Chapter Text
Gerard was excited. How could he not be? Frank was coming to visit for the first time in a while. Music played quietly in the background as they tidied up their room, scooting their easel to the foot of the bed to leave room for Frank’s bags.
His desk held a cup of inking pens and thick paper used to make the many sketches of comic book characters and panels pinned to the wall. A stack sat in the middle of Gerard’s desk. All inked, water colored, or pencil drawings of Frank. Gerard drew Frank a lot, and they were lucky to have such a beautiful model to go off of.
Gerard decided to ditch the overhead light like usual, lighting the string lights and throwing one of his cozier blankets over the arm chair in the corner. Frank would thrive in a space like this, dark and comfortable. Their band posters lined the opposing wall to the comic sketches, all familiar bands he came to love over his career. Frank liked all of them too.
They continued with doing all those mundane cleaning tasks: making the bed with fresh sheets, cleaning the bathroom counter, and folding the laundry. It looked at home exactly how Gerard liked it, and he hoped Frank would feel at home too.
Gerard currently sat in front of his floor length mirror, spot concealing and doing his eye makeup. He never did it the ‘proper’ way, using his finger in place of a brush to apply eyeshadow and smudge eyeliner. It came out best this way. Frank complimented him the first time he did makeup like this, so he decided to keep doing it.
He was so excited that the both of them got into Rutgers. This meant he even got to have Frank in some of their non-major based classes. Gerard smiled to himself in the mirror at the thought, glancing up at the polaroid of him and Frank taped to the glass.
Gerard couldn’t really remember a time when Frank wasn’t there. They had gone to school together since kindergarten, of course they were bound to fall in love. Honestly, having known Frank since that young of an age was a stroke of luck that even some divine being couldn’t offer.
He jumped when he heard a knock on the door, feeling his heart tug in his chest. It was Frank. He heard his voice calling from outside the door.
”Honey, I’m hooome!” Frank exclaimed in a singsong voice, dragging out the ‘ome’ part.
“Comin’!” Gerard almost slipped when he stood up, rushing to the door and swinging it open. “Frankie!”
He threw his arms around Frank’s neck, hugging him tight. Frank snaked his arms around Gerard’s waist, kissing their head before resting his chin on their shoulder.
“Somebody’s excited to see me,” Frank chuckled, lip ring pulled to the side with his upturned smile.
After a moment of standing in the doorway, Gerard helped Frank bring his bags inside. He let Frank wander around the space for a moment, stashing the bags beside the easel.
Frank was cat-like in the way he explored his surroundings. He eventually stood in front of Gerard’s desk, sifting through the stack of drawings that appeared to be of him.
”Awe, Gee. You draw me so pretty!” Frank held one of the sketches up next to his face as if to compare them, glancing back down at the stack to admire.
”They’re not really good, Frankie.. Don’t pay ‘em any mind.” Gerard sauntered over, resting his chin on Frank’s shoulder to peer at the drawings himself.
Eventually, the two of them settled on sitting in Gerard's bed. They were leaning against each other while Gerard traced Frank's hand tattoos with his finger.
"What've you been up to, hm?" Gerard muttered, glancing over at Frank through his lashes.
Frank hummed in thought, lip ring shifting as he pursed his lips. "Mostly studyin' for finals, hangin' with Ray, that kind of stuff." He brought his unoccupied hand up to brush Gerard's bangs out of his face. "What about you?"
Gerard sighed, tilting their head to lean into Frank more. "Nothing much. The only thing I've really been doing besides schoolwork is watching movies with Mikey."
"Yeah? Good, at least you're doin' something that isn't overworking yourself." Frank's smile widened as he shifted closer to Gerard, taking a deep breath as he relaxed against their side.
"No kidding. I haven't even been given the opportunity to overwork lately.." They sighed, pulling their legs up to rest over top of Frank's. "One of my finals is a portrait and I just can't figure out why I hate each of my attempts. It's due, so I don't exactly have time to be unsure."
Frank tilted his head, eyes almost seeming to shine as an idea formed. "What if you.. I dunno, used me as your model?"
Gerard's eyebrows raised, his gaze scanning over Frank's features. "Actually, I think that could work."
The two got everything set up for Gerard's project: dragging the easel into the middle of the room, moving the arm chair in front of it for Frank, and getting the paints mixed on a glass pallet. Frank insisted that he needed a better outfit, shifting through Gerard's closet to find some inspiration.
"What do you think o' this, Gee?" Frank turned around with an oversized Misfits tee and a leather jacket, a toothy grin across his face.
Gerard glanced over his fresh canvas and couldn't help but smile in admiration, stepping around his easel to get a closer look at his boyfriend's pick. "Looks great on you!”
