Mikey left early in the morning not long after Gerard finally fell asleep. He was reluctant to leave, he knew Gerard was in pain and scared and didn't want to leave him that way, but Frank promised him that Gerard would be safe and that he would take care of him. Mikey didn't doubt that Frank treated his brother like royalty because even though at work he was this stone-cold boss, he had seen the way he was around Gerard when it was just the two of them.

Frank didn't sleep; he just listened to Gerard breathe and brushed his hands through his hair and down his spine, making sure that Gerard knew Frank was still there even if he was asleep. Frank made sure to keep his injured cheek from touching anything, keeping Gerard's head on his lap facing outward so that the cheek couldn't accidentally touch anything. They stayed on the sofa; Frank couldn't bring himself to wake Gerard and take him to their room, so he kept his head in his lap with the blanket covering Gerard. He wasn't sure if the main living room had been cleaned up yet and wasn't about to go and look.

Gerard woke with a jolt, he'd only managed to have a few hours of sleep, but it was better than nothing. He whined as he tried to sit up and Frank helped him, softly taking his arms and pushing him against the back of the sofa. The room was dark, but Frank could see Gerard's face. It was a lot worse than yesterday, his eye and jaw sporting dark bruises and his cheek was was a darker red, meaning it was starting to heal.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Frank asked. Gerard looked sad, and Frank could understand, but he hated seeing him like this. Gerard opened his mouth slightly to speak but closed it again as soon as he opened it, making a distressed face. "Does your jaw hurt?"

"A little," Gerard spoke, looking uncomfortable as he did. "Only if I open my mouth too far."

"Keep your mouth closed, tesoro*. You need to eat something though, is yoghurt okay? Do you want some Tylenol?"

*'sweetheart.'

Gerard nodded, eyes sad. Frank didn't want to move, and he could tell that Gerard didn't want to either, but he also didn't want to leave him alone. Frank took hold of Gerard's hands, holding them on top of his legs.

"Can you come into the kitchen with me?" Frank asked, and Gerard pouted but nodded unenthusiastically. They both stood up, and Gerard stayed close to Frank, who kept a hand on the small of his back. They passed the living room, doors shut thankfully, and made their way into the kitchen. Frank could see Gerard's face better in this lighting, the way his bruises stood out, and his face was puffy in certain areas. The first aid kit was still on the island from yesterday, so Frank took out two pills and filled a glass with water, dropping a straw in the cup. "I'm gonna need you to open your mouth to take the pills, only a little."

Gerard made a face and Frank walked towards him, pills and water in hand. Gerard hesitated before opening his mouth an inch, looking in pain as Frank placed the pills into his mouth. Frank stroked his hair as Gerard closed his mouth around the straw, downing the water.

"You're okay, Gee," Frank murmured and kissed Gerard on the forehead, hands secured around his head and pulling him to his chest. "Which hurts more?"

Gerard pointed to his eye; it was bruised pretty badly. His undereye area was a deep purple, yellow around the edges and puffy. Frank moved away from Gerard and towards their freezer, pulling open drawers before finding what he was looking for and then found one of Gerard's favourite yoghurt's.

"Hold this to where it hurts the most, it helps. You don't have to open your mouth too far, but you need to eat," Frank said, handing the ice pack to Gerard who brought it to his right eye. The cut on his cheek was on the other side, but the jaw bruise was also on the right side, making the right side of his face puffy and painful. His jaw wasn't as bruised as his eye, a much lighter purple on the curve of his jawbone. Frank opened the yoghurt, scooping a small amount onto the spoon and bringing it to Gerard's lips. Gerard opened his mouth, less than he had before and allowed Frank to feed him. "Does it hurt?"

"No," Gerard whispered, voice tight and trying not to open his mouth too much as he spoke. He didn't have to talk, but he wanted to. He hated staying this silent.

"How are you feeling?" Frank asked once Gerard had finished.

"Fine. I don't particularly feel like doing anything other than drawing in bed," Gerard said quietly, his voice still sounding heavy.

