Ink

Gerard's hand was wrapped and taped by the time he got on to talking. He fidgeted and stared at his hands as he spoke, biting his lip when he paused and never looking at Frank.

"Well, um," he started, "when I was born, the doctors thought I was one of those Harlequin babies, you know? The ones with the layers of skin missing? Well, the doctors gave me the night to live, but somehow, I survived. When I had lived a week, they started tests. They lasted until I was seven. It was a miserable life.

"After I was released for the first time, Mom left us. It was in the middle of the night, the day I finally came home. I woke up to the sound of something falling, and when I went to investigate, the front door was still wide open and her car was gone. Dad blamed me for it, that and all of his failed relationships. They came to meet Mikey and I-- well, no, more like they came to meet my mutation. They never stayed very long afterwards."

Gerard yanked off his gloves and pushed up his sleeves, revealing pretty white skin marred with black lines. His fingernails were not a pale pink, but a dark gray. The lines, Frank noted, followed the path of Gerard's veins perfectly. His bare skin was sweltering, and Frank smiled when he rested his hand flat on Gerard's palm.

"What is it?"

There was silence for a long moment, until, "Ink."

"Ink?"

"Ink."

"Like, in the pens?"

"Indeed."

"Huh."

Frank scooted onto the counter with Gerard, slipping an arm around his shoulders and pulling him into a light, uncoordinated kiss. When they pulled back, they were left with content smiles and leant against the mirror behind them.

"Remember," Frank started, "you always have Mikey and I to lean on, if you need it. You're not a freak to us, nor will you ever be."

All Gerard replied with was a smile and a "thank you".

Frank reached for Gerard's hand and laced their fingers together. "You know, I like you better without the layers," he noted lightly, rubbing his thumb over the black veins. He looked up and noticed the black lines in Gerard's eyes, where the blood vessels should have been. It all made sense now. "Why are you so warm?" he asked, leaning his head against Gerard's.

"So the ink in my veins doesn't turn to sludge and kill me."

Frank nodded. Yeah, that made sense. "So, does it function like typical blood or what?"

"Yeah, it does. My heart has mutated tissues in it, to keep up with the chemicals that get pumped through it. Like, an extra chamber. It's sort of like a cigarette filter, only more efficient. My lungs are similar to that too. The cool thing about is that I can't contract normal diseases. But winter is really dangerous for me."

Listening to Gerard talk about his affliction was fascinating for Frank. He was always a pretty big fan of biology, but this was just astounding. "Do you know how this could be?"

"The doctors are clueless, but I think my mom was on something when she was pregnant. I have no way of knowing; she made sure all contact between us was cut."

That was a pretty valid theory, Frank thought. Lots of birth defects were due to the mothers taking something during their pregnancy.

"Want to go out there and have Mikey make us something sweet?"

"Don't let him near the toaster."

Frank wasn't even going to question it. This was Mikey; who knew what that dumbass did.