NEW YORK CITY, 1927

Gerard glided the burning end of his cigarette along the brick wall of the building withholding the sanctuary and the broken down office belonging to none other than Jimmy Urine. He'd been content in the past two years gliding over him without making his acquaintance, but his presence was surprisingly requested by the hand of a brief letter addressing himself and The Black Widow. Their names were scrawled in red ink that hadn't made the note more intimating as its obvious intention was, but the statement was curious, a bit unsettling at the very most. 28 months of complete silence settled a grand layer of dust over a former mutual tolerance, not quite enough to be called a companionship. Gerard didn't emotionally attach himself to other human beings as the norm was in society, he kept with his own devices and those of a scorching angel at his side, all others were to keep behind the boundaries of his patience.

There was no use in making friends if they would turn against each other in secret and he would end up with their blood on his hands.

Gerard packed himself steadily with a gun underneath his black trench coat. A switchblade was hidden under a velcro brace wrapped around his ankle. His sprain was in the final stages of healing, although he barely saw it as true harm done; Frank tended to get carried away when they sparred for the sake of training. His tackle had become especially brutal and he limped a fraction in his stride for weeks with great pride. He could still feel the soreness rippling up his leg when he rolled it to test its stability, moving the muscle under a scar Frank was also responsible for. Gerard would grin like a mad man and roll the leg of his pants down again after giving it a look.

Gerard didn't bring Frank along with him. Jimmy requesting the presence of who he knew as The Black Widow was widely suspicious and Gerard didn't register a wink of trust while reading over the falsely welcoming invitation to attend a meeting with him, free of bitterness after so much time passing them by. Frank wasn't offended by his decision, he agreed it was strange that the man who requested to have him killed suddenly craved his presence beside who he referred to as "an old friend." Frank knew Jimmy was the man who put Gerard up to his task when they first met after an entire year of pestering, demanding to know the answer, and Gerard eventually trusted him to know the truth. Frank offered his company if Gerard thought he may need a hand, but he denied it and set Frank off to care for one of their targets Gerard gathered from a woman scorned and left behind with her three children. Venom seethed under the most innocent looking people, he was unfazed but impressed by her determination and the coldness freezing over her blue eyes he supposed must have been warm when she once imagined she'd never be betrayed by the man she built her life with.

Gerard entered the building supposedly holding a running business selling automobiles fashionably presented in an lot beside the building. The concept of a seemingly harmless salesman running a hitman corporation and a line of spies for only what the Lord knew could be for was a laughable one that Gerard wondered if any bystander could piece together while being sold a flashy automobile to bring home. Jimmy was more stone cold inside than Gerard was, admittedly. He was far from being the reaper of New York, but he didn't hesitate to take what was his no matter what the cost was, everything needed to run through the course of his plan or else there would be hell to pay.

Gerard hadn't killed the Black Widow as he'd been assigned to. He ran off and concealed himself in the shadows with his newfound partner and eventual lover, no bad blood could spill between himself and Jimmy because no money for the quest landed in his pocket. He found it suspicious that Jimmy hadn't summoned him years ago, he supposed he went for the shock factor a large stretch of time later so he could make a point that he hadn't forgotten about Gerard. Or the Black Widow, Gerard's one and only.

Gerard entered the building and took an elevator to the top floor where Jimmy's office was located. The elevator shaft ran smoother than any other Gerard stepped in before, the red carpet underneath his feet seemed new in its spotless, vibrant condition. The steel doors slid open when he reached the top floor and across the hall was a door with James Euringer labeled in bold lettering. Gerard held in an unamused snort and knocked on the door.

Gerard was greeted by James Deewes' familiar face, the same if not ridden with more facial hair than he recalled there being the last time they met. They briefly nodded to each other as Gerard passed by. They weren't friends, they never had been. Inside the shockingly white office was another familiar face belonging to Ray Toro, appearing the same as two years ago, but the lack of burly Bob Bryar had questions touching the tip of Gerard's tongue. It was rare for Jimmy to run without his full entourage.

The man himself was seated at his deck, dressed in a black and white suit with slicked back hair and a freshly shaven face giving him the look of an arrogant, posh asshole Gerard would normally see settled in the local banks of the wealthiest parts of the state. The growing smile on Jimmy's face when Gerard entered the room had Gerard itching with a firework of irritation and something else further more bleak. He hadn't disliked Jimmy two years ago, but he grew to feel abrasive towards him over time. Any man reaching to harm his precious Frank wouldn't live to see him so much as out of character.

"Gerard Way." Jimmy stood from his chair and held his hand out slowly across the table with a crooked grin. "It's been too long, don't ya think?"

Gerard forced a smile of greeting onto his face and tilted his head upwards in a short nod. He took Jimmy's hand and shook it firmly, wishing for a second to crush the man's fingers and leave as though nothing occurred.

"Two years is a long time." Gerard let go of his hand and tucked it back inside the pocket of his black slacks.

"Sit." Jimmy gestured to the chair across from his own.

Gerard sank down onto the plastic chair and shifted into a more comfortable position, leaning backwards with his knees slightly parted. He glanced over at Toro and the man gave him a short wave he returned with less irritation than he felt for Jimmy. Toro was a loyal follower and he always showcased a surprising amount of skill that Gerard admired, and he admired no man besides himself and the Black Widow. Ray hadn't always agreed to Jimmy's methods and behavior, thoughts he reflected to Gerard in rare private moments they agreed on.

Turning his attention back towards Jimmy, Gerard rose his eyebrows and cleared his throat. "You wrote to me."

"I did." Jimmy slid out a carton of cigarettes from his drawer and offered one to Gerard. He glanced at the box and turned down the gesture. He'd been trying to cut down on his intake ever since Frank banished them from his own possessions — he claimed the lingering note of fog lingering in his lungs was starting to make him antsy. Gerard already had his daily fix.

"That was a surprise." Gerard noted.

Jimmy lit his cigarette that dangled between his thin lips and he inhaled at a leisurely pace before he replied. His savoring method made Gerard tap his foot quietly and impatiently, wishing the man would get on with his reasoning for summoning him so he could return home and never see his foul face again.

"I invited her, too." Jimmy said through a tumble of smoke cascading out of his mouth. "The Black Widow."

Gerard tensed, then forced himself to relax. His lips thinned out and Jimmy noticed his change in demeanor. He hummed, as though some of his unknown suspicions were confirmed by Gerard's reaction. It grated Gerard's more dangerous nerves to see that unfold.

"I noticed." Gerard narrowed his eyes a fraction. "What makes you think I have her with me?"

Jimmy rumbled out a laugh tainted by a smoker's lungs. "Little birdies, Gerard. They fly all over the place. Just like you and I do."

Gerard clicked his teeth together behind his tightly closed lips. There was a mocking note in Jimmy's voice, something provoking Gerard knowingly that he couldn't exactly express with words, but he heard it loud and clear.

"And what have your little birds been running their mouths about?" Gerard cocked his head to the side slightly with that hard stare that could unnerve the most self assured men. Jimmy barely budged under it, but his eye twitched, letting Gerard know he landed a blow on a nerve of intimidation he aimed for.

