twelve: only if I needed to

(this one's longer, around 10,000 words so i'm sorry it took so long to upload.)
(i'm super unmotivated and over-worked, but hey i got a 91 on my driver's ed final, so that's good)

In his defence, Gerard was obsessed with gore.

It was an ordinary day, however, for the gore enthusiast, that it all began. He had the last issue in a series of his favourite comic in a paper bag clutched in his hands as he walked back home from the comic store. Gerard was anxious to get home and make a mug of coffee and sit on his small-ass sofa and curl up with his comic and mug of coffee. He was more than excited to find out how the conflicts were going to be resolved--they'd gotten so bad--and was so ready to see the gruesome scenes inside the four dollars worth of pages.

He didn't grin as he was walking down the street because he wasn't that creepy, but he did let himself keep an extremely subdued smile on as he walked with a spring in his step. Or at least he did until he heard it; a distant shriek echoing off the walls in a narrow alleyway on the streets of New York.

The street was pretty noisy and crowded, and Gerard was pretty sure he was the only one that'd stopped and walked towards the scream. When he slipped into the narrow alleyway silently, he shuddered. There was a man--admittedly a fairly attractive man--standing over a woman with a hammer that closely resembled a Harley Quinn hammer on a smaller scale.

But when Gerard's eyes fell down to the lady on the floor, he inhaled sharply and caught the man's attention. Hazel eyes focused on Gerard's black hair and interested expression and a smirk caught the man's mouth as he raised an eyebrow.

"You get lost, honey?"

"Uh... no, I... heard someone screaming, and I wanted to know what it was," he said shakily.

The man walked towards Gerard, and Gerard knew he should have run; his flight or fight instincts were kicking in--but he was frozen to the floor, clutching his paper bag to his chest and eyeing the (attractive) man warily. His heart was beating faster and fast with each menacing step the man took towards him, but he just cowered, pressing his back against the wall he was already leaning on.

"Well, you've got yourself into a little fix then," the man said as he got closer and put a hand on Gerard's shoulder and pressing him to the wall. It felt like the weight of the world was being forced onto his shoulder, and even though Gerard knew he was strong enough to push him off he couldn't find the strength in himself to do so. He just stood there.

The man's eyes were raking over his face, hair, body, and then landing back on his own before he licked his lips and raised an eyebrow. "You've got yourself into some trouble, cutie. Because there's no way I'm letting you go, so it's either I kill you, or you come with me and stick around till the cops stop lookin' for you, got it?"

"I--" Gerard started and then realised he wasn't gonna get anywhere anytime soon. "Please, let me go, I promise I won't tell anyone," he squeaked, but the man just shook his head.

"Sorry, no can do," the man chuckled and took Gerard's chin in his free hand roughly.

Gerard's mind raced, avoiding eye contact and then finally settling on the woman's dead body. He felt guilty, looking at her bloody and battered form, but the execution of the murder was just so perfect. The man had known just where to hit in order to kill her quickly but painfully so, and he found his breath catching in his throat at the way the man's hand tightened around his jaw as he watched the blood drip down her body and onto the pavement where she lay.

"Y-you're gonna kill me? Like her?"

"You don't seem like you'd mind particularly," the man said and raised an eyebrow. "You keep staring at her. Did you know her?"

"N-no, you just... did a good job... It's like perfect," he stuttered quickly and then found himself looking at the man's surprised face.

"What, do you work as a doctor or something?"

"Forensic scientist."

"Fucking hell, I got a fucking crime investigator on my goddamn hands," the man muttered quickly. "I might just have to kill you."

Gerard shivered in response.

"What's your name, cutie?" the man said and grinned, his thumb stroking Gerard's cheek roughly. "I don't wanna have to kill you without knowing your name."

"Ge- um, Mikey."

"Tell me the truth."

"Gerard."

"Thought I heard you right. Well, Gerard, I think you're gonna be stuck with me for a while. We gotta get outta here before someone shows up."

"Wait, I--"

"I'm not fuckin' letting you go."

"No, what's your name?"

"You'll probably find out at some point," the man said and then took hold of Gerard's arm and twisted it painfully behind his back. "Now come on, walk."

Frank's car seriously wasn't that bad. It smelt of chocolate and blood, a scent that Gerard instantly liked, and when Frank hauled Gerard into the back seat, he noticed Frank smelt even more strongly of it than his car.

"So," Frank said, after a half hour on the I-95. "Anyone who's gonna be lookin' for you? Girlfriend, boyfriend, something like that?"

"My brother probably. Maybe my parents," Gerard mumbled and looked down at the handcuffs that were keeping his wrists tied together on his lap.

"Well, that's good. Fewer people to miss you and get us caught."

"Us?"

"Yeah, baby. You go where I go," Frank said darkly and winked at Gerard through the rearview mirror. "But don't worry baby, I'll take care of you just as long as you behave for me, okay?"

Gerard felt his throat tighten and his stomach squeeze pleasantly and he nodded, squeaking out a pathetic "yes" and then hanging his head before he let Frank find out the magnitude of his words and the context Gerard found himself imagining them in. And of course, he was blushing.

"Wait," Frank said and grinned. Gerard looked up and hesitantly caught his eyes in the rearview for a moment before Frank focused on the road again. "You're fucking into that, aren't you, Gerard, dear?"

Gerard didn't respond, instead, he just looked down, but this gave him away further.

"Oh my god," Frank giggled giddily and then licked his lips. "I'm gonna have so much fun with you. I'm glad I kept you around."

Gerard swallowed. How much of this was going to be consensual, he didn't know, but he also had the feeling he didn't want to find out. "Can I at least know your name?" he tried again, and braced himself for a violent outburst or something, but all he got was a chuckle.

"I mean, I guess if I'm gonna keep you around, you might as well be able to moan my name," he said with a sadistic wink that made pleasant shivers run up and down Gerard's spine. "It's Frank."

"Frank," Gerard whispered and then for some reason, "Thank you."

Frank just hummed and kept his eyes on the road, and Gerard realised what he'd just said. He'd just thanked Frank for his name--for his goddamn name. It was already enough that Gerard was into this possessive dom/sub bullshit that Frank was alluding to, and now he was fucking slipping into his submissive character already? Gerard decided that he had to keep his composure up, his dignity in check, and as he stared down at his hands guiltily, he already knew that his plan was born to fail.

---

"Tie this around your eyes," Frank said right after he stopped on the shoulder of the main road they had turned onto. Frank reached over the back of the seat, and when Gerard held his cuffed hands up to mime that he couldn't, Frank just sighed, got out of the car and slipped into the back seat with Gerard.

He wrapped the piece of cloth around Gerard's eyes and then tied it in the back tightly. Then, he leant in to whisper in Gerard's ear, and he felt Frank's hot breath on his neck before he whispered, "Is this too tight, baby?"

"N-no," Gerard stuttered and twitched violently when he felt Frank's hand on his thigh, fingers gripping the inner part and thumb pressing circles into the outside.

"You're so tense, sugar, relax," Frank cooed into his ear, but his tone of voice was too threatening and his grip on Gerard's thigh was too tight, and Gerard only found himself tensing up more and letting out a faint whimper. Frank let go of him, but he placed a sloppy kiss right below his ear. "You're so easy to wind up. Loosen up a little."

