Chapter Text
Frank wished he was a werewolf instead. Werewolves were cool. This was very much not cool.
For whatever reason, for the past few weeks, any time Frank was frightened by something, he turned into a tiny black dog
It's not permanent, only lasting about an hour or two depending on how much something scared him, The last time he saw a spider he was stuck for almost four hours.
The first time it happened was freaky, he'd been napping on his couch minding his own business when suddenly a car alarm went off, startling him so bad he fell off the couch and almost landed on his face.
When he tried to get up he found he couldn't, he could swear he was standing, but the couch was suddenly massive.
He looked down and saw two small paws, he lifted one experimentally and let out a yell, a bark came out instead. He rushed around his living room in a panic, unsure of what was happening or what to do, mostly doing laps around the coffee table when he tripped over his feet- paws? And tumbled into his entertainment stand.
He sat dazed for a minute before looking up and seeing his reflection in the dark tv screen, a tiny black dog stared back at him.
So far, he'd been managing it about as well as could be expected, but this was when he was home alone on break from tour, and there was another tour starting. He debated telling the guys, but what would he say? They definitely wouldn't believe him. Also, if they did believe him, they might have to cancel the tour, and if Frank didn't get up on a stage soon he would go insane.
It shouldn't be that hard to hide, all he had to do was avoid things that scared him. He hoped. He wasn't actually 100% sure. As far as he knew, fear was the only thing that triggered the change.
He practiced keeping calm, it wasn't that difficult, and the next time a car alarm went off unexpectedly he laughed triumphantly with his still human face. He'd be fine.
🐾
The first few days on the bus were uneventful, thankfully.
It hadn't been that long since the last tour, but he'd missed this. He was laying on the couch, intentionally taking up as much space as he could, just basking in the tour life. There was nowhere he'd rather be.
He felt someone lift his feet before joining him on the couch, setting his feet in their lap. He lazily opened his eyes to see Gerard, somehow enjoying coffee even though Frank's feet were right there, in socks he hadn't bothered changing in a while. Frank let his eyes drift shut, content.
A sudden crashing noise startled Frank, causing him to let out an embarrassingly high pitched and all too dog like yip.
He looked towards the kitchenette and heard Ray cursing, before relaxing back into the couch, silently grateful that he'd practiced for this sort of thing. He settled down and saw Gerard staring at him, a small disbelieving grin on his face.
"Not a word." Frank grumbled.
"I wasn't saying anything." Gerard defended, raising his hands in surrender, grin still firmly in place.
Frank glared at him for a moment, trying to decide if it would be more embarrassing to retreat to his bunk.
No, he wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Frank stubbornly turned away from Gerard, ignoring him and his stupid face, the couch was Frank's first.
🐾
The first show had gone spectacularly, they were all amazing and Frank was entirely convinced that this was as close to heaven as he could get, climbing onto the bus in a happy daze giggling at something someone said, probably Gerard. Gerard was good at making him giggle.
They all collapsed in the seating area, Frank nearly in Gerard's lap because he knew Gerard wouldn't push him off and he was in a cuddly mood.
Gerard put an arm around Frank's shoulders and Frank pretended that his blush was from being under the stage lights for so long.
They all talked and laughed until they came down from their post show highs, gradually drifting apart to do their own things before the post show exhaustion kicked in.
Frank stayed on the couch with Gerard while Gerard watched some movie he'd picked out, he didn't realize how close he was to falling asleep until Gerard started absently petting his hair, but by then Frank was too comfortable to bother moving, and Gerard didn't seem to mind, so he let himself lean against Gerard and sleep.
Frank startled awake from a nightmare, he wasn't sure what it was about and he didn't care, what he did care about was the fact he was way too old to still get nightmares. He went to sit up and- oh. Oh fuck. He was a fucking dog again.
He quickly looked around and saw that the only person around was Gerard, who was fortunately still sleeping. He pushed his clothes off the couch, because of course they didn't transform with him and him leaving all his clothes next to a sleeping Gerard would be weird, and shoved all but his underwear under the couch. He'd come back for them later.
