Like You.

Frank is cold, shivering, as he walks through the slums of the city. It's been raining, so the streets are wet and slippery, shining in the light of the few street lamps that surround them. He pulls his jacket closer around himself and tucks his shaking fists into the pockets. He hears steps echoing in the distance, but he doesn't turn around to look, knowing that he is not far from his destination.

A soft sigh escapes him as he stops in front of the familiar wooden door. It's the rotten door of an old house that is supposed to be unoccupied, but Frank knows that it isn't. He doesn't knock, but walks straight inside after digging out a small flashlight from his pockets. He's been in the old, seemingly deserted, house plenty of times now, enough times to know which floorboards are rotten, and where to duck down from the cobwebs.

When he reaches the door to the basement stairs, he shuts off the flashlight and opens the door where a light bulb lights up the stairs. The low hum of a generator fills the air, and he swallows deeply before descending down to the basement. Once he's down, he reaches another door and, this time, he knocks. It opens on its own, and Frank hits the light switch. A figure is crouching down in the darkest corner of the room, drawing with a piece of charcoal on the concrete wall. It's too dark for Frank to be able to make out what it is.

"Gerard?" he says softly as he closes the door and walks further into the room, to the corner where the figure, Gerard, is drawing. Frank shrugs off his jacket and lets it fall to the floor by another wall. When he reaches Gerard, his fingers run through his black, shiny hair before falling to his neck and shoulder to rub them gently. "What are you drawing?" he whispers as he leans down, pressing a soft kiss on Gerard's neck.

"Shadows." Gerard drops the charcoal to the floor and stands up, turning around to face Frank. "I thought you weren't coming this week. I thought I told you not to come this week. I haven't fed yet." Gerard looks thoughtful as he speaks, and kind of unhappy because of Frank's disobedience. Frank couldn't help it, though. He had wanted to see Gerard all day, and this was the perfect opportunity. Especially if Gerard still haven't fed. All through the nine months Frank has known Gerard, there has been one week each month where Gerard asked him to stay away. He only feeds once a month, and he doesn't want Frank to be around when he needs it.

"I wanted to see you," Frank whispers, stepping in close to Gerard and burying his face against his cold neck. Gerard's arms wrap tightly around his body, and his nose dips into Frank's messy mop of dark brown hair. "It's my birthday today; I'm eighteen." Gerard grasps Frank's face in his cold hands and directs the boy to look at him.

"You still shouldn't have come here. I don't want to hurt you." Frank replies by standing up on his tiptoes and pressing his lips to Gerard's, something he does very rarely, and he feels Gerard tense. His hands tremble as they slide up over Gerard's clothed chest, when they straighten out the collar of the black button up shirt, when they caress the white skin of Gerard's neck.

"I wouldn't mind," he breathes, lips still pressed against Gerard's. He steps back, eyes wide and nervous about Gerard's response. No words come, though. Gerard's mouth falls open, revealing his white, sharp teeth, but he doesn't speak. His eyes are full of doubt as they meet Frank's, doubt and concern, and he shakes his head. "I want you to turn me."

"Why? You have a whole life in front of you, just waiting for you to get out of this old basement, so it can begin. You're alive." One of Gerard's hands moves up to Frank's hair, disappearing into it, twirling and tangling in the brown locks. "You could have a family, a job, a nice house and pets and lots of good things. Why would you throw that away for a life like this? A life of living in the dark, in old rotting houses where you can do nothing but be."

"Because I would be with you, and that would make it all worth it," Frank says, turning around to face one of the dark concrete walls. He feels Gerard's burning stare on his back, and then Gerard's cold hands on his hips. "I've been thinking about it for a long time, and I really want it." He pauses for a moment, then continues, "I wanna be like you, with you. Dead." There's a short moment of silence before Frank speaks again. "I love you."

Gerard hugs him tightly from behind, arms closing around his chest and face pressing into Frank's neck. He leans back into Gerard's cold frame, cheek pressing against his black hair. He's never said it out loud before, and the 167 years older vampire never has either, but somehow, Frank is confident that he feels the same. He has to.

Gerard lets go and spins Frank around to face him again. "I will only do it if you're absolutely sure. There's no going back if you regret it, no second chance at life." Their faces are close, and Frank feels strangely at home gazing into Gerard's dark hazel eyes. "You don't have to do it now," Gerard whispers.

"I am sure. I want it now." Frank's voice isn't as steady as he'd like it to be, and he can't seem to keep his body from shaking. Shivers are running up his spine, and goosebumps spread over his skin as Gerard's hand once again curls carefully around the nape of his neck.