Then he was gone, and Gerard heard the door close, then the driver's door open and close, and then he heard the locks click again, and then the car was moving. Gerard didn't even try to keep track of their twists and turns because he was fairly sure Frank was making an ordeal out of keeping him out of the know. It was around twenty minutes later that Gerard decided to speak.

"Frank?" he said quietly, and Frank hummed. "Why did you kill that woman?"

Frank paused and bit his lip as he merged into another lane, thinking about how to answer the question. He settled for the truth. "She killed my parents when I was fifteen."

"Oh," Gerard said, and then bit his lip too. Frank glanced into the rearview and saw this, saw Gerard's head down and his hands cuffed in front of him. He decided, for the sake of both of their safety to look away before his imagination ran away. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You can't change it. It's in the past."

"Then why'd you kill her?"

"Because she also killed my best friend's parents and girlfriend and tortured them all before she killed them."

Gerard didn't look horrified at all, Frank noted and then remembered he dealt with this stuff on the daily. That's probably why he wasn't more afraid of Frank--because it was literally his job to investigate things like this. But he looked pretty sad... a little sentimental. It was cute, he decided.

"Well, I guess she had it coming, then," Gerard said after a pause, and for some reason, Gerard's justification of this sent his heart soaring.

"A fucking forensic scientist just told me that someone I murdered had it coming," Frank mused out loud and chuckled.

"Doesn't make it legal or morally okay," Gerard quickly justified and then after some consideration added, "But it was executed well, and the whole thing was very pretty."

"Oh, so you're into blood too?" Frank giggled a little and watched Gerard's cheeks flush. "You wanna bleed for me? Want me to bite you so hard you start bleeding?"

Frank glanced back to see that Gerard's head had fallen even lower, and now he had his hands clasped together obediently in his lap as if aching to place them behind his back.

"Oh, you definitely have a blood kink, look at you," Frank praised, smiling slightly. "Sitting there, blushing all nicely for me."

"Fuck off," Gerard muttered, and his hands flew to his mouth as he realised his mistake. But Frank would let this one slip. Just this once.

"Don't speak to me like that," he said calmly, and Gerard shut up, biting his bottom lip and closing his eyes beneath the blindfold in anticipation of something bad happening. Frank seemed to know what Gerard was waiting for, so he just chuckled. "I'm letting you go for this one, but in the future," he paused to lick his bottom lip, even though Gerard couldn't see it. "There'll be punishments, don't worry."

"Sorry," Gerard said immediately, and Frank smiled.

"It's alright for this time, baby," he said quietly, and then they lapsed into silence for the remainder of the ride.

---

It'd been around three hours since Frank had closed the conversation and two and half hours since he'd started playing different The Smashing Pumpkins records from what sounded like a CD collection, and Gerard honestly didn't feel too bad; aside of course from the intense panic that was rising in his throat and the squeezing in his chest and stomach.

He felt a little dizzy, almost faint, but as soon as he felt the car slowing down and pulling into a parking lot of some sort, he strangely found himself relax into it and let his anxiety overtake him. His hands were shaking and his lip was getting swollen from his teeth biting nervously at it, and as soon as Frank turned the car off and got out of it, his nerves were amplified, and his feeling of zen within his body was doubled--no tripled.

Frank had locked the door behind him without a word, leaving Gerard blindfolded in the back of the car--alone, and for a good ten minutes, he sat there in silence, contemplating where they could be and whether Frank was going to come back to get him or if he was going to stay here overnight.

He heard the car doors unlock, however, and he sighed in relief. The door to his right was opened and he felt Frank slip in as the seat tipped a little where he sat down. "I'm gonna take this off, alright?" Frank said gently and Gerard felt his hand on his head where the knot was. "Don't worry about your eyes being over-sensitive. It's dark outside now."

Gerard nodded.

"Lower your head so I can get it."

Gerard did as he was told, and soon enough, the knot was undone and Gerard's eyes were usable again. Gerard stared at Frank with definite fear shining in his eyes, but Frank ignored that.

"Come on, let's go," he said, and pulled Gerard by the handcuffs out of the car. It was then that Gerard got to see where they were. They were at a random motel and Gerard had no idea where it was, but it was one of those ones where the buildings are separate from the office, so Frank had no trouble walking them up the stairs and into one of the rooms, entering with a plastic room key.

There was a double bed, a door to what looked like a shitty bathroom, and a desk pushed up against a corner of the room. Frank closed the door behind them.

"The double bed was the cheapest one they had that'd fit us both. But if you really want, you can sleep in that desk chair."

Gerard knew it wasn't up to him, so he just looked down at his feet and kept his mouth shut.

"You can talk, sugar," Frank asked, tilting Gerard's head up.

"Okay," Gerard responded, and Frank smiled viciously.

"Good. You're not gonna sleep on the desk chair though. I'm not nice, but I'm not that mean," he assured Gerard, but Gerard was still terrified.

"Yes, Frank."

"Good," Frank purred again and ran his fingers through Gerard's hair. "You're learning so fast... Or maybe you already know how this works, huh?" he said and pulled at Gerard's hair, making him squeak. "Have you done this before?"

"What?"

"Been someone's?" Frank breathed into Gerard's hair and watched as he shivered slightly. Frank grinned.

"Been someone's hostage?"

"Been someone's sub," Frank purred and Gerard felt Frank's breath hot on his neck.

Gerard looked away and nodded, earning another gentle tug on his hair.

"Good," Frank said. "Then I expect you to know how to behave, is that reasonable?"

Gerard knew it didn't have to be reasonable, but it was, so he nodded. "Yes, Frank."

"You're being so good for me, Gee," Frank cooed, and his hands stroked through Gerard's hair pleasantly before leaving it. "Sit on the bed."

Gerard did so and scooted closer to the headboard when Frank told him to. Frank pulled out a key and unlocked one of Gerard's cuffs and then cuffed it to the headboard of the bed. "I'm going to use the bathroom. After me, you're going to be allowed ten minutes in there uncuffed, understood?"

"Yes, Frank."

"Good. Give me your phone."

Gerard hesitantly took out his phone and handed it over, and Frank smiled when he did so and placed it on the desk on the other side of the room, far, and way out of Gerard's reach.

Frank stroked Gerard's cheek in praise, slipped the key into his pocket and then went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Gerard sighed out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding in and then put his head in his free hand. Why did Frank have to be attractive? And why did he have to be so smart?

Gerard could have easily taken out his phone and shared his location with Mikey and then put it away and acted like it never happened, but unfortunately, Frank had been too smart for this. Gerard closed his eyes to keep himself from crying and resolved again that he would keep his dignity, but also that he'd do comply with what Frank wanted him to do as long as it was innocent, and maybe, just maybe he'd get on the man's good side.

He was startled out of his thoughts when Frank came out of the bathroom and sat down on the bed in front of Gerard. He pulled the key from his pocket and held Gerard's free wrist with his free hand. Then, he unlocked the cuff and slipped the key back into his pocket in one deft movement, and before Gerard could process what was going on, both of his wrists were in the tight grasp of Frank's hands.

