Work Text:
Frank is getting sick again. He can tell the warning signs are all there, his chest aches every time he breathes and he wakes up one morning with the start of a tickly cough. At first, it's not so bad, more of an irritant. He can still go about his day without feeling like he's gonna pass out every time he stands up and the horrible cold sweats that usually come along with this kinda thing are non existent. And that's great, maybe this will pass if he just takes more vitamins than he usually would and he totally drinks way more orange juice and water than he usually would.
Frank hates getting sick. Not that it's something that other people enjoy either but Frank can never just get a common cold and be fine after a few days. No, his immune system hates him and whenever Frank gets sick, he ends up hacking up half a lung and feeling like he's been run over by a truck. Sometimes, if he gets sick in the winter, his bronchitis comes back or he'll get pneumonia- again. But Frank could deal with that just fine, he's dealt with it his entire life pretty much and he knows by now that it's just something he's got to deal with. What Frank really hates about being sick is not being able to do the things he usually would. He hates that it gets in the way of him playing guitar, he hates that he has to take days off work because his boss is a total asshole and never gives Frank paid leave. Even when it feels like he's dying. He hates that he has to let other people take care of him too. Frank's always been a bit stubborn and independent and he hates the feeling of not being able to do things for himself. Usually, Frank is the one looking after other people (Gerard especially) and it frustrates him when he can't do that. He's always the one cleaning the house, usually because he's fussy about things being just the way he likes them, and he's always the one cooking. Not that Gerard is incapable of doing these things, far from it, he actually does a pretty good job when he puts his mind too it. The only problem is that he tends to get lost inside his own head sometimes, especially when he's working on a new project, he'll hole up in his study for days and he only remembers to eat, sleep and wash because Frank is there to practically force him. So when Frank gets sick it's more of a nuisance to him than anything else. But he knows it worries Gerard too and he hates to see Gerard upset and worried.
But, with Gerard getting lost in his own head most of the time, it's actually pretty easy for him to hide it at first, when it's not so bad. Frank manages to hide it from Gerard for nearly a week until it gets worse.
He wakes up one morning and immediately starts coughing violently, having to sit up and lean over the bed just in case he vomits. He hopes that Gerard is already in his study for that morning but he hears Gerard make a worried sound from behind him and knows that he cant be that lucky. He feels Gerard rest a hand in between his shoulder blades but he's too busy trying not to hack up a lung to say anything or tell him that he's fine.
After a second the hand is gone and he feels Gerard get out of bed, hears him walking towards the kitchen. Frank manages to stop coughing for a few moments, panting softly and laying back on the bed. His throat is raw and he still feels like he's gonna vomit, his head feels stuffy and he's still dizzy even though he's lying down so he knows there's no way he's making it to the bathroom without Gerard's help.
When Gerard comes back, he's got a glass of water in his hands and Frank can see the concerned look on his face. Neither of them say anything yet though and he takes the water, sipping it slowly as he tries to get his breath back without coughing up his lungs again. Gerard sits down next to him and rubs his back gently, "How come you didn't say anything, Frankie?" He asked softly.
Frank shook his head a little and handed the water back when he was done with it, sighing. His voice was all scratchy and his breathing was getting heavy and shaky already. "I'm fine." He said, trying to sound reassuring but with the way his voice was wrecked by the coughing, it was obvious he was lying or in denial.
"You're not fine, Frankie. You should go back to bed." Gerard said, shaking his head again and reaching over to set the glass of water on the nightstand just in case. Frank wanted to protest that he really was fine and that he didn't need to be taken care of but he was getting dizzy and his head felt all fuzzy. Gerard was already helping him to lay down again anyway, not that he needed much help.
"I won't be far, you sleep some more and call me if you need me, okay?" Gerard gave him one of those sympathetic smiles before kissing his forehead gently and standing up. "I'll make us some breakfast for when you wake up and get you some medicine." Whenever Frank was sick, visibly so, Gerard tended to go into full mother hen mode. Frank secretly loved it, he knew Gerard was protective of people he loved and it was nice to know that he was cared for. And that's how he felt whenever Gerard took care of him like this, loved and cared for. Frank loved it but he was also stubborn. He still didn't want to admit that he was sick and gave a grunt of protest as his body betrayed him and he started to doze back off to sleep almost as soon as Gerard got him laid down again.
