With a groan, he rolled his eyes and beckoned for her to enter. ‘Just get it over with, please.’

Hayley sat down across from him, handing him two envelopes. Gerard eyed them cautiously. ‘Not more insults from Adam?’

She didn’t laugh. ‘Resignation letters actually.’

Gerard swore under his breath, tearing the envelopes and withdrawing the letters, waiting to see which of his employees were choosing to leave. His eyes scanned the words quickly before he threw them down onto the desk, staring at his secretary. Spencer Smith and Alex Suarez. Two of his best. Fuck.

‘This is the part where you tell me everything’s going to be fine,’ he said to Hayley pointedly.

Again, his attempt at humour did nothing to soften her stare. ‘We’re losing it. You know we are.’

Gerard sat forward in his chair. ‘Don’t tell me they’re going where I think they are.’

‘Bert.’

Gerard seethed.

‘He’s not the devil, Gerard. Calm down. You’ve just got to start thinking about what exactly you’re hoping to achieve here. Everyone can see it -- we’re going down. They watch you collapsing, and all of a sudden, their former boss seems like a great alternative. Bert isn’t stealing them, Gerard. They’re leaving of their own free will.’

‘I hate how right you are sometimes,’ Gerard said.

Hayley shrugged. ‘It comes with the job.’

‘Okay. So what do I do?’

Not bothering to reply, Hayley walked around to his side of the desk and pulled up his email account on his computer. ‘You talk to Schechter, and tell him you’d love to partner with him.’
Gerard watched her go before glancing back at the resignation papers in front of him and deciding that okay, yeah. She was right, and he needed to pull his head out of his ass.

From: Gerard Way < g_way@mccracken&way.com >
To: Brian Schechter < brian_s@gmail.com >
Subject: You win.

Brian,

I lost two of my best attorneys today. You win. I give up. I’d very much appreciate it if you could find some time to drop by, and we can talk about where to take things from here. Sorry for being such a stubborn ass.

-Gerard

Reluctantly, Gerard pressed send and hoped that he wasn’t making the biggest mistake of his life.

‘You did what?!’

Gerard suddenly remembered why he really hated it when Mikey Way was in his office. Mostly because he had a tendency to yell. And at that point in time, Gerard had a pretty painful fucking headache, thanks very much, and his brother wasn’t helping matters.

‘Inside voice, Mikes. Remember?’ he groaned, and Mikey rolled his eyes.

‘Ha ha, you’re a comical genius. Really.’

‘So I’m told. But seriously, don’t yell.’ Gerard winced for emphasis, and this time, Mikey shook his head. Gerard wondered if maybe Mikey was born for the sole purpose of performing belittling and patronising gestures. He probably was. His parents would be into that kind of thing, he thought. Spit out one kid, chuck in another to keep him in line. Stop him from getting a big head. If so, Mikey was doing a pretty good job of it.

‘Okay, fine. You did what?’ Mikey asked again, this time at a more reasonable volume that didn’t make Gerard’s ears want to explode.

‘I contacted Brian,’ he answered as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Which for most people, it probably was. But Gerard wasn’t most people, and Mikey wasn’t stupid.

‘No way. You, Gerard Way, stubborn Mr I Can Fix Everything, called Brian Schechter?’

‘Yes, Mikey.’

‘No but really, where are the cameras? Reality TV, right? You’re pulling my leg.’

Gerard was really, really quickly getting tired of Mikey The Smartass. He much preferred back when they were in high school, and he was the cool older brother with a car. He didn’t remember being treated like an idiot back in those days. Since when did Mikey grow up and learn to hang shit on him? That wasn’t fair.

‘Yes smartass, I called Brian. I admit the place needs help. And Brian knows how to give it better than I do.’

Mikey grinned. ‘Wait, hold that thought. I’m going to run home, grab my video camera, and we’re going to do this again. I want this on tape. Gerard Way, saying that someone else can do his job better than him. I never thought I’d see the day.’

And okay, Mikey was having way too much fun with this.

‘I think it’s time for you to get out of my office,’ Gerard said, standing up and opening the door for his brother. ‘You know the way out.’

Still with that shit-eating grin on his face, Mikey slipped out the door, and Gerard followed him. Even as they parted ways in the foyer, Gerard could hear him chatting up Alicia shamelessly. He wondered when she was going to stop playing hard to get and give in already.

‘Gerard!’

‘He’s not here!’ Gerard shouted back, ducking into the first office he found and slamming the door closed. Adam was the last person he wanted to deal with right now.

After leaning against the door for safety’s sake until he was sure Adam wasn’t going to kick it down, Gerard relaxed and looked up to see whose office he’d invaded.

‘Uh, Gerard?’

Gerard swore under his breath. ‘Hey, Frank. Sorry for uh, bursting in?’

Frank laughed, and Gerard couldn’t help but want to hear it over and over again. It really wasn’t fair that he had to hire a guy so pretty. Why did he do that to himself again? Oh, of course. That one was Adam’s fault too. When Gerard thought about it, everything seemed to tie back to Adam somehow. Conniving little--

‘Do you do this often? Barging into offices without an apparent explanation?’

Gerard noticed the way Frank appeared to be holding a grin behind his lips. That was nice, he thought. At least he wasn’t as obvious as Mikey in his Gerard’s-clearly-an-idiot thoughts.

‘Only on Fridays.’

‘It’s Wednesday, Gerard.’

And now Frank couldn’t hide the grin anymore. Smug fucker. There was a loud thump at the door, and Gerard supposed that Frank was about to get his come-uppance in the form of a broken door. Adam was persistent when he wanted to be.

‘Gerard this is important, I swear! Frank, stop helping him hide!’ Adam sounded indignant. Frank’s eyebrows raised, and he looked like he definitely didn’t want to be caught in the middle of this.

Gerard looked at Frank helplessly, but Frank just laughed. ‘I’m not saving you this time.’