"Get off the bed."

Gerard did and didn't even realise he was bowing his head before Frank was leading him to the bathroom and then pushing him in.

"Do not lock the door, but you may close it. Ten minutes, and I'm setting a timer."

Gerard nodded, and Frank pushed him in and let go of his wrists. Gerard closed the door behind him, and for some reason, he complied and didn't lock it. Then, he was frantically searching the walls and ceiling for some way out. He stood on the toilet seat and tried to see if the fan in the wall would ever be able to come out, but when he saw six screws in it, he knew he was trapped. He climbed down, and closed his eyes, sighing in frustration.

Then, he pissed, shitted, and washed his hands. And then he washed his face and bit his lip. He felt gross, maybe he should ask if he could have time for a shower? Would Frank let him? Not only did he doubt that, but he also realised he had nothing to change into afterwards, and so he promptly gave up on that one.

He turned the handle to the door to get out before his time was up, and when he walked out, Frank was sitting on the bed, scrolling through something on his phone. Gerard check to see if his own was still on the desk, and it was, but Frank had already looked up.

"You're out early," he commented, and Gerard nodded.

"I was going to... never mind."

Frank got up off the bed and pulled Gerard to sit down next to him. A firm hand remained around his wrist, and then, Frank cuffed him to the bedpost again. Gerard made himself comfortable, and Frank seemed to smile at this.

"No, tell me. What were you going to do?"

"Take a shower, but I don't have anything to change into."

"Yeah," Frank considered something. "That's gonna be a problem, huh?"

Gerard shrugged.

"We'll go back to Belleville tomorrow, and you can get some clothes from your house. You lived alone, yeah?"

"Y-yeah," Gerard said and bit his lip. "Unfortunately."

"Good," Frank said and brushed off the little comment.

"Th-thank you so much, Frank," Gerard said; suddenly grateful. Frank sure was bad at this. Kidnappers weren't supposed to treat their hostages this nicely.

"You're welcome. It's around seven now, and I'm hungry, so I'm gonna go buy some food. But you'll stay here."

Gerard felt his heart wrench, and without thinking, asked, "You'll be back?"

Frank's eyes switched over to something Gerard didn't recognise, and Frank leant towards him and stroked his cheek gently, pushing hair behind his ear. "Of course I'll be back, sweetheart."

And with that, Frank put his shoes back on, grabbed both their phones, and was out the door with both of the door keys in his pocket. The door closed loudly behind him, and Gerard stared at it--shocked at how gentle Frank had been before he left. His uncuffed hand came up to touch his cheek where Frank's had was just a few moments earlier and felt his heart flutter.

This was wrong.

---

Frank returned a good half hour later, and by the time the door swung open again, Gerard had heard his stomach growl aggressively at least three times. Frank smiled at him--it wasn't exactly an inviting smile--before sitting across from him on the bed and setting down two bags, one that clearly contained food and was marked with a fast-food brand name, and one that was smaller and clearly wasn't for Gerard to see.

"With me," Frank said as he pulled out mac n' cheese, shitty fruit salad, bread, and two apples. "You're vegetarian."

"You're vegetarian?"

"Yeah. The whole reason I killed that woman was that she tortured and killed loved ones of mine. I don't condone killing, and especially torturing of animals or humans without a reason..." he paused and then looked at Gerard through his eyelashes. "Or a safeword."

Gerard nodded and felt his face get hot again so he looked away.

"Left-handed or right-handed?"

"Right."

"And your left hand is cuffed... but you'll need both hands, won't you?"

"I-I can manage."

"Good," Frank purred approval, and Gerard blushed, bowing his head to conceal the small smile that appeared on his lips.

"Thank you for the food, Frank," Gerard whispered hesitantly, and Frank smiled, taking out plastic silverware and pushing Gerard's meal towards him.

"You're welcome, Gee," he said and opened the food for him because it would be practically impossible without both hands. "You don't have to wait for me to eat, by the way," he said, and then reached for the other bag.

This bag wasn't plastic, it was a thin kind of cloth. It looked a little shitty--or rather cheesy--but Gerard just took a bite of his mac n' cheese and watched Frank pull a thin silver chain from inside of it and pull the key out of his pocket. He slipped the key onto the chain and then fastened the chain around his neck. The chain was thin enough to look classic and be able to be tucked under Frank's shirt, which he did right then, but was thick enough not to break when pulled on. Gerard bit his lip and took another bite of his food. He liked the necklace.

After Frank finished toying with the chain and key, he tucked it under his shirt and started eating his own food.

"You're quiet," he pointed out and Gerard swallowed what was in his mouth to respond.

"You're kind of scary."

"Kind of?" Frank grinned.

"Like... really scary. But you're being so nice to me."

"I want you to trust me. Besides, I'm not going to hurt you unless I need to," Frank said with a shrug, and Gerard nodded.

"I won't give you a reason to."

"Good. I don't want to have to," Frank said, and that was that.

Gerard nodded, and his eyes flitted down to the key around Frank's throat for a moment before he looked at his food and kept eating. It was a while before anyone said anything, but when the silence was broken, it was by Gerard.

"Why did you put it on a necklace?" he asked softly.

"I thought it would be nice." Frank glanced at his chest for a moment before he looked up again. "You like it, don't you?"

Gerard blushed, "Yeah. I do."

Frank hummed and smiled, placing a hand on Gerard's knee. "Power is a sweet thing, isn't it sugar?" he asked, and then removed his hand in order to finish his food.

"Um... yeah, I guess so," Gerard whispered and finished what was in his bowl as well and set it aside. Frank gathered all of their empty plastics and put it all back into the takeout bag and then got up and threw it all away. As he walked away, Gerard found himself staring and averted his eyes nearly as quickly as they'd lingered.

But of course, his cheeks were bright pink, even as he fidgeted with one of the apples that was still sitting on the bed.

"What's up, sweetheart?" Frank said, his tone just a little evil, but his words still comforting as he sat closer to Gerard. "Wanna tell me why you're all red?"

Gerard looked away and shrugged, pulling his knees up to his chest.

"Awe, c'mon, sugar, let me in on your secret, why don't ya? It's not like you'll really be able to tell anyone else," Frank coaxed and scooted closer, holding one of Gerard's knees in his hand and stroking his thumb over the rough fabric of his jeans.

"I... You're very, um..."

"Tell me, Gerard. What am I?"

Gerard gulped and blushed further at the difficulty he was having spitting it out. Frank's hand tightened on his knee, encouraging him, but somehow it only made it all worse. "You're very good looking," he finally whispered, and Frank's hand on his knee travelled up his thigh a little.

"Mm, thanks, sugar," Frank cooed and took Gerard's face in his free hand. "I think you're lovely as well."

Gerard's breathing was changing at the proximity of their faces, and even though they were close, he still looked down, averting his eyes. "Thank you, Frank."

"Look at me, Gee," Frank said and Gerard looked up, subduing a little shiver as their eyes locked together. Frank bit his lip and Gerard couldn't help but glance down at it and admire the way Frank's piercing moved with his lip and the way his eyes clouded over with something new as he looked back up at them. And then Frank brought their lips together.

