I awoke with a much more positive attitude; after I had cried myself out last night, Mikey and I had stayed up until three in the morning, talking about everything from my insecurities to what I hoped would happen now that I had Frank back in my life.

Even though I had barely slept, I felt refreshed and invigorated, but most of all I just wanted to return to Frank's side.

Mikey made me eat a decent breakfast before he finally gave in and drove me to the hospital, for some reason he wouldn't let me drive myself, even though my car was at his house and it still worked perfectly fine, but I was too eager to waste time arguing with him.

I was basically bouncing with excitement by the time he pulled up in front of the hospital entrance. I just couldn't contain all my nervous energy, so even though I probably looked like a five year old, I didn't even attempt to stop my erratic movements.

"Bye bro, I'll pick you up after I get off okay? Call me if anything changes," Mikey reminded me.

"Of course I will, now get out here before you are late to work." I shooed him away with a laugh before heading inside, practically running to the floor Frank was staying on, with only a brief stop to sign in at the reception desk.

When I entered the room, Frank's eyes were closed, but they opened a crack when I stepped up to his beside.

I couldn't resist the broad grin that spread across my face, just being around Frank made me happier than I had been in years; not that I had been unhappy before, but he enhanced everything simply by existing.

"Hey Frank," I greeted him shyly, unsure how long he had been awake, and if he had noticed my absence or not.

"I missed you," Frank admitted, and I swear - my heart almost burst at those words.

"I'm sorry I left; I know I said I wouldn't, but visiting hours were over, and they wouldn't let me stay. Did you see my note?" My words came out shaky and fast, I didn't know why I was nervous; Frank obviously wasn't mad at me, but that didn't erase my fear.

"Yeah I did. I'm just glad you came back, I was kind of worried that you wouldn't."

"I promised you Frank, I am not leaving you ever again okay? Not unless you ask me too."

I sank down in the chair placed by the bed, my hand itched to clasp his own, but I kept them firmly twisted in my lap.

"I know it's just...fuck - this is so weird isn't it?" Frank changed whatever he had been going to stay mid-sentence, and I didn't press him on it, even though I was insanely curious.

"Yeah it is, kinda like a dream huh?" I chuckled to myself.

"More like the best fucking dream ever."

We sat in silence for a few moments, just enjoying being in each other's presence for the time being. Finally I broke the quiet atmosphere, even though I was wary of doing it, I had a lot of questions that were bouncing around in my brain, and I was desperate for answers.

"Frank...can I ask what happened? After you moved - I mean?" I tried to fake an air of nonchalance, but my hands were shaking so badly, I had to sit on them to hide it.

"Well um...did you ever get my voicemail?" Frank drew his words out slowly, and I simply nodded in response.

"So you know I moved out of my aunt's house, well after that - my mom took my phone away when she caught me calling you, she didn't give it back for ages either. So I could only call you from other people's phones I managed to borrow, but I couldn't remember Laurel Hills number, and I didn't write it down like an idiot. So I called your cell a lot, probably once a week for months, but you never answered. I kind of just assumed that you had moved on...so I stopped, I didn't want to hold you back from happiness." Frank refused to meet my eyes, and I could tell he was choking back tears.

"Hey don't cry..." I touched his shoulder softly, causing him to flinch slightly before he turned his body into me, seeking comfort - which I readily gave him.

"I'm sorry - it's just...I haven't talked about you in years, I haven't even allowed myself to think of you, because it hurts - it still fucking hurts so much, and I just buried it all away and pretended I was fine. Now you are here, and I still can't believe this is real, I mean - fuck - am I dead, because this must be Heaven, but it can't be...because I still hurt, and I am so fucked up now, and I don't even know what to do, or what we are, or why you are here, and I just...I can't..."

Frank began full out sobbing at this point, and it broke my heart in two. I wrapped my arms around his small frame and began rocking him back and forth gently, stroking his hair as he continued to cry against my chest.

"Fuck - I don't know what's wrong with me, I have cried more in the past two days than I have for years," he tried to laugh at himself, but it came out as more of a hiccup.

"It's okay to cry Frankie, I don't know what you have been through, but I'm sure it hasn't been easy," I assured him.

"Frankie, I loved when you used to call me that," he smiled to himself.

"And I loved when you called me Gee."

"So...will you tell me what happened with you, why you never answered my calls?"

Frank gazed at me with a guarded expression, and I was more than ready to explain to him what had transpired on my end of things.

"Frank - I never intentionally ignored you, I never moved on and decided to cut you out. They kept me in Laurel Hills for much longer than I originally thought, six months in fact. I kind of had a breakdown after you stopped calling, and it set me back quite a bit in the recovery process. So yeah...I didn't have my phone on me the whole time, it was just kept in a lock up somewhere. When I got out, I saw your calls and messages, but your phone was disconnected, and I couldn't get in contact with you. I even called your aunt, but she wasn't sure where you had gone either. I never stopped looking for you Frankie - I promise. It was just so impossible, I didn't know what else to do, and nothing was giving me any results. I even made my New Year's resolution..." I cut myself off before I could go any further, I didn't want to embarrass myself or make Frank uncomfortable.

"What was your New Year's Resolution? Please tell me?"

Fuck - I couldn't deny him anything when he looked at me with those puppy dog eyes.

"It was to find you...I swore that this year, I wouldn't rest until I at least made sure you were happy."

