Dirty Hands

Frank stood with a rapidly beating heart on Gerard's balcony, feeling like the wind had just been knocked out of him as he watched Gerard and James interact with the gorgeous man that had just walked through the door.

“Uh Gee, the oven beeped just a second ago. Just thought I’d let you know,” the man (who Frank had yet to be introduced to) said to Gerard, whose eyes immediately grew wide.

“Shit! I forgot all about the rolls!” Gerard exclaimed, a look of panic overcoming his features as he kindly excused himself and brushed past the tall man in the doorway, leaving Frank alone with him and James.

“So you’re Frank, I’m assuming?” The man asked, and Frank couldn’t help but to quirk a curious eyebrow at him.

“Yeah,” Frank grinned kindly at him, as he extended his hand out for the man to take. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. I’m Mikey,” he grinned back, shaking Frank’s hand. “The little man can’t stop talking about you, we’re actually on our way down so he can show me how rad the dynamic duo of the plant and cactus are. You can go on in if you want. If Gee asks, please tell him we’ll be right back up.”

Frank nodded, just in time for ‘Gee’ to appear back in the doorway. “Nobody panic, the dinner rolls are fine,” He said with a cheeky grin on his face, his eyes somewhat sparkling as he peered upon Frank. “Come on Frankie, let's go in,” he beckoned him, ushering him into his apartment.

Frank couldn’t help but beam as Gerard looked at him that way, and let out a small gasp as he took in Gerard’s amazingly decorated apartment. Movie posters hung along the vast majority of the walls, including some of his own favorites, including ‘Pulp Fiction’ and 'The Watchmen'. There was a great amount of some absolutely incredible artwork that adorned the walls as well, which had Frank completely captivated.

“Wow,” was all Frank could manage to say.

“I uh, take it you like what you see?” Gerard asked, which struck Frank from his thoughts.

He turned back to Gerard, and smiled. “Oh yeah.”

They remained with their eyes interlocked with one another, exchanging grins and starry-eyed gazes for the next few more moments, until Frank snapped back to the current situation.

“I um, these paintings are incredible,” Frank murmured, blushing slightly as he realized he had been making googly eyes at his gorgeous neighbor.

“Thanks!” Gerard exclaimed, clearly beaming at Frank’s words. “I do a little painting and drawing in my free time, these are just a few ideas that I came up with one day.”

Frank’s eyes widened. “You did these?”

Gerard nodded, his smile more vibrant than before. “Guilty,” he replied, blushing a little himself this time.

“You are seriously talented,” Frank breathed out, his eyes glossed over with adoration as he looked upon Gerard’s artwork once again. “These are so gorgeous, I can’t even put in to words how amazing I think you are.”

Frank froze as he realized what he just admitted out loud. Of course those words were incredibly loaded and he meant them with every fiber of his being, but saying them out loud was something he hadn’t meant to do.

But before Frank could stammer out an explanation, Gerard leaned in just the slighest bit closer to him, put on the most dazzling smile yet, and said, “I think you’re pretty amazing too, Frankie.”

Frank was so overwhelmed with a number of different emotions at that moment. Gerard was close enough for him to touch, close enough for him to reach out and wrap his arms around, close enough for him to lean in just the slightest bit closer and close the gap between their lips-

But before Frank could figure out if that adorably tempting crooked grin tasted as good as it looked, the front door of the apartment swung open and Mikey burst through the entryway with a giggling James perched on his shoulders, causing the two men to break away from each other. Their moment was officially ruined, but Frank wasn’t at all upset.

At the very least, the little interruption saved Frank from making an ass of himself, in case he had gotten the complete wrong idea of what Gerard had in mind when he had invited him over. Considering Frank’s feelings for Gerard were increasing by the second, it was going to be quite the challenge to keep those feelings tucked away in the back of his mind.

He couldn’t help but to grin at the interaction between Gerard, Mikey, and James. They were such a great trio, all smiles and laughs as James was transferred from Mikey’s shoulders and into his father’s arms.

“Did you show Uncle Mikey your punkin, punkin?”

Frank felt his heart skip a beat at what Gerard had just said. Uncle Mikey. Mikey was James' uncle.

That means... Mikey is Gerard’s brother.

His brother.

Not his boyfriend, or his husband, or his significant other, or his partner... Mikey is Gerard’s fucking brother. Frank felt his grin threatening to break his face in two at this new development. He absolutely couldn’t believe his luck that this absolutely gorgeous man that is in Gerard’s apartment, playing with his son and here for dinner is only Gerard’s brother, and not a love interest of some sort.

“Mhm, I sure did, daddy,” James replied to Gerard’s earlier question once his giggling had subsided. He was grinning toothily at his father, before turning his attention to Frank. “I showed Unka Mikey my punkin’s cactus friend, too! The one that Fwankie gave us!”

All eyes were suddenly on Frank then, who was blushing like a complete idiot at all of the attention he was suddenly getting.

“Aww, isn’t Frankie the best!?” Gerard asked, attacking James’ cheek with an onslaught of kisses.

“Yeah! Fwankie’s the best!” James exclaimed, giggling excitedly as Frank blushed furiously.

“I mean, I’m not really-” Frank began to say, until Gerard leaned in and pressed a cute, lingering kiss to the corner of Frank’s mouth.

“Of course you are,” Gerard replied with that adorably crooked grin, blushing slightly. “Now let’s eat.”