He took his underwear with him and cautiously crept into the bunk area, peaking around the door to make sure the coast was clear before quickly making his way into one of the spare bunks, cursing himself for choosing a top bunk in the first place.
He jumped into the spare bunk and grabbed the curtain in his teeth, pulling it all the way shut, already doing the "mental calming exercises" he'd found online. At first he'd thought they sounded dumb, but they helped, ok?
Slowly, he felt himself start to relax. He breathed in, and then out, focusing on the feeling of inhaling and exhaling, letting his mind center on just existing in that moment, not worrying about changing back, just breathing. He opened his eyes, and he was himself again.
He pulled on his boxers and crawled into his own bunk, turning back was always exhausting.
🐾
They had a few more hours until they reached the hotel they'd stay in for a few days, and Frank was restless. They were in the middle of nowhere and there was absolutely nothing to do.
He'd tried jamming with ray, but they couldn't agree on what genre they wanted to play and some sounds just don't go together.
He'd tried hanging out with Mikey, but he was half paying attention to Frank and half texting the whole time, and Frank got tired of repeating himself.
Gerard was busy doing some art thing.
Frank was bored. He felt the need to do something, to run around and scream and thrash, but he was stuck in the tour bus going 80 on the interstate. He could feel himself buzzing with energy and he had no way of releasing it.
In the end he put on some movie, not really caring which one, and sat restlessly on the couch pretending to watch it, impatiently waiting for SOMETHING.
The other guys paid no attention to him, and Frank was slightly offended by it. He bet if he was a dog they'd play with him, but if he was a dog he couldn't play guitar. And besides, he couldn't change at will, he'd tried. Maybe if he practiced more, but a tour bus wasn't the best place to practice your secret... Power? Could he call it a power? He couldn't exactly use it to fight crime. Spying, he could totally spy on people, no one would suspect a cute little dog of espionage. He could definitely up his prank game too, now that he really thought about it.
Maybe he was looking at it all wrong, what if instead of trying to scare himself into transforming, he could do that meditation thing he did to change back, but with the opposite goal in mind. Maybe... but he couldn't try on the bus, he'd have to wait until he knew he'd have enough uninterrupted alone time and a door that locked.
God, that made it sound like he was planning something completely different.
When they finally reached their destination Frank practically skipped off the bus and into the hotel lobby, ignoring the teasing jokes the others made at his expense about his hyper activity.
They could afford separate rooms for each of them this time, and Frank was going to use the privacy while he could.
They were all staying in the same hall to make it easier to keep track of everyone. Frank tossed his bag down and flopped onto the bed, just taking a moment to himself before he got started on his power practice.
That sounds stupid, he'll need to find a better name for it later.
He closed his eyes and focused on breathing. In, out, in, out, becoming aware of his body, focusing on how he feels when he's transformed. He didn't know how long he'd been at it when he finally started to feel... Something. He let himself sink into it, keeping his breathing steady.
There was a sudden knock on his door.
"Frankie?" It was Gerard.
Frank jerked upright, "yeah?" He called as he stumped his way to the door, a bit disoriented after being pulled so suddenly out of meditation.
Gerard was answering him, but his voice faded out as Frank caught sight of himself in the mirror by the door.
"Frankie?" Gerard called again, sounding almost concerned.
"Yeah sorry," Frank called back, looking at his reflection in horror, "I was asleep," he lied.
Ears. He had dog ears. He had fluffy triangle dog ears that twitched when he listened to Gerard.
"Oh, well, there's a restaurant nearby that Ray wants to check out, Mikey and I are going too, I was just asking if you want to come along, burn off some of that excess energy."
Frank swallowed, still frozen at the sight of his reflection. "Actually, I don't feel too good, I think I should sit this one out, rest before the show tomorrow." They looked too big to comfortably hide under a hat, that didn't mean he wasn't going to try.
"Ok, um," now Gerard really did sound worried, "yeah, you should rest. Don't want you getting sick during the show."
"I'll be fine, you go have fun with Ray and Mikey," Frank tugged at one of the ears, he shouldn't have been surprised when it hurt.
"Goodnight Frank."