"They've seen you with her. Leavin' motel rooms together, coincidentally being at the same place at the same time more than once." Jimmy started to smirk slowly and he cut himself off.

"That so?" Gerard flexed his jaw.

"Sure." Jimmy shrugged. "They've seen some other cinematic shit, too."

"You were never one for heading straight for the punchline." Gerard sighed dramatically. "Do you mind telling me what else your men have allegedly seen?"

Jimmy chuckled. Through his smile, he sucked his dying cigarette for the last bit of smoke to enter his lungs. Once he started to expel it, he grounded the cherry onto an ashtray on his desk. Gerard watched every movement with undivided attention, feeling the tension build.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you've been kissing on that little smarty, haven't you?"

Gerard tensed up, inside and out. For anyone to have witnessed him and Frank being intimate in any form, they must have been lurking in the darkest corners to catch an eyeful of Gerard taking Frank's lips as his own after a fulfilling kill, burning the lust built between them in the many ways they knew how. They blended themselves into the darkness of every scene so none would see how Frank's lips opened up so willingly for Gerard, the little shifts of his hips and how his legs immediately fell open for Gerard to slide in between them. Witnessing it would be the work of a spy, clients Jimmy had a hold of and summoned whenever he pleased.

"Hmm." Jimmy hummed before Gerard could think to sputter a reply. "So they were telling the truth."

Gerard's immediate defense was fury. His fingers curled under the plastic of the seat he was perched in until the skin over his knuckles was pulled tight, the blood draining from the pressure.

"I don't see how it's any of your business if I have." Gerard let a hint of a growl lace into his words, but he surprised himself by managing to bite back his instinct to lunge across the desk for Jimmy's throat.

"I hope you haven't forgotten that I instructed you to kill that bitch, Way, not make nice with her." Jimmy replied sharply, flinging the profanity towards Gerard knowing it would insult him more than it would Frank.

"I didn't get any of your money, there shouldn't be a problem." Gerard's jaw clenched tight so his words sounded strained. He'd scalp any man who insulted Frank, he swore he would.

"You lost track of your mission and disappeared on me." Jimmy breathed out deeply with a scowl. "Ever heard that it's real bad luck to crush on your enemy?"

Gerard believed it once or twice while clashing with the Black Widow in the privacy of their shared home. Their arguments weren't as common as the bickering between husband and wife, teeth and hands were involved, adrenaline and dug up ghosts came to suffocate them while they battled and tumbled towards the floor. Their bodies would attach and lust always overcame the dribbling flames of insanity gripping their buried fury. They hated one another just as much as they admired and cared, but the nature of their hatred shifted and simmered down into the ravine gathering with the victims they took into deathbeds together. Gerard knocked down every brick withholding himself slowly and what he allowed Frank to see calmed some of the blistering fury remaining inside of him. Gerard didn't believe falling for the enemy held any qualms after his personal life changed drastically in the last two years.

"She's not my enemy." Gerard glared steadily. "Not anymore."

Jimmy scoffed. "She's a threat to you and you know that."

"She's my partner." Gerard slammed his fist down on Jimmy's desk and made the older man flinch slightly. The wood rattled under his motion and he saw James take a step forward from the corner of his eye, but Jimmy stopped him with a hand gesture.

"Partner?" Jimmy's eyes narrowed into slits.

"We're a team. Her talent is excellent, I couldn't let it go to waste like you asked me to."

"Talent?" Jimmy reeled back. "Killing is a talent now?"

"You would agree if anyone else told you so." Gerard slowly slid his fist away from the desk. "I've trained her. Her skill is phenomenal, better than ever."

"You took her in like some sweet little rabbit and taught her what you know. How heartwarming."

"No, I didn't teach her what I know." Gerard quickly corrected him. "I helped her expand her skill. Everything she knows now, it was already there."

Jimmy began slowly shaking his head in disbelief. Gerard dared him with his piercing stare to say more about who he swore to protect no matter how much the latter resented how he shielded him at times. His temper was a quick trigger when it came to Jimmy, and more so, Jimmy putting down all his world came to slowly revolve around.

"You could have had everything if you'd done it, Gerard." Jimmy started off slowly. "Any amount of money, a fuckin' mansion if you wanted one, and all the victims you could ever dream of."

"I don't care about that flashy shit like you do, Euringer. I'm doing just fine with my job, having Francine keeps everything stable."

"Francine." Jimmy raised his brows, though Gerard hadn't made a blunder. The Black Widow wasn't a woman in the slightest outside of the charade. Unless Jimmy hadn't anticipated that the Widow had a name, as foolish of a thought it was.

"Yes." Gerard left it at that, crossing his arms across his chest.

"We're on first name basis now, I see. Do you know her mama, too?" His mocking tone raised a pitch in his voice. The demeanor he put up front tested Gerard's boundaries, jabbing them fiercely.

"Fuck off." Gerard set up a warning the man could either take wisely or ignore with consequences Gerard came fully prepared for.

Jimmy laughed, the sound pulling from the depths of his belly. "I didn't think you were one to do something like this."

"Like what?"

Jimmy smacked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and smirked in a slow spread, leaning back in his chair.

"Fucking a whore you're gettin' paid to kill."

Gerard's body moved before his brain sent out thoughtful signals he could develop into coherent instructions. He snapped up from his seat and instantly slung his pistol from the back of his pants, undoing the safety lock and aiming it towards Jimmy's head in a flash of silver gleaming in the light spilling into the office. Gerard had no doubts nor any regrets as he pressed his finger hard against the curved trigger his finger began accustomed to pulling many times in the past. It was the same pistol he pulled upon Frank on the evening they met, the one he laid aside to pursue the fizzling attraction immediately pulling him in towards the Widow instead of willing him to finish the job sooner than he anticipated. He barely flinched as he leaned across the desk and pushed in the trigger. The sound of a bullet exiting the mouth of the weapon penetrated the thin sound barrier inside the room with a resonating pop making his ears ring.

The bullet embedded itself into the front of Jimmy's skull and the impact made the skin and bone split in a rain of scarlet blood spraying onto Gerard's clothes. There was no satisfaction deeper than watching the explosive murder of Jimmy Urine before his eyes, undone by his own hands, and he rang victorious at the sight of blood splattering across the wall behind Jimmy, across the maple wood of the pristine desk, staining the threads of Gerard's clothes as blood normally seeped into the fabric whenever he sought out to kill his victims. Jimmy hadn't been a victim he'd be paid to slaughter, but his own intense bliss of taking his life was far sweeter than any amount of cash being stowed away in his pockets. His blood filled with a seething river of adrenaline and he grinned wide at the sight of violent carnage sagging in the office chair, a freshly created corpse of a man whose mere presence prickled underneath Gerard's skin in the most aggravating manner. Frank would be just as pleased by his accomplishment.

He was panting. He trembled in fury and hatred galloping within him, firing him up, and he couldn't find it within himself to feel a single shred of remorse after listening to a foolish man speak wrongfully about the one he loved. Anger blended with his jubilance. Gerard had been tested, approached in a manner where it seemed Jimmy ought to have been planning his own suicide by provoking Gerard enough to finish him off instead of performing the action himself. Underneath his sparkling grin, he was stained impure and red, staring at the flow of blood and the lethal damage he found pride in.

