Chapter Text
Life for Frank Iero was a little weird. A few months ago, Frank would have denied being weird at all. The Mikey Way kid was weird, but Frank Iero was the normalist of normal. He was a typical sixteen year old boy who liked to skate and smoke weed. He had his friends and they minded their own business. But now, Frank would say his life is a little weird.
For starters, Frank actually befriended the weird Mikey Way kid. Other than the jokes his skate friends sometimes made, their friendship didn’t affect Frank’s weirdo-meter that much. The thing that was weird about being friends with Mikey was that Mikey was a vampire. In Frank’s opinion that was pretty weird. Another important factor in Frank’s weird life was that Frank was currently dating Mikey Way’s twenty year old older brother. The age was a little weird as Frank wasn’t legal yet, but it was perfectly legal in the state of New Jersey. The thing that was really weird about dating Gerard was that Gerard was also a vampire who had previously tried to eat Frank. It was a little weird.
Frank smiled as he drove to the Way’s house. Frank had passed his driver’s test and as a reward, his mother bought him a second hand car that ran rough but got the job done. Frank was very thankful. He felt like his life was coming together. He had an awesome boyfriend, good friends, and a car. What more could he want?
Frank parked his car on the curb and locked the doors. These parts of town were not to be trusted. It was dangerous and teenagers often stole from unlocked cars and busted in the windows of cars that were locked. It was a tough neighborhood, but Frank found it growing on him.
Frank walked into the Way’s house without knocking. He was past that level. He dropped his bag off at the living room coach and called out.
“Hey! Anybody here?”, he asked. He heard some feat shuffling and decided to kick back on the couch. He’d wait for who ever was there to come out of whatever room they were in on the couch, thank you very much.
A few short moments later, Frank saw Gerard’s shadow grace the dark crevices of the hallway. Gerard entered the living room and mustered a wave.
“Hey, Frankie”, he greeted. At first glance, Gerard would seem normal. He was wearing his normal black skinny jeans and was wearing his favorite black hoodie. He seemed clean and he was smiling. But Frank being Frank could tell something was wrong with Gerard.
Frank wasn’t a very intuitive person, but he could always tell when something was wrong with Gerard. It was the way that Gerard’s hair stuck up like it hadn’t been brushed and the way Gerard wasn’t wearing eyeliner that bothered Frank. It was the way that Gerard smiled with his mouth but was frowning with his eyes.
“Hey, wanna go out tonight?”, Frank asked. He wanted to distract Gerard. Gerard occasionally got into these moods where he felt sad and helpless. Frank would probably feel sad if he was condemned to eternal life. But usually when Gerard got like this Frank would take Gerard out to the park or they’d go get ‘human’ food and Gerard would be reminded that he could still live his life dead. But today Gerard just shook his head. “We can go to the movies, they’re playing a free movie tonight. Mikey could come too, if he wants to”.
Gerard shook his head. “Mikey’s got a girl over”, he started while grimacing, possibly imagining what his younger brother might be doing with a girl over. He paused and yawned.“I think we should stay in. Can we just watch cartoons?”, Gerard suggested, his voice limp and thin. He sounded like a child and with the way that his eyes got wide and looked at Frank longingly, he looked like a child too.
Frank sighed. He couldn’t say no to those eyes. “Yeah, put on Chanel 213, they’re airing The Simpsons”, Frank responded, trying to keep his voice cheerful. Frank couldn’t help but be concerned for Gerard. These moods have been becoming more and more common lately. Right after they had started going steady in December, Gerard was fine. It was a month after that that things started to get rocky. It was now March and Gerard acted more emotional that some of the teenage girls Frank knows from school. It was getting frustrating because this wasn’t the Gerard that Frank fell for. Frank wanted to help Gerard but he didn’t know how.
Gerard beamed at Frank. “Thanks Frank”, he said while nuzzling into Frank’s chest. It warmed Frank’s chest yet at the same time made him sad. Frank really couldn’t argue with Gerard. Not when he was like this.
“No problem”.
About an hour into watching ‘The Simpsons’, Gerard started to get antsy. He kept on picking at his nails and tapping his feet. Frank could tell that he was getting nervous about something but he didn’t know what. He wanted to ask Gerard what was wrong, but knowing Gerard he probably wouldn’t give a direct answer. He had to wait for Gerard to talk first.