With a melodramatic sigh, Gerard opened the door again and found himself face to face with Adam, who looked like he was preparing to ram the door again.

‘I just thought you might want to know, Ryan and Hayley are fucking in the mail room.’

Frank still wasn’t entirely used to the way things tended to happen around the firm, but at that moment, he was standing outside the mail room with Adam and Gerard.

‘Isn’t this a little...unprofessional?’ Frank dared to whisper.

Adam snorted. ‘I keep forgetting you haven’t been here long.’

Before he was given time to retort, Frank was interrupted.

‘What are you all doing?’ Brendon asked as he approached them, being tailed by Jon.

‘Shh! Ryan and Hayley are fucking in there,’ Adam hissed.

‘Ew, you pervs.’ Jon looked like he was torn between laughing and being disgusted. Amusement quickly won out.

‘This is the perfect opportunity to embarrass the shit out of him. You have no idea.’

In seconds, Jon and Brendon joined them hunched up against the door. One last loud moan was heard from inside, and Adam looked like he was about to die from holding in laughter. They could hear hurried shuffling from inside, followed by giggling and footsteps approaching the door. Adam took a step back, gesturing for the others to follow suit.

Frank waited, glancing beside him to where Gerard was pressed up against him - a rather nice positive to having five grown men squeezed into one small hallway.

‘Welcome to Adam’s brain,’ Gerard whispered, before the mail room door opened, and Adam started up an enthusiastic round of applause. Brendon and Jon were quick to follow suit, and Frank laughed, clapping his own hands along, seeing Gerard do the same.

Ryan and Hayley emerged, hair mussed and clothes in disarray, and the clapping grew louder.

‘Oh my god. Oh. My. God.’ Hayley turned bright red, and Frank was pretty sure her skin tone just about matched her hair colour. Ryan, on the other hand, seemed to do the opposite, his face draining of colour entirely.

‘M-Mr Way!’ he squeaked, and Gerard grinned at him.

‘Hey, at least someone around here’s getting laid, right?’ Gerard responded with a wink, and finally, Ryan blushed.

‘Bravo, children! Bravo!’ Adam hollered as the two slunk away, and Gerard turned back to them.

‘Alright. Back to work.’

Brian arrived at three that afternoon, and Gerard was nervous, to say the least. He wasn’t used to being taken care of, and he didn’t really have that many plans that involved starting now. Alicia called up to tell him that Brian had arrived, and Gerard immediately felt his stomach beginning to twist. He rearranged the items on his desk three times before there was a knock at the door, and he was forced to breathe, stand up, and answer it.

‘Brian, thanks for coming,’ he greeted him, holding his hand out. Brian looked at it, laughed, and enveloped Gerard in a hug, and all of a sudden, Gerard remembered why he loved Brian Schechter.

‘So, Gerard. Talk to me.’

Gerard sighed, sitting down behind his desk and offering Brian the seat across from him. ‘I need help,’ he admitted.

‘The first step is admitting it. Look, Gerard, I know what’s going on. I spoke to Bert last week.’

Gerard opened his mouth to protest, eyes narrowing. ‘You what?!’

‘No, listen to me. Pretend, for once, that you’re not the head of this firm, and listen to someone for once.’

Gerard closed his mouth. He couldn’t help but be offended at Brian’s wording, but maybe this was exactly what he needed. Maybe. He hoped it was. He certainly needed something.

‘He’s not holding any grudges over what happened, and he’s not blackmailing these people into leaving you. He’s not starting up any sort of We Hate Gerard Way campaign... So why are you? Let it go, Gerard.’

Gerard took a moment, forcing himself not to stand up and tell Brian to get the fuck out of his office. Breathing in deeply, Gerard nodded. ‘Okay. Okay.’

Brian cracked a grin, and the tension was gone. ‘So what are you going to do?’

Gerard frowned, leant forward, and looked pointedly at the man sitting in front of him. ‘Brian. Would you be interested in partnering?’

‘So how often does this happen?’ Frank asked Ray as they headed to the library adjacent to the firm. Despite being put in a separate building, it still belonged to the firm, and Gerard had asked them all to assemble for a staff meeting, determining it the only space large and quiet enough. Frank took up the opportunity to talk to Ray, who he hadn’t managed to have more than two conversations with in the whole time he’d been working there.

‘I’ve been working at this firm for ten years -- since before Gerard -- and this is only the second meeting I’ve heard of,’ Ray answered, and Frank figured that pretty much answered his question.

‘What was the first?’ he asked, if only to continue some form of conversation. If he was being honest, Frank really kind of wanted Ray to like him. Ray was stable, Ray had a place in the firm. Gerard liked Ray. Frank liked Gerard. It stood to reason that Ray should like Frank, right?

‘The first? When Bert left,’ Ray replied, and before Frank could ask who Bert was, Ray pushed open the door to the library, and he was cut off by Jon calling out.

‘Frank! Over here.’

Frank said a quick goodbye to Ray and sat down on the chair beside Jon. Brendon joined them shortly after, sitting on Frank’s other side, and Frank realised that Adam was right. Brendon, Jon and Frank appeared to come as a package deal. Brendon had just gotten talking about his earlier interrogation of a certain Ryan Ross when Gerard stood up in front of the now fully assembled crowd. He had organised tables and chairs, and Frank thought it looked rather like a professional conference, the way they were set up. He fiddled with his tie, feeling unusually formal all of a sudden.

‘Everyone, I have an announcement to make,’ Gerard started, and Frank couldn’t help but notice there was something off in Gerard’s voice. And then Frank knew that he had been studying Gerard way too closely lately. He knew how to read the guy’s voice?

‘As you know, since my partner left, this firm has been running under one hand -- mine. However, we’re quickly growing beyond one man’s capabilities, and therefore, I’d like to introduce you to the new partner of this firm, Brian Schechter.’