Gerard spun around as he sensed James coming towards him. He'd untucked a gun of his own, intending to shoot down the man who murdered his boss like a stealthy bolt of lightening cracking down onto the building. He aimed his pistol at James before the man had even undone the safety of his own. James was pale, staring with wide, glossy eyes flashing between Gerard and Ray standing paralyzed by shock on the other side of Gerard. James shakily aimed his gun and jerked his head towards Jimmy's body.

"What the fuck is the matter with you?" James yelled out. "That's our boss!"

"He was." Gerard cocked his head to the side. "Don't tell me you haven't imagined what it would be like to clip this sad bastard?"

James didn't respond, but he swallowed hard, staring wide eyed at Jimmy's demolished skull with a shade of green pigmenting his face.

Ray slowly stepped towards Gerard. Gerard sharply turned towards him with a warning glance, one Ray held his hands up in a disarming gesture for. The blood drained from his face as well, but he was smart enough to avoid staring into the gruesome image of his boss with his face caved in from the impact of the bullet hammering past his skin and bone, digging into the brain.

"Put your guns down." Ray told both men.

James gawked at him. "He'll kill us both!"

"No, he won't." Ray looked at Gerard. "I know how to handle this."

"Toro." James shook his head vehemently.

"Put it down, James. I've got it." He said in a firmer tone Gerard hadn't heard from him before. His wicked grin grew and he watched James slowly lower his weapon with great weariness, eyeing Gerard's gun still aimed towards him. Once his arm was resting at his side again, Gerard quickly lowered his own with a theatrical sigh.

"Don't you think we should take care of the body first?" Gerard glanced at his work.

"After we settle this." Ray steadily avoided glancing towards the corpse in the room. "Why'd you do it, Gerard?"

Gerard's jaw tightened and his insides heated with the touch of fury he tasted as he swung his weapon out to end a sick bastard's life when it should have been over long before he stepped foot into the building.

"You heard him. He went after my girl. He's got spies  hunting us like we're animals." Gerard tossed the pistol onto the blood stained desk. Looking at his pale hands, he noticed crimson specks had been smeared across his fingers that held the gun. He bit the inside of his cheek and wiped them on his slacks.

"Was it worth killing him? This is the man that pays us." Ray sounded defeated, but not angered by the fact that Jimmy had been killed. It made Gerard curious enough to meet his eyes, his eyebrows twitching upwards.

"You're only concerned about the pay?" Gerard breathed out through an amused laugh blended with a fine amount of leftover bitterness leaving him with the craving to spit at Jimmy's dead body.

Ray hesitated and glanced at James who took a seat to digest the occurrences he witnessed, his hands resting heavily on his knees. 

"We lost all respect for him after he shot down Bob." Ray deadpanned. "The money is the only reason why we didn't kill him ourselves."

Gerard's eyes flew open wide. "The hell did Bryar do to get killed?"

"He was just messing around, he wanted to have a party." James interjected. "Jimmy got pissed when he saw a bunch of drunk fools after he called us in all of a sudden. Bob said he started the party and Urine pulled a gun on him."

"He didn't deserve it." Ray added quickly. He mourned, Gerard could see, there was a discreet waver in his tone and a wave of silence fell over him almost instantly.

"You're better off without him." Gerard nodded towards the body. "Take his funds and run with 'em."

"What about his businesses?" James cocked an eyebrow.

"Toro can take them over." Gerard gestured towards him.

Ray's eyes bulged. "What? I can't run these businesses, what do I tell all of his spies?"

"Tell him that Jimmy butted into some business that wasn't his own." Gerard sneered at Jimmy's body. "You'll be a better leader than he ever was."

The two other men in the room were speechless for a moment. Gerard glanced at the clock on the wall and determined it was about time to return home to Frank who should have finished up with his own task. Gerard gathered his gun and slung it through his belt again.

"I'll tell you what, boys." Gerard started to gain their attention. "You know how to take care of messes like these. Your names are in Jimmy's will and the contracts for this place. You wait to take over, let people realize Jimmy's gone missing before you act. That'll lessen the suspicion."

"He didn't tell us he signed us onto those things." Ray blinked.

"Well, he told me. Someone has to take care everything. Jimmy knew to be weary of enemies, the only smart move he's ever made." Gerard wiped the drying specks of blood from his face.

"How are you gonna get out of here with blood all over you?" James asked.

"He'll take one of the cars." Ray nodded in the direction of the lot. "It's free. I'll drive it to the back so you can slip out through the fire exit."

Gerard couldn't help but grin. "True Blue Oakland, if you don't mind."

Ray simply nodded and headed towards the door, gesturing for Gerard to follow once the coast was clear. With one last glance at James and the spray of gore painting the white walls a far more vibrant color, Gerard held his trench coat close to his body and followed close behind Ray. He was given directions to the fire exit door at the back of the building and he didn't hesitate to rush towards it before anyone could see the mess of scarlet streaking his clothing underneath the coat and the stains of blood sunken into his hands, stains he would recklessly scrub away until his skin was glowing pink and there wasn't a particle of evidence left to trace back to him. Gerard's heart was pounding in jolts of strange joy and anxiousness, but the anxiety rooted towards his longing to return home as soon as possible and hand over the news of Jimmy Urine's death to Frank. Lingering traces of his pulsing wrath heated the blood in his veins and stained his cheeks with a flush of underlying pink.

Ray rolled the black car Gerard requested towards the back where Gerard impatiently waited for his arrival, though mere seconds ticked by since he burst through the door and glanced around expectantly. Gerard grinned like a child on Christmas to see the light reflecting off of the glossy black paint and the pristine quality of the crystal clear windows, the wide tires rolling across the gravel and pausing when the brakes were touched. Ray climbed out of the car and landed nimbly with the keys dangling from his fingers. He approached Gerard and handed them over into his awaiting palm.

"Like I said, you don't have a pay a penny for this one." Ray reassured him. "I don't mean to seem all twisted, but . . . in a way, I'm glad Jimmy's dead."

"We all are." Gerard responded half humorously and half darkly, reflecting with Ray's feelings beyond what the man could comprehend. It struck Gerard then that he must have been a tad bit off of his rocker to feel complete apathy and joy to have killed a man.

"I'm glad you didn't bring Francine." Ray lowered his voice and his brows creased. "Jimmy had plans."

Gerard flushed with loathing again. "What kind of plans?"

"He wanted to bump her off himself. He assumed you'd be more vulnerable near her, not as sharp."

Gerard laughed, cold and empty in the sound. "He'd never take her down. My girl may look small, but she's packing more fight in her than anyone can imagine."

Ray smiled slightly. "I never thought I'd see Gerard Way fall in love."

Gerard turned away from under Ray's gaze. He didn't appreciate his weaknesses being visually noticed, but he spared a few words to the only man he would have considered an acquaintance at the very most.

"Me neither, boy." Gerard shook his head. "There's just something about her."