Gerard kissed back almost instantly--surprising himself. Frank rewarded him by moving their lips together slowly and licking Gerard's bottom lip even more slowly, making Gerard shiver and open his mouth. Frank let his tongue glide into Gerard's mouth and his hand drift further up to the middle of his thigh and squeeze a little bit.

Frank revelled in the little gasp that left Gerard's lips, and then Frank left it, kissing him without tongue, and pressing his back into the bedframe. Then, after a few seconds, Frank pulled away and his fingers caressed Gerard's face a little where it was sitting.

"You're good at that, Gee," Frank said, and then wiped his mouth off on his sleeve and chuckled. "I'm gonna have more fun with you than I thought."

Gerard bit his lip and looked away again. "You're really good at it too."

"Thanks, baby," Frank said and then pressed a kiss to the side of Gerard's mouth. "It's getting late, though, so we should sleep. We've got a lot to do tomorrow."

"Okay," Gerard mumbled, and then kicked off his shoes.

"Take your jeans off."

Gerard's eyes widened. "What?"

"Take them off. I'm not going to do anything to you until we establish a safeword. Again, I'm mean, but I'm not that mean. I have morals."

"You wouldn't..."

"What, rape you? No. Never," Frank said and leant in again. "I wouldn't dream of it, baby."

"Okay," Gerard said, and then struggled with his button and zipper, and Frank got off the bed and did the same. When they both had jeans off, Frank helped Gerard under the covers and slipped in next to him.

Frank kissed the base of Gerard's neck and then turned off the light on the bedside table, casting the room in total darkness. "Get some sleep," he said, and then turned away, his back to Gerard, and settled.

Gerard closed his eyes.

---

When he woke up, Gerard hadn't even realised that he'd been asleep in the first place. Frank was gone, but after Gerard had rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and reflected upon the events of the day before, he heard the door click and swing open, and Frank walked in with two cups of coffee and two bagels.

They ate in silence, each of them occasionally saying something casual. Usually Frank would say something and Gerard would respond quietly and then Frank would tease him or pinch his cheek for being so quiet, but Gerard wouldn't ever miss the hunger that shined dimly in the other's eyes or the eagerness that took them over when he let a smile show up on his face or when he felt his cheeks light up red.

"You finished?" Frank asked, rapping on the door of the bathroom where Gerard was currently washing his face. He towelled it off quickly.

"Yes," he replied and then heard the door opening. He finished rubbing his face with the towel, and Frank looked him up and down.

"We're going back to Belleville today, so as soon as we get back in the car, you've gotta put the blindfold on again."

"Okay. Thank you," Gerard responded softly, and Frank placed a hand under his chin, pushing his face up gently to make their eyes meet.

"Of course, Gee," Frank said gently, and then smiled softly. "Your safeword is Belleville, okay, sugar?"

"Okay, Frank."

Frank pursed his lips and then stroked Gerard's jaw. "I need to hear you say it."

"Belleville," Gerard murmured, and Frank seemed pleased because he leant in and kissed Gerard's mouth softly and almost sweetly.

"Good. Now, we've gotta go. It's an hour before checkout and we have a long day ahead of us, right, sugar?"

"Yes, Frankie," Gerard said, and then looked up at Frank, seeing if he'd caught the accidental nickname. It was really all a slip of the tongue, he'd known another Frank that'd gone by Frankie instead, but since this Frank didn't seem too upset by it, Gerard calmed down.

"I like it," Frank said, and Gerard's heart floated into his throat. Frank took hold of Gerard's hand and pulled him out of the bathroom. He grabbed their phones and the keys to the hotel, put Gerard's cuffs on, and after another glance around the place, closed the door behind them.

Again, there weren't people in the parking lot, so Gerard relaxed a little as Frank tugged on the handcuffs like a leash, dragging him to his car and this time helping him into the front seat. When they were settled, Frank pulled out the cloth again, and Gerard leant his head forward automatically.

"You're really used to this already, aren't you?" Frank muttered as he tied it behind Gerard's eyes. "You're being awfully good for me."

Gerard nodded curtly when the cloth was fastened around his eyes, and bit his lip when he felt his heart rate increase because of anxiety combined with the thrill of having a blindfold on. But anxiety definitely won out, because they were buckled in, and the car was moving, and the car was speeding up because they'd just merged onto the highway, and dear god, Frank's rough hand was on Gerard's thigh again.

Belleville didn't seem so far away now, though, that The Smashing Pumpkins were playing again, and this time, Frank's hand was there for support and not for captivity--at least not as much as it had been the day before. In fact, when they'd stopped at a red light or something--Gerard couldn't tell--Frank had taken Gerard's face in his hands again and pulled him in for a slow kiss, pulled away and started driving again.

"What?" he'd said indignantly when Gerard had made a noise of assent after the car started moving again. "Your lips are pretty and soft."

---

It was the middle of the night when they reached Belleville.

The trip to Gerard's flat was quick and methodical. Frank had seemed to procure a large gym bag out of nowhere and unlocked Gerard's handcuffs with the key around his neck, eyeing him gently with a sliver of trust that fluttered around in Gerard's chest beautifully.

Frank followed Gerard into his room where he stuffed his most-used clothes into his bag along with a few books and a few things from his bedside table and a little black bag that he refused to tell Frank the contents of, promising him that it was jewellery.

Frank knew what it was. He wasn't stupid, but he was slightly disappointed Gerard hadn't been able to tell him.

They moved to the kitchen next, where they shoved a bunch of dry foods into a few shopping bags, and then to the living room to grab a few more books because Frank's interest had been piqued. They stopped at the coat closet too, where Gerard shoved his doc martens in the bag along with his jean jacket and of course, a leather jacket.

He zipped it all up and sighed sadly. He had an idea that this was the last he'd ever see of this place, so he stepped hesitantly towards the door, but Frank had other ideas. He took Gerard's bag out of his hands and put the dry goods down and took Gerard's hands in his own. He dragged him back to the living room.

"Sit down, sugar," Frank purred dangerously, and Gerard did. He glanced at Frank expectantly, folding his hands in his lap, and Frank just shook his head, sitting on Gerard's lap and taking his hands in his own. Then, pinning Gerard's hands to the cushions of the couch, he pressed their lips together fiercely and almost--almost--grinned when Gerard let out a little noise and kissed back, letting Frank's tongue into his mouth and letting him bite and suck at his lips.

Occasionally, there'd be a little whine or something that'd leave Gerard's mouth when he bit his lip, so Frank kissed slowly and hotly down Gerard's throat and bit at the base of his neck. He sucked at the skin there too and let his tongue caress it, and revelled in the little moans Gerard let out and how his breath became flustered and stressed.

And when he made another hickey, Gerard's hips came up to meet his.

Frank pulled away almost instantly, and he could tell Gerard was doing his best not to look disheartened or sad, but he saw through it.

"Not yet, baby," Frank said and shook his head. "Not quite yet. But soon. We still have to go to my house to get my things too."

They ended up crashing at Frank's house.

