Gerard doesn't invite Frank in, just moves aside so Frank can slip past into the apartment, keeping all this thoughts to himself as he stares at Frank's beautiful face.
Frank doesn’t say any of what he’s thinking either as he goes and sits on the couch, right in the centre, in Gerard’s living room. He snickers a little, at Kirsty and her bulging belly. Or perhaps it’s more at Gerard’s television choices in general.
Gerard stares for a moment; first at Frank and then at the TV where the buyers are screwing up their faces at a lovely Victorian cottage. He moves to sit on the sofa after a moment. Right at the corner- because this is so weird, but apparently Frank’s not having that at all because all of a sudden he is huffing and squirming and physically pulling Gerard closer. Gerard makes a squawking noise, but complies to Frank's wishes.
With his head on Gerard’s shoulder, his breath quiet and controlled Frank stares contentedly at the screen. It’s nice and, after a moment, Gerard begins to relax into the situation at hand. Of course, though, this is the moment that Frank decides to speak.
“You ruined everything, you know?”
Gerard jumps and lets out this big honking lungful of hair in replace of the word “ What?”
He seems to jolt Frank a little with the sudden movement, but he must know what Gerard means because he goes on, elaborating. “I never wanted you to know about. And I thought, like you’d never have to find out because I hadn’t told anyone, but then Alice and you and I never thought you’d go into a place like that, but I guess I just thought we could be… Normal or something. But then you did and.”
“Huh?” Gerard asks.
“And at first I was angry with you and I was gonna come over to give you a piece of my mind about like sex traffic and how I thought you were better than that, but then I was on the buss trying to like, plan my speech or whatever, and all I could think about was your stupid face and hands and I was still really mad, you know? But mainly, I think, I’m just mad at myself because I’m a fucking stripper, right? And I still want to like kiss you, like more than before, maybe, but I can’t because I’m so stupid.” Long pause. “You know?”
Except Gerard doesn’t know because he’s still totally stuck on the part where Frank wants to kiss him. And, okay, the whole stupid face bit isn’t really a textbook chat up line or anything but hey, that’s actually more Gerard’s style, really. But it’s also not exactly vague either, like all subtlety has gone out the window and down the road, at this point.
So he just, sort of, chokes out. “I want to kiss your stupid face too.” And then he thinks about it a little and kind of back tracks, blushing. “Well, I don’t actually think it’s stupid at all, in fact, I really, really like your face, it’s a fantastic face, Frank.” He finishes messily, content now that any former elephants in the room are sitting right there between them, just begging to be the subject of their conversation.
There’s a long silence to follow their confessions.
Gerard's nerves eventually get the better of him, and he just starts laughing, loud and really awkward and slightly high pitched, aware that things are going to go one of two ways. He really hopes for the south.
“Basically, I really like you even though you are a stripper.” He says once the hysteric laughter as come to a sees fire.
Frank has just been sitting there through this whole, massive confession, just gawping at Gerard with huge pretty, brown eyes and an open mouth. And Gerard is overcome, for a moment, with just how beautiful this guy is, it feels as though he's looking at him for the first time, as if he's only now been allowed to look at him in the light, and he’s just breath taking, honestly.
But in the next second Frank is moving and cupping Gerard’s jaw and Gerard is too busy being overcome with Frank kissing him to think too much about new beginnings and first encounters and other things that aren't Frank's lips on his.
He’s still for a moment out of pure shock but Frank’s lips are warm in insistent against his and pretty soon Gerard is snapping the fuck back into action and kissing Frank back, opening his mouth and just letting it happen.
