A Case of Unknown Identity

“I bet you have a beautiful girlfriend at home, don’t you Frankie?” His grandma asks.

“Yeah that’s never going to happen,” he says breathily, trying to cover a laugh.

“Oh don’t say that, you’re a handsome young man,” she answers.

Frank readjusts himself on the seventy year old couch in the eighty year olds living room. Frank’s not exactly the youngest person here but he’s trying not to count the screaming toddler in the other room. Christmas is for family but his family is annoying, both sides of it, especially his dad’s family, who happen to be a bit homophobic.

“I never said I wasn’t,” Frank replies, a little arrogantly.

His grandma looks at him with confusion so Frank just smirks, and his father rolls his eyes at him.

Frank sits on that same couch for what is surely several years, but more accurately a few hours, until his father finally says they can leave. It’s almost nine, and all he can think about is Gerard. They’d insisted they weren’t going to get each other gifts but Frank really couldn’t help himself. When people say not to get them a present, they of course mean to get them a present. Reading between the lines is vital. ‘Don’t get me a present’ = ‘get me a present or I will throw a bookshelf at you.’

“You almost gave your grandmother a heart attack back there,” his father says, and Frank looks up from the window to peer questioningly at him.

“How so?”

He doesn’t respond but the look in his eyes says it all.

“Wait you know I’m gay?” Frank asks.

“It wasn’t tough to figure out, but I wasn’t going to bring it up until you felt like saying it,” he responds.

“Am I really that obvious? Everyone seems to know!” Frank says looking frustrated.

“Well you’re not straight, that’s for sure, but that just leaves the question of whether you’re gay or something in between.”

“Well if you know than I guess I should also tell you I have a boyfriend,” Frank sighs, but this information seems to catch his dad off his guard a little more.

“Really? Is it that Way boy?”

“It’s his brother,” Frank answers, “and I think I’m in love with him.”

That is definitely new information to his dad who almost loses his grip on the wheel to look at his son, who’s staring out the window.

“Are you sure... I mean how long have you known him?”

Frank debates how to answer that question, “Well, we’ve been dating for a little under four days, but I’ve talked to him for a little over three weeks. I’ve known him for a little over three months, but I’ve been in love with him for a little under a year.”

“Wh... what?”

He grins at his dad’s confused expression and explains the situation with Watchman and Theodore and Gerard. For some reason it feels really great to tell him, to just say it out loud.

“Okay,” his dad says, as they pull into the driveway at last, and he looks like he’s trying to digest all of Frank’s words but it’s not that easy.

“Is there anything else you need to tell me?”

Frank smiles, “Yeah, I’m going to go see him in a few minutes to give him his Christmas present.”

“But it’s Christmas,” his father says, “You shouldn’t disturb his family.”

“He invited me. And besides I’m going, and you’re not stopping me,” Frank answers and he runs quickly into the house to fix himself and grab Gerard’s gift. He checks his reflection in the mirror before deciding he doesn’t really care and then walks back out of the house, waving a goodbye to his dad.

He practically skips down the street, wanting only to see Gerard and to be held by him.

He walks behind the house, and through the backyard, he knocks on the glass sliding door like Gerard had told him. The curtains are drawn so he can’t see into the house, but a redheaded person peaks out of the corner and Frank smiles at him.

“You came!” Gerard says excitedly, pulling the door open and grabbing Frank into his arms.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know but it’s cold, get in here,” Gerard pulls Frank through the door and closes it behind him.

“How was your Christmas?” Frank asks.

“Fine. Mikey ate too much and fell asleep like an hour ago, and my parents went to their friend’s house for a Christmas party or something, so I’ve been bored as hell until you got here! How was yours?”

“Well it turns out my dad knows I’m gay,” Frank answers, and Gerard reacts properly with shock, “apparently I’m a flaming homosexual and never realized it.”

“I didn’t know, until I knew you were Pansy! My gaydar needs polishing,” he sighs, and then spots the present in Frank’s hand, “oh god, I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who completely disregarded the whole no present thing.”

“It’s public knowledge that when someone says not to get them a gift, you get them a gift. Common courtesy.”

Gerard smiles, and grabs a thin package from the poker table that he’d set down there.

“Okay same time, then?” Gerard asks, after they exchange them.

