Archive of Our Own

It was a warm Sunday night that Frank should have been spending in bed, especially considering he had to be at work early the next morning. Instead, it was past midnight, and he was in his car driving down an unfamiliar street with a fiery redheaded male prostitute sitting in his passenger’s seat.

“I’m guessing you’re a first-timer, huh?” the prostitute said to him, a smirk evident in his voice.

“W-What?” Frank stuttered stupidly. He kept his eyes on the road. “How…How can you tell?”

“It’s so easy to spot the new boys.” The prostitute chuckled. Frank gulped and began questioning his decision. He had always thought he was spontaneous, but never spontaneous enough to end up with a male prostitute in his car. It definitely was not a regular thing for him.

“Hmm don’t be nervous,” he said to Frank. Frank could feel his body heating up just from the tone of voice coming from the guy next to him. Frank was at a stop sign and he took that moment to actually look at the man. His smirk was now wide and obvious on his face when he said, “First timers are a lot more fun, anyway.”

Frank just stared at the man sitting beside him. There weren’t many lights in that neighborhood, but he still had a good view of his bright red hair that was long, just to the point of his shoulders, and his black shirt that could hardly be called a shirt; it was hanging off of his body and the armholes were large enough to expose most of his sides. From what Frank could see, he was extremely pale, but not the sickly kind of pallid color. Frank couldn’t see the rest of the details and features of the streetwalker he’d picked up, but what he had was enough to tell him that he was, simply put, fucking attractive.

Frank was obliviously staring and the prostitute was staring right back, head swelling with the way Frank was gawking over him. Even if Frank wasn’t the first to fawn over him, he never got tired of it.

The redhead bit his lip and cocked his head towards the window. “You gonna go?”

Frank stared for a few more seconds until he responded. Fortunately there were no cars behind him, and no one else at the intersection either, so he remained at the stop sign. “Oh, right, uh… how do we, uh, where do we do this?”

“Well,” the prostitute paused to look over his shoulder into the backseat of Frank’s car. “I think there’s enough room in here if you just go park somewhere.”

“Oh, uh, is that really comfortable? I mean, I don’t know, is that enough space?” Frank asked nervously, also turning his gaze to look into the backseat.

“Well, if you wanna put out more cash, you could go to a motel near here, and they’ll let us stay for an hour or two,” the prostitute explained. “I know the guy. He’ll ignore what he knows is happening and just have you pay for a couple of hours.”

“Ok, sure, yeah, that sounds good.” Frank nodded. “What way is it?”

“Make a left,” the prostitute said. “I’ll tell you the rest of the way.”

Frank gulped again because it was actually happening and suddenly the redhead’s hand was on his thigh, which caused Frank to add a bit too much pressure on the gas before steadying his car. The prostitute rubbed up and down Frank's leg, fingers sure to curve towards Frank’s crotch. Frank was holding his breath.

“You can calm down,” the hooker spoke breathily, causing Frank to do exactly the opposite of what he was telling him. “You won’t regret this. Trust me.”

The man had not stopped smirking for a single moment since he first waltzed up to Frank’s car and it was driving Frank crazy. Something about his confident aura made Frank weak in the knees. Frank had to keep reminding himself that the prostitute was paid to make him feel the way he was, to practically ooze sexuality with every word he spoke and every movement he made. It did nothing to calm Frank, though. Instead he just thought to himself that the prostitute he’d paid was doing a fantastic job.

When they arrived to the rundown motel that the prostitute had recommended, Frank allowed him to do all the talking. He stood behind him at the front desk and avoided eye contact with anyone nearby. He didn’t even pay attention to what the man he was with was telling the receptionist; all he caught from the conversation was that the streetwalker’s name was Eric, which was what the man making the reservations was referring to him as.

Once all was said and done, Frank hurried off to the room, snatching the key from Eric’s hand and practically running to the room they were assigned. It was one of the furthest rooms and judging simply by the condition of the door, it was probably disgusting on the inside.

There was only a bed, a TV set and a small dresser, which was pretty okay since they would only need the bed, but something was throwing Frank off. Although there were no visible stains on the furniture like Frank would have imagined, he could still feel the grime and unnamed bodily fluids just staring up at him from the surface of everything in that room. It was starting to irk him, but then he remembered that he wasn’t exactly alone.

Frank turned around and found Eric leaning against the closed door, one thumb hooked into his jeans pocket and the other hand pressed against the door behind him. He looked good, Frank couldn’t get over it, and he also couldn’t get over the hungry way Eric was staring at him, eyeing every inch of Frank’s clothed body.

“So, uh...” Frank broke the silence, both his hands in his pants’ pockets, staring at the door behind Eric, rather than Eric himself. “Eric, um, my name’s Frank.”

Frank put forth his hand and Eric’s mouth quirked into that signature smirk of his.

“Frank,” Eric said, like he was just testing the name out. He put his hand out as well, and Frank had to step forward a bit to take it, but then Eric didn’t let go. “My name’s actually Gerard. I just use that name when dealing with people, you know, protecting my identity and all that good stuff.”