"Take her away from this place." Ray sounded almost too quiet to hear, but the seriousness turning the words to stone made Gerard freeze up to listen closely. "I'll fix everything, but I'd advise you to start new in another city just in case. If you killed a man for her, then I know you'd also do this to protect her."

Gerard would kill a thousand man if it meant no despicable force of any kind would touch his Frank, not even the image of Francine that became the Black Widow while she roamed in secret for her prey. The tenderness of the subject strapped onto his heart with the strength of a ticking bomb, and if triggered by her destruction, then he would also be obliterated in the process. The dreadful thing about love was the invisible chains of pain sealing two souls together. If one was torn away, the other would be afflicted just as severely in turn. Not a living soul would see to any plans to harm Frank or they'd find themselves pinned by the wrath of Gerard guarding his path.

"I'll talk to her." Gerard finally responded. He glanced back at Ray. "Thank you for the car. Good luck with this, sorry I killed your boss." Truthfully, he wasn't apologetic for shooting the man down, but for leaving a spill for Ray and James to clean.

"We'll manage." Ray smiled slightly, watching Gerard climb into the car and tossing him a brief salute before he was off on the gravely paved roads of the city.

Gerard felt thoroughly impure with the stains of blood slicking the white, pristine condition of his button down shirt and sinking into the pores of his fair toned skin. Through the filth, there was sadistic pride forming a splitting grin of its own at his lips. Eliminating enemies was a national treasure compared to the purified silver and gold of shooting the foes of others. In the wake of destruction, there was a higher power dominating his self control, unlocking the depraved chambers of his thoughts to consume the most sane particles of his being. Murder was artistic, revenge was sweeter than justice; mankind was corroded by sin, bound to hell, he happened to dabble into the darkness more than others. At times, he wondered if insanity occupied the crevices of the underlying humanity lining his heart in barbed wire, but he felt there was a morsel of something warm preventing him from falling into a completely despicable path. Gerard loved, he kept boundaries— he never killed children or the innocent— and there would always be the memories of once breathing as a normal human being without the stains of blood corroding his soul.

Gerard's brand new vehicle must have captured the eye of a few individuals he drove past while maneuvering through a neighborhood he needed to surpass in order to find his own home burrowed behind vegetation and iron gates. He pressed his foot harshly onto the gas pedal and surged down the streets, the engine gunning with a satisfying rumble vibrating under his crimson painted fingers wrapped tight around the wide steering wheel. When he finally arrived to his destination, he assured the gates were firmly shut behind him and none had strayed onto the neatly paved road leading to the wide and cavernous home belonging to himself and his lover. He untucked his shirt from his slacks and shrugged off his coat as he sauntered towards the doorway opened a fraction, which he assumed was the doing of Frank since keys dangled from the bottom lock in a golden shimmer capturing his eye. Gerard huffed and yanked the keys out from the lock; he'd previously stated he didn't feel particularly fine with Frank dragging his victims into their home. Seduction was part of the game, but Gerard's jealousy set aflame easily. The least bit of contentment he handled over the factor was that none of the men Frank lured in never saw the light of day again after a single touch.

Gerard locked the white painted door tight behind him, the reflection from the obscured pattern of fiberglass casting the light of colorful sunbeams across his skin. He tossed the keys into the glass candy bowl resting on the rustic chest set resting on the wide spread of the cinnamon colored carpet rolling towards the door. Untucking his gun, he retrieved a bronze colored key hidden inside the egg shaped compartment supposedly containing his late mother's ashes — she was alive and none would think a key to a gun compartment would be hidden in such a thing — and unlocked the hidden compartment of the chest, a lock on the underside of the furniture requiring him to kneel and reach for to slide the key inside. Once the drawer slid forward, Gerard tucked his gun inside and shut it quietly, listening for any noise. When he found silence, he stood and passed through the arch of the opening entrance to the first sitting room. On the whitewashed oak flooring, Gerard could see drying streaks of water being dragged towards the second sitting room normally used for reading, one he added in addition to the household to satisfy the literature enthusiast Frank became during his free time. Gerard tugged his tie loose as he followed the trail of drying water, soon discovering a blooming stain of scarlet blood smeared messily over the cream colored shag rug. Immediately, Gerard sighed heavily. Yet another rug he needed to replaced.

Gerard found Frank sitting in the armchair near the case of books against the wall beside a vacant fireplace made of stone. The chair was pulled forward from its corner, the ottoman rest was cast aside at some point and it tumbled onto the edge of the soiled rug. The flooring was scrubbed clean, Gerard could see the mop laying against the mouth of the doorway and the bucket filled with murky crimson water.  Frank, it seemed, was completely at peace, if it wasn't for the outrageous condition of his appearance.

Frank was still dressed as Francine. His body was embellished by a burgundy colored dress reaching above his knee, black tassels hanging from a fringe at the hem cascading down towards his calves encased in sheer black stockings as thin as possible to tease at the hairless skin that would appear if the clothing was peeled back. Sequined black strings of fabric were stitched onto the thick straps resting at his shoulders, roping in downward arches towards an onyx jewel nestled into the center of the cinching bodice. The shimmer of the dress was visible in the sunlight winking through the windows and his skin glowed in all of its smooth glory in the subtle glare— which also drew Gerard's attention to the smears of blood staining his flesh. No wounds were inflicted on Frank's arms or his hands, especially the one gripping loosely onto a cigarette held between his deep purple painted lips, but the stains were vibrant and alarming on his skin. Gerard could see it sprinkled across his face framed by his tangled curls of chocolate brown hair once bouncing with voluminous curls and pinned bangs held back in a graceful sweep by a diamond barrette. He styled it now that it had grown out. Black makeup was smudged under his eyes and his cheek was bruised purple, almost as dark as the shade resting on his lips.

Frank hadn't noticed Gerard standing there or he chose not to acknowledge him yet. He took a deep drag of his cigarette and exhaled in a wide puff of smoke fluttering forward, shifting into mere curls of pungent smoke fading into the background. Gerard arched his eyebrow at the thin stick held between Frank's bloody fingers.

"I thought you said you were quitting." Gerard cut into the silence. It wasn't quite an accusation, but an observation.

Frank didn't open his eyes, but his lips did twitch up at the corners. Lipstick was smudged under his bottom lip. "I never guaranteed I wouldn't slip up. Going cold turkey is cruel to my cravings."

Gerard couldn't argue against that. He sighed again at the sight of the carpet again, eyeing the stains of blood. He'd need to dispose of the rug in a more difficult method than he ever anticipated using to rid of a scrap of expensive fabric. It was Frank's choice to purchase the rug, only leaving Gerard wondering why he hadn't been more careful with his tasks to avoid such a waste of time and money.

"I told you not to kill in the house." Gerard kicked at the carpet until the corner lifted and flipped over.

Frank opened his eyes then. They were alight with excitement and remains of adrenaline, contrasting with the peaceful drape of his body delicately folded across the chair he leisured in. Frank tapped his black heel against the floor and slid his foot forward to poke at the edge of the rug with the rounded toe of his shoe. Gerard could see a fine layer of dust coating the shiny heel; he'd been out to the desert again.

