Legacy
Burns
Even if they didn't notice it then, it was the next day when the odd events that would soon take over their lives began.
Gerard had just finished writing up a list of Frank's meds - What he took, when he took it, how much, and was just taping it to the table, so there was no excuse for Frank to "forget". Sometimes Gerard would notice that todays dose of a certain medication was still in it's box, untouched, and when he confronted Frank about it, he woud simply shrug, claiming it had slipped his mind. Gerard however, knew Frank well enough to know that wasn't the case. It was just the little things - The way he would refuse to look him in the eyes as he said it, and would instead stare intently at his hands. Or the way he would casually pretend not to hear Gerard whenever he reminded him to take a certain medication.
But that wasn't something Gerard wanted to think about. He'd rather just pretend to be as oblivious as Frank seemed to think he was. The thought that Frank was doing this on purpose - That he'd rather just give up, then make any hopeless attempts at getting any better - Well, that wasn't something Gerard could bare.
So he decided to take control of this little part of daily life - At least then it felt like he was in control of something.
After he had finished carefully writing up the list in his best handwriting, and had taped it perfectly to the table, he found himself at a sudden loss of what to do. Frank was, as was becoming far too usual, still curled up in bed, and it seemed he rarely made an effort to hold a conversation with Gerard any longer. It upset Gerard more then he felt it should. He was oddly withdrawn from him, not even so much as asking for a glass of water. This meant that Gerard spent most of his days starting blankly out the window, trying to ignore his dark thoughts for fear they would consume him.
"Coffee," he thought to himself. "I'll make us both a cup of coffee." Gerard numbly took the cups out the cabinet and began the process, just for the sake of having something to do more then anything else.
He had just finished making the drinks, and had them both in his hands to take them upstairs, when a loud bang from above him made him jump, causing the scalding liquid to spill out of the cups, burning his hand in the process.
"Awww, shit!" he groaned, slamming the cups down on the counter in annoyance and quickly shoving his burnt hand under the faucet, letting the cold water soothe it for a few seconds.
He took his hand out from under the water and examined it. It was angry and red, and it stung sharply. He sighed, knowing that there wasn't anything he could do about it, and headed upstairs to see what the noise was about.
*****
"Frankie? Everything okay?"
"Yeah...I just fell out of bed." He laughed weakly, then looked at Gerard thoughtfully for a moment. "I had an odd dream...I can't remember what about." He frowned.
"Oh well. I never remember my dreams." Gerard wanted to make the most of this moment, with Frank talking with him casually just like he used to. But he didn't know what to say. Instead, he looked at his fingernails awkwardly.
"What did you do to your hand?" Frank asked, looking at the burn Gerard had just sustained with genuine concern in his eyes - The most emotion Gerard could recall him showing in days.
"Oh, that. I got into a fight with a coffee." he said jokingly, smiling at Frank shyly, still feeling unnaturally awkward around the person that was supposed to be the love of his life.
Frank took Gerard's hand into his own and touched it gently. "Awwwww. Poor Gerard," he teased, before laying back on his pillows. "I think I'm going to go to back sleep now."
Gerard hated how Frank always seemed so tired these days. "Okay. I'll leave you then." He didn't want to leave. It just meant there was even more time to fill, more hours to try and stop his thoughts drifting to places he'd rather they not go.
As he left the room, he noticed that the stinging of the fresh burn had stopped. He glanced at it. The red, blistered skin was now, it seemed, completely healed. Gerard frowned, confused. He supposed it couldn't have been as bad of a burn as he thought after all...
Gerard had just finished writing up a list of Frank's meds - What he took, when he took it, how much, and was just taping it to the table, so there was no excuse for Frank to "forget". Sometimes Gerard would notice that todays dose of a certain medication was still in it's box, untouched, and when he confronted Frank about it, he woud simply shrug, claiming it had slipped his mind. Gerard however, knew Frank well enough to know that wasn't the case. It was just the little things - The way he would refuse to look him in the eyes as he said it, and would instead stare intently at his hands. Or the way he would casually pretend not to hear Gerard whenever he reminded him to take a certain medication.
But that wasn't something Gerard wanted to think about. He'd rather just pretend to be as oblivious as Frank seemed to think he was. The thought that Frank was doing this on purpose - That he'd rather just give up, then make any hopeless attempts at getting any better - Well, that wasn't something Gerard could bare.
So he decided to take control of this little part of daily life - At least then it felt like he was in control of something.
After he had finished carefully writing up the list in his best handwriting, and had taped it perfectly to the table, he found himself at a sudden loss of what to do. Frank was, as was becoming far too usual, still curled up in bed, and it seemed he rarely made an effort to hold a conversation with Gerard any longer. It upset Gerard more then he felt it should. He was oddly withdrawn from him, not even so much as asking for a glass of water. This meant that Gerard spent most of his days starting blankly out the window, trying to ignore his dark thoughts for fear they would consume him.
"Coffee," he thought to himself. "I'll make us both a cup of coffee." Gerard numbly took the cups out the cabinet and began the process, just for the sake of having something to do more then anything else.
He had just finished making the drinks, and had them both in his hands to take them upstairs, when a loud bang from above him made him jump, causing the scalding liquid to spill out of the cups, burning his hand in the process.
"Awww, shit!" he groaned, slamming the cups down on the counter in annoyance and quickly shoving his burnt hand under the faucet, letting the cold water soothe it for a few seconds.
He took his hand out from under the water and examined it. It was angry and red, and it stung sharply. He sighed, knowing that there wasn't anything he could do about it, and headed upstairs to see what the noise was about.
*****
"Frankie? Everything okay?"
"Yeah...I just fell out of bed." He laughed weakly, then looked at Gerard thoughtfully for a moment. "I had an odd dream...I can't remember what about." He frowned.
"Oh well. I never remember my dreams." Gerard wanted to make the most of this moment, with Frank talking with him casually just like he used to. But he didn't know what to say. Instead, he looked at his fingernails awkwardly.
"What did you do to your hand?" Frank asked, looking at the burn Gerard had just sustained with genuine concern in his eyes - The most emotion Gerard could recall him showing in days.
"Oh, that. I got into a fight with a coffee." he said jokingly, smiling at Frank shyly, still feeling unnaturally awkward around the person that was supposed to be the love of his life.
Frank took Gerard's hand into his own and touched it gently. "Awwwww. Poor Gerard," he teased, before laying back on his pillows. "I think I'm going to go to back sleep now."
Gerard hated how Frank always seemed so tired these days. "Okay. I'll leave you then." He didn't want to leave. It just meant there was even more time to fill, more hours to try and stop his thoughts drifting to places he'd rather they not go.
As he left the room, he noticed that the stinging of the fresh burn had stopped. He glanced at it. The red, blistered skin was now, it seemed, completely healed. Gerard frowned, confused. He supposed it couldn't have been as bad of a burn as he thought after all...