Frank didn't answer, still stuck in place as he listened to Gerard leave.
Eventually Frank pulled himself away from his reflection, digging through his bag and pulling out every single hat he owned. He needed to be prepared if this ever happened again. He was pretty sure the usual meditation would get the ears to leave.
Two hours later and the ears still wouldn't leave. Frank was at his wits end, but at least he found he could fit them under his grey hat somewhat comfortably.
He sighed in frustration, he could still play, he just needed to keep his hat on and be careful.
🐾
Gerard was the one who woke him up, thankfully he only knocked instead of going in Frank's room. The very last thing Frank needed was Gerard finding out what was going on. He needed to figure this shit out soon, there was no way he'd be able to keep this from the others on the bus.
He rolled out of bed to Gerard's insistent knocking, only remembering to hide his ears when he passed by the mirror.
When he finally did open the door, hat firmly on his head, Gerard looked about ready to call somebody.
Frank almost regretted telling him he hadn't felt well yesterday, Gerard had a bad habit of mother henning, although if Frank was honest with himself he usually loved the extra attention.
"Frankie, you feeling any better?" Gerard reached up to check his temperature and Frank leaned back, not wanting to risk him messing with his hat.
"I'm feeling great Gee, don't worry, I just needed to rest."
Gerard didn't look convinced, but seemed satisfied that Frank wasn't about to swoon like some victorian maiden.
The band ate breakfast together in the hotel lobby, Mikey and Ray didn't pay Frank any extra mind, but Gerard sat close to Frank and made sure he ate enough.
The hours ticked by, sound check went uneventfully, Gerard talked to a few reporters, and finally, Finally, it was show time.
The crowd was a growing force of its own and Frank fed off their energy and praise, this was what he was here for, to give them a show.
He didn't thrash nearly as much as usual, but he did his best to move around in ways that wouldn't disturb his hat. The last thing he needed was an entire stadium of people seeing his new ears. Although, they could probably play it off like they were fake, but it really wasn't worth the risk. Especially if his band reacted badly.
Gerard kept shooting Frank concerned looks, but Frank brushed them off, he wasn't actually sick and when he got rid of the ears he'd be fine.
The one good thing about Gerard worrying about his health was that he could go straight to his room after the show unquestioned.
Frank took his hat off the second he'd closed his door, the relief of not having his ears pressed down was immediate.
He'd just flopped down onto his bed when his door opened suddenly, and Frank dove off the bed, hiding on the other side.
He was panicking over how he was going to hide his ears when he realized he'd turned into a dog again.
"Frankie?" Gerard's voice carried across the room. Frank could hear him walking closer and then he was looking up into Gerard's wide eyes.
"Oh! So you're why he was acting weird!" Gerard exclaimed, he carefully picked Frank up and sat on the bed, setting him in his lap.
"He had me worried he was seriously sick, but he just got a secret pet."
Frank wanted to run and hide, but he also wanted to stay in Gerard's lap forever, Gerard had started petting him and it felt amazing.
Was this what if felt like for all dogs? It was better than a massage.
Without realizing it, Frank had begun nuzzling into the touches, growing more and more relaxed and dizzy. It was like he couldn't form thoughts anymore, everything slipping away until all he could do was feel hands gently petting down his back.
"Aww," Gerard cooed, "who's a cute little puppy?"
Frank sniffed and felt his eyes getting heavy. He should really be trying to get away so he could change back, but he was so sleepy and cozy, he couldn't get himself to move.
He'd just close his eyes for a few minutes, then he'd figure out his escape.
🐾
"No, his clothes from the show are on the floor in his room, so I don't know what he was wearing last, I doubt he ran off naked... um, short, about 5'4, dark hair that's long ish, hazel eyes, lots of tattoos... he's got a scorpion on his neck and the virgin Mary on his left arm."
Frank woke slowly to Gerard's voice, and scrunched his face up in confusion.
"He's been gone for hours... no I don't know where he would have gone, that's why I'm calling. What if he got lost, or someone took him, like a crazy fan or something?"