"He insisted on fucking me better than my husband in our own bed." Frank said, a smirk apparent in his voice.

Gerard's eyebrows shot up, a smirk of his own teasing at the very corners of his lips. "Husband?"

"I can make you into whatever I want when I tell Francine's story to the rats. It's fun making a new one up every time." Frank crossed his legs and teased Gerard with the strip of skin appearing above the top of his stocking.

Gerard leaned against the doorway. "And did you let him fuck you?"

"Of course not." Frank answered swiftly. The sound was almost defensive, a tad sharp, but he managed to relax his shoulders and sigh. "You know I never let them have me that way."

"I'd bring him back just to kill him again if he got anything close to what I'm given." Gerard lifted his eyes and caught Frank's midway. They gazed at each other for a while in silence, smoke curling from the fading end of Frank's cigarette and disappearing into the air.

Frank put out his cigarette eventually and nestled back into the chair more comfortably, rubbing his lips together to spread out his lipstick evenly. He began picking away at the flecks of blood dried on his face casually enough for it to be comical if Gerard wasn't used to it. "You took a while. I managed to kill a man, bury him, and come back in time to clean the mess."

Gerard smiled crookedly, matching the darkness of his amusement. "You know I had business to take care of."

Frank bit his lip. His gaze raked slowly over Gerard's body, the light hazel darkening a shade while taking in the bloodstains. Gerard stirred slightly at the intense look and he returned it, leaning back more against the doorframe and angling himself vainly, just for Frank to drink him in.

"How darb. Y'know seeing you covered in blood really works me up." Frank twisted his fingers into his hair, undoing the knots in slow twirls without dropping his heavy gaze.

Gerard was instantly drawn to him, like the weight of gravity lifted his shadow and carried it across the floor to move his feet towards the beauty awaiting him. Maybe Frank was the master the gravity, he pondered, for there was no other pull stronger than the one his sensuality held.

Gerard slowly sank down onto his knees before Frank. Frank followed his movements with his eyes, soon taking on a subtle curious hue. Up close, Gerard could see the faint freckles sprinkles across the tops of his rosy cheeks, the small slash at the tail end of his thin brow that dragged down towards the corner of one of his doll eyes. Gerard observed him quietly, not touching him yet, deciding it would be best to share the news with Frank before taking action towards all of his desires.

"Don't you want to ask me why I'm doused in blood?" Gerard asked slightly playfully.

Frank softened a tad at the sound. He glanced at the stains dried into the fabric of Gerard's button down shirt. "Of course." Unfolding his legs, he rested his heel gently onto the bottom of Gerard's thigh. "Help me out of these stockings while you tell me."

Gerard reeled in a beam. Glancing at Frank through his lashes, he chuckled airily. He touched Frank's ankle softly and glided his fingers over the silky fabric of his stocking, finding blood had seeped into individual spots of the fabric as well, but it was more difficult to detect due to the color. He bet the same lingered on the front of dress. Kissing Frank's knee, Gerard went for the buckle of the heel, pulling the strap through the slot in a backwards motion.

"I saw Jimmy and his boys, as you know. Only two out of three of his gang were there, as a matter of fact."

"Why was the third big six missing?" Frank angled his foot so it would be easier for Gerard to slide his shoe off.

Gerard finished undoing the buckle and gingerly held the back of Frank's heel. He wriggled it away from his foot and captured some of the dust coating the shoe on his fingertips. Setting the heel aside and wiping his fingers on his slacks, he went to begin with the other high heel.

"His name was Bob Bryar. He's dead." Gerard sighed. "Jimmy decided he had no tolerance for a man only living his life."

"Scum." Frank spat in distaste.

Gerard hummed in agreement and gently pried Frank's other heel away from his foot. He glided his fingers up his shin, towards his calf, and he leaned in to kiss his other knee as he did with its twin. Frank reached down and caressed Gerard's hair, tugging a lock of it as gently as possible. He brushed his bangs aside and stroked Gerard's brow bone, soon returning his fingers to his hair.

"He knew about us. Had spies watching us almost the whole time. Thankfully, they don't know we're here." Gerard swallowed hard at the blinding fury beginning to leave a bitter taste at the back of his throat. "He wanted to insult you, he went after my baby. The bastard had it coming, I swear he wanted the trouble if he had the nerve to talk about you that way."

Frank sighed softly. "He can't hurt me."

"But it hurts me." Gerard clenched his teeth together and passed to breathe deep for a moment. He leaned his forehead against Frank's leg, feeling the silky scrape of the stocking against his skin. Frank touched his hair again and lingered in a soothing motion he normally wouldn't provide if Gerard didn't need it. They were passionate, lust was their affection, but there were moments they needed more than the heavy hands and plundering lips of sex. They needed love from one another.

"I shot him." Gerard deadpanned. "He's as good as dead."

"Christ." Frank breathed, his hand pausing in Gerard's hair. "He was powerful. You could get yourself into heaps of trouble, you sap."

"His boys hated him." Gerard quickly looked up at Frank, aching to wipe off the disapproval he hadn't expected seeing. "They would've killed him sooner or later if I hadn't."

"He had spies after us, Gerard. Who's to say they won't come for us now?" Frank began with an edge of anger advancing towards his tone.

Gerard gently gripped Frank's ankle and held his gaze steady. "Ray Toro is handling everything. We can trust him. He wants to keep us safe."

Frank stared into his eyes for a long moment, not quite believing the information handed to him. Gerard would tell a lie to any other poor soul approaching him, but he'd cross his heart and condemn it to the many rings of hell before he told a lie to Frank. With pure honesty being pushed towards the latter in a form of silent communication, Gerard tasted relief as Frank began to loosen up from his stiffened form. Eventually, Frank let out a deep breath, dragging his fingers away from Gerard's hair.

"Keep undressing me." Frank muttered and pressed his thighs together, nudging Gerard with his foot.

Gerard brushed his fingers against the long tassels resting atop of Frank's thighs. In the course of a year, his legs had filled out more after he learned to dance in order to draw in the most vulnerable of the sea of prey living in the night, swinging their bodies to jazz and taking the hands of beautiful young woman to bed them until the birth of the early morning. His thighs were soft, yet firm from the texture of thin muscle underneath his skin. Gerard brushed the tassels away from Frank's legs and inched the hem of the dress upwards the reveal the tops of the stockings, the bold lines hoisting them up striping across the section of bare skin hidden underneath the fabric if it was pulled down once more. Gerard licked his lips and trailed his fingers across Frank's inner thigh, eliciting a poorly concealed shiver from Frank. His string of black pearls shivered along with him and his skin was hot once Gerard reached the bare segment of it with his fingertips. Beautiful. He wishes he didn't feel disappointed so he could fully savor it.

"I thought you'd be pleased." Gerard threatened to admit what he'd hoped for. His emotion only showcased itself near Frank, it was strange how every piece of him he buried resurfaced in his presence. He dared to feel slightly stung by Frank's negative reaction.

