"See - didn't I tell you?" Frank smirked at Gerard, and if Gerard hadn't been so busy having a borderline food orgasm, he would probably have melted into a puddle on the floor, because Frank smirking was too fucking cute, but Gerard was slightly occupied at the moment.

"Oh my god..." Gerard mumbled around his mouthful of fried rice, trying to keep his eyes from rolling up into the back of his head, because Frank hadn't been kidding, seriously - this was the best meal Gerard had ever eaten.

"Holy shit - your face!" Frank chuckled gleefully before taking a bite of his own food, his features twisting into an obnoxious expression that Gerard could only assume was supposed to be an imitation of him.

"I so do not look like that," Gerard pouted, his cheeks heating up as Frank continued to giggle softly.

"Oh come on - that was like looking in a mirror," Frank retorted back, and even though what he had said wasn't that hilarious, Gerard found himself erupting into a fit of laughter.

Gerard couldn't believe how comfortable he felt around Frank right now, because Gerard hated going out in public unless he had to, and the few times he did, there was usually alcohol involved, so he could hide his nerves in the liquid courage a drink always gave him, but this - this was nice, really nice actually, and Gerard was more relaxed right now than he had ever been around another person.

"Seriously though, this food is amazing, and I have to say, I did not have high hopes when I saw the place," Gerard wheezed out when he finally managed to quiet his random bout of mirth.

"I know it looks sketchy, but it seems like the best places are always those old hole in the walls - you know?" Frank gestured with his fork as he spoke before using it for its intended purpose and shoveling some more food into his mouth.

"I wouldn't really know, I pretty much survive on take out," Gerard admitted softly, hoping Frank wouldn't instantly assume that he was a recluse who never left his house unless he had to, which he basically was, but he wasn't ready for Frank to know that yet.

"Well I am making it my personal mission to take you to all the best restaurants in town now," Frank declared, thumping his fist on the table for extra emphasis.

"I'd like that," Gerard muttered quietly, glancing down at his plate in a pathetic attempt to hide his reddening cheeks.

"So how did you end up in New York, because I can tell from your accent that you are Jersey born?" Frank questioned after a few minutes of silence, broken only by the clattering of their utensils against their plates.

Gerard's head snapped up quickly, because he was surprised that Frank had noticed, even though thanks to some interest research that Gerard would never admit to partaking in, he knew that Frank was from New Jersey too, so it would make sense that he would have picked up on it, but Frank's question had still caught him off guard.

"Um - yeah, I am. I moved up here pretty much the second I turned eighteen. I have always wanted to live here, and the Cartoon Network building was a big motivation - I'm an artist by the way, and it was my dream to illustrate for them," Gerard explained in a shaky voice, wringing his hands underneath the table as he spoke, trying to make sure he kept his story short so he wouldn't end up boring Frank.

"I sort of assumed you were when I saw the painting in your house, but seriously - that is so fucking cool. I'm a shitty artist, but I have always loved sketching crappy ghosts and whatever just for fun."

"I'm sure you aren't that bad," Gerard smiled sheepishly.

"No - I'm not even kidding, I am literally terrible, but that almost makes me appreciate art more - you know? I would love to see some of your drawings some time...if that's okay?" Frank asked, and Gerard almost bit his tongue while rapidly nodding his head in agreement.

"Yeah - of course, and I'm totally going to paint you something soon, I haven't worked on canvas in ages though, so don't expect it to be amazing."

"Shut up - I'm going to love whatever you make, I will bet my life on it," Frank grinned, and Gerard couldn't hold back the soft giggle that escaped his mouth, because Frank's confidence in him had Gerard bursting with joy, almost to the point that the overwhelming emotions were becoming painful, and he had to find some way to release it before he exploded, so apparently his body used laughter to accomplish that.

"Please don't do that, I would be so sad if you died," Gerard teased, and he was momentarily shocked that he had managed to say something slightly flirtatious without his face becoming a volcano, but he had, and Gerard counted this moment among one of his greatest achievements.

"Aww really?" Frank asked, and unless Gerard was mistaken, Frank's cheeks had turned a darker shade of pink, but that could just be a trick of the light, or something, because there was no way that Gerard had actually managed to make Frank blush - no way in hell.