After five more minutes of fidgeting, Gerard finally spoke up. “Frankie?”.
“Yeah?”, Frank asked. He looked at Gerard and tried to make eye contact. Gerard was looking down and wouldn’t look up to save his life.
“You don’t think I’m a monster, do you?”.
Frank sat up abruptly. He forced Gerard’s chin up, forcing them to make eye contact. “Gerard, don’t ever ask me that. You are not a monster. You are perfect and amazing and I love you”, he slipped. With a strike of horror Frank realized he had never said those three words before. Gerard stiffened as well, realizing the same thing.
“I… I love you too”, he murmured just loud enough for Frank to hear. It made Frank’s heart grow three times in size. Gerard looked so vulnerable yet so sincere. It was their first ‘I love you’ and it was perfect. Frank gazed into Gerard’s brown eyes with green speckles and pulled him close. They kissed tenderly and pulled apart.
“I’ll always love you, no matter what”, Frank said firmly. Gerard nodded and Frank whipped the black hair back that was covering Gerard’ face. “So no more talking about being a monster. You’re perfect”.
***
Once it started getting late Frank decided to head home. Gerard wasn’t too eager to let him go, but he understood that Frank had to study for a test coming up and that Frank’s mom worries about him. The murders around town have become fewer and stretched out longer but Frank knows it’s still incredibly dangerous. Frank also has a sicking suspicion that not all of those unsolved murders are so unsolved. He has a pretty good feeling that those lost lives had also lost blood. Frank didn’t know how many vampires were in this town, but he had a feeling that it wasn’t a human killing everybody.
Frank would have to ask Mikey tomorrow. Thank god for Mikey Way. He’d been a saint (not really since he’s dead) with explaining the logistics of the darker world. Whenever Frank needed to know something about vampires, he’d ask Mikey and most of the time he got a straightforward answer. Sometimes he wouldn’t get an answer at all, but that was only a slim amount of the times.
Frank made a mental list of questions he’d ask Mikey tomorrow. He’d ask about the killings and he’d ask about Gerard. Until then, Frank found himself tired. He talked to his mom for a few minutes and washed up for bed. Oddly, Frank fell sleep over come him the second he flopped onto his bed.
***
When Frank entered the cafeteria the next day, he bee lined to Mikey Way’s table and slammed down his tray of repulsive cafeteria food. Mikey looked up wide eyed, which meant that he was startled.
“I need to ask you some questions”, Frank started right off the bat. There was no reason to beat around the bush.
Mikey raised his eyebrows. “Shoot”.
Frank nodded and took the seat across from Mikey. “Okay so first of all what’s going on with these killings? Like, you know? The ‘murders’?”, Frank asked. He mentally kicked himself when he saw that Mikey winced.
“Frank!”, he whisper-shouted. “You can’t just ask questions like that out loud here! Fuck. What about it?”, he whispered.
Frank gulped. Well, he already asked. Might as well go for the whole sha-bang. “The killings”, he whispered. “I know that they aren’t… human. You don’t have to tell me. I’m just curious. Like, are your vampire friends killing them?”.
Mikey went pale. Frank knew that that question wasn’t going to be answered. He decided to continue with his other question.
“Also, what’s up with Gerard?”.
Mikey sighed. “Frank, you know that it’s almost April”. Frank nodded. “You know he’s turning twenty one in April?”.
“Really?”, Frank asked excitedly. “That’s great! We can throw him a birthday party. I’ll bake a cake for him and we’ll put on twenty one candles. It’ll be cool”.
“No, Frank. That’s not--”, Mikey sighed again and Frank sensed that he had said something wrong. “Gerard’s feeling upset because he’s turning twenty one”. Frank blinked. Why would anyone dread turning twenty one? You could legally drink at twenty one. You were still young. Twenty one was great. Frank couldn’t wait to be twenty one.
“Why? Twenty one seems great! You can drink… legally. You can gamble. You’re young-”
“That’s the thing. Gerard will always be young. He will never get older. He’ll be twenty forever. It’s bothering him”.
Frank felt his eyes get big and his eyebrows raise. He finally realized what the issue was. Gerard wanted to get older but he couldn’t. His birthday was just a reminder that he wasn’t actually ageing.
“Oh.”
“Yeah”.
