Taking Back the Life You Stole

Chapter 8

 It had been over a month since anything majorly bad happened, so Frank was taking that as a sign that he was not actually a walking bad luck charm. He and Ray were pretty frequently having dinner with Mikey and Gerard, rotating between their apartments. Mikey was doing okay, and as nervous as Frank got for Ray every time he and Mikey went into Mikey's room after the rest of them ate dinner, Frank trusted that they would both take care of each other. Frank's foot healed fine, and besides the leftover scars as a reminder of the falls and the infection, his knees were better too. Gerard still came to visit Frank at work often, but it wasn't in the same way anymore, it was no longer Gerard's only chance to see Frank. There was only one thing Frank held onto as a sign of bad luck, even though it had been over a month since anything egregious happened, it had also been over a month since he kissed Gerard. It was hard for him to not come to the consensus that he was right that morning, that it was a fluke, a weird, desperate moment where they both needed safety and comfort and that was the closest either of them could get. Every time he had that thought, it made him feel sick, he didn't want to actually believe that it had just been convenient, that he was just close, and close was good enough for Gerard at that moment, but it kept slipping into his mind.

"Frank," Ray repeated his name for the third time, finally getting him out of his own thoughts. "Are you ready to go?"

"Um," Frank looked down at his still unlaced shoes. "Almost." He quickly tied them and stood up, following Ray out of their apartment, pausing briefly while Ray locked the door behind them. It was Gerard's turn to host dinner, and today was especially exciting because Frank didn't have to go work at the bar afterwards. At first, it had been about safety. Both Gerard and Ray figured they could make sure Mikey and Frank were safest if they spent more time together, the less time apart, the less time they were in risk of getting into some sort of danger. Frank just saw it as more time around Gerard, and he wasn't going to complain about that.

The drive was always calming for Frank. It took him a long time to feel comfortable in a car after the accident, he still didn't know if he'd be fine driving himself, but he always felt safe with Ray.

Ray pulled up to the curb on the side street and shut off the car. He turned to Frank. "We might have to stay the night, Mikey texted me earlier."

Frank nodded. They both knew what Ray meant, and even though this had been going on for a while now, they both were still uncomfortable openly saying Mikey needed blood. Most of the time Ray would end up falling asleep afterward, and since Frank wouldn't drive, they would just stay the night. He followed Ray up the stairs of the apartment building, holding the bottle of wine he'd bought the other day because he thought Gerard would like the picture on the label.

The door swung open after the first knock, Mikey on the other side of it. He gave Ray a quick hug, letting Frank sneak past to meet Gerard in the kitchen.

"Hey," Frank said to Gerard's back, causing him to jump a little and turn around. Frank held out the bottle of wine. "I saw this, and uh, I thought you'd like the picture. At the very least, we can drink it tonight while Mikey and Ray do their thing."

Gerard took the bottle from Frank, carefully inspecting the label. It was an image of an angel, not one of the pretty all-white ones, but an eldritch, biblical angel. It was hauntingly beautiful. "Frankie," Gerard gasped. "It's beautiful!" He pulled Frank against him into a tight hug.

"I'm glad you like it." Frank returned the hug, pulling back to find tears forming in Gerard's eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Gerard shook his head. "It just makes me really happy that something so beautiful made you think of me. And yes, we will drink this tonight, but I'm keeping the bottle. Can you tell the other two that dinner is almost ready?"