Gerard's voice was growing increasingly distressed, and Frank slowly realized Gerard was talking about him.
"I just, he's never disappeared like this before, it's not like him... please just... ok, thank you, thank you so much."
Gerard hung up the phone and took a shaky breath, noticing that Frank was awake.
"Hey puppy," Gerard's voice turned so soft and warm Frank felt like shivering, "I didn't mean to wake you up."
Frank tilted his head, and Gerard chuckled a little, but it was a wet sad sound.
"I'm probably over reacting. He's probably completely fine. I just. I feel responsible for him, you know? I feel responsible for everyone in the band. But with Frank it's, it's just different."
Gerard was quiet for a few seconds, then, "He's just so... he's not weak, and I know he can take care of himself, but he's so accident prone and he gets sick so easily, sometimes I just want to bubble wrap him."
Gerard frowned, "and he's so small, what if someone just picked him up and walked off with him? What if he's in some creeps basement?"
Frank, insulted that Gerard thought he'd be that easy to kidnap, as well as wanting to chear him up, licked his hand. It felt weird, but he was a dog for the time being, he may as well play the part.
Gerard smiled a little and pet him again, "thanks cutie, you're such a sweet boy."
Gerard sat on the bed again and Frank crawled into his lap to comfort him.
Gerard's large hands smoothed over his fur and Frank was again struck by how nice it felt.
Gerard's smile was a little sad at the edges, wistful, "he's the baby of the group, you know? It's hard not to worry. And he's so fucking endearing, giggling and smiling, he lights up the room. He's just. It's impossible not to love him. He's earnest and loyal, even when he's annoying the hell out of you it's hard to really get mad at him," Gerard sighed.
"What if something really bad happened?" Gerard sounded so openly terrified then, and Frank felt touched that Gerard cared so much about him.
Gerard's phone rang and he hurriedly answered it, "did you find him?"
Gerard's shoulders slumped, "oh... I know... I will... thanks Ray."
Gerard hung up and laid down on the bed, "that was Ray, you'll like him. He's helping look for Frank, but it's already past midnight... maybe he'll be back by morning..."
Frank felt guilty for putting Gerard through this, it wasn't on purpose, but still he didn't like seeing Gerard so upset.
He crawled over to Gerard and curled up next to him, hoping they could get some sleep before morning.
Frank was still tired from over exerting his transformation power, and it didn't seem like he'd be able to change back soon, but he tried to hope.
🐾
Frank sprung awake and instantly tripped over his paws. Still a dog then, great.
He heard snickering and turned towards the sound, seeing Gerard sat with Ray and Mikey on the floor.
"Hey baby!" Gerard greeted, amused but still looking tired.
Frank ignored how the nickname made him feel all warm and fluttery and hopped off the bed to join the circle.
Gerard reached out and pulled him into his lap as soon as he was within arms reach, and Frank nuzzled him.
"He likes you," Mikey smiled.
"Wonder where Frank got him," Ray said looking Frank over, "he looks like a fancy breed."
"Donno," Gerard frowned, "I couldn't find any food for him or dog toys, so maybe that's what Frank was getting when he-" Gerard cut himself off, holding Frank closer.
"Maybe we should visit the local pet stores, we can ask the workers if they've seen Frank while we get stuff for the puppy." Ray offered gently.
"Yeah, ok." Gerard nodded.
Mikey Googled the nearest pet stores in the area, there were two and only one was in walking distance.
Gerard zipped Frank up in his hoodie, Frank's furry little head poking out under his chin.
The city was a lot scarier as a dog, everything was so much louder and brighter, Frank couldn't decide between hiding in the hoodie or looking at everything they walked passed.
Gerard would pet him when loud trucks drove by, whispering little reassurances.
"Just a little further pumpkin, such a good boy."
The pet store was bright and cheerful, and a store clerk greeted them when they walked in.
"Hello! Anything I can assist you with?"
"Um, yes." Gerard stepped forward, "did a short guy with tattoos come by yesterday? Kinda punky looking, big hazel eyes, dark hair?"
The clerk thought for a minute, then frowned, "no, sorry."
"Oh," Gerard deflated.