There was a small murmur, and the guy standing next to Gerard -- Brian -- waited for it to calm down before he smiled. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not here to uproot your system and make your lives a living hell, I promise. When Gerard offered me the position last week, I couldn’t have been happier to work in such a great firm.’

Brian smiled again, and Frank could tell it was genuine. Brian seemed like a nice enough guy, and Frank didn’t understand why Gerard still looked so down. Surely he should be over the moon? There’d been talk of Gerard losing the plot, of the firm going under. But now, with someone else in to help out, shouldn’t he have been, well, happier? Frank didn’t hear the rest of Brian’s speech; he was busy staring at Gerard.

Soon enough, Brendon was nudging him and telling him it was time to go, and Frank snapped out of it to see that everyone else was heading for the exit. Gerard hadn’t moved, and so neither did Frank.

‘I’ll catch up,’ Frank told him, and Brendon shrugged, following Jon out the door.

It didn’t take long before the place emptied, Brian the last to leave after patting Gerard on the shoulder and thanking him once again. Then, it was just Frank and Gerard, and holy shit, Frank was alone with the subject of his daydreams. And well, night ones sometimes too, maybe. Whatever. Sooner or later, Frank was going to have to come to the realisation that he was, in fact, becoming quickly infatuated with Gerard as each day passed.

Gerard had his head in his hands, and Frank realised that he didn’t know he wasn’t alone. Frank felt a little awkward, to say the least, and it took him at least three minutes to work up the courage to clear his throat a little. Gerard’s head snapped up, eyes wide.

‘Frank!’

Gerard shot out of his chair, and Frank extracted himself from his a little clumsily, facing his boss. ‘Uh, hi.’

‘You...you do realise that the meeting’s over?’ Gerard teased, regaining his composure and obviously trying to play off like he wasn’t just having a mental crisis.

‘Are you okay?’ Frank asked, and Gerard forced a laugh.

‘Okay? I’m great, really. Brian. Brian’s great.’

Frank frowned. ‘You don’t seem that great.’

Gerard didn’t reply, and Frank realised that he was probably overstepping the employee line. ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t. It’s none of my business, really.’

But Gerard was still staring at him with that look in his eyes, and while Frank couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, it made it impossible for him to move his feet. He had never been looked at like that in his life, and he wasn’t sure he liked it. It made him feel vulnerable, awkward, and even though he tried to avert his eyes, he didn’t seem to be able to avoid Gerard.

‘You uh. You’re kind of observant, aren’t you, Frank?’

Frank wanted to say that he wasn’t normally, he just spent a ridiculous amount of his time staring at him, but he guessed that would probably get him fired rather quickly and Frank kind of liked his job. He also kind of liked Gerard, but that was beside the point.

‘I guess,’ he tried instead.

Gerard laughed, and even that seemed tired, drained. Unconsciously, Frank took a small step forward, eyebrows furrowed. ‘If you need anything, you know, just.’ Was it inappropriate to tell Gerard that they could talk? That he could call him if he needed him? It probably was. ‘Never mind. I’ll just...’

‘Thank you, Frank. Really,’ Gerard said, and when he smiled, it looked like he meant it.

Then it was Gerard who stepped forward, and Frank realised that with one more shuffle forward, he would probably be close enough to lean in and kiss him. But he wasn’t going to do that because he was a good, respectable employee who wouldn’t dare sexually assault his boss. Right. That. Never mind the fact that he had already done so repeatedly in the safety of his dreams.

His body betrayed him, however. Luckily, not to the extent that it could have. Frank’s hand reached out, an entity acting on its own free will, and brushed Gerard’s own just barely, a small gesture of comfort that really shouldn’t have come from Frank. Gerard only smiled wider though, so maybe Frank didn’t really regret it entirely.

Especially when Frank went to pull his hand back and Gerard responded by grabbing it back. Frank’s eyes widened, and Gerard leaned in closer.

‘Thank you,’ he whispered again, this time practically right into Frank’s ear, and Frank thought that if he died right now, at least he’d die happy.

Was this flirting? Was Gerard flirting with him? Should Frank be doing it back? Frank had been out of this game for months, years. The last relationship he’d had was at least four years ago, a rushed whirlwind romance with a guy who turned out to be one of those “I’m not really into commitment” types. Frank couldn’t remember how this was supposed to work.

He settled for squeezing Gerard’s hand in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture, and letting go. He pretended not to notice the way Gerard’s face fell maybe just a little. Frank was a responsible, respectable employee and...and who was he trying to bullshit, really.

‘So I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?’ Frank threw out there helplessly.

Gerard grinned. ‘It’s Friday, Frank.’

Oh yeah. Tomorrow was the beginning of the weekend. That time where Frank went home and watched reruns of Friends with Jamia and wished that Gerard was there, too. Frank needed a life.

‘Oh. Yeah, right, okay. Monday, then.’

‘That you will.’ Gerard nodded, and this was the part where Frank was supposed to leave, but he couldn’t really bring himself to. Gerard was standing there, seemingly waiting for something, and it would be easy, so easy, to lean forward, kiss him, and then run out the door like nobody’s business. He wouldn’t have to see Gerard until Monday, and hopefully, some of the awkwardness would have died off by then. If all else failed, Frank could just pretend he tripped, and his lips just happened to land on Gerard’s. No big deal. Frank wondered if he’d even be able to lie that convincingly to someone who was both deaf and blind. He doubted it. Gerard, as far as he knew, had twenty-twenty vision and fine hearing. No chance.

‘I guess I’ll just.’ Frank was embarrassing himself. It was time to go. Finally, he managed to force his feet to move, and as he shut the door behind him, he thought he heard Gerard giggle.

On his way to work most mornings, Frank had a little prayer he liked to say. Mostly, it involved hoping to fucking god that Gerard wasn’t wearing anything overly attractive that day. Frank had a hard enough time of it ignoring Gerard on a normal day. Usually, Gerard just wore his suit and tie, and that was okay with Frank. Every now and then though, he rushed into work wearing that leather jacket that Frank thought was really, really hot, and those days, Frank couldn’t keep his eyes off him. Life was unfair.