Frank scratched his head. He picked up the slightly rotted apple of his lunch tray and bit into it, chewing loud and obnoxious. “I guess there’s nothing we can do”.
“You could talk to him”, Miley suggested. He drew in the air like he was about to say something but stopped. He looked down like he was contemplating saying something. “I know what we can give him for a present, though”, he hesitantly said.
Frank perked up. He’d do anything to help make Gerard feel better. “What are you thinking?”, he asked with his eyebrow raised.
“I know I’ve mentioned spells before, but what I didn’t mention was that there are witches and wizards”, Mikey admitted sheepishly.
Frank nearly fell out of his chair. Vampires were one thing but witches?. That sounded crazy. “Witches and Wizards?”, he asked out loud, mostly to himself. His jaw dropped and he shook his head disbelievingly. Could it get crazier than this?
“And there is a spell for aging up. It’s temporary and it’s called cnihtgeoguþIt’s Pagan. It just makes you look a little older and a little younger”, Mikey continued. “I think if we found somebody to age Gerard up just for a little bit, he’d feel better about turning twenty one. Obviously he won’t need the spell now, but when he’s like thirty he’ll need it. It would just comfort him knowing that he could look older if he wanted.”
Frank nodded. It really couldn’t get crazier than this.“Wouldn’t we need to find a witch or wizard to do the spells?”, he asked. When Mikey nodded, Frank asked, “Where are we going to find one?”.
It got crazier. “Oh, my boss is a witch”, Mikey answered casually. “I’m going to talk to her about it but until then could you try to talk to Gerard? He needs to talk about it, especially with you. He gets scared that your relationship won’t work because of… the differences. He thinks you might leave him one day when the challenges get too hard”.
“What? I wouldn’t leave him for something so stupid! He should know that. I accept him for being a”, he lowered his voice, “vampire and everything that comes along with it”.
Mikey made a pained look. “I know”, he reassured Frank. “But you know Gerard, he worries a lot. Just let him know it’s gonna be okay. I’ll give you an update about the spell once I’ve talked to Vivian.”
Frank nodded. This was going to be one crazy birthday.
***
Frank stopped by again the next day after school. It was a Friday afternoon, so Frank could stay a little later than on the school nights. His mom still wanted him home at a reasonable time but Frank could always work around that.
When he walked into the house, he noticed that another one of the windows facing east was broken. Frank got scarred for a second. He wondered if a burglary happened and if Gerard was okay before remembering that Gerard was a vampire and could kill any burglar he wanted to. Not that Gerard would-- he refused to kill. Gerard wasn’t a vegan vampire. He drank human blood once, but he didn’t kill. Frank figures that makes Gerard a vegetarian.
“Hello?”, Frank called when he got inside. The house was silent and the broken windows caused a draft. It was cold and damp inside.
Gerard made his appearance through the hallway. He looked a little better from when Frank last saw him. His hair was brushed and his smile seemed sincere. That was a good sign.
“Hey, Frank”, Gerard greeted, smiling. “Wanna go out tonight? My treat?”, he asked.
Frank tried hard to not drop his jaw. Gerard wanting to go out was not a daily thing. It was extremely rare that he even left the house, nonetheless going out on a date. Frank smiled back and nodded. He wouldn't waste the opportunity. If Gerard wanted to go out, they’d go out.
“Sure, where do you have in mind?”, Frank asked.
Gerard scrunched up his brows. “Wanna go to Vivian’s Cafe?”.
“The place Mikey works at?”, Frank asked.
Gerard nodded. “Yeah. That way I don’t have to change and we can force Mikey to give us extra whip cream on our coffees”.
“Yeah. Okay. Here, lemme get my keys”, Frank started, digging in his pockets for his car keys. He looked up when he felt Gerard’s cold hands grab his.
“Don’t worry, I’ll drive”, Gerard said. He took Frank by the hand and dragged him out the door. Frank didn’t even have time to protest, he just followed out. He vaguely noticed a bruise that was forming on Gerard’s right hand. It was blue and black. Frank knew that it’d be gone by tomorrow, as vampires heal quicker. Frank was still curious as to how Gerard got the bruise, though.
“Hey, Gerard”, Frank started casually as he slid into the passenger seat. “What happened to your hand?”. Frank pointed at Gerard’s pale and bruised hand to which Gerard hid his hand in the sleeves of his hoodie.