“Oh, okay, right,” Frank nodded, his hand still held by Gerard. “Why are you telling me then?”

“Oh, I tell my clients,” Gerard explained. “They can’t ever fuck me over – well hypothetically – because I can fuck them over just as bad. People like the guy that runs this motel, though, have way too much shit on me to know my real identity. And I don’t have shit on them.”

“Makes sense.” Frank nodded. “I wouldn’t fuck you over, though. I mean, I paid for you, so, like, there’s no reason to...”

“I know.” Gerard smirked. Frank’s hand was sweating in Gerard’s, and Frank really wanted to pull it away so he could wipe the sweat off. “But, anyway, it’s totally not as good to hear ‘Eric’ while we fuck. I wanna hear my actual name. I wanna hear you screaming my real name.”

“Y-Yeah.” Frank gulped, now sweating on practically every inch of his body. The way Gerard’s breathy voice made everything he said sound so suggestive was turning Frank on beyond belief. “That makes sense, too.”

Gerard took a step forward, close enough that Frank could smell the strong scent of nicotine on him, as well as the musky cologne he had on.

“So your real name is Frank, right?” Gerard asked. His breath felt warm over Frank’s face. “I wanna make sure I’m saying what you wanna hear.”

Frank simply nodded, his eyes darting around Gerard’s face, unsure where to settle. Gerard seemed to know this, because he slowly licked his lips and then bit slightly on his bottom lip, attracting Frank’s gaze to it.

“Good,” Gerard said. He released Frank’s hand so that he could run his own through Frank’s hair — it was long and black, and Gerard loved it. If it wasn’t swept to the side, it was long enough to cover half of Frank’s face. Gerard could already imagine getting a firm grip on it later and pulling it. For the moment, he settled on running his hand over the side of it, getting his fingers interwoven with a few strands, and making their way to the back of Frank’s head.

Frank had imagined that the first touch of their lips would be gentle and slow, with a gradual upbuild, but that was far from what he got. Gerard’s mouth was hot and wet against his, immediately and almost intricately landing against Frank’s so that his bottom lip was between Frank’s lips. Frank should have known things didn’t move slowly in the world of prostitutes, but he couldn’t contain the slight hitch of his breath when Gerard’s tongue edged its way into his mouth, and showed no hesitation in delving there. Frank had to mentally kickstart his reflexes so that he was responding to the kiss, giving just as much as he was getting.

Gerard smirked within the kiss at Frank’s slow start. He placed his free hand on Frank’s chest and gently walked him to the bed, their mouths not leaving each other. The back of Frank’s knees hit the side of the mattress but he stayed standing, gaining the courage to clutch onto Gerard’s upper arm.

Gerard pulled his head back and Frank almost chased after his lips. Frank realized that Gerard’s attitude was not all for show. He was a really good kisser and, for that, he had an actual reason for being cocky.

Gerard eased Frank down onto the bed and, once he was sitting on the edge, Gerard kneeled on the floor in between Frank’s legs.

“So... anything you prefer?” Gerard asked, slipping Frank’s blazer off and tossing it to the floor. He went on to undo the buttons of Frank’s shirt, focusing intently on getting them off. As for Frank, he was too busy staring to actually answer. It was only when Gerard glanced up at him through his red strands of hair that Frank snapped out of his trance.

“No?” Frank answered — or rather, asked. “I mean...what exactly do you mean?”

“Certain positions.” Gerard shrugged, smiling when he got the last button undone. He was sure to run his hands against the skin of Frank’s chest while he slid the shirt off of him. “Tattoos,” Gerard said with a nod, taking in the ink that covered Frank’s chest, stomach, and arms.

“You, uh, like them?” Frank asked, glancing down at his own tattoos as if he had never seen them before.

Gerard answered by running his tongue up the center of Frank’s chest, humming while he did so. Frank tried to keep his breaths steady, but Gerard’s smirk when he faced Frank again was telling him that he didn’t.

“Back on topic,” Gerard said smugly. “Any preferences?”

“N-No.” Frank shook his head. “Whatever you want...”

“Whatever I want?” Gerard laughed, mouth still kissing at Frank’s chest. “This usually goes the other way around, you know.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know what I want, so…” Frank shrugged. “I just want you to do whatever you want.”

“Well if that’s what you want,” Gerard shrugged. “I know exactly what I want right now.”

Frank didn’t even have to ask what, because Gerard was already working on getting Frank’s pants off. Being an expert in the field of stripping people of their clothes, Gerard had Frank out of his slacks and underwear and laying on the bed in less than a minute.

Frank should have felt a bit self-conscious being naked in front of a complete stranger, but there was no room for embarrassment when he felt Gerard’s hand on his dick. He tried to keep his head up to look at the way Gerard’s hand was expertly running up and down his length, fingers tightening and loosening at just the right moments, but it fell back against the bed and he sighed at the ceiling. They were only getting started, yet Gerard’s experienced touches were already driving him crazy, sending surge after surge of heated pleasure throughout his body.