"You think I'm not?" Frank spread his legs, inviting Gerard to the warmth between them. Gerard melted inside and his lower body quivered at the sight of red silk underwear peeking out from under the stretch of the dress over the tops of Frank's thighs. He still bit down on his emotions and he couldn't bring himself to be throughly pleased by the welcoming reaction of Frank's body reserved solely for him.

"You don't seem like it." Gerard traced the strap of Frank's stocking until he reached the garter belt placed atop of his underwear. He undid the material and began to roll it down his leg, baring more of his smooth skin for his eyes to take in.

"I'm glad Urine is gone." Frank clarified, sounding much softer than he had in the beginning. "Even more so now that I know you're the one who pulled the trigger."

Gerard rolled the rest of Frank's stocking off slowly, bunching up the dark fabric until it was no longer sheer, thicker in his hand now that it wasn't wrapped around Frank's leg. He took in Frank's words, hoping they hadn't been spun from falsehood. He looked up and found Frank gazing down at him apologetically, his thumb between his lips for his teeth to nibble at the nail. His eyebrows arched softly over his large eyes and Gerard could instantly tell he pondered if he'd spoken the wrong way.

"Toro said Jimmy wanted you there so he could shoot you." Gerard gulped, soothing the pulsing fury. He began working on freeing Frank's other leg from its stocking. "He thought I'd be weaker around you. Not as focused or quick. He thought I'd let it be easy for him to hurt you."

Frank let out a little chuckle, so quiet it could have been the breeze whistling through the thinnest crack of an unlocked window. "You'd break both of his arms the second he reached for that gun."

"Damn right." Gerard couldn't find amusement to spare, but he nodded once, clutching onto Frank's stocking as he began rolling it down towards his calf.

"Hey." Frank pressed his toes into Gerard's thigh, his knee lifting to touch gently under his chin. He wanted Gerard to look at him.

Gerard looked up to fulfill Frank's request. Frank smiled at him in a manner where the uplifting motion of his lips was barely present, but the sparkle in his eyes and the squinting causing the shadow of his lashes to drape dramatically across the tops of his cheeks revealed everything his lips didn't portray. Gerard's gut clenched furiously and relaxed instantly, streams of warmth pooling into it.

"I hate that you're overprotective. It bites on my nerves." Frank shrugged loosely. "You know that . . . But there's some part of me that likes it, too. It shows me that you love me."

Gerard stared up at him, lips parted. Frank's smile had only widened through his confessions, lips shut over his teeth, but wide nonetheless. Gerard assumed what Frank described as overbearing and offensive became the bane of his existence the moment Gerard fell in love and swore to protect him no matter the amount of distaste he held for it. He hadn't wondered if Frank took a subtle liking for it, or if he could see the meaning of his eagerness to keep Frank safe. It wasn't possessiveness, though Gerard was a jealous man; he couldn't bear to lose the only man he ever loved. He never wanted to love a single soul in his life if it didn't belong to Frank.

Gerard wasn't sure what to say in addition to Frank's words. He broke their stare and focused on his fingers slowly rolling down Frank's stocking the rest of the way, feeling how his pulse pounded in his neck and the very tips of his fingers while he performed the action. Peeling it the rest of the way off, Gerard's eyes dragged over the expanse of Frank's legs. Soft skin he smoothed his palms over during the rare moments Frank allowed him to feel him entirely while stripping every piece of clothing at once to bury himself inside him again. Darkened scars sprinkled across his skin occasionally and told tales of childhood intervening with the memories of recent killings that hadn't been shared between them yet. Frank's shins were fragile and they bruised easily, but the muscle laying underneath his skin could easily spring him into action, so strong in the way the muscles pulled and aided him with speed. Gerard's heart was beating so quickly, his hands shook the slightest bit to his complete amazement. He swallowed hard and flattened his hands on top of Frank's thighs, fingers spreading over them. His flesh was clammy, he sensed. He leaned his head down on Frank's thigh again. Gerard wanted to spend forever with him.

"Honeybee? You okay?" Frank whispered with a touch of concern. Honeybee, a term of endearment adopted and brought to the surface on rare occasions. It made Gerard love him more, he realized through an epiphany he reeled from.

Gerard caught up with himself and stroked Frank's thigh gently. With his cheek pressed against Frank's warm skin, he shut his eyes tight and breathed. Turning his head once his thoughts weren't scattered completely, he kissed Frank's thigh. Frank's legs fell open a fraction more and his hands fluttered towards the armrests of the chair. Gerard kissed him again, towards the inside of his thigh, nestling higher in a trail of soft kisses soon making Frank gasp and grip onto the armrests with digging fingers still stained by another man's blood. He'd killed and discarded without a trace of regret, he'd been bold enough to invite the other man home with the promise of his body, only to yank his life by the root and bathe himself in his blood, aware that the touch of his skin and the tightness of his body were reserved for Gerard and Gerard alone. Fuck.

Gerard wrapped his arms around Frank's lower body and gently dragged him further down into the chair, his ass nearly hanging off from the seat. Frank sucked in a sharp breath and his eyes widened as he sank into the chair, but he arched, stunned by the kisses Gerard trailed up his body as he lifted himself into a higher kneeling position. Frank smelled of blood and perfume, the powdery scent of cosmetics he applied with care. Gerard reached Frank's neck and pressed his open lips repeatedly over his skin, feeling the vibration of Frank's moan under his tongue as it swept out to caress the fading mark he'd placed upon him many evenings ago, the shade fair enough for it only to be visible up close. Frank swung his arms away from the chair and his hands flew into Gerard's hair to tangle into the strands. He tugged once and it was enough for Gerard to pull away from his neck and clash their lips together.

Frank tasted of lipstick, the sweetness of his mouth, the latter being enhanced as Gerard pried Frank's soft lips open to stroke their tongues together. The kiss was desperate, but deep, as though they searched to taste their love on their tongues to savor it as they did the flavor of lust. Frank pulled at Gerard's hair and used the strands tangled around his fingers to keep Gerard close. His legs remained open as he scooted back up in the chair and Gerard followed. Slowly rising to his feet, Gerard disconnected their lips briefly and placed his knees on either side of Frank's thighs, lowering himself once more just as Frank's hands tugged desperately at his clothes and his arms to kiss him again. Gerard bowed his head and locked their lips together again, kissing Frank with enough passion to leave him gasping and running his hands all across his body without reason, without thought. Gerard cupped Frank's face in his hands as their lips parted again and he drew them shut slowly, flicking his tongue out to trace across Frank's bottom lip with only the tip to have his lips part again with an invitation, but Gerard didn't partake in it. He parted their lips with a gentle smack, cracking the smallest smile at the whimper lost in Frank's throat.

"Let me take you away from here." Gerard whispered between the harsh pants he emitted. Frank panted against his open lips as well, his cheeks flushed bright pink. His lipstick smeared in a dark smudge over his swollen lips and undoubtedly, Gerard's mouth appeared the same.

"What're you saying?" Frank dragged the pad of his thumb across Gerard's lower lip. It came away with a smudge of dark purple.

"Let's start again in another city." Gerard kissed him softly once more. "I'm sick of this place. We can still do this, but there are other places we could rule. Just you and me."