"Okay, how about a Star Wars marathon too?" Frank asked, coaxing a tiny smile from Gerard. It didn't go past his lips, but it was something. "There's that pretty smile."

Gerard blushed somewhat and looked down at the floor, and Frank grinned. Even after being together for so long, Gerard still got flustered when Frank complimented him. Frank bent down, trying to look at Gerard's face as he hid it even more. Frank had constantly thought Gerard was cute, had always thought he was pretty and the bruises on his face didn't change that.

"Do your lips hurt?" Frank asked, moving his face closer to Gerard's. Gerard's looked up, his eyes big as he shook his head, moving closer just an inch. Frank closed the short gap, pressing his lips softly to Gerard and rested a hand on Gerard's thigh. He made sure to avoid touching his cheeks. His forehead touched the ice pack on Gerard's eye, but he ignored it in favour of kissing him. "What about your jaw?"

Gerard shook his head.

"I'll kiss it better," Frank said and pressed his lips to the corner of Gerard's jaw as softly as possible. "What about your eye?"

"As much as I love you, the only thing I want touching my eye right now is this," Gerard said, motioning towards the ice pack. Frank smiled and just kissed his temple.

"You wanna go get yourself in bed, and I'll grab your art stuff and the Star Wars DVD's?" Frank asked. Gerard agreed, hopping off of the bar stool. Frank watched Gerard walk up the stairs for a second to make sure he wouldn't fall and then opened the door to the living room.

The room had been cleaned up, probably by Ray but there was a chance that it was Ava, feeling bad for causing Gerard to get hurt. There was a small spot of blood on the floor, not close enough to where Lindsey had been killed for it to be her blood. It was Gerard's, and it made Frank uneasy. He looked away from the floor and searched the room for Gerard's art supplies. They were never hard to find, Gerard always had them out somewhere. Frank had thought about turning one of the rooms into an art studio for Gerard, but Gee had said that he worked better when he was cluttered. Frank thought that was strange, but Gerard was pretty odd, so it suited him. He also grabbed the limited edition box set of Star Wars that he had given to Gerard for his birthday a few years ago. He'd been ecstatic when he'd gotten that, and Frank was after they watched it.

Frank made his way to the bedroom, having taken as much of Gerard's art supplies as he could. When he arrived at their room, Gerard was sat cross-legged on the bed with his phone in his hand and his eye mask securing the ice pack to his head, presumably so he could have both of his hands-frees to draw. Frank put Gerard's stuff on the bed and the first DVD player and sat down next to Gerard. Gerard picked up his sketchbook and pencil, flipping through the pages until he found a page that was unfinished and got to work.

Gerard was always silent when he worked; he said it was to help him concentrate, and Frank didn't mind. Sometimes it was nice to have a break from Gerard's endless chatter, but he could admit that he missed his meaningless small talk right now. Gee looked up every once in a while to watch a few scenes, but he was listening to the movie play as he drew and Frank just sat next to Gerard which his head on Gerard's shoulder, watching him sketch. He couldn't help but watch; it was relaxing; the way Gerard's hands moved gracefully over the paper and the quiet scratching of the pencil on paper.

"You okay for dinner with Mikey, Ray and Ava later or should I move it?" Frank asked, his arm around Gerard's waist.

"Yeah. But why do we have to have it?" Gerard asked, his eyes focused on the sky he was shading.

"I need to talk to them all about something important, and you should probably hear it too," Frank said, his finger delicately tracing over the cut on Gerard's cheek. It wasn't too big of a cut, less than the width of his cheek, but it had been pretty deep. Frank thought that if the cut were even slightly deeper, he would have needed stitches. "Does it hurt?"

"No, only when I put pressure on it," Gerard said, voice light. He didn't seem as upset as he had been earlier, drawing and Star Wars always lifted his spirits. Frank hated when Gerard was upset or in a bad mood, it was just out of character for him since he was usually like a jolly little elf. When Gerard was happy, Frank was happy.

