Frank had woken up in his room the next day, staring around at the room he had lived in for most of his life, the room that was still decked in carnage. Frank had merely put the bed back as it was before, leaving the rest of the room considering that he had had the shit beat out of him. He felt fine, his body merely tired, not sore or painful and he spent his first waking moments wondering how Gerard was.

And at that moment he sat up and walked out of his room, dressed in plaid flannels and a tank top he had found still in his room. He made his way up the stairs, looking at the deep nail ingrains in the wood railing from Gerard's claws. He ignored it, coming to a stop in front of Gerard's bedroom door where he froze, his hand poised to knock.

"Come in. I can hear you." Gerard called out from inside his room, making Frank jump. He sucked in a breath, turning the doorknob and opening the door slowly before he peered in. He took Gerard on, sitting on his bed on top of the already made covers, legs crossed as he sipped on a mug of what Frank assumed to be coffee. Gerard turned, both hands clasped around the mug as their eyes locked in a tense and apprehensive gaze. Gerard asked, his voice snipped and cold and it made Frank wince as though it had slapped him, "What?"

It may as well have, Frank mused, "How are you feeling?"

"What the fuck do you care?" Gerard scoffed as he turned his gaze out of the window, taking a sip of coffee.

Frank froze, "What happened to your ear?"

Gerard's hand came up to stroke his right ear and the part of his jaw as Frank mentioned it, or the lack of some of it, "You happened." Gerard shrugged, "When you punched me, your claws took off part of my ear and scarred it with these grooves. It healed closed but it can't grow back what you took with you."

Frank stared at the chunk of Gerard's ear that was missing and the two gashed divots in the flesh where his claws had torn at Gerard's ear, a prickling in the back of his skull that Frank took akin to guilt, "Sorry."

"You aren't."

"I am."

"Frank Iero is never sorry," Gerard replied flatly and Frank sighed, stepping cautiously into the Alpha's territory, his inner wolf's tail between its legs as he openly tried to submit. It was difficult not to fight it off, "Why are you here?"

"I'm sorry and I feel bad for how I behaved." Frank looked down, "I don't know why I did what I did."

"I don't want to hear it. I need you downstairs to plan the funeral in a few minutes. But for now, I have to shower." Gerard set his mug down and walked straight into his bedroom, shutting the door without a second glance in Frank's direction. Frank sighed as he stood there, looking around when he noted a small silver photo frame- obviously not real silver- containing a photo of the two of them that was taken a few weeks before Frank had left.

He looked into the obnoxious eyes of his younger self and scowled unhappily, "You fucked up."

Frank had considered leaving, he felt as though he probably should leave now that Gerard had openly dismissed him. But the other part of Frank said no, the stubborn teenager in him had decided that he needed to stay and somehow fix what he had done. And so stay he did, his feet planted on the spot as he ignored the peering gaze of his younger self perched on Gerard's desk behind the sheet of glass.

"Hey..." Frank muttered as Gerard walked back into his bedroom, Frank had yet to move, standing in exactly the same spot in front of the door. Gerard's eyes widened in surprise as he noticed Frank still there. Frank too noticed Gerard, noticed that he was soaking wet and in naught but a navy blue towel, his hair still dripping. Gerard looked up in surprise, his eyes locking with Frank's before they hardened.

"Go away. Surely you took the door slam as a sign that I don't want you here."

"I'm sorry..." Frank replied again for the millionth time it felt, earning a dismissive hand wave from Gerard that made his stomach drop and his lips purse.

"I know, I know. I heard you the first time, Frank." Gerard got up and wandered over to his desk, going through his chest of drawers as he purposefully ignored Frank's gaze, the latter noting how Gerard looked squirmy and unsettled.

"Is there anything I can do?" Frank asked when Gerard turned on his heel and stormed over to the door, pushing Frank back and out into the hallway before the oak surface was shut with a snap. Frank let out a sigh, running a hand through his shaggy chestnut locks, cursing softly under his breath when he turned and walked back down the stairs and away from Gerard. Frank continued down to the main floor and stopped in the living room where he looked around aimlessly.

