Status: One of one, unless you want me to continue :)
Dirty Hands
Two.
Frank couldn’t stop smiling.
His heart was fluttering as he rinsed the suds out of his hair, massaging his scalp in the process. He washed his body thoroughly, and he was positively tingling from head to toe with excited anticipation about what this evening may bring for his newfound friendship with his neighbor Gerard and his little boy, James.
After meeting outside and realizing that they had brightened up each other’s day, Gerard had extended an invitation to Frank to join him and James for dinner later on that evening. It took Frank literally no time at all to agree, considering his dinner was probably going to consist of ramen noodles or another frozen pizza for one. A home cooked meal sounded like Heaven... especially if the company he would be in was Gerard’s.
After their little interlude this morning, Frank was happier than ever that he chose this apartment complex to move in to. Gerard had helped him out tremendously by helping him get his car started, and then meeting him outside of their apartment complex again was even more of a sign that the two of them were meant to be something more; if at the very least, good friends.
Of course, Frank felt his insides flutter as he thought of just how sexy and downright gorgeous he thought Gerard was, not to mention what a total sweetheart he was. And then on top of that, he had the cutest kid ever. Little James was an exact replica of his father, and seeing them interact only made Frank’s attraction to Gerard grow exponentially.
He picked up on the little fact that Gerard had shared to him earlier that it was only him and his son that lived in the apartment across from him, meaning he lived there alone and not with a significant other. Did he have a significant other? What happened to James’ mother?
Considering Gerard has a child that looks identical to him, the chances of him being not only single are one thing, but the chances of Gerard being as gay as Frank is are pretty slim.
Sighing at this realization, Frank did his best to make himself appear as presentable as possible. He has no idea if Gerard was extending a dinner invitation merely to be polite, or if his intentions went a little bit more deeply than that; either way, Frank didn’t want to get his hopes up. He wasn’t expecting anything other than a nice evening with a potential new good friend of his with his sweet little boy.
He brushed his teeth and towel dried his hair, not wanting to appear like he was trying too hard and settled for leaving it slightly wet so that it could dry on its own. He then threw on a random Batman t-shirt with a pair of loose fitting jeans, and completed his outfit with a pair of slightly dirty black and white Converse.
Gerard had told him to be at his apartment for seven, and he had just about a half an hour to kill before needing to cross over to the Y building. He grabbed his keys and descended the stairs; pausing to grin at their makeshift little garden before climbing in his car- which thankfully has been starting without any difficulty thanks to Gerard- and headed down the street to the nearest supermarket.
Gerard had assured Frank earlier that day that he didn’t need to bring anything, but Frank still felt guilty about showing up empty handed. He had no idea what kind of liquor Gerard would like, and opted to get literally one of everything. He picked up a two liter of Coke, a bottle of Whiskey, a six pack of beer, and a bottle of both red wine, and white wine.
As he disappeared down toward the end of the aisle, his eyes averted to the non-alcoholic sparkling cider or grape juice, that came in the form of a champagne bottle, and he couldn’t help but grin as he realized that James might really appreciate it if he brought something for him, too.
And what if Gerard didn’t drink?
Shrugging the thought aside, he tossed a bottle of the sparkling, non-alcoholic grape champagne inside of his basket, and proceeded to check out. He had to pass the bakery on his way to the check out line, and he instantly froze in front of the amazing assortment of baked goods. Frank had a massive sweet tooth, and after several minutes of figuring out whether Gerard may prefer chocolate cupcakes or strawberry short cake, he decided on a cheesecake tray; because seriously, who doesn’t like cheesecake? It had a random variety of different flavors, so he figured that this would be his best bet.
By the time he checked out at the supermarket with his basket full of various liquors and cheesecakes and non-alcoholic champagne, he had ten minutes to spare before he needed to meet Gerard and James for dinner. He lit up a cigarette and allowed AFI’s version of ‘Just Like Heaven’ bless his short ride back to the Sugar Oaks apartment complex. As he pulled into a parking space right outside of the X building, Davey Havok had just finished singing the last note of the song, and Frank had just exhaled the very last of his cigarette.
Smiling, he grabbed each of the bags carefully from his back seat, and began to make his way up to his apartment.
“Hey neighbor,” came a voice to Frank’s right. He recognized it immediately and couldn’t help but to grin widely up at Gerard, who was smoking a cigarette of his own on the balcony outside of his apartment. “Do you need any help with that?”