Frank had let Gerard take a shower and brush his teeth and have a moment to himself in the bathroom, but then he'd cuffed his hand to the bedpost and wrapped an arm around his waist and nosed at the side of his neck where there were swollen hickeys before Gerard had made a little noise and Frank had gotten the message.

"G'night, sugar," he'd whispered, and hadn't moved his arm away from where it was wrapped possessively around Gerard's waist. Gerard didn't mind.

---

The next morning, Gerard had woken up to an empty bed again, but the air smelt faintly of coffee too. He sat up and didn't even mind the tug on his wrist as the handcuff pulled at it. He rolled his eyes as he realised that he wouldn't be free of it until Frank came to check up on him again, and in annoyance, he pulled the covers up to his waist and leant back against the headboard where his hand was cuffed.

It was a few minutes until Frank showed up again, and it wasn't that bad of a wait, but Gerard would much rather have woken up uncuffed.

But it wasn't that kind of a relationship.

He sighed and shook it off and looked up sharply as the door handle turned and the door squeaked open.

"Oh, good, you're awake," Frank said softly and came over to Gerard. He sat on his lap and unlocked the handcuffs from the headboard as well as Gerard's hand. He left them open on the bedside table and returned the key necklace to its place around his neck.

Then his hands cupped Gerard's face, and he had a little bit of an evil glint in his eyes. Gerard brushed it off, used to it at this point and ignored the way it made shivers run down his spine. He gingerly let his hands rest on Gerard's hips.

"Frankie?"

"What's wrong, Gee?"

"What's... what's going on with us?" he whispered and Frank just giggled a little bit and slid off of him, pulling him off the bed in the process, hand clasped around his wrist gently.

"We'll see, baby," Frank assured him, and then let go of his wrist. "I made breakfast and coffee. You want some?"

---

"Blindfold again?"

"Not until we reach a certain point," Frank said after they'd packed his things up and gotten in his car. "You're good for now... Or actually, people will recognise you. Let's put it on."

"Yes, Frankie."

Frank hummed, pleased and put the blindfold on Gerard again. His hands were cuffed in his lap again, and this time, he didn't feel as anxious about it, even though he was sitting in the parking lot of an apartment building somewhere unclear to him in New Jersey. He felt tingles run up and down his spine when he felt Frank's fingers touch his cheek, and surprised himself by instinctively leaning into them and closing his eyes behind the blindfold.

"We've got to make just one stop before we head out," Frank said, and then pulled him in for a sweet, uncoordinated kiss that moved their lips together without opening their mouths, and Gerard felt himself smiling as Frank pulled away and squeezed one of his cuffed hands. His heart fluttered.

This was wrong.

---

The car door opened, and Gerard's heart skipped a beat. He inhaled sharply, but relaxed when he felt the familiar hand on his leg.

"It's just me, Gee. Relax," he said gently, and then his fingers cascaded across Gerard's cheek and came to rest at his jaw, pulling him in for another blind kiss. "Relax," he whispered again and then dropped a plastic bag in the backseat by reaching over. Then the car started.

"I'm sorry," Gerard whispered, mainly to calm himself down, and Frank grinned even though--or rather, especially because--Gerard couldn't see him do it.

"It's alright, there's nothing to apologise for, baby," he cooed, and then they were pulling out of a parking space and five minutes later, Gerard felt the familiar tug of merging onto the I-95. He just didn't know whether they were going North or South; towards New York or Delaware. He sighed and bit his lip.

"Okay," he said. "May I ask a question?"

"Shoot," Frank responded, and Gerard felt his hand on his knee.

"What'd you... What'd you just buy?"

"You'll see very soon, sweetheart," Frank reassured him, stroking his knee, and Gerard nodded.

"Okay. May I ask another?"

"Yes, of course. You don't need to ask to speak, baby. Just do that when I tell you it's not okay to speak."

"Yes, Frankie... Um," Gerard swallowed, not wanting to anger the driver. "Are you gonna use it to hurt me?"

"Never," Frank said resolutely, and Gerard felt a wave of relief wash through him, but then tensed up again.

"Would you," he whispered. "Would you ever hurt me?"

"Only if I needed to," Frank said, paused, and then continued. "And your safeword applies to every single situation I personally put you in, you understand?"

"Yes, Frankie."

"Good," Frank said, and then before they lapsed into silence again, "Is the Misfits okay this time, sweetheart?"

"I love the Misfits."

"Great," Frank said, and Gerard half-smiled, relief taking over half of his brain, whilst the other part of his brain was plauged with worry.

"Only if I needed to."

---

The only stop they made for the next seven or eight hours was for coffee, and right before it when Frank pulled to the side of the road to take off Gerard's blindfold and unlock the handcuffs with the silver key. Both items were then safely stored in the glovebox. It was a short drive to the next Starbucks rest-stop, where Gerard was allowed to use the bathroom by himself--with Frank waiting at the entrance to the bathroom when he was finished. 

Gerard marvelled at the way Frank was out before him but brushed it off. 

Frank took his hand when he came out of the bathroom, and then they walked to Starbucks. Gerard was still astonished by the fact that Frank was holding his hand, but he figured it was more of a security thing rather than an affection thing, but at this point, Gerard didn't know what he'd be able to do if he did manage to get out of Frank's grip. Reluctantly, he admitted to himself that he was actually beginning to like him. 

There was a couple standing in front of them, a young woman and a man, and they held hands and talked, but the noise level in the place was too high for Gerard to listen in, so he didn't really try, but he noticed that when he looked away and down at his feet again, Frank's thumb started rubbing the back of his hand. 

He immediately looked at Frank, head snapping up, and Frank turned his head lazily back at him and gave him a tiny smile, and Gerard felt a little flutter in his chest and a warmth spreading through his fingers and up to his elbows from where Frank's thumb was stroking the back of his hand. 

He smiled back. 

"Next in line, please!"

---

When they were back in the car with their coffees, Frank didn't pull out the items right away. He hesitated, and when he did pull them out, Gerard bowed his head and held out his wrists again, face unintentionally glancing defeat. 

When Frank didn't make any move to put the items on Gerard, however, the taller of the two looked up at Frank's face. His mouth was puckered in a cute way, his face clearly indecisive, and then he put the things in his lap and brought a hand up to brush some hair out of Gerard's eyes. 

"Relax, sweetheart, I don't think..." Frank sighed and looked down at his lap, and then pulled Gerard in for a short kiss. "I don't think we need these anymore. We're too far away, and you knowing where we are isn't going to hurt us anymore."

"Okay," Gerard squeaked, and chanced a smile at Frank, happiness exploding through his chest when Frank smiled back and stroked his cheek. 

"You know..." Frank trailed off. "You've been awfully good, Gerard. You've made things very easy for me."

Gerard swallowed, his heart speeding up at the menacing tone Frank was using, but he assured himself that he'd been good, he'd behaved, that Frank wouldn't hurt him, that they had a safeword, that he was allowed to use it whenever he wanted to. 

"Yeah?" Gerard croaked. 

Frank smiled, and this time it went to his eyes too. "Yeah. No handcuffs or blindfold. I'm starting to trust you."