Ray stood next to Gerard, "what kind of food do you recommend for the little guy?" He gestured to Frank in Gerard's arms.
"What breed is he?" The clerk asked.
"Not sure, our friend got him but we don't know where he is," Ray shrugged.
"Well, our dog foods for dogs that size are over here," the clerk showed them to the food isle.
Ray carried the dog food and the bag with the food and water bowls, and Mikey "helped" by tossing a ball in the air and catching it as they went back to the hotel.
Gerard paced the room, Frank sat on the bed watching him.
"If he doesn't show up soon, we're going to have to start canceling shows."
The others silently agreed.
Later when Ray and Mikey left, Gerard crawled under the bed covers, seemingly wanting to shut the world out.
Frank laid next to him, he could relate.
🐾
The next day Gerard took Frank with him as he joined Ray and Mikey in searching the town, but of course they still found nothing.
Mikey and Ray stayed with Gerard as late as they could, understanding that he didn't want to be alone.
They were playing with Frank, rolling the ball back and forth while Frank chased it, Gerard watched with a sad smile.
"He sort of looks like Frank, doesn't he? Well, dog Frank." Gerard mumbled.
"Yeah," Mikey tilted his head, "he kind of does."
"That's a documented phenomenon, dogs look like their owners all the time," Ray bounced the ball and Frank tried to jump high enough to catch it. "He's certainly got his energy."
It wasn't until the next day that Gerard really broke down.
Ray and Mikey had just left after telling Gerard all the places they'd looked, but there was still no sign of Frank.
Gerard collapsed against the door after closing it and sunk to the floor.
Frank cautiously went closer and realized Gerard was crying.
"I just..." Gerard wipped his nose, "I just want to know he's ok..."
Frank nudged Gerard's arm and Gerard scooped him up into his lap, curling around him and continuing to cry.
Half an hour later Gerard carried Frank to bed and sat with Frank still in his lap, petting him.
"Thanks," Gerard whispered, "I miss him."
Gerard ended up watching some cheesy late night movie, unable to fall asleep. Frank slowly drifted off, wondering if he really was stuck like this.
🐾
Frank woke up alone in bed for the first time in days, and frowned as he slid his eyes open.
Gerard was sitting in a chair staring at him with wide disbelieving eyes.
Frank sat up and quickly realized he was human again.
"I'm back!?" He stared down at his hands, wiggling his fingers excitedly.
Arms quickly wrapped around him and he was being crushed in a tight hug, "you have so much explaining to do, you fucker!" Gerard said into his hair, kissing his forehead aggressively.
Frank couldn't help the laugh that escaped him as he returned the hug.
"What happened?" Frank asked, wondering how he finally changed back.
"I'd just gotten up to get dressed and I turned around and you... shifted. One second there was a sleeping dog, then I blinked and there you were!" Gerard had sat on the bed to practically cradle Frank in his arms, but Frank wasn't complaining.
"I'm sorry, for not telling you," Frank sighed, "I've been changing back and forth for weeks, but it never lasted that long before. I would have told you I was ok if I could."
"Oh, Frankie," Gerard ran his hand through his hair, "I'm just happy you're here."
Frank relaxed into the soothing touches, feeling somehow better than when Gerard pet him before.
The door suddenly burst open and startled Frank, who felt his heart leap into his throat.
"Jesus guys, don't give him a fuckin' heart attack!" Gerard scolded, bringing his hand back to continue petting Frank's hair, then paused.
"Oh. These are new."
Frank reached his own hand up and huffed in frustration, "god fucking damn it!"
The fucking dog ear were back.
"Wow, you really weren't kidding," Ray marveled, and Frank tried to hide under the blanket.
"Aw c'mon, we just got you back, don't disappear again," Mikey complained.
Frank sighed, and after a moment of steeling his nerves, he came out from under the blanket. May as well face this like a man now that the cat- well, dog, was out of the bag.
He risked a glance at Gerard, who eyed his ears with undisguised delight.
Frank felt his ears twitch from the attention.
"Do you still have your normal ears?" Mikey asked, holding his chin like he was pondering deep thoughts.
