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Frank and Abby had finally sat down and had the talk.
It was Halloween night. Three months after Frank came back.
Their kids were fast asleep, sprawled across their parents’ laps, completely exhausted from their trick-or-treating adventure they’d gone on an hour before. The Nightmare Before Christmas was playing on their TV, just loud enough for a lacking audience on the couch. Abby and Frank were both scrolling on their own phones, sitting just far enough from each other for the kids to be laying between them.
Frank was looking at the photos he had taken of their kids in their costumes, when he heard Sally’s voice.
“...does he notice my feelings for him?” Frank looked up absentmindedly, for the first time during the entire movie. “...And will we see how much he means to me? I think it’s not to be…”
He thought about Mel against his better judgement. She had told him during one shift about her love for Sally and her romantic heartbreak.
“It’s all just so… lovely.” Mel had said dreamily, cheeks flushing when she looked up and met Frank’s deep stare.
Becca was staying over at her boyfriend Adam’s house more often, leaving Mel alone in their apartment a good majority of the week. She felt lonely, at first, but she started going to movie theaters with Santos, Whitaker, and Javadi, and that feeling started to feel less scary.
She had gone with Frank too.
Just once.
Frank thought about Mel, and her feelings. He thought about his feelings too.
The pair was practically attached at the hip since his return, a dependency and trust developing without their notice. He thought about Mel’s trust in his actions and in his words. Especially her trust in him.
He turned to look at Abby then. It wasn’t like he didn’t know Abby anymore, he just knew less of her than he had for a long time. She was stroking their daughter’s hair, soft snores coming from the toddler.
Abby turned, noticing his focus had shifted to her, and quirked her eyebrows in question.
“You okay?” she asked, turning to look back at her phone.
“Do you love me?”
It came out as casual as his tone could get, but Abby turned too quickly, aware of the underlying question. Do you still love me?
She let out a sigh, leaning her head back against the couch. She closed her eyes, quiet for a moment, leaving just enough space for the silence to be an answer of its own. Her eyes opened softly, her head lolling to the side to look at her husband.
“I care about you Frank.” She said carefully, quiet enough for the kids not to wake up, but at a volume comfortable enough to keep the conversation mature. “...and I do love you. I just don’t know if saying that's enough to keep us going anymore.”
Frank breathed out quietly. It wasn’t a shock hearing her voice out loud the exact thoughts he was having. For a long time, both of them knew things had changed. A small smile had come across his face, and he looked back at his wife.
“Do you hate me?”
Abby kept eye-contact with him, a soft smile mirroring on her face. The light from the TV shone on her face, and Frank noticed her eyes began to water.
“I think if I hated you, that’d make my life so much easier.” she answered honestly. Her lips quivered to the side, a single tear falling down her cheek. “I don’t think I could ever hate you.”
Frank watched the tear slide down her face, and he reached over, wiping it off his wife’s cheek with his fingers, feeling her soft skin.
“I wish you did.” he said softly.
Abby smiled, sniffling to clear her throat. She looked down at her phone briefly, and began to wrap her arms around their daughter to pick her up. She stood up in front of her husband, extending a hand out to him.
“Let’s get them to bed.”
Frank nodded and followed his wife upstairs, their children softly snoring in their parents’ arms. They finished tucking them in and turned off the lights, closing the door as they stopped in the hallway.
“You’re a good dad, Frank.” Abby said softly, looking up into her husband’s eyes.
Frank looked down at her, and pulled her into a hug. Lips dropping a soft kiss on her forehead.
“Thank you.” he whispered into her hair. “You’re a good mom.”
He felt her softly laugh into his chest, arms tightening around his back.
“I really do love you.” she said into his chest. “I just think that we both know that kind of love has changed for us.”
“I really love you, too.” He smiled against her hair, hand rubbing her back. “Goodnight, Abby.”
“Goodnight Frank.”