By the time Frank replied with a ‘Hi’ of his own, he couldn’t help but blush at the fact that Gerard had caught him on his way back into his apartment with all of this liquor in tow. Frank didn’t want Gerard to think that he was an alcoholic or anything, so he merely shrugged in reply, but it was no use as Gerard had jogged down the flight of stairs to be on the ground level with Frank.
“Oh um, well...” Frank began, flashing an embarrassed smile. “You see, I...”
Gerard couldn’t help but grin at the sight before him, as he merely stuck one of his hands out, to let Frank know that he wanted to take some of the bags from Frank’s straining fingers.
“I can help you bring those up to your apartment, if you’d like,” Gerard offered, flashing him that incredibly sweet smile of his as he took the dessert and the bag that contained the wine and non-alcoholic champagne from Frank’s fingers.
Frank could feel his cheeks begin to hurt, that’s how wide his smile had become. “Well, I didn’t know what you liked to drink, so I... kinda got a little of everything...”
“Really?” Gerard blinked rapidly at Frank’s words, as his smile transformed into a full on grin. “Frankie, that’s so fucking sweet of you.”
They continued to stand there, in the pathway that divided Frank’s apartment building from Gerard’s, grinning at each other as their eyes became locked intently with one another’s.
“Come on,” Gerard spoke finally, his eyes dancing with excitement as he gestured for Frank to follow him. Frank nodded, feeling his heart skip a beat as Gerard looked at him like that. “Dinner’s ready! I sure hope you’re hungry,” he added, ascending the stairs to the second floor with Frank in tow.
At that moment, as they reached the top of the stairs to enter Gerard’s apartment, the door flew open, and a tall gentleman stepped out onto the balcony, with James perched happily on his hip.
“There you are, Gee!” The man exclaimed, flashing a smile featuring a set of perfectly white teeth in Gerard’s direction. He gazed questioningly at Frank, who felt his heart sink just a little bit as he saw the vibrant smile on Gerard’s face that was caused by him witnessing the interaction between this new guy that had just been added to the equation and his little boy, and let out a breathy sigh.
“Good thing I bought all of that liquor,” Frank thought to himself, as he watched the two men and James interact like a happy family with one another. “Looks like I’m gonna need it...”
His heart was fluttering as he rinsed the suds out of his hair, massaging his scalp in the process. He washed his body thoroughly, and he was positively tingling from head to toe with excited anticipation about what this evening may bring for his newfound friendship with his neighbor Gerard and his little boy, James.
After meeting outside and realizing that they had brightened up each other’s day, Gerard had extended an invitation to Frank to join him and James for dinner later on that evening. It took Frank literally no time at all to agree, considering his dinner was probably going to consist of ramen noodles or another frozen pizza for one. A home cooked meal sounded like Heaven... especially if the company he would be in was Gerard’s.
After their little interlude this morning, Frank was happier than ever that he chose this apartment complex to move in to. Gerard had helped him out tremendously by helping him get his car started, and then meeting him outside of their apartment complex again was even more of a sign that the two of them were meant to be something more; if at the very least, good friends.
Of course, Frank felt his insides flutter as he thought of just how sexy and downright gorgeous he thought Gerard was, not to mention what a total sweetheart he was. And then on top of that, he had the cutest kid ever. Little James was an exact replica of his father, and seeing them interact only made Frank’s attraction to Gerard grow exponentially.
He picked up on the little fact that Gerard had shared to him earlier that it was only him and his son that lived in the apartment across from him, meaning he lived there alone and not with a significant other. Did he have a significant other? What happened to James’ mother?
Considering Gerard has a child that looks identical to him, the chances of him being not only single are one thing, but the chances of Gerard being as gay as Frank is are pretty slim.
Sighing at this realization, Frank did his best to make himself appear as presentable as possible. He has no idea if Gerard was extending a dinner invitation merely to be polite, or if his intentions went a little bit more deeply than that; either way, Frank didn’t want to get his hopes up. He wasn’t expecting anything other than a nice evening with a potential new good friend of his with his sweet little boy.
He brushed his teeth and towel dried his hair, not wanting to appear like he was trying too hard and settled for leaving it slightly wet so that it could dry on its own. He then threw on a random Batman t-shirt with a pair of loose fitting jeans, and completed his outfit with a pair of slightly dirty black and white Converse.
