I'm the Last One That You'll Ever Remember

Frank had left his bedroom door where his children were safely tucked away in his bed watching Spongebob to help chase away their boogeyman fear and turned around to walk right into the very man that helped conceived them. Letting out a small gasp in surprise, Frank jumped back with a hand over his heart before cursing beneath his breath. “Jesus Christ, man!”

Poison ignored the fact that he had almost scared his lover to an early death, his mind remained on the strange fact that Frank was housing his niece, nephew, and a random baby in his own home. He had passed by two open doors in the hallway leading to Frank’s bedroom and had investigated each one to discover they were both fully furnished children rooms that had clearly been in use for quite a while now. It had puzzled him even further when he stepped into the master bedroom to find little Lorenzo and Venetia huddled close to Frank who was holding a baby.

A baby.

What the hell was going on here, Poison kept asking himself as he tried to piece the clues together to make a reasonable story that would explain why Frank was living with three kids in his home. He had met Lorenzo and Venetia in the past by their parents Edith and Peter Conrad, Frank’s Aunt and Uncle, so why were they across state from them? Were they visiting? If so than why did they have fully furnished bedrooms with artworks all over the walls painted in pink and green, their backpack and coats hung on little racks by the front door doors and their dressers filled with an abundance of clothes. There were too many personal items that just urgently reject the idea that these kids were mere visitors happening on by. No, he had a feeling these kids were living here…but why!?

“Why are those kids here, Frankie?” Poison repeated his previous question again the moment Frank had shut the bedroom door and spun around. He couldn’t care too much about startling him when the presence of those children monumentally meant something he couldn’t figure out on his own. It was infuriating him. “They shouldn’t be here.”

Frank hesitated as he stiffened up and went silent as the return of his children being the subject of conversation came up again. Feeling his anxiety growing, he tried to take a deep breath to calm his fast pacing heart, but he couldn’t help himself from releasing an exhausted sigh that went deeper than just today’s ordeals. No, the sigh served all the drama he’s collectively had to deal with since his 15th birthday. Every second, every minute, and every hour he’d spent in and out of Poison’s presence since that fateful night all came out in a deep long expel of breath. Closing his hazels eyes from the man before him, Frank blindly walked around him and down the hall towards the stairs. “Not here, please. J-Just follow me.”

Poison was hot on his heels, but Frank’s mind was on his children and the man who gave them to him. Frank was sick of having to keep this secret from Poison. Perhaps it was because he was tired, and he already had an exhausting day, or maybe it was because of the pregnancy hormones impacting his mental state, he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that for the first time ever he wanted to sit down and confess to Poison about everything, specifically about the children upstairs being his. I mean, how long could he honestly keep a secret as huge as this from him? He was already pregnant with their fourth child, and Poison was proving difficult to shake off without calling the police on him. Sooner or later, he would break into Frank’s house and see the truth for himself, his little fuck toy’s stomach swollen with a baby, a whole living breathing baby! What then? What was Frank suppose to do until that moment happen? How many more kids was he meant to raise on his own because this man refused to leave him alone? It was all becoming too much to handle, and Frank was getting tired of this song and dance.

Back upstairs, Poison hadn’t reacted with violence when he saw the twins or the baby in his room, nor did he try to terrorize them. He simply stood there and asked Frank a question, and after being demanded to leave because the twins mistaken him for a monster, he obediently exited without a single threat barked his way. It was everything Frank had not expected but was grateful how it had all play out. For so long he had been fearful that Poison would harm his children as some sort of leverage to get him to do his bidding if he had ever discovered their existent, but that hadn’t been the case tonight. Did that mean…in some crazy universe such as theirs…Poison could finally know about his children?

If he did then what would happen next?

Would it scare him off for good, so they could finally live a normal happy life together as a whole family?

Rubbing his tired eyes, Frank led Poison into the kitchen before turning around to face him. His words jumbled together as he tried to configure a full sentence in his mind, but every time he tried to pronounce anything his words would just shove itself back down his throat in fear. There was still a risk floating around in his head that Poison would do something awful to his children if he told him the truth but at the same time…perhaps knowing would stop this man from tearing his family apart even further. He couldn’t allow this man to come in and out of his life to kidnap him from his children for god knows how many days and then return him pregnant with another one! This had to end! He wasn’t even old enough to legally drink yet and he already had three kids and another one growing! What sense did this all make to keep on going this way?