They let go of one another, and went separate ways to their own rooms. It was almost fated the way things had worked out for them. An extra room was always at the end of the hallway opposite the pair’s bedroom, their children’s room in the middle.
The pair signed the papers together in the morning.
The divorce was to be finalized in January three months later. They had mutually agreed on the term ‘separated’ in the meantime.
Frank had moved out early December.
He had found a place much closer to the Pitt than his family’s house, a more convenient commute. Abby would hand off their kids to Frank on the weekends, a trial for their official agreement for when January came. They had helped him decorate in their own way for the holiday season.
Things were…surprisingly pleasant.
Things had changed with Mel too. He continued to bury any notice of the coincidence of his deepening friendship with Mel, and the timing of his separation with Abby.
If the pair was inseparable before his separation, they were practically one now.
With Frank’s new time for quiet after his shifts, his thoughts were often occupied by Mel. He would replay their conversations, laugh to himself about the jokes they shared. Think about her laugh.
He wasn’t stupid. He knew what these thoughts meant, and it terrified him.
His eyes were practically super glued to her at every moment. He knew people were whispering about it, watching him watch her, he just didn’t find much in him to care. Dana had even begun to scold him directly with her eyes, glasses perched low on her nose as she looked knowingly at him.
She would always just shake her head and laugh to herself soon after.
He didn’t mind at all.
Christmas was approaching, and Frank didn’t worry about what his plans would look like. It was easy always following the recipe of the perfect family, the holiday season was never a question.
This year, it looked different, but not bad. He celebrated the holidays with Abby and the kids earlier than usual, and then she took the kids farther up to visit her parents. Without Frank.
Meaning he was surprisingly plan-less for Christmas.
It seems, as an odd coincidence, Mel would be too.
They were both working Christmas Eve. The pair had found time for a short break, taking their usual spot across one another in the breakroom.
“What are you and Becca doing for Christmas?” he asked Mel.
Whatever conversation they were having before his question, was immediately forgotten when Mel looked down suddenly. She was looking away from him, and frowning.
“Um…Becca’s staying with Adam and his family.” Mel answered, voice softening. “They invited me, but I said no.”
Frank blinked, letting her words take up space.
“Why’d you say no?” he asked slowly.
Mel looked up, making eye-contact with him once more.
“I think it’ll be good for me, you know? It’ll be something new…but good.”
Frank smiled, his free hand on the table suddenly fidgeting with itself. He always had a bad habit of picking at himself when he was nervous. He never grew out of it.
“Well…if you’re still free on Christmas, I know a guy who really wants to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas…” he offered slowly, watching as Mel’s eyes widened. “...and argue about why it’s a Halloween movie, and not Christmas.” he added quickly, lip twisting up in amusement.
Mel’s eyebrows furrowed in shock, her passion rising once more.
“I can’t believe you’re bringing it up again!” she started, getting more heated as she watched Frank enjoying her frustration. “It’s a Christmas movie, Frank. It’s in the name!”
Mel had started calling him by first name more often at his request, only when they were alone on their breaks together. It made him feel warm when she did, it felt right.
He was still just watching her, amused as it slowly clicked for her what he was asking. Her eyes looked down, cheeks flushing as she fought her smile.
“I’m free for Christmas.”
Frank’s eyes widened, cheeks warming up as well. He was the one that suggested this in the first place, but her answer somehow managed to surprise him back. She always had that effect on him, keeping him on his toes. It was exciting.
“What about your family?” she quickly added, reminding him that he hadn’t told her about him and Abby’s situation yet. He breathed out a sigh.
“I’ll uh…be alone this year,” he started, looking down at the hand in his lap. “We went ice-skating last week and had our dinner early, but Abby’s taking the kids up to her parents.”
Mel was silent, letting him say everything he needed to say on his own time. Throughout their months of becoming better friends, they had adopted a quiet habit of leaving space between their responses to each other, unconsciously spreading out the time they had with one another.
