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gerard's wearing a t-shirt again, and while he's not exactly ecstatic about it, frank certainly is.
he's just trying to enjoy his coffee in peace. frank has other ideas.
"gerard, did i ever tell you i love it when you wear that shirt?" he says, bouncing around him.
"uh, yeah. every time i wear it."
"that's cause i looooooove it," frank sings.
"what's with you today?" asks gerard, clutching his mug to his chest to avoid spilling it.
"you just look real good, that's all." frank situates himself on gerard's lap and stares at him.
"i look the same," gerard says, confused. he sets his mug aside because he knows frank and he knows it'll go flying if he doesn't.
"nope. when you wear t-shirts, i can see these-" he pokes at gerard's upper arms, "and, more importantly, i can do this."
he leans down and pulls up gerard's shirt.
"hey," protests gerard, trying to tug it back down.
(frank, of course, is stronger than him, so he easily pushes gerard's hands out of the way.)
he kisses gerard's stomach, which tickles a little, then-
"fuck! frank," gerard yelps, wriggling away. "you can't raspberry me, what the fuck-"
frank just grins at him. fucker.
"c'mon, seriously," he says, yanking at his shirt.
"alright, alright." frank relents and lets him fix his shirt.
"fuck you," huffs gerard. frank knows he hates having his skin exposed. he knows. he crosses his arms.
"you love me," frank tells him. when gerard doesn't answer, he scoots closer and says, "you do, right?"
"i love you when you're not trying to get me naked," gerard says. he sits up and pushes frank away.
frank sticks his tongue out at him. "i'm always trying to get you naked."
"wait, what?" ray says, coming into the lounge. "aw, fuck, are you guys fucking?"
gerard splutters a "no!" while frank just wiggles his eyebrows.
"we're not fucking, ray," gerard says frantically when ray starts shaking his head and going "no, please, god, why me?"
he retreats to the bunks, still asking god what he did to deserve the mental image of frank and gerard fucking.
"look what you did!"
"oh, whatever. it's not like you're fucking anyone anyway," frank shrugs. he plays with his lip ring for a second before saying, "if it was gonna be anyone, though, I'd be your best shot."
"what? how?"
"well, firstly, i'm good at it. you should know that by now."
should he know that by now?
"second," frank continues. "i don't think there is a person on this planet that appreciates your body as much as i do. that being said-" he takes gerard's hand and laces their fingers together. "have i told you that you're beautiful today?"
"no?"
"no? well. you're beautiful," he says, kissing gerard's knuckles. "third, it would be hilarious if mikey walked in on us actually fucking."
"maybe not mikey," gerard says, focusing more on frank's hand in his than what he's saying.
"ray, then," frank says easily. "or maybe bob. and fourth, i'd actually get to get you naked."
gerard laughs a bit and lets go of frank's hand. "um, i think two of those are valid reasons. maybe."
"which two?" frank asks, completely nonchalant, like they're talking about the weather.
"just the first one, actually."
"i knew it," says frank, triumphant. "wait, what about the other ones?"
"well," gerard says carefully. "i'm not particularly into people walking in on me having sex."
"and two and four?" frank demands. "they even go together."
"yeah, and i'm still not down with being seen totally naked, regardless of who's seeing me or how much they appreciate my body."
"if i could, i'd fucking paint you and put you in a museum."
gerard looks at him, confused.
"you're art, gerard. and i know you don't think so, and that's fine. but i do, and i want you to believe me, just a little, someday."
"if you put me in a museum," says gerard, ignoring him. "there would be an endless parade of people to look at me, and judge me, and point out everything i hate about myself. that's not my cup of tea."
frank stares at him. "i," he says slowly. "would never do that to you. if i got the privilege of being able to see you, all of you, it would be nothing like that."
he's silent for a moment. "what would it be like?"
"just you, and me, and all the love i have for you."
fuck.
"just kiss already," mikey hollers from the bunks.
"fuck off," barks frank. he turns sheepishly back to gerard. "guess we can cross that off the list, huh?"