"Good. Okay, I'll tell Ray and Ava to arrive for 7 and outline the chef on the things he needs to prepare," Frank said, bringing out his phone and hastily typing a message to Ray and Ava. He didn't need to text Mikey since Ray could fill him in at home. "I'll be back in a few, yeah?"

Gerard nodded, and Frank ruffled his hair before getting off of the bed and going downstairs.

-

"I still don't know why you always make me get dressed up for these things; it's just Mikey, Ava and Ray. You know, my brother, brother in law and well, I'm not exactly sure what Ava is to me, but I don't think she'd care if I wore jeans and a t-shirt," Gerard complained as Frank helped put his suit jacket on, smoothing down his lapels.

"They won't care, but I think you look pretty all dressed up. Come on, stop pouting you're getting pizza," Frank murmured, close to Gerard's lips. Gerard leaned in, touching his lips to Frank's and Frank kissed him softly.

"I do like pizza," Gerard breathed, keeping his face only a few inches from Frank's. Both men's ears perked up when they heard the doorbell ring and stepped away from each other a little. "Do you think-"

"You're face looks fine, amore. Let's go and see who's here."

The two of them left their room hand in hand, traipsing down the long corridor and down the stairs to find Ava standing in the entry looking anxious. Frank could tell that she wasn't sure that she was welcome, that she was sure that Frank or Gerard or even Ray or Mikey were still angry at her. They had a right to be, but Frank wasn't angry at her, he was impressed that she could double-cross her wife without letting either party know and Gerard could forgive anyone in a heartbeat. She felt bad for letting Gerard get hurt and felt even worse once she saw his face.

"Ava, thank you for coming. I know you must be feeling confused, but you'll understand once we all talk," Frank. "Gerard, please show Ava to the dining area, I'll send Mikey and Ray in once they arrive."

Gerard nodded, leading Ava away and into the dining area. Ava was quiet, looking anyway from Gerard and focusing on anything else. The two of them sat down, Gerard in his usual seat next to the head of the table and Ava on the other side looking focused at the napkin in front of her.

"Please stop feeling guilty, Ava," Gerard said, the tension in the air thick enough to be cut by a knife. He didn't want this dinner to be awkward; he'd already forgiven Ava.

"I'm sorry, Gerard. I really am. I really didn't want to get you involved; I never told Lindsey about you until Bert fucked everything up. I wanted to stay here with you while Frank, Mikey and Ray killed her so that she wouldn't figure out that I was working against her, but then she did find out that you're important to him. I stayed here to protect you, but I failed, and I'm sorry."

"Am I dead?" Gerard asked, deadpan.

"No," Ava answered, looking up to Gerard.

"Then you didn't fail. If you had failed, I would be dead. She hurt me, but she could have done worse if you hadn't stopped her. I'm alive because of you. Would you have let her kill me if Frank didn't come home?" Gerard asked. He knew that Ava wouldn't have let him die, not now anyway. At that moment, he thought she would. He thought that he would die and Frank would come home to his dead body.

"No. My plan all along was to kill her. I should have been quicker, though, done it before she hurt you. I think I was scared; I let my feelings get in the way," Ava still sounded guilty.

"Better late than never. I'm fine, Ava. It looks worse than it is, I promise," Gerard said, touching his face lightly to emphasise his point. It didn't hurt, but it was tender.

"If you're sure. I'm still sorry," Ava said, her face sympathetic.

"I know, and I already forgave you. And so has Frank, I promise."

Ava nodded, and soon Frank walked in with Mikey and Ray. Mikey looked at Gerard first, a concerned look on his face. He sat next to Gerard and put a hand on his shoulder to get a good look at his face.

"I'm fine, Mikey," Gerard said, gently moving his brother's hands away from his face.

"Hey, at least you have a cool story to tell at dinners now. You aren't the odd one out without a story about how you almost died anymore!" Ray grinned, taking his seat next to Mikey.