"Gerard, don't do this because of what I said." Frank protested. "I don't truly know if those spies are gonna come after us now. You don't need to protect me."

"No, baby." Gerard shook his head. "It's for us. A new house, new city, new people. I want to stay there for . . . for as long as possible."

Frank stared up at him in faint confusion. "What's wrong with what we have here?"

"Nothing is necessarily wrong with it." Gerard couldn't keep the truth hidden for long, not when Frank began to narrow his eyes suspiciously at his strange request. "Alright. Yes, I do want to protect you."

Frank groaned, starting to pull his head away, but Gerard quickly captured underneath his chin so he wouldn't turn away as he spoke. Frank rolled his eyes.

"And I want to protect you because I can't bear to lose you, Frank. You're everything to me." Gerard caught onto a whisper, a breathless honesty he hadn't been fully prepared to share, for it unveiled a vulnerability casting a weak link in the steel armor encased around the tendril of fragility in his heart.

Frank's eyes widened out from their thinned state and the slight part of his lips accompanied the look of understanding dawning all across his face. He inhaled quietly, casting his gaze away, and his hand slid downwards to cup the side of Gerard's neck. His fingers were warm, but the lack of response had Gerard sprouting defenses on the inside. He coaxed the protruding spikes back inside their slots and reminded himself that love could never be delivered evenly between one romance, no matter the intensity of their moments wrapped inside a personal universe only they received an invitation to.

"I know you must not feel the same way." Gerard began lifting himself from the seat to stand.

Frank's head snapped up in an instant. His hazel eyes were at their widest and he was struck by disbelief that shifted his features.

"You think it wouldn't destroy me if I ever lost you?" Frank's voice rose into a higher pitch rubbing against the burst of words breaking the quietness Gerard built between them with the hushed sound of his confessions.

Gerard's heart settled into a rapid pattern, his eyes became abnormally sensitive if he met Frank's intense gaze in that moment. "I wouldn't hope so. It's—it's not that."

"Then you think it wouldn't hurt me at all." Frank sounded wounded at the thought, but above all else, offended.

Gerard quickly rushed to repair it. "No, Frank. You're taking my words the wrong way."

"Says you. How else am I supposed to see it?"

Gerard sensed a splinter of frustration rushing into his system, seizing control before he could exterminate it. "I know I love you more than you love me."

Frank fell silent. Gerard couldn't bring himself to lift his head and be met with the possible expressions that could have contorted Frank's features, the inevitable sting sinking quickly through his chest to strike his heart with the venom Frank could never fully shed even in the presence of a person he loved. His temper was ferocious, but he meant no harm, and the reason why Gerard carried endless forgiveness towards him in his heart was because of that single factor, along with the knowledge that he also tended to burst at the worst moments for little reasoning. They were two flames flickering in tempo, but when they collided, their world set aflame. It was disastrous, destructive, but so beautiful when the ash settled and the burn subsided.

Gerard was startled by the pair of hands yanking him forward. He stumbled, halting in his tracks as Frank used his grip around his forearms to haul himself up from the chair in a lithe pounce. Frank used Gerard's stunned state to his advantage to shove him down into the chair left warm from the heat of Frank's body once pressed into it, hard enough for the chair to slide against the polished floor beneath the wooden legs and for the back to smack against the corner nestled between the walls. Gerard gripped the armrest and looked up in time to see Frank towering over him, slamming his palms onto the back of the chair to lower his face so it hovered above Gerard's. His eyes gleamed with a bright amber glow and the infuriated set of his jawline promised trouble.

"You need to learn to shut up, Gerard Way." Frank berated him, powerful enough to stun Gerard into silence. "You don't think I'm scared to death whenever you're out on the hunt without me? You think I'm not terrified that you won't come back every time you walk through our front door, that I'll never get another kiss from you?"

"Frank." Gerard strained out only to be silenced again by Frank's finger pressing harshly against his lips.

"You're my life. You took me in, you trained me, you made me yours without holding me back. It's balled up that you think I don't love you as much as you love me just because you don't realize I never believed in or trusted anyone before I met you. Not after what happened. You're my one exception."

Gerard heard the way his heart pounded over the sound of Frank's voice progressively becoming softer. His bloodstream pulsed hot in his veins and he could visibly see tears pooling in Frank's bright eyes, they were audible as his voice quivered at the very last syllable he uttered before shutting down. Frank's arms began to tremble on either side of Gerard and he screwed his eyes shut to withhold the torrent of tears threatening to spill over. Gerard admired many aspects of Frank, but he ached in invisible places whenever he wept. Gerard couldn't stand the sight of the man he loved in pain, even as a magnificent pressure settled down into the center of his chest, letting him become aware of his faults. He'd turned a blind eye on everything Frank gifted him with.

"You never told me that." Gerard whispered hoarsely.

Frank laughed bitterly, wiping at his eye as a tear escaped from the corner. His finger came away with a black smudge and his makeup smeared along the top of his cheek. "Do I have to? Don't you ever think?"

Gerard opened his mouth to respond, but no words rose to his lips, and none to his mind. He hadn't dove so deep into their connection, nor had he considered that he became the only exception among Frank's acidic belief that no man could be trusted, no man could harm him again if he chose his fate for him. Frank's innocence could never be returned to him after he was robbed of it, the mere presence of men revolted him after he discovered the disgusting, vile sins some were capable of inflicting upon other pure souls. He killed to taste revenge, he stored his faith into the spill of blood to soothe the snapping jaws of the beast inside. The beast was his pain, he described to Gerard months ago that the gnawing need to cleanse the filth eternally placed within him could only be cleansed by taking back the ghost of his youthful innocence, and it could be done by slaughtering one of the kind his abuser was. A man. And yet, Gerard was spared, he was loved, he was allowed to touch Frank as long as he asked, and Frank hadn't doubted their partnership since the moment training began.

"I'm sorry." Gerard swallowed thickly. "I'm so sorry, Frankie. I'm such a . . . sap." Gerard used the term Frank referred to him as because he'd been correct. He felt as such, ashamed, he found himself shaking his head back and forth and reaching for Frank's cheeks to cradle his face delicately in his hands. Frank shook his head and didn't allow him to, wiping furiously at his tears.

"You don't say things like that to me, Gerard, not when you don't know how I feel." Frank sniffled and opened his eyes, revealing a glaze of tears obscuring the sight of hazel Gerard longed for.

"I know, baby, and I'm sorry." Gerard pressed his apologies forward, sincerity dripping from the words pushing past his moving lips. He reached for Frank again to wipe the trails of tears streaking down his face and the latter allowed him to, completely beside himself as he quivered. He collapsed into Gerard's lap and tugged at his loose tie, gripping it as tight as possible with skin pulled white across his knuckles. Gerard rid Frank's cheeks of their blackened tears as his heart shattered the same way Frank's had.

"I hate crying, hate it." Frank curled his hands into loose fists and rested them on Gerard's chest. He let out a frustrated huff and inhaled deeply.

"It's okay to cry. You don't always have to be strong. You don't have to be Francine around me." Gerard whispered gently to him. He added the last bit for more reassurance, hoping it would offer solace Frank required in a moment of weakness.