Frank nodded, quickly slipping his previous shirt over his head before setting the jacket down and pulling the new shirt over his bare chest. Gerard was staring in awe, he was aware of that. Frank's grin quickly became more sly than toothy. "Staring, Gee?"
"Oh, I would never." Gerard chuckled, stepping back behind his easel to adjust it's height and tape up the border of his canvas.
When they looked back up again, Frank was in the arm chair. He was wearing the leather jacket unzipped over top of Gerard's Misfits tee, resting his chin on his palm. Frank was looking at Gerard longer than he initially realized, accompanied by that sort of sickeningly sweet look in his eyes that made Gerard's heart flutter.
"Okay, Frankie. Let's figure out a pose for your portrait.." Gerard stepped around their easel, standing in front of Frank as he slipped his painter's apron on. "Mind tyin’ this for me?" They turned around, holding the ties of the apron out to Frank.
Frank nodded, tying the apron ties into a knot before wrapping his arms around Gerard's waist from behind. "Too tight? Too loose?" He muttered, leaning his head against their lower back.
"Perfect." Gee’s breath hitched in their throat from the affection. He cocked his head to the side, running a hand through Frank's hair before turning back around. "Let's see.." He gently placed both hands on Frank's jaw, slightly turning his head to the side.
After getting Frank in his desired pose, Gerard stepped back behind the easel. "Keep your eyes right here, okay?" They tapped the top bar of the stand with the handle of a paintbrush, meeting Frank's gaze with a smile.
Music started up from Gerard's player, the same mixtape they made in sophomore year playing quietly as he started to paint.
After a little while, Gerard had the outline and base finished. They wiped their brow with the back of their hand, small paint smudges noticeable on their face. "This is comin' together, Frankie." He muttered, reaching down to pick up his box of oil pastels. "It must be easy because I have such a beautiful model."
Frank grinned, eyes slightly crinkling at the corners. "That so? I'd never dispute a compliment from you, after all.”
More time passed, and Gerard was at the stage where he was smudging the top layer of pastels with his fingers to perfect each tiny detail. He was painting Frank, there was certainly no room for error here. After wiping his most heavily pastel-covered hand off on his apron, Gerard took another look at the canvas. They had this kind of proud expression on their face, similar to one a parent might have when their kid does something good.
"Alright.." He smiled, picking up one of his ink pens to sign the bottom corner of the canvas. Frank remembered when Gerard spent hours writing that signature over and over again to practice for when he made it big. He thought that was cute. "Wanna take a look?"
Frank eagerly nodded, leaning forward with his forearms against his thighs. "Let's see it, Gee!"
Gerard picked the canvas up with both hands, scooting the easel out of the way with his foot to flip it around. Frank's eyes lit up in a similar fashion to when he had this whole idea earlier. The light shining in from the window in the painting was beautiful rays that fractioned off into vibrant spectra of light, all of the colors surrounding Frank were just as bright with attention drawn to his face.
"So.. How does it look?" For a split second, Gerard looked almost anxious. It was as if he was expecting Frank to hate it. "You can be honest."
Frank let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding, expression softening into a sort of gentleness saved only for Gerard. "Holy shit, Gee! I don't know how you do that!" He smiled, laughing in disbelief as he stood from the arm chair. "I don't even have the words. It’s beautiful."
Gerard gently set the canvas down on the easel, untying his apron and shrugging it off before meeting Frank halfway in an embrace. "Couldn't look that good without a gorgeous model to start with, y'know." They mumbled, kissing the side of Frank's head.
"Couldn't look that good without a talented artist, either." Frank nudged Gerard's side, pulling him in for a gentle kiss before burying his face against their neck.
Both of them ordered Chinese takeout for dinner, eating on a lapboard in Gerard's bed while watching whatever silly cartoon was playing on TV. Frank hummed, quickly snatching a piece of food from Gerard's plate with his chopsticks.
"Stealing? Really, Frankie? Could've just asked." Gerard giggled, taking his own piece from Frank's plate as revenge.
Frank shook his head, shutting his box with his chopsticks still inside. "Nah, tastes way better stolen."
Gerard put their leftovers in the fridge, moving the lapboard aside. Almost immediately as they sat back down, however, their lap was taken up again. Frank laid down with his head in Gerard's lap, facing the TV as he gently swiped a thumb across one of Gerard's thighs.
"Hey there," Gerard whispered, leaning down to kiss Frank on the head before starting to run their hands through his hair. "Comfy?"
Frank nodded, leaning into Gerard's touch with a hum of contentment. "Of course. I've got the best damn pillow in all of Jersey under my head.” He chuckled, tilting his head up to look at Gerard with an accomplished grin.
