Devil's Work (Frerard / Priest!Gerard)

Thirty Eight

Chapter Thirty Eight

"Hold still" Gerard barked at me, creases of concentration lining his forehead as he looked down on me "and for fuck's sake keep you left eye closed, unless you want me to get this foundation in there." 

"Do I even want to know why you have makeup?" I raised my eyebrow, but kept my eye closed as he had instructed. He was patching up my black eye with some concealer and foundation and god knows what else. I was eternally grateful too, as otherwise I could only imagine the looks I would have received when I walked onto the college campus with half my face bright shades of purple and yellow. 

"We all go through phases Frankie" He answered cryptically "besides, it's coming in useful now, so I got my money's worth eventually." 

"Are you sure? Isn't makeup really expensive?" I faintly remembered Lynz and Kitty complaining about it a few weeks beforehand. According to them, all the cheap stuff made you look like some sort of tangerine, and all the decent brands took half their money just to cover up a few spots. Man, I was glad I didn't have all the pressures placed on women. 

"I honestly can't remembered what this cost" he shrugged, gently dabbing some of it on the underside of my eye with a delicate pattern "anyway, you're worth it." 

"You mushy bastard" I grumbled, making him giggle. 

"Don't pretend like you don't love it" He winked, pulling back to look at his handiwork. "This actually looks pretty decent, you know. I don't think anyone will be able to tell you've been punched, as look as you don't wash any of this off or get too up close with anyone." 

"Don't worry, I save that for you anyway" I continued to flirt as I jumped up, going over to the mirror to check his makeup skills. "Geez Gerard, you weren't kidding when you said you were good with this stuff." He'd applied it perfectly, far beyond my regions of understanding when it came to makeup. I could only tell it was there because i knew what to look for, but i was sure it would fool everyone else, at least for the day. 

"I was an art student for a while... it kind of goes hand in hand..." He kept it vague as he came up behind me, wrapping an arm around my waist and kissing the side of my neck "be careful today, yeah? I don't want any more bruises to cover up on you." 

"Yes sir" I winked at his reflection. 

"I mean it, Frank" he spun me around to face him properly "This isn't some sort of game anymore. If anything happens you have to phone me straight away, okay? No matter what time." 

"I know, I've got it" I nodded, leaning up to kiss him briefly "I'll try and come to church after college anyway so i'll probably see you then." 

"Okay, do you want me to drive you to college? I've just about got time if we set off now..." He was overly-worried and overly-stressed about the whole thing, and it made me feel awful for causing such a burden to fall on him. 

"It's okay, I enjoy the walk" I pulled him in for one last hug, burying my face in the crook of his neck "Please don't let this get to you. I'll work this out eventually. I always do." 

"We'll work this out" he corrected, and for some reason that simple sentence hit me harder than any motivational speech ever could have.

***

College actually went reasonably smoothly, with the most eventful moment being when Jimmy decided to see how fast a textbook would burn (if you're interested, it took around three minutes to completely disintegrate.) 

Of course, it was at lunch that they noticed the makeup on my face, when Lynz brushed my fringe away from my face and peered closer. 

"Have you got concealer on?" She frowned as i batted her hand away.