Frank could do nothing but follow behind him with a rapidly beating heart, and a lovesick grin plastered on his face.

~~~

“Hmmm...”

James had a thoughtful look on his face, with one hand perched under his chin.

“If I had to pick a fav’rite... I’d have to say...”

Gerard, Mikey, and Frank were all eagerly awaiting the answer to the question Frank had just asked him, which of course, was the million dollar question: “Who is your favorite superhero?”

“Batman,” was James’ reply. Frank couldn’t help but notice that Gerard was beaming with pride from his spot next to him.

“Oh yeah? Why Batman?” Frank asked, suddenly curious as to why Gerard reacted the way that he did.

“Because Batman is best pals with Robin, and they are a awesome team, like me and daddy,” James replied, reaching to give his father a high five. “And I’m Robin, and daddy’s Batman. Right daddy?”

“Right, pal,” Gerard grinned at his son, returning his high five.

“And I’m the Joker,” Mikey chimed in, using his best villain voice as he reached over and attacked his nephew with an onslaught of tickles.

As James erupted into a fit of giggles, Gerard peered over at Frank, who felt a volt of electricity run straight through him as Gerard grinned at him like that.

“Come with me,” Gerard suggested, reaching a hand out for Frank to take. He slipped his hand within Gerard’s, eagerly, and felt yet another jolt of electricity as their fingers interlocked.

He led Frank outside on to the balcony, and gave a sigh of relief once they were all alone. “I’m so glad you’re here, Frankie,” Gerard said, his voice small as he reached into his pocket to retrieve his pack of cigarettes. He took one out for himself, before offering the pack to Frank, who graciously accepted it.

“I’m glad I’m here too, Gerard,” Frank smiled back. The two stood outside in a peaceful silence, enjoying their cigarettes and the moonlight. “Dinner was fucking awesome, thank you so much for having me over.”

Gerard beamed once again, grinning widely at his neighbor. “You’re welcome over anytime,” he replied, before taking a deep breath. He was seemingly deep in thought as he exhaled a cloud of smoke, before reaching out to take Frank’s hand in his once again.

“Actually, I have sort of a confession...”

Frank felt the breath hitch in his lungs as Gerard spoke those words. “Oh yeah?”

Gerard nodded. “You see, I sort of invited Mikey over tonight for a reason,” he replied, grinning shyly as he admitted those words.

Frank nodded, giving Gerard all of his undivided attention.

“I um... fuck,” Gerard began, rolling his eyes as he ran a hand through his hair. Frank damn near salivated at the sight of Gerard in front of him, with the cigarette stuck between his lips. He was the perfect combination of adorable and sexy, awkward and shy, all at the same time. “I’m really fucking terrible at this, so you have to forgive me,” he continued, blushing slightly.

The moonlight filtered in on their little balcony excursion, illuminating Gerard’s face just perfectly. In that moment, Frank didn’t know what came over him. He didn’t have time to think about his actions, he had to do this now, before he lost his nerve.

Gerard’s shy little crooked grin gave him all of the encouragement that he needed. Frank placed a hand on the side of Gerard’s face, before leaning in to place a very tender kiss to his lips. It lasted no more than five seconds, but it felt like forever as Gerard’s lips moved tenderly upon his own for those few magical moments.

Frank was the first to break the kiss, leaving Gerard breathless and starry-eyed.

“You’re much better at this than you think you are,” Frank replied, grinning shyly as Gerard connected their lips again, aching to feel that contact once again.

“Thanks,” Gerard murmured, sighing against Frank’s lips. “It’s just, I’ve got James, and I have to be really careful about who I bring around him. I don’t date much because of that little fact, I’m terrified of what bringing someone into our little world could do to us...”

Frank took those words to heart, and leaned forward to kiss Gerard again, more deeply this time.

“You don’t have to explain any more,” Frank supplied, holding Gerard closely to him.

“I invited Mikey over for a reason tonight, to keep an eye on James so you and I could have some time to ourselves,” Gerard admitted, leaning his forehead against Frank’s. “I know we just met but... something about you...”

He pulled Frank in even closer, and kissed him more fervently this time. A needy moan from Gerard encouraged Frank to lick Gerard’s lips, who instantly allowed him all of the access into his mouth that he so pleased. Gerard’s tongue met Frank’s greedily, tasting his mouth and loving every moment of this amazing moment with his gorgeous neighbor.

“Thought about you all fucking day,” Gerard broke the kiss momentarily, his voice thick with desire as his tongue sought out Frank’s mouth once again.

“Hoped so much that you’d want me too, Frankie. Want you so much-”

“-I want you, too,” Frank cut in, his heart soaring upon hearing those words that he had been aching to hear. “God, Gerard, I want you so fucking bad,” he grinned, relaxing his forehead against Gerard’s once again as either man struggled to regulate their breathing.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Gerard replied, sighing deeply as he pulled slightly away from the other man. “So having said that, I have a proposition for you.”

Frank quirked an eyebrow. “Anything,” he replied, grinning softly at the man who had been on his mind all day.

“We’ve got at least another hour or so before it’s time for James to go to bed. Mikey’s staying the night to watch him, so I’m thinking, we can hang out here for a bit, then once the little man is knocked out, we can go somewhere just me and you,” Gerard suggested, eyeing Frank eagerly. “What do you think?”

Frank didn’t even need to think about a response.

“I think that sounds like an excellent plan,” Frank replied, before leaning forward to press an absolutely adoring kiss to Gerard’s lips.

As Gerard kissed him back, with equal tenderness, Frank realized that he had never been more grateful for having car troubles, or rough days at work.