Gerard couldn't help but smile, snickering as they brushed some hairs out of Frank's face. "That so?' He caressed Frank's cheek, admiring the features of the boy in his lap. "Quite the title for me to live up to, hey?"
"Nope, you don't even have to try." Frank missed this more than he realized, a sigh escaping his lips as he stared up at Gerard. "I missed you, Gee. Like, I mean, really missed you."
"I missed you too, Frankie." Gerard smiled. Frank was back at his house, and that was all that mattered.
The TV continued playing in the background, Frank eventually settling into laying down against Gerard's chest. He was fighting off sleep like it was a war, making an attempt to blink the tiredness out of his eyes.
"Just sleep, Frankie," Gerard mumbled, peppering a couple of kisses on the top of Frank's head. "You're tired, silly. It's obvious."
Frank weakly shook his head. He flipped over onto his stomach in order to get a better angle, and pressed several soft kisses to Gerard’s neck. "..'M not sleepy. You’re sorely mistaken.”
Gerard scoffed, heat flushing his cheeks as he pulled the slipping collar of Frank's borrowed tee up. "Not true. Go on, we'll both still be here in the morning.”
With a couple of more half-hearted snaps back, Frank was asleep face-first on Gee’s old t-shirt. Gerard breathed in the familiar scent of Frank's shampoo, gently tugging the covers up over Frank's shoulders. "G’night, love you.”
They heard Frank mutter back a slurred 'Love you, too' as he drifted off completely, Gerard gently rubbing Frank's back as they continued to watch the next episode of the cartoon.
The next morning, Gerard was woken up early to Frank rustling around their room. They blinked a few times, both to adjust to the light and to wake their brain up. They glanced over at Frank, who was hurriedly packing his things up by the easel and rushing over to Gee’s desk. They furrowed their brows in confusion, averting their eyes to the small alarm clock. It was six in the fucking morning.
They looked back over to Frank, who was smiling at Gerard’s portraits and stowing some of them in his bag.
”Frank? What are you doing?” Gerard mumbled softly, the weight of sleep still heavy on their eyelids.
Frank grinned and folded another sketch before shoving it into his pocket. “Mornin’. Sorry for waking you up, I’ve gotta go.” Frank stepped toward Gee’s end of the bed and looked down at him.
Gerard scrunched his nose angrily. “What? No you don’t..” His eyes shut against his will once again, for longer this time. He felt like he would lose his grip on consciousness at any given moment.
“Wasn’t plannin’ to stay the night, Gee. I’m sorry, I’ve got some things to do today.” Frank gently placed his hand on his partner’s cheek, rubbing his thumb up and down. Gerard directed his hand to lie on top of Frank’s.
Soon, he felt his hand slipping off of Frank’s wrist as his eyelids closed. “No, stay..” He whispered before falling back to sleep.
”Aww,” Frank said sweetly, before leaning down to place a gentle kiss on their forehead.
Gerard’s eyes slowly fluttered open a few minutes later, and they quickly sat up as they realized Frank wasn’t in the bedroom anymore. They forced themself out of bed and stumbled over to the window, pulling their curtains wide open.
It was raining hard. Droplets of rain slipped down the exterior of the glass, and Gerard put a free hand on the window and squinted to look at the bright light outside the house. Headlights flashed briefly, Frank unlocking his car. Gerard suddenly saw him walking out of the driveway, and they quickly rushed through the house to open the front door.
They fumbled with the lock, presumably that Frank had just latched, and ran outside in the rain. They didn’t have time to grab an umbrella, not wanting to miss Frank.
They followed quickly down the driveway behind Frank, putting a hand on his shoulder. Frank’s brows lowered and he turned to look behind him, noticing Gerard. Frank was covered in sweat and water droplets, rain fell onto his face and causing his wet hair to messily fall flat on his forehead. He looked stunning, and that was all Gerard could think about. They forgot why they were even in such a hurry to begin with.
They grasped a hand into Frank’s ruffled hair and the other on the back of his neck, pulling him in desperately as their lips crashed together.
The rain was still dripping down their faces and beading onto their eyelashes, but it felt like heaven. Frank’s hands were locked onto Gee’s hips, pulling them closer than before.
Frank pulled his face back, smiling wide.
“Stay?” Gerard said simply, tugging at the inside of their cheek with their teeth. The sound of the rain pouring down was a soothing noise, filling the silence between them.
Frank chuckled. “Can’t, my apartment is a wreck. I’ve gotta get it tidied up.”
Gerard frowned.
“Okay, okay. Just come with me, alright? As long as ya don’t mind the mess.”
“‘Course not,” Gerard replied, grinning now.
Gerard felt a wave of sleepiness crash over them. Frank softened his hand to rest on the small of their back, gently guiding them to the car.