When he woke up again, his head was aching and his throat felt even drier than it had before. His chest was hurting and he was wheezing everytime he breathed in. Groaning, Frank turned over in bed carefully and reached for the water that he remembered Gerard leaving there for him, pleasantly surprised to see that it had been joined by a mug of tea and some of his cereal. Frank didn't have the appetite for the cereal and reached for the tea. It was lukewarm but Frank downed it anyway, sighing with relief as it eased the pain in his throat a tiny bit. When he was awake enough, he could hear a soft humming coming from the kitchen and he smiled softly to himself. Frank didn't know what Gerard was still doing in the kitchen and stood up to go look. He stumbled as soon as he was upright, a dizzy spell overtaking him. His vision blurred and Frank was sure that he had passed out for a couple moments because the next thing he remembered was being slumped against their wardrobe door.
"Frankie?!" Gerard called, sounding slightly panicked as he rushed into the room and over to his boyfriend who still looked dazed and out of it. Frank could only let out a quiet grunt as Gerard lifted him up and helped him back onto the bed. "Did you hurt yourself, sugar?" His boyfriend asked, as he checked him over for injuries. Frank shook his head weakly, letting out a frustrated sigh. He was more frustrated with himself for getting sick than at Gerard, even though Gerard's fussing could get frustrating.
"Okay, I was making you lunch, you need to stay in bed, Frankie." Gerard said softly, giving the younger man a sympathetic smile as he reached up to stroke his hair gently. "I know you don't like to go to the doctor's but I'm going to take you tomorrow if this gets any worse. I've made you some soup and I'll bring in some water, I'll only be 2 minutes, stay in bed." Gerard rambled slightly before leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to Frank's clammy forehead. Before Frank could even protest, Gerard was up and walking back into the kitchen. Frank managed to get himself into a comfortable position on the bed where he was half sitting up while he waited for him. He could hear things being dropped and smiled fondly to himself, there was a reason that Frank did most of the cooking even though Gerard was technically the better cook. Gerard was the clumsiest motherfucker that Frank had ever met in his life. And he loved him for it.
True to his word, it didn't take long until Gerard appeared in the doorway again, holding a tray carefully in his arms with a bowl of soup and some bread on it along with a glass of water. He gave Frank an apologetic look as he carried it in to him, setting the tray down on his lap and sitting beside him on the bed, taking the water and setting that on the nightstand instead. "I made a mess but I'll clear it up when you're done." Gerard said a little sheepishly as he smiled at Frank and shifted a little closer. Frank was sure that Gerard was about to feed him the soup and he smiled fondly, shaking his head.
"I'm okay, Gee. I can do it myself. Thank you." Frank murmured softly as he broke the bread up and dipped it into his soup, nibbling on it rather than eating it properly just in case he was sick again. The sickness had kinda destroyed his appetite too so he wasn't really hungry but he knew it would help and that Gerard would get upset if he didn't eat some at least.
"I know, I just wanna take care of you." Gerard told him, smiling softly as he sat on the edge of the bed, resting a gentle hand on Frank's knee.
"I know that but I'm okay, really. You can go do your work if you need to, I'll be fine." Frank shook his head, reaching over for the water and sipping it slowly.
"No!" Gerard protested softly, shaking his head, "No, I want to look after you. You fainted earlier, Frankie, work can wait."
"But what about your deadline?" Frank asked softly, not wanting to be a burden and not wanting to fuck up his work. He put the glass down and stopped eating for a moment to glance up at Gerard, biting his lip a little.
"I won't miss it. And even if I did, it wouldn't matter because you're sick right now so you need me more than I need to meet that deadline. I want to look after you." Gerard said softly, giving him a small smile and leaning forward to kiss his cheek gently.
"I love you, Gee." Frank murmured softly, smiling back at him and turning his head to kiss him back gently. He really did appreciate everything that Gerard did to look after him when he got sick like this, even though he could be stubborn sometimes. It was horrible being sick but sometimes it was just nice to be the one being cared for rather than being the responsible one all the time, it was nice to just be able to sit there and relax while he let Gerard do things for him for once.