Frank squinted at him, "why the fuck would I have two sets of ears? Who the fuck needs four ears?"
Mikey shrugged, "it's like that in anime."
"That's just bad character design," Gerard argued, "seriously how hard is it to just draw the one pair? It's literally less work."
Frank laughed at the absurdity of the situation, because seriously?
The guys didn't seem at all fazed by Frank's ears or the fact that he'd spent several days as a dog, they really were just glad he was ok.
Something shifted behind Frank and he turned to find that to his dismay, his ears weren't the only thing that changed. He had a tail. He was also naked under the blanket.
He caught Gerard looking and pulled the blanket to cover both the tail and his ass, "not a word," he warned.
Gerard just smirked.
After lots of hugs Ray and Mikey left to let Frank get dressed.
He'd grabbed his largest sweater to hopefully hide his tail, but now he was standing there holding up a pair of jeans and a pair of shorts, trying to decide which would fit more comfortably with his tail.
Gerard was sitting on the bed facing the wall.
"Hey Gee?" Frank asked, "do you think I should wear the jeans or the shorts with the tail?"
Gerard shrugged one shoulder, "I don't know man, it's your tail."
Frank decided to try the shorts, the elastic waistband would probably be more comfortable.
Once dressed he pulled his hat down firmly over his ears, releaved that he could take it off when they were safely on the bus.
The walk to the bus was difficult, people had caught wind that Frank had been missing, so there were tons of people on the other side of the fence yelling his name and taking pictures.
Gerard and Ray walked next to him, shielding him as much as they could from prying eyes.
Frank could feel his ears and tail twitch under his clothes, and hopped it wasn't noticeable.
He threw his hat down as soon as the bus door was shut, and immediately went to lay down on the couch.
He didn't want to be in his bunk alone, but he still wasn't fully recovered and felt exhausted.
A part of him wondered if this was from actively repressing his transformations for so long, or from trying to induce them.
"You alright?"
Frank looked up at his friends, who all looked a little worried.
"Yeah, just takes a lot outa me when I switch back and forth," Frank yawned, "I'll be fine after I take a nap."
Someone said something else, but Frank was already out.
🐾
The guys were sitting around talking quietly when Frank woke up again, and fell silent once they realized he was awake.
Frank rubbed his eyes, wrapping the blanket someone had covered him with around himself as he sat up.
"What's it like being a dog?" Mikey asked, Gerard kicked him.
Frank snorted, "s'not that bad really, it's louder and smellier and you wanna chase stuff, and you can't talk, but that's about it."
"How do you change?" Ray asked curiously.
"Donno," Frank shrugged, "usually happens when I get scared, but I'd been able to mostly repress it for a while."
It wasn't as awkward as he'd expected it to be. The ears and tail were still there, but nobody looked at him differently for it.
Well, there was something he couldn't quite identify in Gerard's gaze, but it wasn't disgust or fear, so he didn't give it much thought.
It was probably fascinating to an artist, anatomically speaking.
Frank kept catching Gerard watching him and wondered if he was trying to figure out how the ears and tail connected to Frank's body.
They spent the day playing video games and watching some of the boxsets they'd brought on tour.
After dinner and two movies Ray and Mikey went to bed, leaving Frank and Gerard alone on the couch.
Gerard looked like he was physically restraining himself.
Frank rolled his eyes, "you can touch them if you want."
Gerard's hands were in his hair almost before Frank had finished speaking, gently caressing the fury ears.
"oh wow, they're so soft," Gerard spoke with wonder, lightly rubbing his fingers over where the ears seamlessly blended to Frank's scalp.
Frank's eyes nearly rolled back into his head, and he leaned into the touch.
Gerard chuckled, "feel good?"
Frank just hummed and let his eyes slip shut, "s'nice."
"What's it feel like?" Gerard asked quietly.
Frank frowned slightly, trying to think of the words, "like, I donno, like a scalp massage from an angel, or something."
Gerard kept petting him and Frank once again realized a bit too late that he was falling asleep, and pulled away, "m' getting sleepy," Frank mumbled, eyes half open.
