Getting Over The Differences *.°·*frerard*·°.*

Magnolia (Persistence)

The next morning, Gerard woke up still just as tired as he was the night before. He assumed that he had had too much caffeine, but he didn't remember ever drinking much coffee the night before. The real reason he hadn't slept, and the one which he refused to admit, was that he kept thinking about his new neighbor.

Maybe it was silly that the mere idea of Frank had kept him up all night, but Gerard just thought of it as an inconvenience. That's what it was, right? Frank was an inconvenience, and if he kept showing up in his shop and stealing his flowers, he would just have to kick him out and tell him to never come back. But Gerard didn't really want to do that, he was never good at confrontation, so if he did continue to steal his flowers he just had to hope he would give them back like he did yesterday.

Groggily, he sat up and got out of bed making his way to the kitchen to make breakfast. Once he was there, he opened the shudders to air out the room and searched for the ingredients to make an omlette for himself. He played some music while he cooked and sang along while he cracked the eggs and put them in the pan.

"I didn't know you could sing!" A voice called up to him from out the window. When Gerard looked down there was Frank still in his pyjamas, which were just sweatpants and no shirt, revealing all his tattoos that covered practically every area. Gerard found himself wanting to trace the intricate patterns that were permanently inked on his skin.

Then, he snapped himself out of his daze and glared at his neighbor "What are you doing outside this early in the morning?" He accused, thinking that Frank was doing something illegal and didn't want to be caught.

But Frank just held up his cigarette and replied "I'm taking a smoke break before work. Wanted to get up early so I could unpack more boxes." He took a long drag from his cigarette, his words making Gerard feel like an idiot for not realising the obvious fact "Y'know, I'm gonna need some help unpacking all my stuff."

Gerard blinked as he realised what Frank was asking, and collected himself "I-I'm busy today. In case you haven't noticed, I have a store to run." Frank nodded understandingly, which only made Gerard angrier "I really don't have any time for you at all today."

"Yeah, I understand, Sugar. I was just asking. But it doesn't hurt to be persistent." And with that, Frank dropped his cigarette to the ground and stomped it out. Then, he turned around and started walking towards the door with Gerard still watching from the window, fuming with rage.

"Don't call me that!" He called after him not-so-threateningly, but Frank was already walking back inside the tattoo parlor. Gerard clenched his fists in anger and slammed the shudders shut and went back to the breakfast he was making for himself. After he had eaten, he changed out of his pyjamas and into his normal clothes. He put the bright green apron on on top of his outfit and made his way downstairs.

He flipped the little sign at the front to 'open' and let the door stay wide open, welcoming customers inside with the wonderful scent of all sorts of different flowers. Deciding to try and take his mind off everything, Gerard busied himself with work. There were a few orders coming in soon, so he had to take care of those, not to mention the customers who wandered in and out of the store.

It actually proved to be a rather busy day for Gerard, and he was glad he didn't have to deal with Frank. Well, until the end of the day, that is. Once again, he was counting the money from the register, when the bell rings and Frank walks in holding a red rose. Gerard didn't understand how he got it at first, but then it all clicked "Did you take that from the truck out back? The truck is there, right? The delivery truck?"

He groaned "Gerard, I did not steal this. I bought it with my own money. And, no, there is no truck out back as far as I can tell." He placed the rose on the counter and leaned on it "I was hoping you could help me pick a houseplant to get me settled in here."

"Fine." Gerard finally caved, and led him to a particular aisle that had lots of greenery "What I would suggest, since I'm assuming your a beginner, is a Chamaedorea, maybe a Dragon Tree?"

"What's this one?" Frank asked, carelessly picking up the pot in his hands and showing it to Gerard. He grabbed it out of his hands and studied it carefully, the dark green tips of the leaves being unmistakable and a dead giveaway.

"Chinese Evergreen." Gerard said without a doubt, and carefully set the potted plant back down "And you should be more careful with these. The pots can break if you drop them." He remembered when his parents first let him work there and he had dropped the potted plants they wanted him to bring to the counter for a customer and how he had been scolded for breaking them.

"I'll take it." Frank said decisively, and once again scooped the pot up in his hands and carried it to the counter. Gerard followed him back to where they were and saw the rose that was still resting there on the counter. As he picked it up he saw Frank smirk out of the corner of his eye, until he saw Gerard drop the flower into the trashcan and close the lid without looking back at it.

After he payed for the houseplant, Gerard watched him walk out the door and, once he was out of sight, he took the rose from the top of the trash. He carried it upstairs, to his kitchen table, and put it in the vase with the flower from yesterday. Smiling, he sat down and looked at the beautiful flowers, thinking back to what Frank said that morning about being persistent.