Frank walked into the building on Monday and felt his stomach already doing knots. Gerard had apparently gotten to work as early as Frank, and they were both there even before Alicia. As such, Gerard was currently bent over the reception desk, obviously trying to reach something that was apparently just a little out of reach. Gerard had also, for some reason or other, decided to wear jeans to work instead of his suit pants. Black jeans. Tight. Black jeans. And oh god, he was wearing that fucking jacket again and seriously, couldn’t he just be normal and wear his fucking suit?

‘Gerard?’ Frank questioned, figuring it was impolite to just stand there and stare. It was sort of disappointing when Gerard was startled and turned around, because he had a great ass, and well, Frank was kind of enjoying the view.

‘Oh! Hi, Frank. I’m just on my way out. It’s my day off today. Well, half day. Brian’s ordering me out for a “much needed break” he called it.’ Gerard gestured to his outfit, and Frank decided that he must be explaining his attire.

‘I see. So uh. Why are you diving headfirst behind the reception desk?’ Frank tried really hard not to laugh. He did.

‘You’ve been hanging around Adam far too long,’ Gerard mused, and Frank raised his eyebrows.

‘Excuse me?’

‘You’re laughing at me. Adam is a bad influence.’

Frank laughed outright that time and Gerard seemed to appreciate it, despite his words.

‘You didn’t answer my question,’ Frank pointed out.

Gerard blushed. ‘The phone rang, and as I went to answer it I dropped my cell down under the desk, and well, yeah. Basically, I’m an idiot.’

‘Why don’t you go around the desk?’ Frank asked.

Gerard paused, and it was obvious he hadn’t even considered that before. He laughed again, and in seconds, he had gone around the desk, retrieved his cell, and was beaming at Frank. ‘I knew I kept you around for a reason.’

‘Gotta be useful for something, right?’ Frank grinned, and Gerard thanked him again before rushing out the door. Frank was again offered a beautiful view of Gerard’s ass as a further reward. Those pants really were incredibly tight. Frank found himself flushing as he thought about pulling those pants off Gerard, tugging them down thighs and-- Okay, Frank. Stop.

Frank was getting turned on, in the middle of the office foyer, over Gerard’s pants. This had to stop. And oh god, he had a fucking hard on to top it all off. Wonderful.

Frank hurried to his office, dumped his keys, his cell and his laptop on his desk and kept moving, straight back out the door and down to the bathroom. Apparently, it was a good thing he had gotten to work early when only a few people were around, all intently hurrying to finish up whatever job they had left too late.

‘Fucking Gerard. Wearing those stupid fucking jeans. Fuck.’ Frank continued to mutter to himself as he pushed the bathroom door open, simultaneously unzipping his pants and relieving some of the pressure. Quickly, he backed himself into the corner, keeping a watchful eye on the door, and shoved his hand down his pants.

‘Ugh, Gerard. Motherfucker,’ he groaned, and just as his hand started to move, one of the cubicle doors opened, and Frank was caught with his hand down his pants.

‘Oh my fucking god.’

Frank wrenched his hand out so fast even he was impressed, and looked up to see Mikey Way staring at him, apparently holding off his laughter.

‘Were you just jerking off? Thinking about my brother?’

Definitely caught red-handed.

‘I uh. No?’

And then Mikey did laugh. ‘Oh my god, you were. Frank Iero has the hots for my brother. Scandalous.’

Frank rolled his eyes, feeling his cheeks burning as he zipped his pants up carefully.

‘Whatever, Mikey. Shut up.’

‘Oh no. You are never hearing the end of this,’ Mikey crowed, and Frank was beginning to wish he’d never been born. Or at least, that Gerard hadn’t worn those jeans.

‘I hate you.’

‘This is gold. Seriously, dude. You asked him out yet? Obviously not, seeing as you’re jerking off to him in bathrooms.’

Frank was beginning to think that Mikey would never shut up. Ever. ‘What are you even doing here?’

‘I wrote my car off the other day so Gerard offered to drive me to work today. He had to stop off here and pick up a file or something, and I needed to pee before we left. In fact, you’re lucky that he’s waiting for me right now. Otherwise, I’d probably sit here and hang shit on you all day.’

‘Yeah, thanks Mikey. You’re a saint. Say a word to Gerard and I slaughter you.’

Mikey laughed, but at least he seemed genuine when he promised he wouldn’t say a word. ‘Your secret’s safe with me.’ He winked as he left the bathroom, and Frank, really not in the mood to jerk off anymore, stormed back to his office.

After that, the day progressed rather normally. Frank had managed to reduce the usual pile of papers on his desk down to a manageable level, and he was trying really hard to forget that morning’s events. Every now and then, he cursed Mikey fucking Way to Hell, but other than that, he had totally forgotten. Totally.

Adam appeared in his doorway as he was checking his email account for the last time before he went home, and Frank looked up in confusion. ‘Can I help you?’

Adam only usually visited Frank in the pursuit of amusement. Frank eyed him warily. Adam was definitely the kind of person Frank trusted as far as he could throw him, and Frank wasn’t a big guy. He doubted he could even pick Adam up, let alone throw him.

‘Ross wanted me to inform you, as well as Brendon and Jon, that he doesn’t intend to make a mistake like that again, so he would appreciate it if Brendon would stop stalking him, blah blah blah. I wasn’t really listening.’ Adam shrugged, a grin on his lips.

‘I didn’t know Brendon was stalking him,’ Frank said, mildly interested.

‘He’s been following him to see whether he’s been sneaking off to see Hayley. You know how Urie is.’

Frank did.

Frank looked back down at the screen, noticing that he had three new emails. Two from Brendon, one from Mikey. He opened Brendon’s first, deeming them to be the safest. One included one of those office joke chain letters that Brendon was so fond of forwarding on, and the other, information for the case Frank was working on. He liked it when Brendon did him favours. Frank was a little more wary of opening the one from Mikey, and cautiously, he glanced at the subject line. Gregory Porter Case. Frank looked up with a frown.

