He Likes Me

5

The first thing Gerard did when he and Frank had finished eating - after washing, drying and putting away the plates and cutlery of course - was to go up to his bedroom in the hopes of finding some old clothes of his that wouldn't be ridiculously - and adorably, in Gerard's opinion - big on Frank's tiny frame. Frank followed close behind, so close in fact that if Gerard stopped walking suddenly, Frank would almost certainly walk into his back.

Gerard was surprised to see half of his wardrobe was filled with clothes that weren't his; clothes that were Frank's size. And Frank's style. And Frank's clothes, Gerard realised with a shock. Gerard was confused; he didn't know how Frank's clothes had got there because he definitely didn't remember hanging them there and if Frank really was Frank, he had only been in existence since Gerard wrote him into existence. How would he have had time to fill Gerard's wardrobe with his clothes? How did he even have clothes? How was he even real?

With a sad sigh, Gerard realised he didn't know anything about magic or how it worked. If he had written Frank into reality, who was to say he hadn't done the same for Frank's clothes, or his parents, or his childhood dog - even though Frank had never had a dog as a child, he'd always wanted one. That was, if Frank had had a childhood. Gerard was still struggling to believe this person standing naked in his bedroom wasn't really one of Mikey's friends from uni who he had put up to pulling a prank on Gerard.

But Mikey had only seen that paper yesterday...could he have really set this all up in that small amount of time? And what were the chances of Mikey knowing someone exactly like how Frank had described? It wasn't just not likely, it was almost impossible.

Then he realised that Frank actually thought they were in the relationship Gerard had written about; where he had found Frank homeless and friendless and they had fallen in love. Frank said he loved Gerard - Gerard couldn't help but feel his heart flutter at the memory and he felt compelled to bounce over to where Frankie stood, halfway through getting dressed, and snake his arms around Frank's waist from behind him.

Frank was wearing baggy cargo pants and was just about to throw on a loose fitting, navy blue sweater when he felt Gerard give him a backwards hug. He attempted to put his arms around Gerard to hug him back, but the position was awkward and Gee wouldn't let him turn around, so he settled for leaning his head back on the taller man's shoulder. He felt Gerard place an open mouthed kiss on the back of his neck, and would probably have moaned or shivered if Gerard's hair hadn't fallen over his face and tickled Frank's neck, spoiling the mood. Frank giggled and Gerard pulled away, viewing him with confused amusement. Frank just shook his head and continued dressing.

"So I thought we could go out for dinner tonight?" Gerard suggested, shooting Frank a sidelong glance to assess his reaction. When he saw his eyes light up, Gerard smiled lovingly and looked away quickly before Frank could catch him staring. "Where would you like to go?"

Frank chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully - which was adorable - and flopped back on Gerard's bed, who winced when he saw how untidy the bed was getting. The covers were wrinkled and the wooden bed frame had made a loud, angry noise when Frank's body hit it. Rather than complaining, he sat down gingerly next to Frank's feet and discretely smoothed down the sheets. If he was correct in his assumptions, Frank loved him for who he was - obsessive compulsiveness and all - but he didn't want to act like the bad guy and scold Frankie for making a small mess. He could appreciate that Frank was used to making mess rather than cleaning it up and he wasn't going to ruin their evening over it.

"How about that Italian place near the highway? Luigi something-or-other. That does great pasta apparently."

Gerard nodded approvingly. Luigi Carlotta's was one of his all time favourite restaurants, and he would go there whenever he was too exhausted or too lonely to call for a take-away pizza for one. He had become a regular and was on a first name basis with the staff. It was a perfect place for a date night; somewhere he could go with his boyfriend and not get judged for whatever reason.