“Nothing. Just an accident at work”, Gerard mumbled quickly. “You know, cutting lettuce and stuff slips”.
“Gerard”. Frank sighed. He held back the urge to roll his eyes. “You don’t get bruises by cutting yourself”.
Gerard blushed. “Let’s talk about this some other time”.
Frank fought back a sigh and just nodded. He’d rather bite the bullet on this one and just enjoy their night out that Gerard was willing to go out. “After coffee do you want to go to the park to smoke some cigarettes? You can pretend to be an angsty highschooler while I am an angsty highschooler”, Frank offered, trying to change the subject.
“Definitely”, Gerard beamed. He wore that devilish grin that melted Frank’s heart. “We can scare all the junior high kids that try to act tough and hang at the park past dark”.
Frank scoffed. “I bet you were one of those junior high kids that tried to act cool and lurked in public playgrounds past night time”.
Gerard laughed. “Nope. I don’t know why you think I’m so cool. I was a loser in junior high, a loser in highschool, and a loser now”.
“Oh, but you’re loser.
“Hmm, is that so?”, Gerard snarkishly asked. “Cause I thought you were my loser”.
“That’s so not true”, Frank protested. “You’re obviously my loser”.
Gerard rolled his eyes. “Whatever helps you sleep at night”, he said as he pulled into a parking lot garage.
Frank grinned. “You help me sleep at night. Really wear me through sometimes”, Frank teased, hoping Gerard would take the bait. To Frank’s immense pleasure, he did.
Gerard spared Frank a side eyed glance briefly while keeping his attention on the wheel. Frank internally screamed in victory when he saw Gerard bite his lip. “Is that so?”, Gerard asked.
“Yeah. I sleep really well now”, Frank added suggestively. “I always sleep good after a workout”.
Gerard grinned. “Hmm… it’s a good thing we’re getting coffee because I think you’ll need it”. Frank almost actually screamed. It worked.
“Is that so?”, Frank asked. When Gerard grinned and he felt the car park, he knew it was so. Gerard unbuckled his seat belt and launched himself over the dashboard into Frank’s seat. Frank recoiled quickly but picked himself back up. He wrapped his arms around Gerard’s neck and pulled him in for a sloppy kiss. They fought with their lips for a few minutes, going back and forth before anyone went below the lips. Gerard was the first one to go for the neck. For someone so small and unassuming, Gerard loved to take the lead in sex. Frank made a small noise in the back of his throat as Gerard nipped the side of his neck. He was sure with the way Gerard pulled and tugged on his neck that he’d be left with a hickie or two, but right now he could care less. He could always cover up with make up later.
Gerard moved down slowey to Frank’s collar bone, planting kisses and sucking lightly on Frank’s neck. Gerard tugged at the edges of Frank’s jeans and Frank got the memo. He carefully slid his jeans off and dropped it to the floor. Frank decided to reciprocate the same to Gerard and fumbled at his buckles. Gerard stroked Frank’s hair as Frank pulled down Gerard’s underwear and pants.
“Let’s go to the back seat”, Gerard said breathlessly. Frank oligied willingly, heading to the back while Gerard fished out a condom and lube from the glove department. Frank would be surprised that Gerard has all that back there, but he’s just glad Gerard is prepared. They’d done blowjobs and handjobs back here, but never full on sex. This would be a first and Frank was excited in more ways than one.
Frank pressed his hands up against the passenger’s seat and waited for Gerard. He knew that people passing by would see his naked ass but right now he could care less. Plus, there were hardly any cars.
“Alright, Frankie. I’m going in”, Gerard informed from behind Frank. Frank made a small noise of acknowledgement before feeling Gerard go in. Frank inhaled sharply and made a shuddering moan as he felt Gerard thrust into him. Gerard pulled back before thrusting in again, causing Frank to moan again.
“Frank, can I tug on your hair?”, Gerard asked horsley. Frank’s hair wasn’t too long, but it was long enough for Gerard to intertwine his fingers in between the black strands and get a good grip.
“Yeah”, Frank answered. He felt one of Gerard’s hands grip the back of his head, pulling on his hair. Gerard thrusted into Frank again, increasing in force, causing Frank to get closer. His breathing got heavier and quicker as Gerard thrusted in and out.