‘Who’s Gregory Porter? New case?’ Frank wondered, and Adam came around to Frank’s side of the desk to see.

‘I dunno. Open it. Gerard might have gotten Mikey to send it out. He does, sometimes.’

Frank hadn’t ever seen Gerard ask Mikey to forward an email, but he decided to take Adam’s word for it, and clicked open. The page took a minute to load, but when it did, Frank was pretty sure his eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.

‘What the fuck?!’ he yelled, staring at the screen as a picture appeared, taking up the full length of the screen.

‘Oh my god,’ Adam snorted from behind him.

Gerard was staring back at him, spread out on a couch with only a pair of boxers on, just barely clinging to his hips. He was stretching, and looked like he had only just woken up. As Frank stared at it, he figured that it must have been taken a couple of years ago, and there was a sparkle in Gerard’s eyes that had since disappeared. Frank’s mouth went dry.

He needed to kill Mikey later.

Adam was still laughing, and then all of a sudden, Frank’s office door was opening again and Gerard himself was poking his head in. ‘I heard yelling. Everyone okay?’

Frank jumped in his chair, eyes wide and heart racing as he scrambled for the mouse, hurrying to exit the screen as if Gerard could see it from the other side of the room.

‘Gerard! Y-You’re back, then?’ Frank stammered, and he could just tell that he was bright red.

‘Yeah, just came back to pick up some work before I go home. Are you okay?’

Frank could still hear Adam behind him, laughing so hard it appeared he was struggling to breathe, and Frank didn’t even know if he was laughing at the email or Frank’s reaction. Knowing Adam, it was a bit of both. Frank really needed to kill Mikey.

‘Yeah. Yeah, everything’s fine,’ Frank assured him, forcing a smile and reaching back to elbow Adam in the ribs. Gerard frowned, but shrugged and nodded, slipping back into the hall.

‘Oh my god, what was that?’ Adam managed to gasp out through tears of laughter, and Frank glared at him, crossing his arms and shooing Adam out of his office.

‘I have no idea,’ he lied. Frank had always been a pretty fucking terrible liar.

Frank sat in front of his computer, nose scrunched up.

‘Night Frank!’ Jamia called out as she headed to bed, and Frank yelled back at her, his eyes not moving from his computer. With a groan, he clicked on his inbox and pulled up Mikey’s email. He couldn’t believe he was actually doing this. Fucking Mikey. What an asshole, seriously. Frank was going to slit his throat the next time he even stepped foot inside the firm. Really.

The picture appeared in front of him again, and this time, Frank guiltily let his eyes roam over the soft expanse of pale skin, the dishevelled hair, the lazy smile. Someone must have snapped a photo as he woke up, Frank guessed. Maybe even Mikey, with the intent of future blackmailing. Frank wouldn’t be surprised. As his eyes traced the picture, he found himself looking lower and lower until -- oh. Apparently, Gerard had a morning hard on.

Frank was only human. Quickly, he printed out the picture, again cursing Mikey. There was no way he was actually doing this. Frank was pretty sure this was the lowest of the low. You weren’t supposed to stare at your boss so often the way Frank did, and you certainly weren’t supposed to jerk off to pictures of him.

Frank unzipped his pants. Oh god, he was going to Hell.

Fucking Mikey. Fucking Gerard.

Frank had always been a quick learner. Therefore, it didn’t take him long to realise that when paired together, Adam Lazzara and Mikey Way were a force to be reckoned with. Or just really annoying. One of the two.

Either way, Frank really didn’t appreciate coming to work and finding his office full of "Frankie Loves Gerard" posters and post-it notes covering every available surface. Frank had paused in the doorway, seeing the first tacked to the opposite wall, and swore loudly. Because unbidden, Frank’s heart had leapt a little at the sight, and Frank sort of hated that. It was normal, expected really, for him to like looking at Gerard. Frank was gay; Gerard was hot. It was reasonable, at least. But, actually liking him? That was when Frank decided this was going a little too far, but he couldn’t help it. Gerard made him want to smile, Gerard made him want to feel good about everything, and Gerard made him want to fall in love. Which wasn’t fair. Frank wasn’t supposed to fall for his boss.

‘Hey Frank, I- What’s this?’ Jon asked as he looked over Frank’s shoulder into the office, spotting the many printouts and messily written notes littering the room.

‘Mikey and Adam,’ Frank explained dryly, and Jon laughed.

‘Okay, yeah. But “Frankie Loves Gerard”? You been holding out on me, Frank?’ Jon was grinning, and Frank didn’t like it.

‘I’ll see you at lunch, Jon,’ he said firmly, and all but pushed Jon out of the room before proceeding to tear down every last one of the posters.

When Frank was on his way out to lunch, he spotted Mikey in the foyer, hanging around the reception desk. Mikey smirked at him, a knowing look in his eyes that screamed he knew exactly what Frank had done last night. Frank flipped him the finger on his way out.

He sat at the coffee shop across the road and sighed, massaging his temple with his forefingers. Mikey and Adam were the most unsubtle people Frank had ever met. This was going to get out of hand fast, he could tell.

‘Hey Frank,’ Gerard’s voice pierced his ears, and Frank looked up to see Gerard standing beside the table. ‘Mind if I join you?’

Frank kind of did, actually. He didn’t know whether he could be trusted to sit in a cosy little coffee shop with the object of his affections, but he also figured he didn’t really have a choice. So, he nodded. Gerard smiled at him and sat down, and Frank forced one back at him.

‘You look a little on edge,’ Gerard remarked, and Frank thought this was his payback for staying behind at the meeting last time.

‘Oh, I’m fine,’ Frank said, and Gerard shrugged.

‘Whatever you say. Listen, I need to talk to you when we get back, okay?’