Gerard let himself smile at Frank, heart rate slowing down considerably. "Thank you."

"Of course," Frank said. "But if you break my trust, the first thing I'm doing is putting those on again. Understand?"

"Yes, Frankie."

Frank hummed at the nickname and gave Gerard's hand a little squeeze. "Good. Buckle up, and let's drink our coffee before it gets too cold."

Gerard nodded and soon enough, they were back on the highway again, but this time, it wasn't as quiet as it had been. In fact, Gerard initiated conversation. 

"Where are we going?"

Frank smiled a little, and Gerard assumed it was because he'd spoken, but then furrowed his eyebrows. "Another motel tonight, and then I have a friend that I room with occasionally... We have a place to stay."

"We..." Gerard whispered. 

"We," Frank confirmed. 

Gerard let the Misfits play for a little bit, maybe thirty seconds of a song before he tried again. 

"Frankie?"

Frank hummed, stealing a glance at Gerard and then bringing his cup to his lips. 

"What's... I'm sorry to ask again, but like..."

"It's alright, just ask."

"I... What's going on between us, Frankie?" Gerard held his breath, and Frank frowned. 

"You're my sub, right?" It wasn't a question, and Gerard knew it. 

"Yes, Frankie."

"And I'm your dom."

"Yes, Frankie," Gerard said, and his breath caught in his throat as Frank's hand brought his cup to his lips and then set it down and settled on his thigh. "But does that make us...?"

"Boyfriends? Is that what you're trying to say, sweetheart?" Frank said and smiled weirdly. 

Gerard nodded. "Yes, Frankie."

Frank didn't respond, at least not right away. Instead, he took another sip of his coffee and let his hands rest at ten and two on the steering wheel as he took an exit. It settled back on Gerard's lap afterwards though, and Gerard just sat there, sipping at his coffee and mouthing some of the lyrics to the Misfits songs absentmindedly. 

He didn't see it when Frank glanced at him occasionally, ogling at his sharp jawline, short black hair, parted lips. And he obviously didn't feel it when Frank's heart tugged to pull over and kiss him, or to answer 'yes' to the question. 

And when both of their x-tall coffees were finished, he still hadn't answered. In fact, it was late into the evening when they were pulling into the exit for the next motel that Frank had even made up his mind. But he still hadn't told Gerard. 

---

"Take your time," Frank told Gerard and uncuffed him from the bed after he walked out of the bathroom with his towel wrapped around his hips. 

Gerard looked up from his book and his jaw dropped. Frank smirked. Gerard had noticed the tattoos on Frank's hands and neck, but until now, he hadn't noticed the ones up his arms, on his chest, his stomach, his shoulders, his back. 

"Staring's rude, Gerard," Frank cooed. 

"Sorry," Gerard mumbled when he caught Frank's smirk, and bookmarked his page, stumbling off the bed, and then grabbing some clothes. 

"It's okay," Frank said, and Gerard looked up at him, marvelling at the tattoos all over his torso yet again. "Hey, Gee?"

Gerard snapped out of it to see Frank's lips twitching to suppress a grin and bottle it up into a smirk. He didn't really notice. Frank shrugged a shoulder in the direction of the bathroom. 

"Y-yeah?"

"Go take a shower, baby."

"Okay," Gerard breathed and quickly closed himself in the bathroom. He set his things down on the counter and took out a towel, turning the shower on again and breathing deeply. By the time he was out, he was calm, collected even. 

But Frank sitting on the bed in briefs and a translucent white band shirt that clung to his shoulders and chest definitely broke Gerard's calm facade immediately. Frank stood up immediately, and made his way over to Gerard, snagging something in a bag from the side of the bed and walking up to the trembling man. 

"Hey Gee," he said, dragging a finger across his chin. Gerard shivered. 

"Yeah?"

"I have something I want you to wear okay? Except when you sleep," he said, smiling slightly and glancing down at Gerard's lips. Gerard just nodded. 

"Okay."

Frank took his hand and brought him to the bed, still hiding a little bag behind his back. 

"What is it?" Gerard dared, and Frank smiled. 

"Wait," he said gently, and then brought Gerard's face close to his with his free hand. Gerard responded immediately to the kiss and Frank smiled, parting their lips after a few seconds and then pulling away. 

Gerard looked at Frank expectantly. Frank smirked. "Close your eyes."

Gerard did so, and Frank pressed a kiss to the side of his head. "Lower your head."

Gerard's stomach erupted in butterflies, but he kept his eyes closed and bowed his head obediently, inhaling sharply when he heard the bag being pulled open. 

"Relax, baby," Frank breathed, and Gerard relaxed his shoulders, leaning forward into Frank a little bit. "Good."

And then he felt something cool and soft being slipped around his neck--the feeling of the clicking clasps at the back satisfying and familiar. His breath caught in his throat and his stomach twisted and his head spun for a short moment, and he waited for permission to open his eyes again. 

"Lift your head and look at me, baby," Frank said, pulling away from Gerard and cupping his cheek in his hand. Gerard did so and drank in the hungriness in Frank's eyes, and the gentleness too. He was smiling just a little bit, and scarily too, and his russet eyes sparkled with lust and affection, and his tattoos shone through his shirt and trailed up his neck and to his ears where they stopped.

"You ever worn a collar, sugar?" Frank said, his voice deeper than it had been a few moments ago as he eyed the collar. Gerard nodded enthusiastically as he eyed Frank and all of his tattoos and perfect piercings, standing out against his skin in all their glory. 

Gerard drank it all in because he knew that in the next few moments, his eyes were going to be closed again. And he was right. Frank pressed his lips to Gerard's, and Gerard eagerly responded, opening his mouth and letting Frank in. When their tongues were done fighting a battle that Frank won, Frank's lips, teeth, and tongue crawled down Gerard's neck, biting and sucking around the collar, eliciting moans and gasps from Gerard. 

The hickeys trailed lower and lower until Frank was pulling off Gerard's shirt, and Gerard was being pushed back onto the bed, and surprisingly, the handcuffs didn't make a visit that night, but Gerard was almost positive they would at some point, whether sooner or later. 

But for right now, he just came when Frank told him to, and then basked in the feeling of being held close to a body while they showered together, his collar off for safe-keeping until the next morning. 

---

Gerard woke up in Frank's arms, and for a fleeting moment, he thought about getting up, but he knew Frank would catch him. He could tell by the way Frank was breathing that he was awake too. And if he caught him trying to run, he'd definitely be punished. 

So he just turned around to face Frank instead.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Frank said, pressing a kiss to Gerard's forehead. 

"Morning, Frankie," Gerard said and smiled when he felt Frank's arms wrapping around him again and pulling him into his chest gently. "Did you enjoy last night?"

Frank laughed softly and pulled his face away to plant a kiss to the corner of Gerard's mouth. "I should be the one asking, don't you think?"

Gerard shook his head. "No, I wanted to make you feel good, too. Did I?"

"So good, baby," Frank said and kissed Gerard's head through his hair. "You're perfect, you know?"

Gerard shook his head. "I like being in this kind of... um... relation--situation," he corrected.

