*above gif is of Frank after he is feeling better*

Gerard awoke at six am on the dot - not by choice, but because of his stupid fucking alarm on his phone that was currently trying to make itself heard through Gerard's pocket, which meant that it was time to get up and get ready for work.

But when Gerard forced his bleary eyes to open, he wasn't met with the familiar sight of his bedroom walls - hell, he wasn't even in his apartment at all. He was apparently sitting on a couch that wasn't his, with a strange weight in his lap, and a god awful crick in his neck from sleeping in such an uncomfortable position all night.

But just when Gerard was about to freak out, because he could only assume that he had been kidnapped some time during the night, I mean, why else wouldn't he be in his apartment unless someone had taken him from it, his gaze fell on Frankie - Frank, and last night came rushing back to him.

Gerard must have fallen asleep at some point, even though his plan had been to sneak out once Frank had drifted off, but that obviously hadn't happened, and honestly, Gerard was sort of ecstatic that it hadn't.

Because now he got to spend a little more time with Frank, and even though Frank was still in a deep slumber, Gerard found himself observing him like the creepy vampire he had sworn not to be last night, but Gerard made the logical argument with himself that if he moved, he would probably disturb Frank, and he didn't want to do that; Frank needed his rest if he was ever going to get better.

And to be fair, Gerard hadn't really had the chance to see Frank like this, defenseless and bare, not on stage and all dolled up. Last night he had been so busy worrying over Frank, he hadn't truly taken the time to look at Frank the man, not Frankie the drag queen, but Gerard liked what he saw - he liked it a hell of a lot.

Frank's hair was tangled and messy, gloriously dark and long; it would probably touch his shoulders if it was brushed and straightened, but it didn't look necessarily feminine, nothing about Frank did right now actually.

Frank was clothed in only a faded grey t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts, and Gerard couldn't stop staring at the ink adoring his lower legs, which was a section of skin Gerard had never seen bare before. When he was on stage, Frank usually wore leggings, leaving only his arms exposed.

Gerard was oh so tempted to lift up the hem of Frank's t-shirt, because from the tiny amount of skin that was showing, he did had more ink there, swirls, maybe lettering, and fuck - Gerard wanted to see it all, but that was taking things a little too far, and Gerard wasn't that weird - well, he was trying to convince himself that he wasn't at the very least.

So Gerard went back to gazing at Frank's face before the temptation to undress Frank while he slept became any stronger. Frank had a really pretty face, everything from his cheekbones, to his long lashes, to his eyebrows - which were so perfect they had to be plucked - were beautiful, and Gerard found it sort of unfair how attractive Frank was.

I mean - seriously, how many people can dress up as a woman, a fucking hot woman, and then look just as amazing after spending half the night throwing up and passed out on a couch, not to mention sing, and take stunning photos - it was mind boggling actually.

And even though Frank was undeniably gorgeous - dressed as a woman or a man - Gerard like this version of Frank better, the real Frank, the natural, unmade up man lying beside him was even more beautiful than Gerard could have ever imagined.

After a few more minutes spent shameless ogling Frank, Gerard realized he either had to leave now if he was going to make it to work on time...or he could call in sick. Gerard hadn't missed a day of work in ages, but he really didn't want to get up right now.

Actually, Gerard never wanted to go into work anymore. He had been so excited when he got a position with Cartoon Network, even though it was just an entrance level spot, involving mostly meaningless filing and nothing to do with actually being an artist, but now the thrill had worn off, and Gerard seemed no closer to getting a promotion than the day he had attained the job.

Gerard argued back and forth with himself for a few minutes, because even though he would much rather stay here with Frank instead of spending the next eight hours pouring over mindless paperwork, Gerard hated the act of telling his boss that he wouldn't be able to come in that day. Even when Gerard had a legitimate reason for not being able to work his shift, he always got so nervous making the phone call, and he ended up feeling guilty and anxious for hours afterwards.

It wasn't like Gerard's boss was a hard ass or anything; he was pretty decent, as far as bosses went, and even though Gerard didn't interact with him much, he had always been kind to Gerard the few times he had needed to enter his office, and hopefully that would hold true with what Gerard was about to do - if he could find the courage to go through with this that is.

But when Frank snuggled deeper into Gerard's side, Gerard found the motivation to pick up the phone and dial the number to his work. Each ring increased Gerard's nervousness, and by the time someone on the other end actually picked up, Gerard had to suck in a lungful of air rapidly before any words would form, apparently he had stopped breathing for a minute there without his knowledge.

"Mr. Whitaker's office, how may I direct your call," a friendly voice chimed out, and Gerard recognized it as the receptionist that he walked by every day - what was her name...Nancy maybe?

"Can I speak with Mr. Whitaker please?" Gerard gasped out quietly, trying to calm his racing heart as the secretary told him to hang on for a second while she transferred the call.

When Gerard heard a click, and the stupid music they played when they put you on hold ended, he really began to panic. Maybe he shouldn't do this, maybe he should just go in anyway; he could leave Frank a note explaining why he had left, or maybe he could just come in late, but no - Gerard had already made it this far - he wasn't going to chicken out now.

"Hey...um, it's Gerard - Gerard Way, and I - I can't come into work today. My friend is really sick...and he needs someone to look after him for the day...so - yeah." Gerard stuttered out before his boss could speak, trying to sound as sincere as humanly possible.

"Oh, okay Gerard. Well I hope your friend gets better soon. Do you think you will be in tomorrow?"