"Well yeah - then I wouldn't get my tour of the best restaurants in New York." Gerard was on a roll now, and he had to resist the urge to fist pump the air at how normal he was acting, and how well this maybe date was going, because that would really ruin his hot streak of not acting like a weirdo for more than five seconds.

"That is very true," Frank chuckled softly, leaning closer to Gerard before he spoke again. "So, did you end up getting that job with Cartoon Network?" Frank asked, and Gerard was shocked to see genuine curiosity in his eyes, because someone like Frank shouldn't care about Gerard's boring life, but it seemed like - by some miracle - that he actually did.

"I did, but not in the way I wanted...it's my own fault really though. I mean - I know most illustrators have a college degree, but my parents refused to pay for me if I was going to choose art as my major, so I applied as soon as I graduated high school. I thought maybe I had a chance, my sketches were pretty decent, and some of my teachers had encouraged me to go for it...so I did. I only got an entry level position, mostly just filing and paperwork - that sort of thing, and at first, I was so fucking excited, because I thought I would work my way up to drawing on actual cartoons, but it's been almost four years now, and it doesn't seem like I've caught anyone's attention -" Gerard cut himself off suddenly once the realization that he had been rambling set in, but when he glanced at Frank's face, expecting to see a slightly bored expression plastered across his features, he was met with Frank's wide eyes, which were staring at him with a fierce intensity that couldn't be faked.

"Your boss is an idiot then, and I don't even need to see your sketches to know that. I bet you would make the best cartoons, but hey - maybe you should branch out? Try to sell some of your paintings online or something, I bet more people than just me would be interested in them," Frank suggested, and even though Gerard had pondered the idea before, eventually deciding against it because he didn't want to deal with rejection from total strangers, hearing it come out of Frank's mouth made him reconsider his earlier decision.

"Hmm...maybe you are right - I'll think about it." Gerard took a quick sip of his drink before turning back to Frank, brimming with his own questions. "What about you - how did you end up as a...performer?" Gerard stumbled over his words, because he wasn't entirely sure if Frank was comfortably talking about his other side in public, or if that topic was off limits outside of the club.

"You mean a drag queen? It's okay to say it Gerard, I'm not embarrassed or anything."

"Yeah - that, I just didn't want to cross a line, or whatever." Gerard flailed his hands around aimlessly, his nervous habits coming back now that he had hit what he considered a snag in their conversation.

"Well, it's sort of a long story..." Frank trailed off, staring at Gerard as if waiting for his signal before continuing, which Gerard gave eagerly in the form of a rapid nod of his head. "It definitely wasn't my first career choice, that was for sure. I mean - I always had a thing for women's clothing, I'm not even sure why, I just feel good in them, and my parents were super encouraging, they even threatened to sue my high school when they gave me detention for wearing a skirt to class one day."

"Wow - your parents sound like the polar opposites of mine," Gerard gasped. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, I just can't imagine what that must have been like," Gerard stuttered out, because he really hadn't meant to cut Frank off, he had just spoken without thinking.

"So your folks are pretty strict?" Frank asked, and once again, Gerard was caught off guard by how interested Frank seemed to be in any minute detail about his life Gerard provided him with.

"You have no idea...god - if they could see me now," Gerard chuckled weakly, because in all honesty, his parents would probably drag him straight to church and lock him inside until he saw the light again, or whatever the fuck they called it.

"So that's why you moved out here huh?" Frank questioned gently, as if he knew he was stepping on delicate ground, but Gerard didn't mind for once - actually, he wanted to tell Frank about his past, which was an entirely new feeling for him.

"Yeah - they were always so uncompromising, and they had this whole plan for my life: graduate high school with perfect marks, go to college to become a doctor - or something else just as important, get married to a girl, have kids, settled down - yeah...not for me," Gerard laughed nervously, slightly terrified about letting Frank see this small glimpse into teenage Gerard's life, but it felt good to talk about it with another person, especially when that person was Frank.

"That was really brave of you to make your own choices and start a new life here."

"You think so?" Gerard choked out as small bubbles of pride battered his insides.

"Well yeah - I mean, you said you couldn't imagine what it is like to be me, but I can't even begin to think what it what like for you. Parents are supposed to support you, no matter what, and it makes me sad that yours didn't do that, but I'm so happy that you got away from all that negativity, and you are figuring shit out for yourself," Frank grinned broadly, and Gerard couldn't help but return his gesture.