“We’re not together anymore.” he added, looking up to meet her eyes.
Her eyebrows were furrowed slightly, unsure what reaction she should be giving him. After a moment, she nodded gently.
“Are things…okay between you two?” she offered carefully.
Frank smiled softly, nodding.
“Things are good with us.” he huffed quietly. “It’s been a couple months. We’re more like co-parenting friends now.”
Mel nodded, posture relaxing with a quiet sigh. She looked down at her hands. It was quiet for a moment, until her alarm quietly went off. She turned to look back up at him.
“I’d like to take you up on your offer, then.” Her cheeks were warming, forcing her eyes to meet his.
Frank’s chest warmed at her words, watching her blush deepen.
“Great…it’s a date,” he said slowly. Mel looked up, cheeks bright red. She nodded quickly, and excused herself as she walked to the door. She turned back to look at him, noticing his eyes were already watching her.
“We could watch it tonight…if you want.” Her eyes were staring right into his, hopeful.
Frank smiled, hands picking once more.
“I’ll see you later tonight then, Dr. King,” he teased. Mel smiled, turning quickly to return to the noise.
He looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers apart, noticing the shaking. It’s a date.
Frank reached for his phone, pausing to think about who he was going to ask for advice on dating. It was ironic that his first choice happened to be his future ex-wife.
‘Can I ask you something?’
‘Sure’
‘What’s up?’
‘I have this friend who I think is really cool
I might’ve asked her to watch a movie tonight
Is that okay with you?
‘Did you ask her on a date?
Explicitly “date”?’
Frank paused, thinking about his next words. This was his ex-wife he was asking anyway.
'Yes, are you okay with that?
Was that wrong of me?
I’m sorry, I should’ve asked before’
He wasn’t able to read her response, his alarm blaring for him to get back to work.
A few hours had passed, finally signaling the end of his shift. He had forgotten to check his phone, and was getting his things from his locker. Suddenly remembering his conversation with Abby, he pulled his phone from his pocket to check their texts.
“Frank
Of course I’m okay with that
Thank you for asking
Does this friend happen to be the same friend you went to the movies with last time?’
He froze, caught.
‘Would you be mad if I said it was?
I swear it wasn’t like that
I get if you’re mad
Three dots showed up immediately, Abby was probably watching the kids play.
‘Frank
She’s sweet and she’s pretty
If anything, I’d be mad if you didn’t end up asking her out’
Frank breathed out a sigh of relief.
‘Serious?’
‘Yes Frank’
He watched as the three dots popped up and disappeared a couple of times. He wondered what she was trying to say.
‘I found someone else too
If that’s okay’
His eyes widened, unsure of what to say. He typed and erased his response a few times, deciding on what to say.
‘That’s good
I’m happy for you
Will you tell me about him next time you guys come over?’
‘:)
Only if you tell me about your friend too
Maybe we could do a double-date someday'
He smiled to himself at her words. It was a miracle they ended up like this. He made a note to never get on her bad side ever again.
‘Stop texting me by the way
Don’t you have a movie date??’
Frank’s smile widened.
‘Yeah I do
I’ll call you and the kids later okay?’
Abby reacted to his text with a thumbs-up emoji.
Frank tucked his phone away, looking around for a familiar blond braid. Her patient-handoff was delayed for a bit, so he leaned against the lockers and waited for her.
“Hey,” said Mel, walking towards him, smiling. She poked his arm gently. He smiled down at her, looking deeply into her eyes. He snuck a quick glance at her lips.
She noticed.
“Hey,” he responded. “Are you still up for that nightmare before Christmas?” he joked, teasing her as he kept staring at her face.
She smiled, making sure he noticed as she shifted her eyes down to his lips as well.
“I am.” She started to shift around on her feet, both of them dancing around the question.
Frank decided he didn’t want others hearing in on their date, so he gently jerked his head towards the direction of the parking lot, silently letting her know he wanted to talk somewhere more quiet. Somewhere, more alone.