"Need help getting to your bunk?" Gerard asked, voice warm.
Frank shook his head, "too far," he pulled his blanket up around himself, "wanna sleep here."
Geared got up and Frank laid down, sort of wishing Gerard would stay with him.
Gerard tucked the blanket around him and Frank yawned, feeling his ears twitch.
Frank thought he heard Gerard mutter a quiet "cute" under his breath, but he was out before he had time to think about it.
🐾
"So, how's he going to play like this?" Ray asked over breakfast.
"I had the ears last show and it was fine, the tail's new though," Frank shrugged.
Maybe he could strap it down? It wouldn't be comfortable, but what other choices did he really have?
"What do you normally do to change back?" Gerard asked from his spot next to him on the couch.
"Meditate? Kind of? I gotta relax basically, but it hasn't been working," Frank frowned.
"Have you tried jacking off?" Mikey asked, and Frank shot him a look.
Although...
"Knock it off Mikes, this is serious," Gerard scolded.
"Sorry," Mikey shrugged, he didn't sound sorry at all.
🐾
They made it into the new hotel without issue, although they had to share rooms this time.
"I call Frankie," Gerard announced, putting an arm around Frank and pulling him to their room.
Frank rolled his eyes, Gerard just didn't want to deal with Mikey's midnight questions, like "if whales could talk, do you think they'd speak Belgian?"
As soon as the door was shut, Frank yanked his shorts off, stripping down to his sweater and boxers, feeling immediately better with one less layer of elastic rubbing the base of his tail.
Gerard snorted and Frank looked over,
"What?" He asked, wondering what was so funny.
"Your tail's wagging," Gerard smirked.
Frank rolled his eyes, "shut up."
Frank flipped through tv channels searching for something to watch while Gerard ordered room service.
Eventually he sighed and settled on some crime show, at least it would probably be mildly interesting.
Frank caught Gerard looking at him more than once, but he felt too awkward to say anything.
"So..." Gerard spoke up, "do you um. Remember everything from being a dog?"
Frank glanced at him, "yeah, usually."
Gerard was silent for a long moment, "sorry we fed you dog food."
Frank laughed, "it's fine, man, I was a dog. Sorry you had to pick up my shit."
Gerard glared at him, "hey yeah, what the fuck actually! You fucking owe me, you little bastard!"
Frank rolled his eyes, "I'll pay you back, promise."
Gerard opened his mouth, but was interrupted by a knock at the door, "you fucking better," he muttered as he went to open it.
Frank ducked under the blanket, not wanting the hotel staff to see his ears or tail and start rumors.
"Coast's clear," Gerard said as he sat next to Frank on the bed.
They ate in silence, but Frank caught Gerard watching him more than once.
"I really did mean it, when i said I was worried and that I missed you," Gerard said quietly, setting his empty plate out of the way.
Frank swallowed the food in his mouth, "I know, I am a little offended that you think I'd be that easy to kidnap through. And I wanted to change back, I just couldn't. I'm sorry I put you through that."
Gerard shook his head, "it's not your fault. Besides, you're here now and next time we'll know it's you."
Frank smirked, "I'm cuter as a dog anyway, maybe the fans will prefer it that way," he joked.
"Nah," Gerard ruffled Frank's hair, "you're nauseatingly adorable enough already."
Frank felt himself blush, "I missed you too, even though I was with you the whole time, if that makes any sense."
Gerard smiled, "yeah, I think it does."
Frank looked at Gerard's lips, then his eyes, Gerard caught him doing it and licked his lips.
Frank surged forwards and kissed Gerard, arms wrapping around his shoulders.
Gerard kissed him back, holding Frank like he was the most precious thing in the world.
"I love you," Frank breathed, breaking the kiss, forehead pressed against Gerard's, "I always have, so much."
Gerard huffed a laugh, "I love you too, god, I love you so fucking much."
He kissed Frank again and Frank sighed happily into the kiss, feeling overcome with affection and love and joy.
When they eventually fell asleep that night, Frank was wrapped comfortably in Gerard's arms, a small smile on his face even in sleep.