Frank's stomach twisted. "Good." He sat up. "We should get going soon. We're gonna eat breakfast out today alright? You deserve it."

Gerard sat up too, smiling at this and at the fact that he had no difficulty from handcuffs doing so. "I'd love that, Frankie."

"Great. Get dressed, get your things, and then we can go, alright?"

Gerard nodded, nuzzled his face in Frank's neck one more time, and then they both got up to clean their things up. They got dressed, and then when they were about ready to go, Gerard sat on the side of the bed. "Frankie?"

Frank smiled, putting his hands on his hips. "I forgot something, didn't I?"

Gerard looked down at his feet and nodded, inhaling sharply when Frank walked over and plucked the thin piece of dark leather from the bedside table and slipped it around his neck. He clicked it closed on a low tightness so it sat right below the collar of his shirt, visible, but not apparent. Frank hummed in approval, and Gerard practically beamed. 

"Frankie... I..."

"Yes, darling?"

"Thank you, I guess," Gerard said gently and then dared to press his lips to Frank's. Frank kissed back softly and held his hands, pulling away after a few minutes. 

"Come on, sweetheart, we've gotta check out," he said, pretending to mind that Gerard had initiated the kiss. 

---

The diner was cute, vintage, small; it, along with the occurrences of the previous day almost made Gerard forget that Frank was a murderer. Almost. Frank sat in the seat with his back to the door, a safety precaution, Gerard assumed, but he didn't really find himself minding at all. 

Instead, he focused on the menu for the first five minutes. And then when he'd decided on pancakes, clasped his hands together under the table and stared at Frank. The man was really beautiful, he noted as if he hadn't before. Now, though, he really got to look at the scorpion on his neck and nose and lip piercings and the Halloween on his fingers as he turned the page in the menu. 

"Gerard, I told you," Frank insisted and touched his foot to Gerard's under the table. "Staring is rude."

"I..." Gerard said, and then blushed. "Sorry, you're just so pretty."

Frank just smiled, and the put the menu down. "Thanks, baby. What're you gonna get?"

---

"Where are we going again?" Gerard asked once they were in the car again. This time, Gerard didn't have handcuffs or a blindfold on, but the collar was still around his neck. 

Frank glanced away from the road for a second and then bit his lip. "Vermont."

Gerard's eyes went wide. "Vermont!?"

Frank frowned. "Yeah. You gotta problem with that?"

Gerard crossed his arms and looked over at Frank, feeling the collar shift smoothly on his neck as he did so. "No... Actually, I... Never mind."

"Tell me," Frank said, his tone not curious but commanding, and Gerard felt a sick kind of fluttering in his chest. 

He responded quietly. "I've always wanted to go to Vermont a second time."

"Second time?" Frank muttered and changed lanes to the left to avoid taking an exit. "Why's that, baby?"

Since his counterpart had seemed to calm down considerably quickly, Gerard swallowed. He didn't know if he wanted to tell Frank right now, but he was an awful liar, so he sighed and did. "My brother's best friend was from Vermont. She moved back there when they were in ninth grade. And the one time we went was because she'd... killed herself. We drove up for her funeral." 

Frank seemed to have stiffened a little, so Gerard hid his glossy eyes and pink nose by looking at his lap. "I'm sorry, Gee." 

"I just remember it was so beautiful in Vermont, and I wondered how she could do such an awful thing when she had so much good around her. It wasn't until I was about to do the same when I realised what I'd thought about her."

Frank nodded, and Gerard didn't look at him, fearing the stiff, emotionless man again, so he was surprised when he felt a comforting hand slip onto his mid-thigh and squeeze affectionately. "I'm sorry, babe."

Gerard shrugged. "It's alright. I..." he laughed breathily and when he was sure his eyes were back to normal, he looked up. "Vermont is very pretty. Is that where your friend lives?"

Frank hummed a "yes" and then chanced a glance at Gerard. "Are you alright?"

Gerard smiled distantly. "I'm good."

---

"Oh my god, Frankie, you finally made it!" a tall guy with a fluffy afro grinned and pulled Frank into a hug. "Who's this you've got with you?" he asked and pulled away, pointing at Gerard. 

Frank put an arm around Gerard's waist. "He's my um... boyfriend." Frank looked at Gerard to make sure he'd said the right thing, and Gerard smiled, leaning into Frank's shoulder. Gerard's heart blossomed with hope, gratitude, and affection, and he leant into Frank's touch even more as he responded. 

"Yeah. Nice to meet you. My name's Gerard."

"Ray," the afro-dude said. "Nice to meet you. I thought it was only gonna be Frank until I got a text last night. How'd you guys meet?"

"Long story," Gerard covered, and felt Frank's arm tighten gratefully around him.

"Well, we have a long time," Ray winked at them. "Welcome in. I was just making dinner."

Ray turned around and ushered them in with a wave of his hand, and Frank kissed Gerard's neck gently and nudged him forward, arm still tight around his waist. When Frank got this possessive, Gerard didn't know, but he also didn't mind at all. Not one bit. 

Frank closed the door with his foot and they followed Ray inside. The house was on the edge of a small town with one gas station, three small supermarkets, a strip mall with clothing stores and a couple of restaurants, a few bookstores, and many cafes. 

Ray's house was red brick and two floors, small, but large enough to have a guest room with a queen bed, which he gave to Frank and Gerard when they asked where to put their bags. Then, they were led back downstairs to the kitchen. 

"Tonight's potato and leak soup and cornbread. It was cold as fuck today, I hope you don't mind that I don't have amazing food," Ray said and turned the stove off and pulling out three bowls and gesturing to a pan of cornbread. 

"It smells incredible," Gerard said softly, and Frank's hand squeezed his gently once. 

"Anything you make is wonderful, Ray. I'm grateful that you even made us something," Frank said and smiled. 

"No problem, Frankie. After what you did to her for me," Ray said, and then his voice went dark. "And for Christa. And of course our mums too."

Realisation dawned on Gerard, and he leant into the counter in shock, mouth opening slightly. Ray gave him a look and then raised his eyebrows at Frank. He turned back to Gerard. "You alright, man?"

"Y-yeah... I didn't realise it was... you," he stammered, and Ray nodded. "I'm sorry."

"That's alright. You didn't do anything, and you can't do anything to change what happened. I wish I could have though."

Frank nodded, and his finger stroked the back of Gerard's hand again, indicating that they'd be talking about this later with his eyes. Gerard looked down. He hadn't spoken out of turn, or at least he didn't think he had. He bit his lip and hoped he wasn't in trouble as Ray turned back to the soup and served it in three bowls. While his back was turned, Gerard looked up at Frank and raised his eyebrows innocently, biting his lip. 

Frank just gave him a smile and pressed a kiss to his forehead, so Gerard assumed he hadn't stepped out of line. Gerard asked permission to speak with his eyes, and Frank had seemed to have gotten the message because he nodded curtly. 

"Ray," Gerard began, glancing at Frank to make sure he was fine. "Can I help you set the table or something?"

"Sure," Ray said and smiled gratefully. "Frank, could you get three glasses of water?" he asked and then looked at Gerard and pointed to a drawer. "There's the silverware. We're only gonna need spoons, I think."

