FicWad

Fourteen days said hi and bye bye quickly, to Gerard's dismay. Now he only had one month and five tiny days left to live. Only 840 hours left to spend with Frank.
That amount of time was nowhere near enough, he thought. Gerard had made himself a calendar on a piece of paper and every morning when he woke up and climbed out of the bathtub, he put a big X on it.
For every X he drew his mood dropped.

Frank had done amazing progress during the two weeks that had passed. His wound was healing nicely and he didn't need the table cloth as a bandage anymore.
The wound wasn't a meaty mess. On his leg was instead of the open flesh a dip in his leg covered by a pink veil. A big damn scar that reminded him of the pain he had been through.

Frank now could put weight on his leg. Hell, he could actually walk short distances even if he limped like a sailor with a wooden leg. The first time Frank had walked all by himself, without holding Gerard's arm, he had gazed over to Gerard and given him a grateful look.
It had been a big moment for Gerard to finally know that he had made a difference and helped someone. At that moment he felt like a proud mother watching his kid do something amazing for the first time.

Gerard had moved the mattress closer to the wall so that Frank could get up all by himself by grabbing a broken radiator which hung on the wall. With the help of that radiator he then managed to get himself to stand up.

As Frank now could walk around freely at all times Gerard got some problems. One problem was that Frank had a habit of taking strolls into the kitchen in the middle of the night, when Gerard was asleep, to eat.
Since their resources were very limited that was a huge problem. Gerard had a hard time getting the food to last for the two of them and Frank didn't make it easier by taking some of it.

To Frank's delight, Gerard had found a pair of loose black pants that fit Frank quite well. They were designed for kids but since Frank was short and skinny it worked for him.
That way Frank didn't need to show his junk off anymore and it removed some of the sexual tension from Gerard's side.

One thing that surprised Gerard was the fact that Frank didn't leave. The tattooed man stayed inside the apartment, right by Gerard's side, like a loyal dog.

After the time Gerard had kissed Frank when he didn't want to, it would have been more understandable if the pierced and tattooed man had just fled when he got the opportunity. Something obiously told him to stay, though.

Even if Gerard wanted to, he couldn't keep Frank locked up anymore. Frank could easily unlock the front door or break a window and get out, but he didn't.

They hadn't kissed during the two weeks though. Gerard felt a bit scared to approach Frank since he grew stronger as the days passed.
Because what if he got rejected? It would feel like a knife right through the heart.
But the boys talked. Always. Mostly about the adventures Frank had been through since Gerard did not have that many interesting memories to share.

Sometimes they would sit next to each other and make a story up from scratch. That could keep them entertained for hours.

Gerard watched Frank as the tattooed man looked through the shelves in the kitchen. Frank hadn't noticed the pair of eyes watching him since he thought that Gerard was sleeping in the bathroom.
It was in the middle of the night and Gerard had stayed awake, listening for sounds, to finally catch the little thief in action.

"Found anything yet?" Gerard asked coolly and crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned towards a wall. Frank jumped a foot into the air and looked terrified.
"I can... I can explain," Frank started, his voice raised in panic. His hazel eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.

Gerard let his back rest against the cool wall and scratched his own arm softly. "You don't need to explain. I know that it was you who ate all of our food. Why would rats eat apples and a canned mackerel, eh?"

Frank looked sad and ashamed. His head hung low and the long hair on top of his head was in the way of his face.
The blond sides on Frank's head had started to get longer and he needed to cut his hair.

"I'm so sorry," Frank whimpered and the corner of his lip twitched. It looked like the man was about to burst into tears.

"Don't be. But tomorrow you have to walk with me to the bank. If we're two, we will get more money to buy food with," Gerard said softly. The red lights coming from the fires outside the window danced over his face.
It looked just like fire was licking his cheeks.

"Gerard, why aren't you angry with me?" Frank asked slowly, looking up towards Gerard's unreadable face.

Yes, why wasn't he angry? Probably because he was so fond of Frank. Gerard decided to answer Frank truthfully.

"Because I don't want you to leave," Gerard hummed and watched how Frank started moving towards him, slowly.

Frank used the shelves as support when he limped towards Gerard. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Four steps. Then he was there, right in front of Gerard. The man who had taken care of him when he was so vulnerable.
The man who wanted to have him around for as long as he could.

Frank touched the front of Gerard's hoodie and placed himself on his toes to get taller. His eyes got to the same level as Gerard's and they stared at each other for a moment.
Then Frank slowly leaned closer. His lips brushed against Gerard's.

Gerard let out a nervous gasp and at the same time Frank closed the gap between their lips. Frank backed away quickly. The kiss had only lasted for a second.
It had been a brief peck that left Gerard speechless.

"Good night, see you tomorrow," Frank whispered and turned around to limp his way back to the mattress.

Gerard was frozen like a statue, unable to move. His heart was racing and it felt like a hammer went berserk inside of his chest.

That was the first time Frank had actually taken the initiative. What did it mean?
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