Frank on a Leash

Thinking back, kissing Frank outside in plain view of everyone probably was a mistake. As soon as they parted, Mikey darted his head around the grounds quickly, eyes setting on anyone who might have seen, anyone whose gaze seemed to be lingering on him more than warranted. His heart sped up when two girls and a quite feminine boy with a white shirt proclaiming that he loved Kurt Cobain situated in between the two came bouncing up to them, bumping each other playfully in the way you think people do when they try too hard to look like they are having a better time than everyone else. Mikey told himself that noticing the boy's studded belt and the way it hung off his hips was nothing, shaking his head and letting his gaze land on Frank's chin.

"Er, hi." The boy leaned down and waved a gloved hand at the two of them, noticing but not caring that the goth one didn't seemed too thrilled by his presence.

"Hello," Frank attemted to greet warmly as this kid invaded Mikey's personal space by plopping down on the cold ground under the tree. Frank moved his hand further up Mikey's back to rest at his shoulders, adjusting his legs so Mikey fell deeper into his lap and maybe would feel a little more comfortable.

"I--, uh, me and Jessica and Sher saw you two...well, okay, they saw you, and are being too girly to ask it themselves when I told them it's probably be okay, as long as...shit, I keep messing up. Start over. Okay. They were wonderi--"

Mikey let out a loud annoyed noise through his nose, not able to take this kid's rambling anymore. He already knew what the first question would be. Was he and Frank dating, and once that was confirmed, the questions would no doubt get more and more uncomfortable, maybe sexual because this kid looked like the kind without shame, and Mikey wasn't about to discuss anything like that. He hardly believed that he kissed Frank moments ago, it felt like one of the fantasies he has during study hall that he wanted to do but never found the spine to go through with. But he did and he liked it, and he wanted these people gone because they were wasting his time with questions that were obvious. He kissed Frank, so obviously they were dating, why would anyone waste breath asking about it?

As the boy's mouth opened again to ask the inevitable question, Mikey cut him off.

"Before you even ask, decide whether it's worth me cutting you open and using your blood as paint." His voice was even and promising, the threat just coming to him naturally. They often do when he finds himself communicating with anyone else other than Frank.

The boy blinked, not sure whether to laugh or get the hell away. "What?"

Mikey squirmed around in Frank's lap a little, un-tucking his head from where it had previously been pressed up against Frank's neck. "You know the water tower downtown right next to the factory that makes all those little paper leaflets they throw around everywhere that people just end up tossing away anyway?"

"Water tower? Yeah..."

"Well," Mikey's smile grew thinking of the best possible way to eloquate himself. "I've always wanted to write my name up there. It'd look nice, maybe someone will read it and wonder which 'Mikey' wrote it, whether it was someone they know. That's the trouble with spray paint, it's so readily available that anyone can go up and write their names. But blood...is a bit more rare, and I know if my name is up there in that pretty red-maroon shit dripping down the side, they'll know it's me. Not that guy down the street who works at the grocery store, not their cousin.

"Only, it's awfully hard to find that much blood." Mikey delighted in watching the boy's adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed whatever reply he might have given if Mikey didn't look so serious. Frank hid his giggle in Mikey's collar at the horrified looks on the girls' faces as they started to inch away slowly, motioning for the boy to do the same. He was so used to his timid, shy, sweet little Mikey that seeing his anti-social behavior now was just kind of funny.

"If you want to follow through with asking an obvious question like the one I know you were hinting at, I might make you help me write my name up there."

The boy's cornflower eyes widened for a moment, lighting up with some emotion Mikey didn't recognize. A little smile broke out on his face as he barked out a laugh. He clapped Mikey on the back and pushed himself to his feet.

"You're a feisty one, kid. Luck, Iero." He nodded to Frank, winking non-descreetly as he turned to walk away and looped both his arms around his female companions.

Frank leaned up to kiss the ridge of Mikey's ear, feeling a sudden burst of pride at the way Mikey wasn't afraid to be hated by everyone. Frank had spent his life causing as little waves as he could, engaging himself in subjects he didn't give a shit about--like football, what the hell was up with that over-hyped sport? What the hell was a 'line drive'?--just to fit in and seem like an all-around nice guy. He wasn't, really. Sometimes he wished he could just let his rage build up more and more until he had another outburst like the one no one ever wants to talk about. He wanted to fucking bash someone's brains in, utterly destroy the beauty of a human life, watch as it seeps down out of sight into the ground and dissolves. It wasn't healthy to keep all that bottled up all the time.

But Mikey--his wonderful, perfect Mikey, his last hold onto sanity--didn't care about pleasing others. He didn't expect anyone other than Frank to treat him like he matters--no one had in the past.

Frank let his head dip down to Mikey's jaw, softly planting his lips there as well before tracing the sharp line with his nose. He pressed his smile against the throbbing pulse in Mikey's neck and sighed, dragging out the long breath and making Mikey shiver under him.

"That was pretty mean, Mikey."

Mikey mumbled out a tiny 'sorry' before tucking his head into his favorite spot in the crook of Frank's neck. It was warm and he was able to feel Frank's heartbeat through the thin layer of skin that covered his veins and arteries. The little dip was his spot, and no one else could touch it. Just like Frank's hips, those were his too.

"Are you mad?" Mikey asked softly, not even bothering to move his head the neccessary two inches to see Frank's face.

Frank giggled at Mikey's abrupt change back to his shy self and gave him a quick little hug.

"No. It was mean, but damn funny. You're adorable," he added.

Mikey lifted his head and cocked an eyebrow directed at Frank from behind his glasses. The side of his mouth was tipped up in a half-smile, the kind you'd give after someone says something dumb but sweet, like the sky was pretty of the air smelled nice.

"How am I scary, mean, and adorable all at the same time?" he asked, on the verge of laughing at how happy he was. He thought at first that Frank was annoyed at him for being mean to those girls, and he didn't want that. If he wanted to annoy Frank he'd make a smart-ass comment.

Frank leaned up to touch the tip of his nose to Mikey's, his eyes crossing themselves painfully as he tried his best to look at Mikey's face.

"Cause I say you are, duh."

Mikey made a little 'oh' sound, raising both his eyebrows and grinning. He curled his arm around Frank's shoulders, ghosting his fingers along the back of his neck, and pressed their mouths together, for a second time. He watched as Frank's heavy-lidded eyes fluttered shut, his eyelashes trailing softly down Mikey's glasses. Their lips didn't move, lazily resting upon one another's, not really kissing and content with just that.