"Yeah - yeah I should be." Gerard heaved out a sigh of relief when his boss didn't seem bothered at all by the fact that Gerard wouldn't be coming in today, not that he would have any reason to. It would be simple to pawn Gerard's work off on someone else, and no one would probably even notice that Gerard was missing.

"Alright then. Thanks for calling in."

Gerard hung up the phone before his boss could say anything else, and even though his hands were shaking slightly, he actually felt pretty damn proud of himself for successfully getting out of work, and it wasn't like he had lied; Frank was sick, and even though they weren't really friends - not yet, Gerard hoped they would be soon.

Turning off his phone so he wouldn't be disturbed, not that anyone was likely to call Gerard this early anyway, Gerard laid back down as much as he could, trying to get a bit more comfortable so that maybe he could doze off again for a few more hours.

But Gerard's bladder had other ideas, and the uncomfortable pressure finally forced Gerard to free himself from Frank's body so he could hurry to the bathroom. Frank still hadn't awoken when Gerard returned, and Gerard didn't want to risk getting back on the couch with him, just in case he woke him up, but now Gerard was at a loss for what to do.

He briefly debated leaving, but he didn't have a key to Frank's apartment, which meant he would have to leave the door unlocked, and he would never forgive himself if Frank got robbed because of Gerard, so he had to stay put until Frank was up and able to lock the door behind him.

Gerard wandered into the kitchen, deciding to make Frank something to eat. He hadn't wanted anything last night, but he had to be hungry by now, so the least Gerard could do was whip him up some food, even though his cooking skills were subpar at best, and that was being generous.

Gerard gazed around at Frank's well stocked kitchen, squealing internally to himself as he noticed the fancy coffee machine, and he couldn't resist making a cup as he tried to decide what to cook - eggs maybe, or pancakes; both sounded good to Gerard, and he was actually quite torn between the two.

Frank was sick though, and people who were throwing up needed to eat something light. Frank might be over his upset stomach, but he might not, and Gerard wasn't going to feed him a big breakfast only for him to vomit it all back up later.

Gerard debated making soup, but it seemed sort of early for that, and he couldn't find any cans of it in Frank's small pantry, so he settled for slicing up a banana in a bowl of cereal; that should be light enough for Frank's sick system to keep down - at least, Gerard hoped it would.

But when Gerard crept back into the living room, Frank was still sprawled out on the couch snoring softly; Gerard really hadn't thought this through, because Frank's cereal was getting soggier by the second, but Gerard didn't think his lame attempt at making breakfast was worth waking Frank up for, even though he was pretty pleased with himself.

Frank took the decision away from Gerard though, because just then, he shifted slightly, attempting to turn onto his stomach in his sleep, but he ended up slipping over the edge of the couch instead, and with some sort of ninja powers Gerard didn't know he possessed, he managed to catch Frank right before he hit the floor, somehow not spilling any of the cereal in the process.

"Hmm - what?" Frank mumbled groggily, cracking his eyes open lazily as Gerard continued to cradle Frank in his arms, setting down the bowl of cereal on the nearby coffee table gently with his free hand.

"Um...hi," Gerard giggled nervously, the permanent blush that always seemed to stain his cheeks when Frank was around creeping back onto his face.

"You stayed," Frank smiled widely, not making any move to get up, which was just fine with Gerard.

"Yeah - good thing too, I saved you from a nasty spill onto the hardwood floor."

"So that's why I'm down here," Frank chuckled wryly, finally sitting up slightly and peering around curiously.

"I probably shouldn't have let you sleep on the couch, but I sort of dozed off - sorry about that. I didn't mean to overstay my welcome or anything," Gerard stammered quietly, feeling suddenly awkward again for absolutely no reason.

"Don't even start with that - you took care of me all night, so the least I can do is give you a crappy couch to sleep on," Frank scoffed, leaning into Gerard's side lightly in a sort of awkward hug with no arms involved.

"Okay - well, uh - I made you breakfast. I thought you might be hungry, so yeah. It's not much, just cereal with bananas..." Gerard trailed off when Frank's eyes lit up as they caught sight of the bowl on the coffee table, and Gerard swore he could drown in those hazel irises, especially when they were looking at him like that.

"Holy shit - are you kidding me? You are the sweetest fucking thing in the whole entire world," Frank squealed as he basically pounced on Gerard, giving him an actual hug this time, and fuck - Gerard was dead, because Frank's arms felt so fucking good wrapped around his body, and he never wanted this moment to end.

"Looks like someone is feeling better," Gerard grinned against Frank's neck, discreetly inhaling the sweet scent that hung around Frank. It was a strange mixture of perfume, and cologne, and probably vomit, but Gerard loved it, because this was Frank, and he could smell like a garbage can and Gerard would most likely enjoy it.

"Yeah I am actually. I usually don't bounce back this quickly - you must have some magical healing abilities," Frank giggled, pulling away from Gerard so he could grab the bowl of cereal with his tattooed hands.

"Maybe I do, so the next time you get sick, you know who to call." Gerard tried to make his words flirtatious, but they came out in more of an awkward stutter instead.

"I probably should, but I will need your number if that's the case," Frank winked, and Gerard's heart actually stopped beating for a moment before it started up again, pumping at twice its normal speed as Frank continued to gaze at him patiently.

"Yeah - that would be good."

I'm dying - please send help, no not really, I'm just super sick, and I am trying to write because every time I lay down to sleep, I can't breathe and I get all choked up.

Anyway - yay cute fluffy stuff. This book is going to be longer than I originally said, maybe like fifteen chapters or so, I don't know, I just love this story so much that I am drawing it out haha.

((((dying vibes))))

<3 starr