"You guys know that none of us should actually have stories like that. I especially didn't want Gerard to have a story like that, which brings me to the reason I asked you guys here today," Frank paused. "When I started to plan the job, it wasn't so that I could rid myself of an enemy. It was so Ray and I could share jobs, and I could give him more freedom and more control. But I don't want to do that anymore. What I want, no, what I need is to take a step back. I'm putting Ray fully in charge, anything that includes jobs, internal structure, hiring and anything to do with staff. I want Ray in charge of everything. However, I am still your Capo Dei Capi, I am still your Boss, and you come to me when you need anything, and I meet anyone you make. Big decisions go through me, but I trust you."

"Frank, why are you doing this? Because I got hurt?" Gerard asked. He was worried that Frank was quitting a job he loved just because Gerard had gotten hurt.

"That's part of it, but it's not the entire reason. I want to start a family with you, and I can't do that if I'm running jobs and being in the line of fire every day. I want us to have children, and I don't want to worry about them getting kidnapped on their way to school. I don't want what happened to you, happen to them. So, Ray, what do you say?"

"Let me get this straight, you want me to be Boss, but you're still my boss, but you're bossing from the sidelines?" Ray asked, his face scrunched up in confusion.

"I don't know if I'd phrase it like that, but yes," Frank answered. He had stood up now and had a hand on Gerard's back. Gerard didn't know how to react, he and Frank had talked about starting a family, but he didn't know if it would ever happen. It was something he's always wanted with Frank, because he knew that Frank would be an astounding father, one that would be so protective of their child.

"Well, I suppose I have to say yes. Are you sure you trust me?" Ray asked, moving a hand through his thick hair.

"If I didn't know what would have been the point in making you my underboss, why would I have been giving you so many bigger jobs? All of which you have performed perfectly? You are a great leader, Ray. I had a big problem over who to make underboss because Ava and Mikey are both outstanding candidates. But after yesterday, my decision was easy. It's not personal, and as much as I love you Mikey; Ava fits the position perfectly."

"I'm sorry, what?" Ava looked perplexed and incredulous as if she didn't believe what Frank was saying.

"You fooled so many people for the last two years. You made Lindsey think you were working for her and you made us think that you didn't know her, you never let it slip. You have a perfect record, I don't think you've messed up once, and that's why you should become underboss and Ray can train you to hopefully one day, also become Boss," Frank explained.

"Even after-"

"Especially after yesterday. Trust me; I know what I'm doing," Frank said and made a gesture to the waiters to bring the food out. "Now enjoy your pizza, it's Gee's favourite and better than takeout."

Gerard hesitantly ate his pizza, but soon scarfed it down after realising how hungry he actually was. His jaw ached slightly, but this was his favourite pizza, and he wasn't going to waste it. The five of them conversed with one another as they ate, Ava being looser than earlier.

They moved into a different room after they ate, just talking amongst one another. Frank kept a protective arm around Gerard, who just leaned into the touch because he would never pass up an opportunity to touch Frank. Mikey kept making fun of his face, but Gerard just rolled his eyes at his little brother.

Once Gerard started to yawn, Mikey, Ray and Ava thanked Frank for having them and left because they knew they would have to leave if Gerard fell asleep. Gerard was tired after the lack of sleep he had received the night before, so didn't object when Frank took his hand and lead them both their bedroom.

"How are you feeling?" Frank whispered as he helped Gerard out of his clothes and walked him over to the bed.

"Good," Gerard answered. He had nothing to add on, just curled up to Frank as he slipped into the bed behind him.

"Does your face hurt?" Frank asked, winding his arms around Gerard and pulling him close.

"No," Gerard hummed and turned to face Frank. His face was so close to his own that he found it almost impossible not to lean down and kiss him, which Frank accepted gladly.

Gerard brought one of his hands down to rest at Frank's neck, keeping his face on his as he kissed him deeper, encouraging the slide of Frank's tongue in his mouth. Frank's hand rested on Gerard's waist, squeezing lightly.

"Frankie, please?" Gerard asked, voice quiet and breathless as he pulled away.

"No," Frank said, pulling away. Gerard was taken aback.