Gerard nodded, and Frank squeezed his hand before he let go to get them water. While Ray brought the bowls and tray of cornbread to the table and Frank brought the water, Gerard pulled out three spoons, holding two of them together and biting his lip for a second before closing his eyes, shaking it off, and bringing them to the table. 

Gerard slipped into the chair at the square table that had its back pushed against the wall, and Frank smiled approvingly, his hand settling on Gerard's thigh gently for a moment before accepting some cornbread from Ray and passing the tray to Gerard. 

"So, tell me the story," Ray said after he downed a spoonful of soup. "How'd you guys meet? And I wanna hear it from both perspectives."

Frank rolled his eyes and smiled gently at Gerard. His gaze sent shivers up Gerard's spine and sparks throughout his stomach. "Should I go first?" 

It was more of an 'I'm going first' rather than a 'should I go first,' but Gerard hadn't wanted to fuck up anyway, so he nodded. "I'm starved. You should definitely go first," he said and put a hand over Frank's gently over the table. Frank's fingers instinctually laced them together and Gerard smiled. He pulled his hand away gently to eat, and Frank didn't seem upset, so he calmed his anxiety down. 

"Well, for me, it started in the alley where I killed her for us. I was just about finished when this little punk walked into the alley, probably looking for help. Um, he complimented my killing style," Frank started and blushed a little bit, and Gerard felt some victory over that. He made Frank blush. "So I asked him what he did, and he said forensic sciences, right?"

Ray bit his lip. "Fuck. You a cop, dude?"

Gerard shook his head. "More like a private detective, but for forensics. I work with cops a lot, but I get paid a lot to uh... like, help criminals execute crimes well too," he mumbled the last bit and looked down, blushing. 

"You do?"

"I make bank," Gerard said, and suddenly he was smiling a little more. "I mean, it's a morally conflicting job, but it pays so well."

Ray raised an eyebrow at Frank. "You two were meant to be."

Frank giggled. "Yeah, maybe. Anyways, so he said he was a forensics dude, and I thought he worked for the cops," Frank shot a look at Gerard, and Gerard had a bad feeling about that one. "But apparently he didn't, so I drove almost halfway through New York, and then we stopped at a hotel, and we didn't have clothes, so we went back to Belleville. By this time," Frank stopped and ran a hand up Gerard's arm gently and settled back down at his forearm before he took it off. "By that time, we were on a romantic level rather than a platonic one. Then, we made the trip up through New York again, and I didn't have to blindfold or cuff him anymore, and we stayed in a hotel, fucked, fell asleep, got up and went on a breakfast date and then drove up to your place."

Ray nodded. "Interesting story. So how long have you been boyfriends, then?"

Frank answered. "Since we walked in."

Gerard smiled at his honesty. 

"But," Frank continued. "He asked me twice about it, and the second time, I wanted to tell him I wanted to be his boyfriend, but I got nervous. Since... you know what happened last time."

Ray nodded again. "Jesus. Uh, yeah. Gerard, what about your point of view?"

"I thought I was gonna be killed, to be honest," he giggled. "I had just bought this comic and I was walking home when I heard this scream. No one else heard it, so I walked to where I heard it, and saw this like... perfect murder, and the second thing I noticed was how attractive the killer was, and--"

"What was the first thing you noticed?" Ray interjected excitedly. Apparently he really liked stories. 

"Well, that there was a murdered woman in an alley," he chuckled nervously and continued. "And then, all of a sudden, Frank comes up to me and fucking pins me to the wall, and I'm too scared to move or run, and he threatens to kill me, but he didn't. Instead, he dragged me to his car and handcuffed me and eventually blindfolded me, and you know the rest. I was really terrified of him until the day we fucked, basically. And now, I'm like half as scared as I was because he didn't bite my dick off even though he had a good opportunity to do so."

Frank giggled at this and his hand rested on Gerard's knee. "I'm glad you're not as scared of me. I promise I won't bite your dick off."

Ray 'awed' and Gerard chuckled, and they ate the rest of their food listening to Ray talk about how anxious he was about them getting caught. When their bowls were empty and their stomachs were full, Ray told them he'd clean up the dishes and that they should get to bed, that they'd probably be tired from their drive up. Gerard wasn't about to argue, and Frank didn't either, so they walked up the stairs, Gerard before Frank. 

Frank leant against the door when he closed it and Gerard noticed the tattoed man's disapproving expression, so he bowed his head and put his hands behind his back, his right hand curling around his left wrist to keep his hands in place. 

"Gerard," Frank began, his tone hushed, but still firm. "Why didn't you tell me you didn't work for the cops?"

Gerard swallowed, and told the truth, not daring to look up or make eye contact. "It didn't really come up, I guess. I didn't think you'd care, either."

"Well, now that I know you wouldn't report me to the police, I care. This would have made me trust you so much more in the first place."

"I'm sorry, Frankie," Gerard whispered, and Frank walked over. Gerard braced for a slap across the cheek, orders to bend over, rough-housing or something, but all he felt was a gentle hand on his chin, pulling it up to make eye-contact with him. 

"Well, now that we've established that level of trust, I'm going to let it go because I don't want to punish you for making me more comfortable around you. But in the future, you'll tell me things like that, yes?"

"Yes, Frankie," Gerard assured him, letting himself lean into Frank's cheek a little. "Of course."

"Good," Frank smiled, and then leant in so he could peck Gerard's lips for a moment. "Let's brush teeth and go to bed, yeah, baby?"

"Yes, please," Gerard responded. And that's what they did. When they settled in bed, Frank pulled Gerard into his chest, and Gerard nuzzled his nose to Frank's neck affectionately. 

"Thank you for being so kind to me, Frankie," he whispered in the pale light. Frank's hand swept over Gerard's hair, and cupped his jaw. 

"You haven't given me a reason to punish you yet. You're always so good to me."

"I know how to do this," Gerard murmured. "And I can tell you like it better when people actually do as you say. You don't like... brats, do you?"

Frank shook his head and kissed Gerard's cheek. "I don't. I don't like them, but after what you said about working with criminals today, you've really made me reconsider our relationship, baby. I want you to have a say too. I don't want..." he trailed off. 

Gerard kissed his neck in encouragement and was rewarded with a stroke to the cheek. 

"I don't want you to be under my control all the time... For me, at least, this sub/dom stuff only works sometimes, and mostly in the bedroom."

Gerard nodded in understanding, his hand flying up to his neck where the collar still ran around it. "I uh... I like this though," he said gently, and Frank smiled. 

"I want you to wear it out if you want to wear it out," Frank said. "But I also want to be more or less equals in this relationship. And as long as there's a safeword, we've got that covered, yeah?"

"Yeah," Gerard said and smiled, kissed Frank's neck again. "I'd like that a lot."

"Good. Me too," Frank said, and then he flipped on top of Gerard. Gerard looked up at Frank and pushed his hair behind his ears and let his hands linger on his face. Frank leant in, kissed Gerard, and didn't stop until they were both tired. 

Gerard fell asleep in Frank's arms for the second night in a row, and with a smile on his face for the first time in seemingly forever.