“Mm, you’re dirty aren’t you?”Gerard asked through quick breathes.
“Yeah. Fuck. Gerard, fuck me harder”, Frank begged. He’d been likking the sex rougher and rougher as he got more and more experienced.
“Frank I’m gonna come”, Gerard said. Frank got hotter as he heard Gerard breathing do that quick inhale and exhale that Frank knew ment Gerard had cummed. Gerard stopped thrusting for a few seconds as he enjoyed his own orgasm before starting back up again for Frank. It only took a few more thrusts before Frank eventually cum too.
After a few minutes of both boys enjoying their post orgasmic bliss, they shuffled around the car putting their underwear and pants back on. Frank found his jeans and tried his best to put them on in the backseat. It was kind of hard, but he managed to slide them on. This was the one time being short played to Frank’s favor.
“Do you think we’re gonna smell like sex?”Gerard asked while stuggling to put on his one pants.
Frank thought about it. “Maybe. But who cares? They can suck if it if anyone says anything.”
Gerard laughed. “I hope you don’t mean literally… cause I’m the only one who can suck you.”
Frank laughed. “Let’s go get coffee”.
***
The coffee shop was not busy, as per usual. The only people in the shop other than Frank and Gerard was Mikey (who sighed dramatically when Gerard came up to order), Gabe Saporta, and a middle aged asian woman that entered in and out from the backroom. Frank found a table towards the back of the shop. It was next to a grey wall with black writing in a foriegn language. Frank liked the wall even though he didn’t know what it ment. It just looked cool.
Gerard came back up with two piping hot coffees with a wolfish grin planted on his face. “Mikey says I smell disgusting”.
“He knows”, Frank egged on. “I guess he has to suck it then”.
Gerard gagged and placed Frank’s coffee down in front of Frank. “Please don’t tell me that you’re leaving me for my younger brother”.
Frank shook his head. “I could never. I like you too much.” Frank took a sip of his coffee and relished in the warmth, sweetness, and cream. “By the way, what’s Gabe Saporta doing here?”.
Gerard rolled his eyes. “He’s always fucking here. Right now he’s trying to get Mikey to go on a road trip to fucking North Carolina”.
Frank spit his coffee out. “What? Why?”.
Gerard gave Frank an exasperated look. “Fuck if I know. Gabe Saporta’s a weird shit. Anyways, I guess it’s a good thing. If Mikey’s in North Carolina, he can’t steal you from me”, Gerard said with a smirk. “I mean, you’d be insane to do a brother swap. I’m obviously cooler than him.”
Frank deviously took a sip from his coffee. “Oh, that’s what you think. If I ever wanted to trade you in for a way cooler, hipper, and younger model, it’s good to know I have options”, Frank teased before realizing what he had said to its fullest. It was only when Gerard winced that Frank realized what he had done wrong. He couldn’t even apologize for it because then he’d have to admit to talking to Mikey about Gerard behind Gerard’s back.
“I wouldn’t do that though”, Frank said a little too quickly. With the way Gerard wouldn’t look him in the eyes, Frank knew he had messed up. He felt the mood tense up and the tension in the air could strangle him. Frank decided he was just gonna go in all the way. He already made things awkward, why not make it a little worse?
“Gerard”, Frank started tenderly. “What happened to your hand? Tell me the truth”.
Gerard looked up briefly just to look back down. “Nothing. I told you, it’s not a big deal. Just drop it.”
“No Gerard, just tell me. Obviously something’s bothering you. You can talk to me. I’m your boyfriend. I’m here for you when you need me”.
Gerard inhaled slowly. He stayed silent and Frank could tell he was debating what he was going to say. He remained silent for a few seconds before starting. “I did cut my self while cutting the lettuce. That wasn’t a lie”.
Frank nodded, letting Gerard know to continue. Gerard closed his eyes and scrunched up his face like he tasted a sour lemon. “It bled. I covered it up with a bandaid and finished my shift at Wendy’s. It was when I got home that it got bruised. I took the bandaid off to change it but when I looked at my hand I noticed that the cut had healed. I should be glad that it had healed, but I wasn’t. It just reminded me that I’m not really alive. I’m dead”.