Frank wished the ground would swallow him. Gerard had heard something, surely. Seen the goddamn posters, knowing Frank’s luck. And now he wanted to talk. Frank really wasn’t having a good day.

‘Uh, yeah sure.’ Frank hid behind his coffee.

Gerard had lunch with him and waited until Frank was ready to go before following him out the door. Frank had been hoping Gerard would leave either earlier or later, so that he could fuck off and hide somewhere and avoid Gerard until tomorrow. Instead, Gerard walked beside him, chattering along while Frank nodded his head and pretended to listen.

When they reached the building, Gerard held the door open for him, and Frank groaned inwardly. He was a gentleman too. Great. As soon as they were passing the foyer, Frank tried to hightail it back to his office, but Gerard caught him with a hand on his elbow. Frank shivered.

‘My office, remember?’ Gerard reminded him warmly, and Frank forced a smile and followed him.

The door closed behind them and Frank sat down in the chair a little numbly. It didn’t help that Gerard was acting so nice and normal, like he didn’t know exactly what was going on. Frank wanted to punch him in the face. But not really because that would probably hurt, and Gerard’s face was far too pretty to be punched. Frank caught himself staring, and immediately focused his attention on his fingers. They weren’t as interesting as he had hoped.

‘So I just wanted to say thank you, actually,’ Gerard started, and Frank looked up in surprise. This wasn’t exactly what he had been expecting.

‘I’m sorry, what?’

‘For the other day. At the meeting and all. I, uh. I was feeling a little nervous, and I just wanted to thank you again for, well, noticing. Brian’s, uh, Brian’s been great the past few days. And I’m glad that he’s on board, really. So, thank you, for making me see that.’

Frank wasn’t entirely sure that what he had done was remarkable, but he was willing to go along with it if it meant Gerard wasn’t planning on yelling at him. So far, so good.

‘Oh. That’s uh, you’re welcome?’ Frank hated the way he seemed to turn into a blundering idiot whenever Gerard was around.

Gerard smiled at him. There was silence, and Frank shifted a little awkwardly in his seat, wondering if he was supposed to say something more. He could hear Jamia’s voice in his head telling him to ask Gerard out already, or kiss him, or do something.

‘I guess I should get back to work then,’ Frank offered lamely, and Gerard seemed to snap out of whatever trance he had been in. He stood up abruptly and nodded, coming around to Frank’s side of the desk.

‘Yeah, okay, yeah. So, thanks again, and uh. I’ll see you around.’ And then Gerard shook his hand like this was some sort of business meeting, and Frank didn’t know whether to laugh or die.

But Gerard’s skin was on his, and it was driving him sort of crazy. Jamia was screaming in his ear, and Frank was beginning to feel a little dizzy with Gerard in such close proximity.

‘I’m uh,’ he stammered, noticing that Gerard didn’t seem to be letting go of his hand anytime soon, despite the fact that they had long since stopped shaking.

Frank remembered the way Gerard had leant in close that day, whispered in his ear. He remembered the way Gerard had been pressed up against him in the hall when they spied on Ryan and Hayley. The way he seemed to find a lot of ways to touch Frank unconsciously, small brushes against his skin that left Frank tingling. The winking, the small smiles, the locking of eyes. Frank couldn’t help himself. Before he could register exactly what he had done, his lips were on Gerard’s, and there was no turning back.

Gerard’s eyes widened and Frank realised with a jolt that he was standing in Gerard’s office kissing him, and worst of all... Gerard wasn’t moving. As quick as he had come, Frank backed off and fumbled backwards for the door, eyes wide and terror-stricken. What the fuck had he done?

‘Shit. I’m sorry. I’ll go,’ he rushed, tripping over his own feet in his desperation to get to the door.

And Gerard, he stood there and stared, and didn’t say a word. Frank’s heart broke maybe just a little.

Gerard had gone over the scenario in his head at least ten times, and he still couldn’t really figure it out. Frank had kissed him. Frank Iero, divorce attorney and hot piece of ass, had kissed him. Him. Gerard Way. It still didn’t make any sense. And then, Gerard allowed himself to reflect on the way he had stood stock still, eyes wide and lips frozen, and the way Frank had run out so quickly Gerard hadn’t had time to stop him. Shock was a bitch, and right now, Gerard was wishing he could go back and have another shot at that moment. It wasn’t fair that when Frank finally kissed him, all Gerard could do was stare at him. How many times had Gerard wished he would do just that? How many times had he fantasized about Frank fucking him on that very desk?

Oh, he had blown it. That was for sure.

‘Gerard?’ Hayley was knocking at his door, and Gerard called her in, rubbing at his bottom lip absently.

Before Hayley could speak again, Gerard had cut her off. ‘Hayley, say a guy you’ve liked for a while kissed you. And you were so surprised that you just sort of...stood there. And say he got the wrong idea and ran out. What would you do?’

Hayley hid her grin badly, and sat down. ‘Frank kissed you?’

‘What? No, I. It’s a hypothetical,’ Gerard argued, but he was already blushing.

‘I’m not stupid. Everyone knows. I’m pretty sure that Mikey has been placing bets since the day you met. You’re not as mysterious as you think you are. But Frank kissed you?’ She seemed genuinely surprised at the last bit, and Gerard frowned.

‘If you’ve been waiting for this since the day he started here, how come you’re so surprised?’

She shrugged. ‘We expected you to make the first move. Frank seems like a bit of a pussy, when it comes to you.’

Gerard shook his head. None of this mattered anymore anyway. Frank had kissed him, and he had stood there like a fucking idiot. ‘What do I do?’

‘You find him and tell him how you feel,’ Hayley answered.

Gerard stared at her. ‘That’s stupid.’

She rolled her eyes and stood up. ‘Whatever, Gerard. It’s your call.’ She started to back out of the room, and Gerard chewed his lip.

‘Isn’t it inappropriate to date employees?’ he called after her, and he heard her laugh.

