The Ocean's Enigma ♡ Frerard

XIII; Cradle of the Sea

When the night fell over them and they rose from a moment of peaceful sleep, the full moon spilled light over the land with a tint of yellow threaded into the familiar beams. Gerard lazily rose from their comfortable position tangled together on the sofa to prepare food for them after chuckling at the sound of Frank's grumbling belly. He'd neglected his own needs as well while being completely consumed by Frank's entire existence, he came to realize reality called to them after a moment of abandoning time to take each other in. Frank went to bathe while Gerard ordered a pizza. He noted to make a trip to the grocery store after opening his fridge and finding a lack of ingredients for proper dishes, items he did happen to carry ran low on quantity as well.

While jotting down items to purchase on a notepad in the kitchen, the pizza arrived. Gerard paid for the food and sent the delivery boy on his way with a considerate tip he added in for his service. Setting the box on the counter, Gerard was alarmed by Frank calling his name from the restroom. His call carried through the halls, but the sound wasn't frantic or shrill with pain as Gerard worried it might've been.

Gerard hurried into the hall and stood in front of the sealed bathroom door, his hand hesitantly hovering over the handle. "Frank? What's the matter?"

"Can, um, can you come in please?" Frank hesitantly asked through the door. "I need help."

Gerard ignored the blood rushing under his cheeks at Frank's request. He reminded himself Frank was definitely in his merman form after being cascaded by water from the shower, and it would be impossible for him to be dry enough to return to his human form so quickly. Gerard wrapped his hand around the handle and opened the door, peering inside.

Frank was spread out across the floor beside the tub, his magnificent tail resting on towels spread out over the tiles. Water droplets fell from his soaking hair and onto his glistening shoulders, sliding down the smooth planes of his chest. Gerard swallowed hard and attempted to focus on Frank's face. It was incredibly difficult to focus when the thoughts Gerard buried deep into the back of his mind wondered if Frank's chest was as smooth as it appeared, if his breath would hitch if he ran his fingers across it before replacing it with feathery kisses. Fuck, Gerard was taken to the point of no return, wasn't he? He blew his thoughts away to analyze the situation.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Gerard's eyes scanned the area.

"Everything's alright, I'm not having too much trouble getting out of the tub anymore." Frank bit his lip and his eyes flitted over to the counter a few feet away from him. "I wanted to ask you about that device sitting there." He pointed.

Gerard followed the direction of Frank's finger. His eyes rested on the hair dryer sitting unplugged on the counter from when Gerard used it to quickly rid of the dampness from his own hair a day prior.

"The blow dryer?" Gerard asked to make sure.

"Yes!" Frank exclaimed. "I didn't know its name."

"Oh, do you need to borrow it?" Gerard began reaching out for it.

"I would like to see if it'll help me dry off faster." Frank glanced down at his tail, tentatively curling his fins. "Do you think it will?"

Gerard retrieved the blow dryer from the counter, searching for a power outlet closest to Frank. "I don't see why it wouldn't. Just don't hold it too close to you or it'll burn a little."

"Like — like those demented ovens you humans own?" Frank's hand hesitated in midair during its endeavor to wrap around the handle of the hair tool. His eyes widened slowly in horror.

"No! Nothing like that, it doesn't burn that bad." Gerard took a pause as he knelt down beside Frank to insert the plug into a nearby outlet he discovered. "When have you burned yourself on the oven?"