He smiled at Jamia, who smiled back but frowned, her head tilted to the side, "What is it?"

"Nothing." Frank shrugged and Jamia got up, sidling around the sofa when she came to a stop at Frank's side, looking him in the face, scrutinizing.

"Come with me." Jamia smiled, entwining her hand with Frank's as she turned, tugging Frank along as she walked out of the door and down the porch steps. Frank looked around, squinting at the bright midday sunlight that peeked through the heavy tree canopy. Frank was pulled yet again and he instinctively followed, his feet plodding along on the grass as Jamia walked with him, hand in hand. She stopped and Frank looked around to see that they were in the field beside the house, the grass mid-calf-high and bright green with the rain.

"Sit," Jamia ordered as she parked herself down in the grass, crossing her legs as Frank copied her. He sat across from Jamia, sliding his glasses on, feeling his body relax at the muted sunlight, his eyes taking in Jamia.

"You're pretty, Nez."

"Talk to me." She then turned and began picking at the flowers around them, the wildflowers and their long stems, the mix of yellow and white, and soft purple. Frank watched her with interest, biting on his lip when he let out a sigh.

"Gerard hates me."

"Well, I don't blame him, to be honest, Frank." She set the flowers down between them and began sorting them out into their colors.

"Neither do I." Frank looked ahead of them, the faint sight of an unmarked gravestone beneath a large tree caught his attention and it made his heartache and his gaze averted.

"So why is it bugging you so much?" she asked with a frown as he took an elastic from her wrist and began bundling her hair to the top of her head, piling it into a haphazard bun.

"Because..." Frank sighed as he grabbed some of the flowers from the pile between them and began winding them together, staring at the intricate green vines he was braiding together, his head aching, "Because I-..."

"Frank?" Jamia asked cautiously, resting a hand on his leg that made his body shake.

"I hated him, I blamed him when I ran away, that he was ruining my life all because I didn't want to be with one person forever. What the fuck did I know?" Frank gritted his teeth, his jaw set as he added more flowers to his woven braid.

"And you regret it?"

"I regret being the way I was with him, and I regret being away for as long as I was. I don't regret leaving because it made me who I am and I don't want that to change." Frank looked up at her, letting out a shaky breath before he looked down, looking away from her intense gaze.

"So?"

"So..." Frank sighed, "I regret being the way I was with him then and now. And I know he hates me, especially after the way I fought with him." Frank curled the vine into a circle and tied it at the end, placing the flower crown on Jamia's head, making her giggle as he tilted it slightly and flipped a piece of her hair from her face.

"Have you tried talking to him?"

"Of course." Frank scoffed as he picked up more flowers and began working away, keeping his fidgeting hands busy as he tried his best to talk and bare his heart.

"And?"

"He wants nothing to do with me even then. I've apologized a thousand times." Frank frowned, picking up a flower and gazing at the soft yellow pollen in the center of it. He lowered his hand again and held the braided flowers in his hand delicately, "And I've left him alone as well, gave him space."

"Frank, I'm not going to sugarcoat it and say he's going to get over it today or even tomorrow." Jamia pursed her lips as she took a pause, the stop in her sentence had Frank starting up again with his task at hand, knotting the flowers together.

"I know." Frank sighed, "I just want to fix it."

"Why, though? I thought you didn't care about him?" Jamia frowned.

"I-..." Frank gritted his teeth, "You don't say anything, got it?"

"Of course."

"I never got over him." Frank finally admitted not only to her but to himself, his stomach turning in on itself, making him squirm uncomfortably, "I tried to, hell, I did my best to forget about the fact that I hurt and ran away from my soulmate. And that I hurt him so badly when I came back, just instantly."

"Frank..."

Frank felt himself pushing tears back, "I pine for him, Nez. I ache for him. Still. And I hate it."

"You hate it?"

"Wouldn't you?"

"I guess..." Jamia looked down, fiddling and dissecting one of the small white flowers.