She nodded, and the pair began walking out to the parking lot.
It was silent as they walked. Silent, but not uncomfortable. They would bump into each other’s sides gently, arms brushing each time. When they made it to his car, Frank leaned back against the door, eyes half-lidded as he looked down at Mel in front of him. Their feet were touching, neither of them wanted to move.
“Do you want my place or yours?” asked Frank, taking the lead. Mel flushed, looking down at their feet together. He hadn’t put much thought into the words he had said before they came out, flushing at the other insinuation. Luckily, Mel didn’t seem to notice his freeze.
“I have a nice movie-night set up,” offered Mel, shifting from side to side. Eyes slowly saddening. Because of Becca.
Frank’s eyebrows furrowed together. He knew what she was feeling. He nudged her foot with his.
“I’d love to check out the King sisters’ set up.”
Her flush deepened. Frank’s head tilted to the side, watching her intently.
“Mel,” he said, causing her to look up slowly. “You take the bus, right?”
She nodded, unsure of what he was asking. He started playing his fingers in his pockets, his turn to avoid her eye-contact.
“Would you be okay with me driving you home?” he asked cautiously, playfully kicking the sides of her feet.
“I’d like that.” she said quietly.
Frank looked up, nodding as his cheeks warmed. He hadn’t felt this nervous and warm since before him and Abby got together. It felt silly, trying out flirting again. He hoped Mel didn’t notice he wasn’t very good at it.
He slowly peeled himself off the side of his car, extending a hand out to Mel. She took his hand, and the pair walked around to the passenger’s side. Opening her door, Mel got in and watched as Frank took her bag to place it in the seat behind her. He closed her door, smiling as he walked back to his side.
The drive to Mel’s apartment was quiet. Frank had reached over to Mel’s side with his free hand, and she had interlocked their fingers. She was mindlessly rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb.
They had made it to her building, parked with the car off. Frank turned to look at Mel.
“I’m gonna go home and shower, and then I’ll come back okay?” he asked quietly. Mel leaned her head against the head rest, nodding gently.
“Could you text me when you get back?” she asked shyly, thumb still rubbing his hand. He smiled softly, squeezing her hand once before he let go to walk over to her side. When the pair made it to her door, she turned around in the doorway looking up at him. His fist was leaned against the door frame, body tilted forward towards hers.
“Don’t start it without me.” he teased, earning a chuckle from Mel.
“No promises.”
He reached towards her face to tuck a loose hair from her forehead, brushing it behind her ear. He eventually pulled away from their moment, keeping eye-contact as he walked backwards down the hall to his car. She was watching him back.
A few hours had passed and the pair was relaxed on her couch.
They were close enough that their bare arms were touching, legs both crossed near enough to feel the warmth from each other’s bodies. Mel’s apartment wasn’t cold, but it was also winter so any body heat within a few feet from each other, they could feel ten-fold.
Frank couldn’t keep his thoughts bouncing around, thinking of the last time he had watched this movie with his ex-wife, and right now with his best-friend. Like everything else in his life, it was poetic.
It had reached that part in the movie where Sally started talking again, and Frank looked over to Mel, completely entranced by her words.
“...does he notice my feelings for him?” she whispered under her breath along with the character. Yes, he does.
Frank froze, trying to gain as much confidence as possible to make some semblance of a move. So, he reached over behind Mel’s shoulders, resting them on the couchrest behind her. He heard her suck in a breath. A moment had passed, before Mel shifted towards him so she was fully tucked into his side, leaning her head on his chest.
He smiled, starting to rub circles into her shoulder without realizing. They finished the movie like that, tucked into each other warmly, and with Frank’s full focus finally. They never ended up having an argument.
He was in the doorframe again, leaning halfway into her apartment as they were saying goodbye. They were both clearly prolonging the inevitable, as she was playing with his fingers.
“I’d like to do this again,” Frank started. “With you.”
