FicWad

He hadn't bothered to check in the closet, under the bed, or out in the backyard before becoming frantic and making his way into his bedroom to tell Frank. Thoughts were racing through his head--- he knew it was those men from the beach. He was going to kick their asses. Maybe they were going to hold her hostage until Gerard paid all of his money, to them, every las cent, down to the pennies that have long been lost between the couch cushions...

"Frank," Gerard said, surprisingly calm. Frank was laying on the bed, legs crossed, watching some horror movie.

Looking over at Gerard, sounding frusterated, he said, "what?"

Gerard scrunched his eyebrows together, as if trying to conprehend what was happening. "Uh, Tegan's missing."

"Yeah, okay," Frank said, skeptically.

"She's not in her room and the window's like, way open. Clothes are everywhere." Gerard said. He coughed into his hand.

Frank stood up from the bed, as if still not believing Gerard. They walked towards Tegan's room, Frank leading the way. "She's probably just hiding," he told Gerard, while opening the closet. No Tegan. He looked out the window, but their wasn't anything out of the ordinary. That could only mean one thing...

Frank leaned down on his knees, lifted up the blankets and looked under the bed. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust, but when they did, it was plain as day. No Tegan.

"Obviously she went somewhere else in the house," Frank said.

Gerard was still quite calm, where as Frank was starting to freak out a little bit. How far could an eight-year-old girl go? So Frank searched every closet, every corner, every table that she could hide behind, but still, she just wasn't there.

How was Gerard going to explain this to police? There was no way he could stand having police visit him more than once in a day. And just as he thought that, he heard a little squick come from Tegan's room. It was a cross between a mouse squick and a giggle.

Both guys looked at eachother.

And yet again, Frank led the way, until both were standing in front of the only place they hadn't bothered to look. It was the cabinet where they'd put her clothes. How stupid could they have been? Obviously she'd taken all those clothes out to fit in the cabinet and hide.

And sure thing, when Frank pulled open the doors, Tegan was sitting there, supressing a giggle. That is, until she saw the angry look on her father's face.


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"Since you made us so worried, you are going to be punished tomorrow. But until then, sleep. Please," Gerard said. He was sitting on the edge of Tegan's bed, and they'd just got done talking about how there's a timing for fun and games, and tonight just wasn't the right. She'd explained that her dad just seemed so sad, and she wanted to play a game and cheer him up, like she would do with Lynn.

He stood up and patted Tegan's head, not like a dog but in a loving father-daugher way. "Goodnight, Teeg," he said, flicking off her light. But she was already out, out like the light on her bedside table.

While he walked but to Frank and his room, Gerard thought about Lynn. Lately he'd been feeling pretty guilty about what he'd done, but no one knew other than her (and she was dead) and him. But, on the opposite side of the coin, if it wasn't for the, as he'd like to put it, "accident", he wouldn't be a father. He wouldn't be having to think up his first punishment for that daughter, either.

Frank was laying under the blankets, eyes closed and breathing steadily, but not shallow. Gerard could tell he was fake sleeping, meaning he wanted to be left alone but didn't want to start a fight. He always did this when he didn't want to talk about the whole relationship, and how they should just tell people because they know already.

Gerard sighed as he pulled off his jeans and was wearing just boxers and his tee, then slipped under the covers. He wanted so much to put his arm around Frank, tell him nothing in the world matters but him, and kiss him passionatly. It was a movie playing in his head as he fell asleep, back to Frank, who was playing that same exact movie, too, in his own head.


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Only Frank and Tegan were at breakfast, and it was the first time being just them. It was awkward, and Tegan was sort of frightened by Frank, because of his tatoos. She had a flashback of a man pulling out a gun and holding his index finger to his lips, shushing Tegan. He'd had an armfull of Tattoos just like Frank--- which made her shutter as she swallowed a mouthful of fruitloops.

He sat down on the opposite side of the table from her and started spreading creamcheese on his bagel. "So," he said. "Ever had any pets?"

Tegan nodded.

"What kind?" he asked.

"A fish."

Frank smiled. "No dogs or cats?"

"Mom was allergic," she told him.

"Allergic to what?" Gerard said. He'd just entered the kitchen and was making his way towards the fridge.

"Animal fur," she answered. "So we never had any pets. Except for fish."

Frank noted how talkative she was around Gerard, and hardly said a word around him. He tried not to take this personally, figuring it was just the father-daughter bond taking place.

"Well then, I guess we'll have to get a pet," Frank said, smiling mischeivously. He knew how much Gerard hated cats...

"Like a small dog. No cats," Gerard said, reading Frank's mind. There was absolutely no way he was going through that whole evil cat thing again. That cat had torn up everything in his living room... Jesus, just thinking about it made his blood boil.

"We should get a poodle," Tegan said.

Frank and Gerard exchanged glances, amused. "How about a pug?" Gerard asked.

Tegan nodded. Anything was good for her.
a
So after breakfast, the three got ready to go pug shopping.