This Is Our Second Skin (Frerard)

5: Sick Frank Is So Adorable It Should Be Illegal

"It's this one right - 249?" Gerard asked as he approached one of the many identical looking doors in Frank's apartment complex, praying that he hadn't gotten turned around and ended up on the wrong floor, because this place was much larger than it had seemed from the outside, and Frank instructions hadn't been very descriptive.

Frank had demanded that Gerard put him down once they had entered the building, but he was still leaning heavily against Gerard's side, and he hadn't spoken a word except when he handed Gerard his keys and mumbled his apartment number weakly, leaving Gerard to fend for himself and hope that room number 249 was indeed on the second floor.

"Yeah..." Frank rasped out, and Gerard nervously put the key in the lock. For some reason, he was terrified that he was going to enter the wrong apartment, and even though he knew that the door wouldn't open if that were the case, he still felt like he needed to double check before he busted in on some poor soul trying to sleep, or fuck, or whatever.

But the key turned easily, and no one attacked Gerard, or aimed a shot gun at him, so he assumed that he had gotten the right building, and he felt like giving himself a pat on the back for successfully getting Frank home safely, but his hands were sort of busy supporting Frank's small frame right now, so he was saved from making the embarrassing gesture.

Gerard helped Frank inside, hanging his keys on the hook that looked like it was made for that specific purpose before turning to Frank warily. Now that Gerard was inside his home, he didn't know how to act, and even though his first instinct was to bolt, he couldn't leave until he made sure that Frank was taken care of.

"So uh...do you live alone or -" Gerard was cut off by Frank clasping a hand over his mouth and all but sprinting down a hallway which Gerard could only guess led to the bathroom, leaving Gerard to stare after him with his jaw still hanging open slightly.

When Gerard heard the sounds of retching coming from the room Frank had disappeared into, his feet began moving without any conscious decision on his end, and he followed the noises until he spied Frank on his knees in front of the toilet, gagging weakly as his body was wracked with small tremors.

"Oh Frank..." Gerard whispered, sinking down beside him carefully.

"It's okay - I'll be okay, you can go home if you need to."

"I'm not leaving until you have someone here with you. Is there someone I should call - family maybe...or a boyfriend?" Gerard asked, and even though this wasn't the time to be thinking about Frank's love life, Gerard couldn't keep the distasteful tone out of his voice, but Frank didn't seem to notice - thank fuck.

"No - no family, no boyfriend. I live here alone...but I'm used to this. I get sick a lot, especially in the winter. I'll be fine," Frank protested again, but Gerard's mind was already made up, and there was no fucking way he was leaving Frank in this state.

"Well I have nowhere to be, so I can hang around for a bit. At least let me get your coat off," Gerard offered, because a light sheen of sweat was breaking out on Frank's brow, and he had to be uncomfortable wearing all of those layers inside.

"You are so sweet - are you even real?" Frank asked groggily as he peered up at Gerard with bleary eyes.

"Yeah - I'm real," Gerard chuckled as he unzipped Frank's heavy parka, removing the jacket from his slim shoulders before moving on to the scarf and hat.

"Thank you," Frank sighed out, leaning his head against the toilet bowl when Gerard was finished.

"I'm gonna go get you some water okay?"

Gerard didn't wait for a reply before heading into Frank's kitchen, grabbing the first glass he saw and filling it with tap water. When Gerard returned to the bathroom, he found Frank in the same position he had left him in, but he lifted his head and graced Gerard with a weak smile when he saw him.