Mel was flushed, warm and pink from the cold and other things. He smiled at her blushing, leaning forward before he got nervous again, and softly kissed her cheek.
“I’d like that too,” Mel whispered. He smiled. “Goodnight, Frank.”
“Goodnight, Mel.”
Both had laid in bed that night, wide-awake for hours.
Christmas Day had come the next day, and the next month had followed until the finalization. It was February 1st.
Their separation was cordial and mutual, with Abby and Frank going for brunch after the meeting. It should’ve felt odd, having pancakes with your ex-wife after your divorce was finalized, but ultimately he was glad he was going through it with Abby.
He was cutting into his eggs when Abby looked up, smirking in amusement.
“How’s Mel?” she asked casually, looking back down to her plate. He huffed in response.
Things between him and Mel were good, amazing even. They were taking things slow, with weekly movie dates and normal dates. He was planning to ask her out officially after his separation was finalized.
After their date on Christmas Eve, they become shyer around each other. Still inseparable of course, but to their colleagues, the only difference in their behavior was their leaving with each other at the end of their shifts. But, most didn’t catch on.
“We’re good, thanks for asking.” Frank responded, looking up at his ex-wife. The two women had met on New Year’s Eve, when Abby and the kids visited his apartment to celebrate the countdown. He had invited their other coworkers of course, but most importantly Mel and her sister.
It was unreal, really, when he noticed Abby and Mel were laughing and getting along. Mel of course knew about the date of their finalization, he didn’t want to keep anything from her. The women had gotten along so well within a short period of time, Frank felt like maybe he wasn’t doing such a terrible job in life.
“Have you asked her out yet?” asked Abby, breaking out of his thoughts. She had a wide knowing smile plastered on her face, mouth chewing full of food.
He smiled back, shaking his head in amusement at her teasing.
“I’m going to ask her today, actually.”
That earned a loud chuckle out of Abby, snorting with such intensity that the tables around them looked in alarm. She waved in front of her face, and began laughing while pointing at Frank. He was perplexed at this woman.
“You–” huffed Abby, choking on her own laughs. “never stop being you. Please.” She was wiping tears from her eyes, unable to stop laughing. Frank smiles eventually, blushing a deep red in embarrassment.
“Please don’t ever tell her.” Frank grumbled, hoping Abby’s laughter would cease soon. Despite his charming exterior and charismatic boy-like personality, he was still introverted in situations he couldn’t control. With a full restaurant’s eyes on their table as his ex-wife chuckled to herself about his oblivious timing, he doesn’t think his introvertness will ever go away.
He in fact had asked her out the same day.
Later that evening, he was on Mel’s couch again, cuddled up into each other’s sides watching a romcom he had never seen before. She had made it a mission for them to watch romcoms the whole month of February, seeing as it was the month of love and her own birthday in a few days. He couldn’t say no to her.
So they were watching 27 Dresses on her couch, after splitting plates of Italian food.
He was half paying attention to the movie, and more so the woman tucked in his arms. His hands were fidgeting again, flexing in stress. She had turned and noticed, and reached over to hold his hand, warming it up.
“...and I think there’s a chance I’m falling in love with you.” he heard from the TV, looking back up.
He turned to look back at Mel, tangled limbs on her couch.
“Mel,” he whispered into the top of her head. She hummed in response, eyes still watching the movie. When he didn’t continue, she turned her head slowly to look up at him, face inches apart from one another. “May I be with you? Officially?” he asked quietly, cheeks warming.
Her eyes shined in the dark, with the TV light illuminating her face.
“Yes,” she whispered back.
He smiled, leaning down slowly to kiss her softly. She was smiling against his mouth, leaning upwards to pull him closer. They fell asleep on her couch, limbs tangled with each other.
Frank celebrated the King sisters’ birthdays with them three days later. A week later, he and Mel also celebrated their first Valentines’ Day together.
At home, watching a romcom of Mel’s choice.