I kept my gaze trained on my hands, too scared to meet his eyes in case I saw rejection in them.

"I came to find you too, for the same reason actually," Frank chuckled softly.

"Well here I am."

"I thought I had missed my chance, I went to your house, and when I found out you didn't live there anymore, I almost lost it."

Frank's eyes were filling with tears again, and I pulled him even tighter against my chest.

"I'm not making you uncomfortable am I?" I whispered softly.

As much as I loved holding Frank in my arms, I didn't want to push him too fast if he wasn't ready. I still had no idea if he had retained any feelings for me at all, and I was too scared to voice the question.

"Not at all." Frank snuggled deeper into my hold as if to prove his words.

"So when are they letting you out of here?" I asked quietly.

"Sometime today, as long as all of my test results come back okay," Frank mumbled, his voice muffled in my shirt.

"Well...um...I don't know if you have a place to stay, because if you do then just ignore me, but you can stay with me if you want to."

Oh god - I sounded like a teenager asking someone out to the prom with how badly my voice was shaking.

"I would love that Gerard...but..."

"No it's okay, I'm sorry - I just thought I would offer, please don't feel like you have to."

I kept talking so I wouldn't have to hear Frank say no, I just didn't think my fragile heart could take that.

"Gerard - will you shut up for two seconds. I'm not saying no, I'm just trying to explain something to you." Frank rolled his eyes at me, and I clamped my mouth shut.

"I want to stay with you - I do, but there is a few things you should probably know about my...uh...situation first."

"You can tell me anything Frank." I tightened my hold on him when he remained silent for over a minute.

"I...um...I'm kind of homeless right now. I was living in New York with my mom, but I have been crashing with my friend for the past few months. I might have stolen his car to get here, so he probably wouldn't take me back, but I don't want to go to New York anyway. So if I stay with you, it might be for a little while, at least until I can find a job and stuff." Frank's cheeks blazed red with embarrassment, and I couldn't help but think how cute he looked like this.

"Frank - my house is your house for as long as you need it, well apartment actually, but you get the idea."

"Thank you, seriously - I don't deserve this Gerard." Frank threw his arms around me in a crushing embrace.

"Yes you do Frank, you deserve the world," I whispered so softly that there was no way he could have heard me.

"There are a few more things you should probably know if I am going to be staying with you, just so you don't freak out." Frank was worrying his lip between his teeth now, and he seemed incapable of continuing.

"Is it about the drugs Frankie?" I asked in a hushed voice.

"You know about that?" A shocked expression flashed across his face before he turned away from me.

"Yeah...the cop who came to the scene of the accident found them in your car. It's okay Frank, I won't judge you, I just don't understand why you would turn to them." I waited with bated breath, desperately hoping that he would open up to me.

"I wanted to forget...to feel happy for just a little while. I never meant to get in so deep, I just spiraled I guess, and I never had a reason to stop." Frank's voice wobbled, and he had to stop speaking to choke back tears.

"Well - if you want, I can help you stop, I know it will be hard, but I'll do everything I can to make it easier on you."

I was worried I had pushed him too far, but if he was staying with me, I had to at least try to get him off the drugs, there was no way I could sit back and watch him destroy himself.

"I'll stop Gerard, for you - I will quit everything." He turned back to face me, sporting the biggest smile I had seen on him yet.

"I will be there every step of the way," I reassured him.

"There is one more thing you should know - I have nightmares, like you saw last night. I wake up screaming sometimes, so just don't freak out or anything okay?" Frank was trying to feign a casual attitude, but I could see through his facade instantly.

"What are the nightmares about baby?" I winced at my slip up, but Frank didn't seem to notice, he was too busy staring into space.

"Uh...I don't think I can talk about it yet Gee, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, just know if you ever need to talk - about anything, I will always be here okay?"

As I was speaking, I tried to get into a more comfortable position, my ass was half off the chair because of the way I was holding Frank, and I felt like I was about to fall to the floor at any moment.

"You will be the first to know when I'm ready." Frank smiled before scooting over and patting the spot next to him, inviting me to join him in the bed; obviously he had noticed my precarious position and took pity on me.

"So you are clean now?" Frank asked, pointing to my arms which now contained only faded scars instead of the angry red marks they used to.

"Yep, eight years now," I exclaimed proudly.

"Gerard - that's amazing! I knew you could do it!"

And just like that, we were talking again like nothing had changed; like we hadn't been separated for ages, and it was easy to pretend that we were still together, and not basically two strangers.

We spent the next few hours catching up on everything that had transpired since we had been apart while cuddling on the uncomfortable hospital bed. It was obvious that Frank was glossing over a lot of things, but I knew he would tell me eventually, and prying would only drive him further away from me.

We never did talk about our feelings - whatever they were now, but I was willing to wait. Frank was going to be living with me for the foreseeable future, and I had plenty of time to work up the courage to tell him how I felt.

Well here is another ridiculously short chapter, but it was kinda fluffy and cute and I am a lot happier with this one.

I can't believe this fanfic has 9.5k reads, like wow you guys, way to make me feel special.

And I know I have already said this, so I'm sorry for promoting it so much, but I just updated my new fanfic called Pyre again. It's a vampire!Gerard fic and I am really proud of it. So if you guys could check it out and tell me what you think, that would seriously make my day.

Stay beautiful guys

<3 starr