No one speaks for a few minutes. But then, after five, or ten, or twenty minutes, Gerard does. "Fine." His voice is soft, quiet, almost as if he doesn't want to be heard. Frank's heart is suddenly pounding all too fast and hard and a grin is spreading over his face. But he's scared and, although Gerard is sort of smiling at him, he doesn't reply immediately. Gerard's hands drop down from their place at Frank's neck, sliding gently over Frank's chest as they go.

Finally, Frank finds it in him to speak again, but he cannot help the worry that's lacing itself into his voice. "Will it hurt?" the boy asks softly, his voice only a whisper that fades in the dark.

"Yes," Gerard responds, his cold lips almost touching Frank's. The boy's trembling hands are in his, the soft palms warm against his own as he squeezes them gently, running a thumb over the boy's knuckles. His eyes seem awkwardly hungry

"Do it," Frank whispers, pressing his warm, quivering lips against Gerard's soft, ice cold ones. "Just do it."

Gerard doesn't waste a minute. His hands release Frank's and move to the boy's face with the speed of light, gripping his cheeks forcefully as he deepens the kiss, letting his sharp teeth sink into Frank's lower lip in a slow, almost sensual manner, drawing blood. Upon tasting the metallic liquid, Gerard lets out a deep, hungry moan, almost like a low growl, and the boy whimpers, digging his fingernails into Gerard's shoulders and letting his eyes fall shut.

Frank's knees buckle, and soon he's held up only by Gerard's almost painfully strong grip on his head, until he's pushed against the wall and Gerard's lips and mouth and teeth redirect to Frank's neck instead. "Gee..." he cries softly, blood seeping out from the corners of his mouth as tears leak from the corners of his eyes. His legs twitch underneath him as Gerard sucks harder on the puncture wounds on his neck, blood pulsating out of his body faster than he ever imagined possible.

One of Frank's hands moves to grasp Gerard's hair, pulling on it slightly, which results in him pulling away for just a second. Frank opens his eyes weakly, feeling the energy drain from his body and the color fading from his cheeks. Gerard's there, grinning, and his mouth is stained red with blood. "You taste so good," Gerard whispers, poking his pink, pointy tongue out to lick up the blood that's run down Frank's chin. "If I had known you were a virgin, I don't think I could ever have waited for your consent."

Gerard forces their mouths together again, and all Frank can feel is pain from where Gerard's razor sharp teeth cut into every piece of his mouth, slicing the flesh open. The blood is everywhere, seeping down his throat until he has to either swallow it, or let it go down into his lungs until he drowns in it. Some is still seeping out of his neck, but the wounds aren't very deep and didn't even hit his jugular vein. It's as if Gerard wanted this to be as drawn out and painful as possible.

He can't speak because of the blood in his mouth, and Gerard's mouth still being on his, but the tears are falling more frequently from his eyes, and he's choking. He can't breathe through his mouth because of the blood and Gerard being everywhere, and his nose is getting stuffed up with snot and tears. His lungs burn, even more than his mouth, now, and every muscle in his body seem to be twitching at the same time, as if he's having some kind of seizure.

He blacks out for the next few moments, and the next thing he knows is the cold concrete floor pressed against his back, and Gerard's hand caressing his face, stroking his hair out of his face. Gerard's eyes are dark and shiny, glittering in the dim light of a bare light bulb in the ceiling. "I've emptied you of ninety-five percent of your blood," he says softly, licking his lips mindlessly. Frank doesn't understand how he can even be conscious, but he doesn't complain. "You'll be dead within a minute."

Frank's too weak to move, even give a small nod with his head, and it's almost as if he's paralyzed. He somehow manages to make a tiny noise down in his throat, though, and with a slight smile, Gerard kisses his pale forehead. Frank's vision is foggy as Gerard brings his own wrist to his mouth, piercing the white skin with his teeth, before bringing it to Frank's bloody lips. At first, the boy only chokes as the dark liquid falls into his mouth, like he did on his own blood, but as his body starts absorbing it, his energy levels come back and he can drink it properly.

He holds on to Gerard's arm desperately, sucking on the small wound that is not bleeding enough, and Gerard shifts his position, and pulls Frank against his chest where he can feel the boy's heart stop beating. The boy keeps drinking for half a minute or so, before pulling away with a heart wrenching scream, his body spasming and twitching in pain as it dies. "Shh baby, it'll be over soon," Gerard whispers soothingly, kissing Frank's neck with his red lips. "It's just for a little while, Frankie. Then we'll have forever."

Frank eventually passes out in Gerard's embrace, head nuzzled under his chin. There's a chill spreading through his body, from his chest to the tips of his fingers and toes, and as his skin fades, the wounds that Gerard created are healing. New blood is running through his veins, mixing with the small amount of his own that still remains. Gerard just sits there with him until he wakes up the next day, and he's thinking, all the time, that if he hadn't gone after Frank's friend a year ago, he would never have had to ruin Frank's life as well.