‘You didn’t care about Ryan and I!’ she shouted back, and oh yeah, he had forgotten about that. He could hardly use that excuse as a cover then.

Mikey didn’t regret things. Regret is a useless emotion, and he figured that if he thought it was a good idea at the time, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t think so later. This theory of course, applied easily to certain things he might have done to Frank’s office. What Frank didn’t know, and what Mikey wasn’t planning on telling him, was that he also sent an email out to everyone on staff. Harsh perhaps, but it wasn’t like they didn’t all know Gerard was head over heels. It was only fair that they saw that Frank returned the feelings, right? Either way, Mikey supposed it would give both of them a kick up the ass, and maybe force them both to get over themselves already. Mikey didn’t work there, and even he was sick of watching the two eye each other off and never make a move.

‘Frank kissed me,’ Gerard admitted that night when they were out to dinner, and Mikey laughed.

‘So? Why are you taking me out to dinner then?’ Mikey never really would understand his brother’s logic.

Gerard shifted a little in his seat, his cheeks reddening. ‘I didn’t kiss back.’

And Mikey groaned, because seriously, could Gerard get any more pathetic? ‘You mean you stood there and broke the poor kid’s heart, when I know damn well you’ve been following him around like a lovesick puppy for how long?’

Gerard shrugged. ‘I guess that’s about right, yeah.’

Mikey took a huge forkful of pasta and stuffed it into his mouth so that he wouldn’t yell. Gerard really could be an idiot sometimes. After careful chewing and swallowing, Mikey had enough time to calm down marginally, and settled for glaring at his brother across the table.

‘You’re an ass. Frank’s probably crying himself to sleep right now.’

‘I think that’s a bit of an overstatement.’

‘You’d be surprised,’ Mikey said, and Gerard wondered just how much investigating Mikey had been doing around his firm. Really, Mikey needed to get his own life.

‘Brian’s great,’ Gerard said uselessly, a terrible attempt at changing the subject. Mikey wasn’t stupid.

‘Frank’s pretty great too, in case you hadn’t noticed.’

Gerard’s eyes darkened. ‘I noticed.’

‘So why the fuck wouldn’t you kiss back?’

Gerard sighed, and Mikey realised how much this was actually eating at him. ‘I was in shock I guess. I don’t know.’

Rolling his eyes, Mikey set his fork down and leant in, staring at Gerard intently. ‘So then, fix it.’

And Gerard couldn’t really argue with that. Instead, he stabbed his fork into his pasta vengefully and swore that tomorrow, he would talk to Frank.

Gerard was working late again. Frank felt a little awkward doing this when Gerard was still in the building, but in a way, he supposed it was better that way. Really, he’d been more hoping that he could slip out, give the message to Adam and then run without ever having to face Gerard, but that was probably immature and the worst thing to do. Still, Frank had never really prided himself on being sensible.

He had just packed the last of his belongings into a box when Adam appeared in the doorway. ‘What are you doing?’ he asked suspiciously, and Frank had the decency to redden.

‘I’m uh. Packing up my things,’ he replied, hoisting the box up under his arm and letting it sit on his hip, holding it steady with his free hand. Casually, Frank flicked a strand of hair out of his eyes and hoped that he wasn’t about to get the third degree.

‘Why? If you’re planning on quitting, you do realise I’m going to kick your ass.’ Adam was blocking the doorway, arms crossed across his chest, and Frank would have thought it was ridiculous if he didn’t know that Adam was dead serious.

‘I’m uh. I kissed Gerard the other day,’ Frank sighed, and Adam laughed. Not the reaction he was expecting, but okay.

‘You kissed him, and now you’re leaving? Sorry, but this doesn’t compute.’

Frank had thought it was pretty fucking obvious himself, but maybe Adam needed a helping hand. ‘He didn’t kiss back.’

Adam made an ‘oh’ sound of sympathy, something that Frank didn’t know Adam was capable of.

‘But he likes you. Really likes you, in fact,’ Adam insisted, his brow furrowed in confusion.

Frank snorted. ‘Apparently not.’

‘No seriously, just-’ he was cut off by the sound of Frank’s pager beeping.

Setting the box back down on the desk, Frank fumbled until he reached it, and groaned when he saw that it was Gerard. ‘What is it?’ Adam asked, and Frank was a little wary of how normal he was being.

‘Gerard,’ Frank sighed, and Adam grinned.

‘Go see what he wants, and then come back here and let me kick the shit out of you if you’re still even considering leaving.’

Again, he looked like he meant it, and strangely enough, Frank felt a little touched that Adam cared enough about him staying. He nodded, however reluctantly, and clipped the pager back to his hip. With a shrug, he pushed past Adam and headed to Gerard’s office. The rest of the building was dead, most of the lights turned off by now, and Frank felt a little awkward walking around in the dark. It was getting late, and he, Adam and Gerard were probably the only ones left in the building now.

He came to a stop outside Gerard’s office and raised his fist, pausing just before he knocked. Oh god. What was he supposed to say? “Sorry Gerard, I’m leaving because you don’t like me back”? It all still seemed a little immature, and Frank was beginning to think that Adam was right. Still, he didn’t think he could handle working in the same firm and seeing Gerard every day without being able to touch him. Things would be awkward and on edge, and it was surely only a matter of time before Gerard asked him to leave anyway. In fact, Frank wondered whether that was why he was being called into his office. It probably was, now that he thought about it. Why else would Gerard wait until everybody had gone home? He obviously waited so that it wouldn’t cause a scene. Frank would leave during the night, and when he didn’t come back to work, Gerard could just explain it however he saw fit.

Frank knocked.

Gerard called out to tell him to come in, and Frank took a deep breath before opening the door. Gerard was sitting behind his desk, head down and scribbling something out, much like the first time Frank had come in for an interview. How ironic. Tentatively, Frank stepped into the office and coughed a little to let Gerard know he was there. As expected, Gerard looked up and for once, he didn’t smile. Frank felt his heartbeat speeding up.

