FOUR: Vanilla in Our Veins

7: I Was Just Hoping it Wasn't like That Scene in The Shining

It was now only a week before Christmas and the house was fully decorated. Frank had been able to go shopping for gifts with all of his partners in tow, splitting off when he had to buy gifts for one of his bodyguards. It was his first time spending a Christmas away from his mother, and he was also surprised by how little snow there was in California in comparison to New Jersey.

He was now alone at home since Gerard had left for a work meeting, and Ty and Josh had gone out God knows where. He finished showering and towel-drying his black locks that had now grown down to his shoulders. He pulled on a pair of simple black panties and one of Ty's enormously oversized t-shirts that he had stolen when he folded the laundry with Josh last week. He rolled the sleeves up until he could finally see his hands, and flattened the material over his chest, happy with the soft texture. Being home alone almost always made Frank rather introspective. It was almost 2017 and that was mind-boggling. How much the world around him had changed and how grateful he was that Gerard had left the world of politics before it fell to shit. Or, more shit. Frank felt saddened by it because he loved politics, and it was the subject as a whole that got him where he was today, he just wished that it hadn't become such a violent topic, and a hateful one, at that. He shook the thought from his head and decided to focus on where he was now, rather than what could have been.

He had been in his new house for almost six weeks and, sure, there were definitely still some things that needed fine-tuning to his liking, but he loved his new home nonetheless. Being alone was not something Frank found himself doing now that he shared a house with four people, and half a house with his fiancé. But it gave him time to really admire the little castle he had created with his Master. Gerard and Ty had designed the home from the ground up, making sure that everyone had what they needed to create their own safe little nest. The exterior was a warm beige with speckled masonry climbing up the sides, matching the semi-arid climate of Sacramento really well in terms of real estate.

Frank decided to use the time to himself and be productive, despite it being a backward order, he would do his chores. He knew he probably should have cleaned before he had a shower, but to him, showering made him feel productive. Besides, who said he was only allowed one shower a day? Ty had up to four sometimes, but that was his own predisposition and Frank wasn't about to ask. He decided to start by the front door and work his way up, grabbing his earphones and cleaning supplies. He put on some Type O and began sweeping, admiring the enormous entranceway. He had been genuinely surprised at the size of the foyer alone and could have bet one month's salary that the old living room in Ryan's house could have fit in it. Hell, everything about this new house was just exceptionally large. From the white marble of the floor, the honey-colored staircase where all four of them could stand beside each other on the same step, and the enormous framed canvas on the wall to his left. It was a large oil painting, a reimagining of Apollo and Hyacinth's last moments that Ty had painted for them once they had settled in. The painting stood six feet tall and at least sixteen feet across; Ty had built the canvas himself and had measured it to fit the entire expanse of the left wall of the foyer. God knows when he found the time to paint the entire thing, but Frank knew never to question Ty - methods behind the madness should never be uncovered. To the right of the staircase was a dark blue chaise that sat below a beautiful bay window. A tiered crystal chandelier hung above Frank's head as the staircase veered up and to the left, the balcony leading to a landing and a hallway that connected the two parts of the house. If Frank went up the stairs and kept going left, he would end up outside Ty's shibari room.

Now, however, the entryway had been decorated for the holidays by the two subs about a week prior, even before they had taken the day to do the living room. The wooden banisters of the stairs on both sides had been wound with fake pine wreaths from bottom to top, the greenery then bedazzled with white holly, white gold baubles, and a few smaller white decorum. Josh had suggested silver and white, but there was something about white gold that Frank couldn't ignore. They had even set up a few glass jar candles on the first two steps that they lit every night for some ambiance - electrical candles, of course. Especially with Jim and his fluffy tail running around.