“Fine, but it’s not much,” Frank says.

“Wow today is filled with clichés isn’t it?” Gerard answers. He smiles and walks over to sit on the large sectional and Frank goes to sit next to him.

He eagerly counts down from the number three like a puppy. A puppy with pillar-box red hair.

Franks rolls his eyes and pulls out a framed picture of... himself. It’s a drawing, but it’s amazing. The damn thing is practically a photograph. All he’d gotten Gerard was CD that he’d said he’d been dying to own.

“Oh my god Frankie!” Gerard says looking ecstatic.

“Wow Gee, this is amazing,” Frank says gawking at the picture.

“But I didn’t get you as much, I feel awful!” Gerard says, and he looks honestly upset.

“I’m not mad though! You made up in effort what I spent in cash, so we’re even!” Frank replies.

“No we’re not, I should get you something else, or... I don’t know, just more,” Gerard answers.

“Well I decline the offer, because being here with you is enough of a gift to me.”

“That was so cheesy that I want to rip my leg off,” Gerard answers, but he smiles anyway.

Frank pouts at his answer with fake hurt, making Gerard laugh and then pull Frank in, to kiss him impatiently.

“I’ve missed you so much, Gee,” Frank says almost inaudibly.

“Shut up,” Gerard says and he becomes a little less gentle, but it only makes the kiss a million times better. He doesn’t argue with Gerard’s instructions and feels his stomach writhing with nervous energy, because of the perfection of his situation. There is literally no place in the world Frank would rather be right now.

Gerard puts his hand on Frank’s neck and the very touch feels like fire itself, but instead of burning him as he knows it should, it just feels like bliss.

“Frankie, how can I make it up to you?” Gerard says, and he starts kissing down Frank’s neck which makes him melt, like an ice cream cone in summer.

“You-ohh,” he tries to answer but his words are forgotten at the feeling of Gerard’s tongue on his collarbone.

“I didn’t catch that?” Gerard says cheekily.

“Don’t n-need to,” he musters out, but his head falls back against the couch and he hears Gerard giggle.

“I can try,” and with that Gerard pushes Frank against the couch onto his back and climbs on top of the smaller boy, to kiss him again.

“Oh god... Gee!” Frank says nervously at Gerard’s added weight, “what are we doing?”

“I’m not sure,” he answers.

Frank’s breathing hitches when Gerard’s hand nudges at the bottom of his shirt, and he’s not at all sure what his emotions are trying to tell him at the moment.

“Frank, I hope you don’t think I’m pressuring you. I mean if you don’t want-“

“But what if I do ‘want’?” Frank asks with an innocent expression but what he’s implying is far from innocent.

Gerard hadn’t been expecting that answer and blushes, “Okay then.”

He’s not going to turn Frank down not when he’s fantasized about him for so long. And it doesn’t help that Gerard’s pants are doing little to hide the fact that he’s very into this situation.

Frank grins and his lips fall back to connect with Gerard’s like puzzle pieces finally finding their right mates.

“Only if you want to,” Frank mumbles against Gerard Bottom lip.

“Definitely,” he says and his hand creep further up Frank stomach, under his shirt, as he continues to kiss him.

He sighs and then looks down at Frank nervously.

“Frankie, I’ve never... never ever,” Gerard says with embarrassment.

Frank looks down at him and admits, “Neither have I. But-“

“But?”

Frank rolls his eyes, “buuuuut, I, well... I mean the internet is there for a reason isn’t it!” He’s going to kill Pete for making him google it.

It’s Franks turn to blush but Gerard doesn’t laugh long before attacking Frank’s neck again, and he fists his dark hair so that he can’t move away from the kiss if the thought had even occurred to him, which it most definitely has not.

Frank unconsciously moans from beneath Gerard which makes his heart flutter lightly. He cannot believe he’s actually kissing Gerard right now. He’s got his freaking tongue in Gerard’s mouth, and he’s one hundred percent sure Gerard is down with the situation in the same way Gerard can probably tell Frank is.

Gerard tastes like coffee, and gum. Fruity gum, oddly, but it’s not unpleasant, it’s just sort of a weird taste.

He hadn’t planned on Christmas taking this turn of events... sorry Jesus.