‘Frank, sit down,’ Gerard said, and Frank did so. He tucked his hands into his lap and kept his head down, waiting patiently for Gerard to say something. ‘I wanted to apologise,’ Gerard said finally, and Frank stiffened.

‘Apologise for what, sir?’ he asked, and he didn’t miss the way Gerard frowned at the title.

‘Please, Frank. It’s Gerard.’

Frank nodded, refusing to meet Gerard’s eye. He heard Gerard sigh heavily, and he concentrated on tracing intricate patterns on his thigh to keep himself distracted. If he looked at Gerard, he was sure to say something stupid, or kiss him again, and Frank really didn’t want to go out like an idiot. He was going to do this sensibly and professionally even if it killed him.

‘Would you look at me?’ Gerard said suddenly, and his voice sounded so pained that Frank was forced to look up. Gerard was staring at him, and there was nothing professional about the way he was looking. Frank had to hold himself in check.

‘I--’

‘Don’t say anything.’

Frank closed his mouth.

‘I want to apologise for the other day. You caught me by surprise and I, well.’ Gerard paused, and he looked away.

‘Gerard, it’s fine. Really. I don’t know what came over me. I’m the one who should be apologising.’

Suddenly, Gerard was on his feet, and Frank looked up, surprised. Gerard glared down at him, storming around the desk and leaning forward, hands firm on Frank’s shoulders.

‘No! You don’t get it, Frank. I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting it, and I wasn’t ready. And I really, really should have kissed back,’ he said, his voice becoming softer until he was practically whispering.

Frank sat, stunned. ‘I, I, what?’

Gerard didn’t answer. He pulled Frank to his feet and kissed him, so hard Frank was sure his lips were going to bruise, but that hardly mattered. Gerard was kissing him, and Frank was on cloud fucking nine. He felt Gerard’s tongue flicking its way into his mouth, and holy shit this was actually happening.

‘I’m sorry for being a dick,’ Gerard muttered against the side of his mouth, but Frank shook his head, his hand curling around Gerard’s neck to bring him closer and kiss him harder.

Eyes closed, Frank felt Gerard’s hands tracing down to his ass, pulling him in firm and then lifting him. Obligingly, Frank wrapped his legs around Gerard’s hips, and allowed Gerard to set him back down on his desk. Frank couldn’t help but get increasingly turned on by the fact that they were doing this in Gerard’s office. Paper scattered onto the floor as Frank shifted, tugging Gerard in again with the heels of his feet. He moaned as Gerard’s lips found their way to his jaw, his neck, and Gerard bit down, harder than Frank had been expecting.

‘Oh my god,’ he breathed out as Gerard rocked up into him, and yeah okay, that was Gerard’s cock, and yeah. ‘Do that again.’

Gerard looked up at him, grinning wickedly and did just that, shifting Frank so that they lined up perfectly and rocked again. Frank was pretty sure he had never felt anything so amazing in his life.

‘Fuck, Frank. Shit,’ Gerard groaned, burying his face in Frank’s neck as he moved harder, faster, and Frank thought he was starting to get a little bit delirious. And who could blame him, really. He was sitting on Gerard’s desk, Gerard’s hips and lips, and tongue, and just, God.

Frank’s breathing hitched, and he tried to push his hips up harder, feeling himself teetering on the brink and trying desperately to push over. Gerard matched him, and with one last harsh bite down on his neck, Frank was there, fingers twisting in Gerard’s hair, his other hand digging into his hip. Gerard followed with a short gasp and a list of choice curses, and Frank helped him through it, kissing him as he came down.

‘Gerard,’ Frank said, a simple reassurance that Gerard was there, and that had really happened.

‘Yeah. God, Frank,’ Gerard answered, and that was enough for him.

Gerard was just about to leave for lunch when Ray dumped two more files on his desk. Gerard groaned, hitting his head on the back of his chair and swearing. He had wanted to take Frank out for lunch while he was still able to get away.

‘Hey Gerard, you got a minute?’ Brian asked from his doorway, and Gerard looked up helplessly.

‘I was going to go to lunch, but I guess not anymore, so, yeah.’

Brian laughed, and shook his head. ‘Hey, Gerard. Remember the whole, making me your partner so that you weren’t a workaholic deal? Yeah. That one. Go on your lunch break. I’ll take care of it.’

Gerard stared at him for a moment, eyes shining. ‘I love you, Brian.’

‘Get out of this office. Now,’ Brian ordered, and Gerard was happy to obey.

In seconds he had grabbed his coat, keys and pager and was out, flying down the hall to Frank’s office. When he burst inside, Adam and Frank were in a heated discussion about something to do with Ryan Ross and his fashion habits. Gerard figured it was safer not to ask.

‘Frank, come to lunch with me. Quick, before someone tries to drag me back into the office,’ Gerard rushed, and Frank looked up with a grin.

‘Okay, give me a second,’ he answered, clicking a few things on his laptop and standing up.

‘For Christ’s sake, Frank. Get him out of here for as long as possible.’ Adam winked at him, and Frank nodded.

Gerard grabbed Frank’s elbow and, not caring that Adam was in the room, pulled him in for a light kiss. ‘Thank you,’ he whispered against his lips, and Frank nodded.

‘No problem.’

They bumped into Mikey on the way out of the building, and Mikey grinned. ‘Lunch?’ he questioned, and Gerard nodded, hoping Mikey didn’t ask to join them. He didn’t, instead winking at Frank and letting them past. As soon as they were out of earshot, Gerard laughed.

‘Oh my god. That’s it, isn’t it? This is the whole reason the bastard wanted me to hire you in the first place,’ Gerard suddenly burst out, and Frank pretended to look innocent.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘You, Frank. You come before work. Always,’ Gerard assured him, and Frank grinned. Their hands fit together perfectly and Frank was just glad that he finally got to hear Gerard laugh for real.