"No?" He asked, eyebrows scrunching. "Is this about my face?"

"It about the fact that you got hurt. Yesterday, you-"

"I got hurt; I didn't die. Frankie, I was upset for a few hours until I realised I'm safe because I have you. So, unless you think I look ugly now or something-" Gerard sat up, his voice getting louder.

"Gerard, you'll always be the prettiest person in the room even with a few bruises and cuts. But I don't want to hurt you even more than you already are," Frank responded.

"I think you forget that sometimes, I like to be hurt. Only by you, obviously, but unless you're slapping me in the face or wanting me to suck your dick, I think my face will be fine."

"You are so irritating sometimes," Frank said, and before Gerard could counter back, he connected his lips back to Gerard with a fierce grip in Gerard's hair. Gerard gasped as he threw his arms around Frank who pushed him onto his back. They were lying sideways on the bed, but neither of them bothered to move.

Frank trailed down Gerard's face, nipping slightly at his bruised jaw and down to his neck which made Gerard buck up into Frank's crotch, already getting hard.

"You want me to fuck you, pretty boy?" Frank gasped, grinding down onto Gerard's cock that was covered in only his boxers.

"Fuck, please, Frankie!" Gerard panted, using his free hand to bring Frank's head to his and kissing him again. He wrapped his legs around Frank's waist, keeping their dicks grinding against each other.

"Si? Vuoi che papà ti fotti il ​​culetto stretto*?" Frank asked, voice deep and sultry in Gerard's ear. "You want that, Gee?"

*'Yeah? Want daddy to fuck your tight little ass?'

"Shit, yes!"

Frank grinned, and Gerard unwound his legs from Frank's waist as he took his boxers off, leaving the two of them naked and sweaty, pressed against one another. Frank leaned above Gerard to grab the lube and Gerard licked at his tattooed nipple.

"Let me," Gerard asked, and Frank handed him the bottle. Gerard opened the cap and poured a generous amount of the liquid into his hand, bringing it down to Frank's cock. He looked straight into Frank's eyes as he stroked his cock, lathering the gel onto it with a firm grip. Frank held himself above Gerard, one palm spread out on the bed next to Gerard's head and the other keeping a firm grip in Gerard's hair.

Gerard breathed sharply as he guided Frank's cock to his entrance, feeling it sink in as easily as it usually did. Gerard wound his legs around Frank's waist again once his cock was still inside him, breathing heavily into Frank's neck as Frank pulled almost the way out only to slam back in, jolting Gee backwards. Neither of them said anything as Frank pounded Gerard's hole, moving the way Gerard always moaned the loudest at.

Frank groaned as he listened to Gerard's boisterous moans, and pulled the two of them up so that Frank was sitting upright on the bed and Gerard was in his lap, bouncing on his cock with fervour. With this angle, Frank hit Gerard's prostate dead on every time, making Gee's legs shake and let out a wail of pleasure. They both knew that Gerard's jaw was going to ache more in the morning, but neither of them cared as Gerard's mouth stayed open, eliciting the most glorious of cries.

"Wanna come for me, pretty boy?" Frank asked, his hands on Gerard's waist and helping him move smoothly. He moved one of his hands to Gerard's cock, stroking slowly as Gerard panted into Frank's come.

It didn't take much longer for Gerard to come, ass clenched around Frank's cock and arms wrapped around Frank's neck, sitting fully on Frank's cock and grinding it onto his prostate.

"Come for me, Frankie. Come for me, sir, fuck," Gerard choked on his words as Frank snapped his hips up one last time before he came deep inside Gerard.

Gerard stayed sat on Frank's cock until it started to soften and Frank pulled out, laying Gerard on to the bed and using a wet wipe to clean him up the best he could and then tucking him into the covers. He spooned him again, in the same position as they had first laid down.

"Je t'aime, Frankie," Gerard said, his voice sleepy and rough, but happy.

"Ti amo, Gerard," Frank replied, allowing his lover to peacefully fall asleep as he curled around him.