“P-Poison…” Frank stammered as he nervously rubbed his sweaty palms together, his hazel eyes darting from his baby daddy to the toaster, then back to him again only to stare at the cupboards above instead. It was proving difficult to look him in the eye. “Um…h-have you…that is…w-would you ever…c-could…or rather are you c-capable of…”

“Out with it, Iero!” Poison impatiently snapped, trying to tolerant Frank stumbling over his words. He wanted answers and wasn’t looking forward to spending the next month and a half standing here to get them because that’s how long it’d take for the kid to formulate a complete sentence. Crossing his arms over his chest, Poison leaned his hip against the counter and stared hard at his shorter lover. “I want to know what’s going on now, not tomorrow.”

Nodding meekly, Frank closed his eyes and took a deep breath before blurting out his question. “Have you e-ever hurt a child before?”

Poison tilted his head a little and repeated. “A child?”

Frank nodded mutely at first as he opened his eyes to slowly trail them up Poison’s chest and then to his neck. It was as high as he could get them to go. “Yes, have you…would you hurt a child?”

“You mean those kids upstairs?” Poison refined as he slowly began to piece together Frank’s hidden secret. “Is that what you’re asking? If I’ll go upstairs and beats those children you got huddle up in your bedroom?”

Squeezing his eyes shut in pain at the mere thought of it, Frank took a deep breath to summon his strength before opening his eyes to Poison’s face. He had to look him in the eye because if this man was going to tell him he would do such a thing, he would have to…to kill him before he could. Frank had protected Poison from law enforcement for so many years already, and from his family too, but by god he wasn’t going to let him harm his children. That was where it would all finally end. “Y-Yes…”

Poison nodded in understanding. “Honestly? It would depend.”

Frank’s eyes widened in terror and filled with blinding tears! This was the moment he would really have to kill the man he’s grown to protect fervently from the world even after all the crimes he's committed. Poison was really going to make him do it! He was gonna make him take his life! “D-Depends!? Depends on what?!”

“Depends if they’re infected with the zombie virus, or any other infectious lethal disease that could be detrimental to the human race.” Poison clarified with a teasing smirk, not taking his question all that seriously. “It depends if the world’s life hangs in the balance because of them or any such dire situation. It doesn’t depend at all if they’re just tiny easy targets to pick off for sport. I don’t kill that way. If you deserve your throat cut, you’ll get your throat cut. If you’re innocent…well, you have nothing to worry about then, don’t you?”

“I-I guess.” Frank responded in a low shaky precarious voice. “B-But have you ever…murdered a child?”

“Yeah.” Poison confessed honestly. He could see the red lights of panic going on in his lover’s head and so he quickly reassured him with what he hoped would be a good enough reason for taking the life of a child. “But he was a lost cause that couldn’t be rehabilitated, and so I dealt with him accordingly.”

“HOW THE HELL WAS HE A LOST CAUSE!?” Frank exclaimed passionately, his hazels eyes wide with fright and still shimmering beautifully with unshed tears. “HOW IS ANY CHILD A LOST CAUSE!?”

“It takes one to know one…” Poison mumbled before cutting Frank’s next inquiry off. “It was a case in California. Do you remember that 10-year-old child killer? The one who murdered his family when he was 8, got away with it and murdered his foster family next two years later?”

Frank frowned and shook his head before the memory came back to him. He had heard about his case! His precious mother worked on it. His eyes widen in realization as soon as it dawned on him. “Oh my god…I do remember hearing about that! What was his name…Derrick?”

Poison nodded. “Yup, Derrick Carl Mathews the 2nd.”

“You murdered him because he was a lost cause?” Frank repeated wondrously.

“Yes, and I don’t regret it.” Poison stubbornly swore.

“Poison…” Frank began softly, his mind still reeling from that information as he blurted out. “Those kids upstairs are yours…”