Gerard had told him to be at his apartment for seven, and he had just about a half an hour to kill before needing to cross over to the Y building. He grabbed his keys and descended the stairs; pausing to grin at their makeshift little garden before climbing in his car- which thankfully has been starting without any difficulty thanks to Gerard- and headed down the street to the nearest supermarket.
Gerard had assured Frank earlier that day that he didn’t need to bring anything, but Frank still felt guilty about showing up empty handed. He had no idea what kind of liquor Gerard would like, and opted to get literally one of everything. He picked up a two liter of Coke, a bottle of Whiskey, a six pack of beer, and a bottle of both red wine, and white wine.
As he disappeared down toward the end of the aisle, his eyes averted to the non-alcoholic sparkling cider or grape juice, that came in the form of a champagne bottle, and he couldn’t help but grin as he realized that James might really appreciate it if he brought something for him, too.
And what if Gerard didn’t drink?
Shrugging the thought aside, he tossed a bottle of the sparkling, non-alcoholic grape champagne inside of his basket, and proceeded to check out. He had to pass the bakery on his way to the check out line, and he instantly froze in front of the amazing assortment of baked goods. Frank had a massive sweet tooth, and after several minutes of figuring out whether Gerard may prefer chocolate cupcakes or strawberry short cake, he decided on a cheesecake tray; because seriously, who doesn’t like cheesecake? It had a random variety of different flavors, so he figured that this would be his best bet.
By the time he checked out at the supermarket with his basket full of various liquors and cheesecakes and non-alcoholic champagne, he had ten minutes to spare before he needed to meet Gerard and James for dinner. He lit up a cigarette and allowed AFI’s version of ‘Just Like Heaven’ bless his short ride back to the Sugar Oaks apartment complex. As he pulled into a parking space right outside of the X building, Davey Havok had just finished singing the last note of the song, and Frank had just exhaled the very last of his cigarette.
Smiling, he grabbed each of the bags carefully from his back seat, and began to make his way up to his apartment.
“Hey neighbor,” came a voice to Frank’s right. He recognized it immediately and couldn’t help but to grin widely up at Gerard, who was smoking a cigarette of his own on the balcony outside of his apartment. “Do you need any help with that?”
By the time Frank replied with a ‘Hi’ of his own, he couldn’t help but blush at the fact that Gerard had caught him on his way back into his apartment with all of this liquor in tow. Frank didn’t want Gerard to think that he was an alcoholic or anything, so he merely shrugged in reply, but it was no use as Gerard had jogged down the flight of stairs to be on the ground level with Frank.
“Oh um, well...” Frank began, flashing an embarrassed smile. “You see, I...”
Gerard couldn’t help but grin at the sight before him, as he merely stuck one of his hands out, to let Frank know that he wanted to take some of the bags from Frank’s straining fingers.
“I can help you bring those up to your apartment, if you’d like,” Gerard offered, flashing him that incredibly sweet smile of his as he took the dessert and the bag that contained the wine and non-alcoholic champagne from Frank’s fingers.
Frank could feel his cheeks begin to hurt, that’s how wide his smile had become. “Well, I didn’t know what you liked to drink, so I... kinda got a little of everything...”
“Really?” Gerard blinked rapidly at Frank’s words, as his smile transformed into a full on grin. “Frankie, that’s so fucking sweet of you.”
They continued to stand there, in the pathway that divided Frank’s apartment building from Gerard’s, grinning at each other as their eyes became locked intently with one another’s.
“Come on,” Gerard spoke finally, his eyes dancing with excitement as he gestured for Frank to follow him. Frank nodded, feeling his heart skip a beat as Gerard looked at him like that. “Dinner’s ready! I sure hope you’re hungry,” he added, ascending the stairs to the second floor with Frank in tow.
At that moment, as they reached the top of the stairs to enter Gerard’s apartment, the door flew open, and a tall gentleman stepped out onto the balcony, with James perched happily on his hip.
“There you are, Gee!” The man exclaimed, flashing a smile featuring a set of perfectly white teeth in Gerard’s direction. He gazed questioningly at Frank, who felt his heart sink just a little bit as he saw the vibrant smile on Gerard’s face that was caused by him witnessing the interaction between this new guy that had just been added to the equation and his little boy, and let out a breathy sigh.
“Good thing I bought all of that liquor,” Frank thought to himself, as he watched the two men and James interact like a happy family with one another. “Looks like I’m gonna need it...”