"What do I do?" Frank looked at her as he curled the flowers and tied the ends together, forming a second crown that he carefully popped on his own head, his arms dropping back, hands falling into his lap.

"Show him how you feel. Maybe he's hurt because he thinks you hate him still. Well, I mean obviously he does. Show him or tell him what you told me, Frank. He should know."

"I tried," Frank whined out frustratedly as he flopped back into the grass, looking up that mocking blue sky as he frowned in frustration, "I've tried to tell him all of this."

"And?"

"Well, it obviously hasn't worked." Frank sat up again, his body growing restless. He reached back to pick up his flower crown again, holding it in his hand.

"Go and talk to him." Jamia said as she stood up, looking down at Frank, "Right now."

"I just came from seeing him."

"Doesn't matter. Go and talk to him, tell him, whether he likes it or not."

Frank managed to stand up, dusting off his jeans as he looked up at the top floor of the house, biting nervously on his lip. He felt a push on his shoulder as he was pushed towards the house, Jamia on his tail as he made his way back, chewing on the inside of his cheek at the thought of Gerard flossing his sinuses with the flower crown he wanted to give him, "I don't think I want to do this."

"You're going to. He deserves to know after you beat the crap out of him in front of his own pack, Frank."

"Fine." Frank whimpered out when Jamia stopped Frank at the front door.

"Here." she took the flower crown off of her head and handed it back to Frank, "Give this one to him, he likes those purple flowers."

"But it's yours." Frank frowned, looking at the lilac crown in his hand and up at Jamia.

"You can make me a new one any old time. Give him that one as is. And besides, what if you gave him a flower crown and he loves it and then sees I'm wearing one as well. How would he feel?"

"I guess." Frank frowned as he turned and walked into the house, looking back to see Jamia walking back out where Evan had just arrived. Frank turned and carried on, stopping for a moment to catch his breath despite the fact that he wasn't at all out of breath, on the contrary, he rather felt like he was going to vomit from guilt than anything.

Frank made his way up to the top floor landing, standing there as he strained his ears, listening intently for Gerard, which he found in the kitchen. Frank walked over to Gerard's kitchen and turned, peering in to see Gerard leaning with his forehead on the fridge, eyes closed, looking frustrated, "Are you going to ever leave me alone?"

"Here," Frank whispered, his hand outstretched, lilac flower crown delicately balanced over his palm, all but aware that he still had one on his own head and probably looked like a total fool.

Gerard opened an eye and turned to look at Frank, his eyes raking the latter over when he straightened up, looking at the flower crown with a raised eyebrow, "What?"

"I made it for you..." Frank managed, his heart racing for some unknown reason.

"Why is your pulse so high, are you okay?" Gerard frowned as he stayed put, his arms folded over his chest.

"I'm fine." Frank lied, "Here."

"Why do I want this?" Gerard wandered over and picked it up, looking at the intricate braids with scrutiny as he turned it over.

"I don't know." Frank shrugged, "I was outside and I made them, kept myself busy. I wanted to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk to you." Gerard snapped back and Frank nodded.

"You don't need to talk to me, I just want you to know that I'm sorry and..."

"Frank! Just go!" Gerard yelled out, making Frank jump on the spot and back, snarling in defense as Gerard let out a growl. He set the crown on the counter and took a step forward, snarling at Frank, who backed up and ran out of the kitchen and down the stairs almost two at a time, sprinting out onto the bottom floor and out of the house before he stopped, panting heavily.

"Fuck."

"Frank?" Jamia asked and Frank turned to look at her with a panic on his face, his cheeks bright red and flushed, "What happened?"

"I..." Frank shook his head, "I couldn't- He didn't-"

"Did you talk to him?"

"He didn't let me at all, he almost bit me." Frank whispered, his eyes widening, "He almost bit me..."

"Wh- Really?" Jamia looked taken aback.

"He wanted to attack me."

"I'm sure he-"

"Don't..." Frank breathed out, "Just... Don't."