"It feels like I should be Francine during times like these." Frank sniffled. "Maybe I'll gain a few things from her."

Gerard tucked a loose curl of chocolate brown hair behind Frank's ear when he noticed it flutter from its spot to hang in front of his eyes. "You're just as strong as she is. No one can keep it together all the time."

Frank nodded slowly, acknowledging Gerard's point. Tears halted in his eyes and began to dissipate once the crack in his heart settled to seal itself. Redness lingered and Gerard was sorrowfully moved by it. Gerard leaned in as carefully as possible and pressed his lips against Frank's cheek flushed pink. The salt sting of his tears grazed his lips, his sadness touched the flesh and injured him in return. He couldn't take back the pain he inflicted, but he could soothe it, eradicate its existence by never making the same mistake again.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, but now that I think about it, I don't know how I thought saying something like that wouldn't sting." Gerard took Frank's hand into his own.

Frank gently smiled, a ghostly presence haunting the corners of his lips. "It's okay. I'm sorry I'm so stone cold. I should let you know how much you mean to me."

"No. You're perfect." Gerard denied Frank's jabs towards himself.

Frank peered at him through the fan of his thick lashes glistening with miniature droplets of tear drops lingering on the strands. His misery simmered down and in its wake were circular streaks of dark hazel. He glanced at Gerard as though he sought out the truth in his gaze instead of depending entirely on words alone.

"Take me to the bath. Join me." Frank whispered.

Gerard obliged to his request. Scooping Frank into his arms, Gerard kicked aside Frank's heels laying discarded on the ground, holding him in the cradle of his arms as he lifted to his feet and began making his way towards the staircase leading them to their bathroom in an iron spiral. Frank held onto him tightly and rested his head against his chest, caring little for the dried stains of blood splattered onto the threads of his shirt. Frank kissed Gerard's chest as he was carried up the steps, limp and warm in Gerard's arms, bare of all defenses for once. He was similar to a child in the way he curled up against Gerard's body, nuzzling and kissing, silent aside from the calmness of his breath.

"If we do move away," Frank started when they entered the brightened residence of their bathroom, "can we get another flashy house?"

Gerard cracked a smile he couldn't restrain even if he tried. "Of course. We can get one just like this. Anything you want, doll."

Frank didn't add another comment as Gerard set him gently onto the marble counter of the sink in order to begin running the water for the wide porcelain tub set into the center of the wide room. He seemed thoughtful, though, lingering on a note of melancholy from their minor explosion downstairs. Gerard subsided most of the guilt, but remaining shards still grazed his heart like the tips of blades teasing along the flesh. As he started the water, Gerard turned around slowly and approached Frank. Frank watched him as Gerard hesitantly rested his hands on his bare thighs, feeling the black tassels of his dress rolling underneath his palms.

"Do you forgive me?" Gerard asked quietly. He couldn't speak louder, it was as if he feared his own voice.

Frank's lips parted. "I do. I do, but I'm weary about leaving this place."

Gerard nodded in understanding. He sighed through his nose and caressed Frank's leg soothingly. "May I undress you?"

Frank nodded. Lifting his arm slightly, he revealed the zipper resting underneath his pit, a thin line stretching to the hem of the dress. Gerard reached for the warm metal and began dragging it downwards. The sound was subtle and the flesh being exposed to the air was smooth, a golden hue touched the paleness of his skin adopting a warmer tone of ivory. Gerard held his waist with a gentle hand and dragged the zipper down the rest of the way. Kissing Frank's shoulder, he brushed his fingertips against the exposed skin at his hip.

"We don't want to lose each other." His lips moved against Frank's skin and made him shiver in delight. "We won't if we get away from here. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Frank Iero."

Frank sucked in a quiet breath. He let it out quickly after his lips parted, Gerard could feel how he weakened underneath him. Frank's hands made their way to the front of Gerard's shirt and shakily began undoing the buttons, quicker than Gerard's nimble fingers pulling the straps of Frank's dress downwards as his lips pressed tender kisses along the side of his neck.

"Yes." Frank gulped and nodded jerkily. "Let's do it, then. We can't get married, but we can sure do something, anything."

"I'll buy you a ring." Gerard began sliding Frank's dress away from his body as his heart fluttered wildly in his chest, his fingers beginning to tremble in turn. Frank's skin was silky under his wandering hands, he wondered if his own felt the same to Frank the moment his shirt was opened and his warm hands caressed him from his chest to his abdomen.

"We'll both have rings." Frank slid off of the counter and shrugged out of the dress hanging from his small frame. It pooled onto the floor around his feet and he was left in nothing but a pair of silky red underwear, the color contrasting with the peaches and cream shade of his soft skin. Gerard's eyes fluttered shut and heat flooded into his blood at the touch of Frank's hands dragging along his bare flesh, reaching for the waistband of his slacks. He unfastened them for Gerard and pushed them down far enough for Gerard to take the lead, toeing off his shoes and shuffling his pants down the rest of the way. When he stood up straight again after kicking them away, Frank pulled him in by his hips for a deep kiss warming his lips instantly.

"I never thought I'd be anyone's blushing bride." Frank breathed out between kisses, bringing a smile to Gerard's slicked lips. They tumbled out of their underwear and backed up towards the tub filled decently with warm water. Their hands never stopped touching, searching, feeling.

"I remember you saying you'd never become anyone's trophy wife." Gerard smiled and stopped the flow of water from the faucet. He reached for Frank's hand, stepping into the tub first after their fingers linked together.

"You don't make me feel like I'm just a doll for you to display." Frank softly noted as they submerged into the soothing water to wash away the filth from their despicable deeds. Gerard sat against the further end of the tub and invited Frank to settle between his legs, patting the spot between his spread thighs. Frank fit into the space between them and his bare back pressed against Gerard's chest. Gerard wrapped his arms securely around Frank's waist and pure contentment completed him. He never thought of murder or violence when he held Frank in his embrace. He fooled himself into thinking he was pure again, a normal human being deeply in love with the man melting into him as though there was no other comfort in the world aside from Gerard's arms. Gerard shut his eyes and lowered his head to kiss the side of Frank's neck, his hand finding the curve of his hip and gently stroking the soft skin concealing the bone underneath.

"I'd never do anything to hurt you." Gerard whispered underneath Frank's ear. "I love you."

Frank caressed his leg underneath the water, squeezing his knee gently. Melting deeper against him, Frank nodded subtly, reaching behind him to lightly touch the side of his face. Gerard shut his eyes and leaned into his hand.

"I know. I love you, too, honeybee."

Peace, quiet. Gerard barely had a soul, but it was entirely present whenever Frank was near.

———
A/N: And that's the end! This took me a long time to write, and I loved the process from beginning to end. I'm so glad I decided to continue with it instead of discarding the idea. I love this universe.

Let me know your thoughts, please, along with any comments or questions, I appreciate them endlessly and I'm more than happy to answer any inquiries.

Thank you for reading this, it was a wild ride indeed.

"As I tear you to pieces, you are beautiful. Even at your ugliest, I always say you're beautiful and sick like me."

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

-rosexo