“I got so mad. I’m dead, Frankie. I’m a vampire. I’ll never get older and I’ll never have kids. I can never get a real job and I can never go back to school. It fucking sucks. I got so worked up. Mikey was at school so there wasn’t anybody there to calm me down. I guess I just lost control. I got so worked up that I… I punched the window. It didn’t break at first. I’m getting weaker. I’ll need to drink real human blood again soon. I don’t want to”.
Gerard opened his eyes after he was down talking. He looked at Frank dead in the eyes and Frank felt chills as he looked into Gerard’s eyes. They were watery and cloudy. They were sad eyes.
“Frank, I’m a monster. I am. There’s no getting around it. I don’t want to ruin your life. I’m gonna be twenty forever while you’ll grow and get old. It’s not… I can’t live knowing I’m ruining your life. I know we love each other, but you’d find somebody else. I don’t know if we should do this. A vampire dating a mortal boy. It won’t work out”.
Frank felt his heart sink. “Gerard. Stop. We’re gonna work things out and we're gonna make it through. Stop saying all those things about yourself. You’re not a monster and-”
“Yes I am!”, Gerard shouted. He pressed his hands up against eyes, dragging them down so that Frank could see the red under his eyes. It made him look more distraught. “I’m a monster! A fucking monster”, he cursed. Frank could practically feel the eyes on them but he didn’t care. He needed Gerard to know how much he meant to Frank.
“You’re not a monster!”, Frank yelled back.
“I drik human fucking blood! I’ve drank you're blood before! I’m a monster! Fuck!”, Gerard yelled. He stood up abruptly and tried to shimmy out of the table they were sitting at. Frank stood up as well. He grabbed Gerard’s arm.
“You’re not leaving until you say you’re not a monster”, Frank commanded, taking the lead for once.
“I can’t. Frankie, you know well I’m a monster. I’m not human. I’m dead. We’re not going to work out. You’re a mortal boy and I’m a vampire. It’s not gonna work out. Just. Fuck. I’m leaving”, Gerard said. He broke free of Frank’s grip and started making his way towards the door. In a frenzy, Frank ran up to Gerard and threw himself on him, tackling him to the ground.
They both fell hard on the grey tile and it made a loud ‘thud’. Frank had barely any time to react before he latched onto Gerard. He wasn’t going to let him get away. No, Frank needed Gerard to know that he was perfect the way he was. Frank clamped down onto Gerard’s wrists and fought to hold him down.
“You’re not going anywhere until you realize that you’re amazing”, Frank demanded through clenched teeth.
With a flash of white, Frank saw Gerard flail about and break free from Frank’s grip. Gerard’s teeth flashed out and he hissed. He had turned. Frank backed up away from Gerard and put his hand up. He didn’t want to see Gerard like this. As quick as it had happened, Gerard’s teeth sunk back into his mouth. He shook his red eyes off and looked at Frank with the most heart broken look Frank had seen.
“See Frank, I’m a fucking monster”, Gerard cried before running to the door.
Before Gerard could reach the handle Frank felt himself rise to his feat. He felt a strange energy pulate through his hands like they were on fire. It was probably adrenaline, although Frank’s been in plenty of fights before, and he never felt this kind of adrenaline. Maybe this kind of adrenaline was reserved just for Gerard because Frank had never felt this powerful before.
“NO!”, Frank yelled at the top of his lungs. He felt his throat grow horse as the yell vibrated through his vocal chords. A swift white flash penetrated the room. Frank felt the floor underneath himself vibrate and felt everything go in slow motion. He looked down at his hands and saw the white flash stem from his palms. Shocked, Frank looked around to see if anyone else saw the same thing.
Everyone else seemed to be stuck in the slow motion. Gerard still had his back to Frank, trying to grab the door. Gabe was staring at Frank with his jaw dropped and Mikey shared a similar look although he was more horrified. The one face Frank actually saw that wasn’t caught in slow motion was the asian women’s face. She smiled at him.
Her wrinkles highlighted the layer of fat under her eyes and her white teeth twinkled against the red of her lipstick. Frank couldn't help but feel oddly comforted by her presence yet at the same time horrified. This wasn't normal. He wasn't supposed to shoot white flashes out of his hands. She looked like she knew what was going on. Her chilling grin sent chill's down Frank's spin.
“Ahh, I saw you’re one of us”, she said beaming. Before Frank could respond everything went black.