I Will Protect You (A Frerard neko Au)

First encounters

Gerard
Gerard stayed silent as the dealer dragged him up the stairs of his new master's home. If you could call it that. It was more like a castle, with endless rooms, hallways and...
He was pulled from his thoughts as they reached the master bedroom. The dealer tore off what little clothing he still had and shoved him forward onto his knees, laughing at the quivering boy. He walked up to him and pulled his head up a little by one ear, delighting in Gerard's little whimpers.
"Maybe he'll give me a turn for being kind enough to deliver you, ya little whore. Yeah, you'd like that."
A single sob escaped Gerard's lips and he felt the dealer stamp on his tail. He yowled in pain and curled his tail round to cradle it. The dealer then spat in his hair and left.

After that, nothing could hold back his tears. The came streaming down his face and slowly dripped onto the carpet. He hugged himself as his mind flooded with images of what was to come.
He heard the sound of voices downstairs and someone, presumably his new master, shout. "GET OFF MY PROPERTY!!!"
This was even worse. His master was angry. Very angry. And that meant that the up and coming pain was going to be even worse. He curled up as the footsteps got louder and he braced himself for the worst.

Frank
Frank stepped inside his house and saw the dealer come downstairs. Something about the look on his face made me detest him even more.
"All sorted. Just breaking him in a little."
Frank furrowed his brow as he tried to make sense of that. Then he heard his answer coming from upstairs. Crying. His face twisted. "What the fuck?"
The dealer grinned. "Just making sure the whore knows his place."
His left eye twitched. "If you so much as look in his general direction again, then I will not be responsible for the authorities being unable to find your body!!!"
The man seemed taken aback. "Hey, take it easy!"
"GET OFF MY PROPERTY!!!"
The man ran out the door. Frank listened and found the crying had stopped. He cursed inwardly. The poor thing had probably heard him and was just even more terrified. He made his way upstairs and to his room. He paused, and slowly opened the door.

What he saw next horrified him. The boy's back was even worse, covered in overlapping scars, some only a few days old. Bruises of varying shades of purple, green and black littered his arms and legs. And his heart wept at the sight of the ones on his hips and thighs. They were like fingerprints and it didn't take a genius to work out how they got there.
He walked up to him and his heart wept even more at the tiny mew that emitted from his lips and the way he whimpered and hunched over even more when Frank crouched down in front of him.
"Sh sh ssh." He hushed the neko as he reached out a hand and stroked his hair gently. The frightened boy went quiet, seemingly surprised at the gentle touch.
"It's okay little one. I won't hurt you." The boy paused before very steadily tilting his head up a little and making eye contact. He almost instantly went back to staring at his tail, but at least it was a step in the right direction.
Mulling this all over, Frank got up and ran down to the kitchen. He got out a small shallow dish and filled it with milk before grabbing a plate and putting out grapes and a slice of bread. He'd need to go easy for a while. The neko's stomach was probably tiny due to the lack of food and giving him too much would just make him vomit. He carried the plate and the dish back upstairs and placed them in front of the boy.

Gerard
Gerard stared at what was before him. Food. Human food. He was puzzled. Was it a trick, to give him hope and then strip it away? Was it a test, to see if he knew his place and didn't eat food that was above him? Or maybe... It was an act of kindness?
He stared at the plate for another moment before his master spoke.
"Eat up. God knows you need it."
Still moving slowly, he picked up a grape and ate half of it. The sharp yet sweet taste of the fruit filled his mouth and as he swallowed, he felt it in his stomach. He ate quickly after that, washing it all down with the milk. For the first time in years, he was full.

Gerard gave a sigh of content. "Thank you master."
The man smiled. "Just call me Frank."
His face fell a little. "S-sorry mas... Frank."
"It's fine." Frank got up and went over to a chest of drawers and rummaged around.
He's going to punish me. I almost called him master after he said not to. It was just a trick. They're all the same, they all hurt me, they
Gerard felt a hand on his chest and realised that he'd been hyperventilating.
"It's alright." Frank's soft voice brought him back to earth. "They're just clothes."
He looked at what Frank was holding: a t-shirt with bright graphics and a pair of jeans.
"The bathroom's just through the door on your left. There's towels and soap so you can clean up if you want. Imma get something to eat." And with that, Frank stood up and left.

He sat there and tried to process what had just happened. This man, Frank, had given him food, clothes, and now the option to get clean. Was he really doing this out of kindness?
No. Masters were never really kind. Frank probably just wanted a clean slave. Yes, that was it. He didn't want to touch filth. Who would?
Taking a deep breath, Gerard slowly got to his feet and was greeted with the pleasant surprise of being able to stand up without being on the verge of fainting. Gathering the clothes, he made his way to the bathroom. The walls were a soft blue and the floor was tiled black and white. The dirt marks on the white bathtub and on the tiles suggested that the place hadn't been cleaned. He'd probably be doing that later.
Gerard put the clothes to one side, stepped into the bath and sat down. Unsure of what to do, he picked up a sponge and rubbed it with gel from one of the bottles along the edge of the tub before running it under the tap for a moment. He started to wash the dirt from his feet, legs and arms, wringing out the dirty water and adding more soap every so often. Once his limbs were clean, he took a deep breath and reached for his back. He hissed a little and bit his lip as the water ran over his wounds. Each movement stung and after a while, tears escaped his eyes. But after a quick rinse with the warm water, he found himself feeling slightly better. If Frank didn't like the idea of a dirty slave, maybe he'd be allowed to wash up regularly. The thought seemed like heaven. Running a hand through his hair, he turned on the tap and placed his head under it, his ears twitching at the water's contact. Once it was fully soaked, he squeezed more of the scented gel into his hand and rubbed it in before putting his head back under the tap.

He climbed out and dried himself off, taking care with his ears and tail. As he went to get dressed, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and froze. He stared at the pale, sickly figure with prominent bones and sunken eyes. He gingerly curled a lock of hair around one finger and closed his eyes. In his head, he was waking up underneath a gnarled willow tree. In his head, his mother had pulled him from the nightmare he was having. In his head, she was holding him and stroking his hair. In his head, his little brother Mikey was calling him to come and play with the butterflies. In his head, they were okay. But as he opened his eyes, they weren't. Mikey was at the bottom of a lake, his mother was rotting in a back alley, and he was here. Standing in front of a bathroom mirror, one mistake away from being hauled back to that awful place and meeting the same fate as his mother.
He choked back his sobs and drew in a shuddery breath. He needed to keep it together. If there was even the slightest hope that Frank was going to be kind, he needed do everything in his power to make sure Frank was happy, no matter what it was.

He picked up the clothes and unfolded them. This action revealed not only a pair of clean underwear, but a small hole in both them and the jeans at the back for his tail. The fact the Frank had gone to the effort of making this extra accommodation for him made Gerard's heart speed up. Frank was showing him real kindness. But everything in this world came at a price. Gerard already had a pretty good idea of what it was Frank wanted. And now, it was his duty to provide it.