FicWad

We came up to the castle and Frank led me to Gerard's room, making sure no one noticed as we stepped inside. I brushed my hair over my neck to hide the hickeys. Frank stepped in beside me and opened the draped canopy that hid the bed. I drifted to the corner, still upset with Gerard. He better have a damn good explanation for standing me up.

Frank whispered through the canopy to Gerard, who I guessed had been resting all cozy in there when I was getting assaulted. They whispered back in forth to each other till Frank closed the curtain and turned back to me. I raised a brow to him.

"Could you turn around real quick?" He asked.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "No, I won't. I'm tired….can I just go to my room?" I didn't mean to direct my harsh mood to Frank, but he was the only one talking to me, so I had no choice but to take my anger out on him. Well, it wasn't much of anger I was feeling, it was mostly hurt. Either way I had no desire to talk to Gerard tonight.

I made my way to the door, but before I could open it a hand wrapped around mine. I looked up…….very slowly, because standing in front of me was a shirtless Gerard. My face= :O

"Don't go, please, let me explain," he spoke softly. All I could do was nod and focus on not drooling. He opened the canopy for his bed and gestured for me to sit. I heard the door open and close and assumed it was Frank leaving. Gerard sat next to me with his hands in his lap. He didn't seem to mind that he was shirtless, but I wasn't complaining.

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the river but a family member died and my parents had to leave, so my father left me here to run the place. There was no way I could sneak out and not go unnoticed." He explained.

"I'm begging, no pleading, for your forgiveness." He got on his knees in front of me.

"Gerard I-… forgive you," All my anger disappeared. Gerard stood up, smiling. He gently kissed my cheek and sat down again. I sort of felt bad for being so mad when he was just doing his job and looking after the castle.

"Can I make it up to you?" Gerard asked. I nodded. He reached up to a rope that was hanging just above us and gave it a few light tugs. A woman came in seconds after and took in the sight of us.

"Don't worry she wouldn't tell a soul," Gerard whispered to me. "Hello Jamie, could you fetch a bath?" The woman nodded and rushed out.

"A bath? That's…new," I had never bathed in warm water before. The maid, Jamie came in with a steaming bucket of water and walked through a door I hadn't noticed before. I could here water being poured and she came back out with the bucket still in hand. She repeated this routine at least another 6 or 7 times before nodding to Gerard and closing the bedroom door behind her.

Gerard stood up and held out his hand for me. He led me to the room which held the bath. I looked at the shiny white/gold metal with great interest. So this is what a bath looked like.

He poked at the water a few times to check the temperature and seemed satisfied. He came back to me and held my body closer.

"Undress, the water's warm. I'll be back." He spoke softly, leaving my arms with goosebumps. This was all so new to me, I didn't know what to think. He left swiftly out the door and closed it as he did so. I slowly undressed like he had said and climbed into the overly bubble-filled tub. I laughed at how amazingly good it felt. The bubbles were floating around enchantingly and a few strays were flying around the room. I blew them away from my face and giggled as they jerked this way and that.

I dunked my hair in the water and scrubbed at my face, already feeling refreshed. But my fun little world came to a halt when I felt to cold hands on my back. The cold was almost immediately replaced by warmer lips leaving a trail of kisses down my back. I couldn't help but giggle at the ticklish feeling it left.

"Gerard…." I laughed. He moved my hair to one shoulder, leaving my neck exposed.

"Who did this?" Gerard whispered as he touched the hickeys. I tried to cover the hateful reminders with my hand but he removed it with little effort.

"Who did this?" He repeated a little louder.

"I don't- He was-" I felt a tear escape down my cheek as I tried to search for the right thing to say.

"Harmony, did someone hurt you?" Gerard leaned around to look at my face.

"Y-Yes," I stuttered.

"Who? I'll have them hung immediately!" He grew angrier.

"Gerard, it was my fault, I shouldn't have been walking around so late," I wanted that guy to pay for what he did, but I didn't want him to die.

"Tell me everything that happened." I leaned back in the tub and closed my eyes. I felt Gerard's head rest on my shoulder, and his arms snake around me. This gesture was a little uncomfortable since I was completely naked but I didn't mind the closeness.

I explained everything that had happened to me, all the way up till I got back to the castle. Gerard stayed silent the whole time, when I finished I turned to see if he was even awake. His eyes were closed but his face was scrunched up. I silently stared at him, waiting for a reaction.

"It's my fault," He finally spoke. I turned all the way around to look at him, not caring that my top half was no longer being covered by foamy bubbles.

"Gee open your eyes," I held his face in my hands so he was staring at me. "Nothing happened, Frank got there just in time. You can't blame yourself for something you had no control over."

"I just wish I could've been the one to save you, not Frank. You wouldn't have even been out there if it wasn't for me." He held my gaze.

I pecked him on the lips and turned back around. "I forgive you and I'm safe, isn't that all that matters?"

"I guess so," He caressed my bruised neck and gently kissed over the dark marks. After that, he left, leaving me to enjoy my bath alone. I used all the fancy soaps he had and washed it all away. When I had finished I grabbed a dark velvet cloth that was hanging and wrapped it around my body. I looked in the tall mirror on the wall and saw someone I had missed, me. Under all that dirt and grime. It was refreshing and I felt like a princess. Speaking of princess…wear was my prince? He had been gone for some time.

I walked out of the steamy room in just the towel. The cold air nipped at my toes. Gerard had his back to me. He didn't seem to notice me walk in yet. I poked his back, making him jump ten feet in the air.

"Goddammit. You know I'm going to have to get you back for that," He clutched his now-clothed chest. I giggled but a gust of wind made my teeth chatter together, cutting the laugh short.

Gerard seemed to calm down enough to close the distance between us and pull me to his chest. He rubbed at my shoulders, making a heated friction.

"You're sleeping with me tonight," He stated.

"Do I get a say in this?" I asked, even though my answer would be yes anyways.

"Nope, I'm holding you here against your will," Gerard smiled. He told me to climb in the bed and, after, went to lock the door. He then disappeared into the bathroom. I discarded my soppy, wet, towel and pulled the quilts up more. They provided more warmth than the wet cloth. The bed sunk to the side as Gerard moved in, he was now dressed down to his undergarments, which made me blush. Both of us were showing more skin than was allowed in these situations. Usually nightgowns were to be worn, but we weren't your average etiquette couple.

I held the quilts tighter to my body as he moved closer. But he pulled my body flush against his making it impossible to hide. We were flesh to flesh which was something I had never felt before.

"Sugar, you're not wearing any clothing," Gerard pointed out as if I didn't already know.

"I don't have any," I said meekly.

He smiled, "I'm not complaining." I blushed at his words and hid my face.

"Don't be embarrassed, you're beautiful Harmony. Absolutely beautiful." With that, he blew out the candle on his nightstand, leaving the room pitch black.