"Yeah...it's been harder than I thought - I mean, I only figured out that I was gay two years ago, and I still haven't had a real boyfriend, or figured out why I liked skirts so much - oh..." Gerard physically clasped his hands over his mouth to shut himself up, because he hadn't meant to let that slip out, it was a secret that only he and Lindsey knew, and even though it would be insanely hypocritical of Frank to judge Gerard because of this, Gerard was still really fucking scared of his reaction.

"Hey...it's okay Gerard, you don't have to know right away, and if you want, I can try and help you figure out what you like and don't like - how old are you anyway?"

"I'm twenty-two," Gerard mumbled around his fingers.

"Oh wow...I feel old now, but see - you are still young, and you have plenty of time to find out what works for you, and who you are," Frank assured Gerard gently.

"Wait - how old are you?" Gerard questioned, because none of his internet stalking had revealed Frank's age, and now he was genuinely curious.

"I'm twenty-nine, but my birthday was just a month ago, and I still feel like I'm twenty-one most of the time," Frank admitted, his voice rising in pitch slightly, as if he was nervous that Gerard would be freaked out by their age gap, even though the few years separating them meant less than nothing to Gerard - hell, Frank could have been forty and Gerard would still be attracted to him.

"So it's not weird that I'm still confused as fuck?" Gerard asked, and he didn't miss Frank's sigh of relief at Gerard's easy acceptance of their age gap.

"Not at all, especially with your upbringing."

"Okay, so we totally got off track, but I still want to hear how you ended up as a drag queen," Gerard pressed, because he really wanted to know more about the younger version of Frank.

"Oh yeah - well I was that typical punk kid if you ignored the fact that I liked to dress up as a girl every now and then, but I was in a band, I played guitar and sang sometimes, and I had a freaking mohawk and everything. When I graduated high school, I had no plans to go to college, I was so convinced our band was going to make it big, it seemed like a waste of time, but - as you can probably guess - we broke up not too long after that. So I bounced from band to band, trying to make a living doing what I loved, because music was my entire world, and I couldn't imagine doing anything else, but I hit a dead end pretty quickly, and I got to the point where I could barely pay my rent."

Gerard had to hold in a squeal as Frank spoke, because fuck - the image of an angsty little Frank on stage with a freaking mohawk was sort of his new favorite thing, and Gerard would have paid good money for a time machine so he could go back and witness this first hand, but Frank was still talking, and Gerard tuned back in so he wouldn't miss any of Frank's words.

"So I started looking around for work, and I got hired at the club where I perform now, but not as a drag queen, I was just a bartender at the time, but I got really interested in the idea, and I began to get close to some of the guys who perform there. They encouraged me to give it a go, and the owner loved me so much, he doubled my pay as long as I do a show once a week, and even though I was really nervous about the whole thing at first, I seriously love it now, and I can't think of anything else I would rather do." By the time Frank was finished speaking, he had a nostalgic smile on his face, and Gerard wasn't ready for him to stop talking, because he could seriously sit here and listen to Frank until his ass was numb and his food was stone cold, and then some.

"Wow - that's so cool, and you still get to make music in a way, which is pretty fucking awesome."

"Yeah - I have actually been debating over whether I should sing some of my original pieces, but they aren't very showy, so I don't know how that would go over with the crowd," Frank shrugged slightly, as if the fact that he composed music wasn't that big of deal, even though it really was to Gerard.

"Oh my god - I would literally cut off my arm to hear one of your songs," Gerard gushed, his teenage fanboy rearing up before Gerard had the chance to contain it, but he was so excited by the fact that Frank wrote music that he didn't even remember to be embarrassed.

"Really...well maybe I will give you a sneak preview sometime, like a private showing," Frank winked, and fuck - there went whatever was left of Gerard's heart, because Frank had just claimed it all for himself, not that he hadn't already owned the majority of it before today, but now it was official.

Gerard was falling for Frank so hard, it was sort of ridiculous, but Gerard didn't even attempt to catch himself, it would be a pointless effort anyway, and he was enjoying the sensation too much to ever consider such a thing.