Gerard stopped suddenly and dug around his pockets, pulling out condoms and lube and throwing them onto the bed. Frank watched him steadily as he tore the condom wrapper open with his mouth and then rolled it onto Frank. He fell back against the bed and waited for whatever Gerard would do next.

As if Gerard’s hand job had not been doing more than enough to push Frank’s body to the edge, Gerard added his lips to the equation. With his fingers still wrapped right under the tip of Frank’s dick, he began a sloppy trail of open-mouthed kisses at the base, right at his groin, and then worked his way up to the tip. It was hot, it was intense, so much so that kisses seemed far too innocent of a word to explain the way Gerard used his mouth.

Frank’s mouth was open, but only small choked sounds were coming out. He couldn’t really make a sound especially considering how long it'd been since he got any action; either that or Gerard was just unbelievably talented... Maybe both.

A loud moan finally ripped out of Frank’s throat when Gerard smoothly took Frank’s cock into his mouth and sucked hard, going deeper and deeper until his lips met with his hand that had moved to grip the base of Frank's dick. Gerard glanced up at Frank, pleased to finally hear some sort of reaction from him — the spasm of his hips and the hitching of his breath weren't enough for Gerard, and the moans wouldn’t be enough for long, either; he wanted to hear so much more, so he went deeper.

Gerard moved his hand from Frank’s base and took him in all the way, too accustomed to deep throating to have any trouble with achieving it at first try.

“Oh.” Frank gasped, his hips bucking up just slightly, Gerard’s throat easily swallowing around his tip. “Ahhh, fuck.”

Frank threw an arm over his face, his neck and his back both arched, tensed up beyond his control. The feeling of Gerard bobbing his head up and down before taking him deep into his throat, the fucking whiny groans he was emitting from his mouth, vibrating against Frank’s length... It was too much to Frank at once, and Frank couldn’t focus on one thing without the other. The moans and curse words coming out of his mouth didn’t even sound like his own. He was far too lost in Gerard and what Gerard was doing to think about what he himself was doing.

Gerard was pleased by this. He had his hands braced behind his back, blowing Frank away with his ability to suck him off so flawlessly without using his hands to aid him.

“Shit, shit, fuck.” Frank groaned, gripping his own hair with one hand and pulling at the sheets with the other. He could feel himself coming close to his limit already. He was not usually a loose cannon, he could hold back for a long time, but Gerard’s mouth seemed to be an exception. There was no way to deny that Gerard was much more skilled than Frank's hand or any other person who had ever gotten into Frank's pants.

Gerard could sense it in the way Frank’s hip movements were growing erratic and his breaths were a lot more shallow and quick, so he pulled off with a slow movement. Frank’s entire body, still tense and arched off the bed, collapsed into the spring mattress below him while he took deep and labored breaths. He moved his hands from his face and looked down at Gerard for the first time since he’d made contact with his dick and he was tempted to look away again. Gerard’s hair hung around his face and his lips were practically as red as his hair and wet with saliva. Gerard stood up from the floor and climbed onto the bed after he’d gotten the condom off of Frank and tossed it over his shoulder.

Frank scooted back so that there was more room and once he was settled, Gerard took his place between his legs. He ran his hands up Frank’s stomach, his chest, until he reached his shoulders and settled there.

“So, top or bottom then?” Gerard asked, his voice only slightly hoarse from having blown Frank so professionally. “You decide.”

“I-I don’t know,” Frank said, sounding more wrecked than Gerard.

“Most guys wanna top,” Gerard informed him, ducking his head down to kiss at Frank’s neck. Frank sighed and tilted his head to the side, giving Gerard more room for his mouth. “And you can go as hard as you want, you know. I can take it.”

Frank shivered at that, but he couldn’t imagine doing it. He knew a lot of people most likely took advantage of prostitutes to get the pleasure they wanted without caring, but he could not see himself doing things that way.

“I don’t wanna do that,” he admitted. “I mean... whatever is good to you.”

Gerard couldn’t help but laugh, his gushed out breath hitting Frank's neck. That was not something Gerard had ever heard in all his time as a prostitute. Even with the new guys, they were nervous at first, but once they realized they could fuck Gerard any way they wanted without him complaining, they would do exactly that.

“You haven’t forgotten I’m a hooker, have you?” Gerard asked, pulling his face up to look at Frank.

Frank shook his head. “It just doesn’t matter.” Frank shrugged. He was suddenly embarrassed at being entirely naked beneath Gerard because of Gerard’s hand gliding over his chest, casually flicking his thumb over Frank’s nipple. “I’m pretty sure whatever you do is gonna be good, so just... yeah, do what you want, like I said.”

“So anything I want, huh?” Gerard asked, trying not to show how excited and boastful he was over that compliment. “You want me to be in total control?”

Frank nodded, completely avoiding looking at the confident man looming over him.

“Okay, I can totally do that.” Gerard smirked and Frank got enough of a glance to see it. Gerard sat up so that he was on his knees. He stripped of his shirt and tossed it aside, not that it had been doing much to cover him in the first place.

Gerard kept his eyes on Frank's while he stood up off the bed to take off his shoes and jeans. Frank had sat up slightly, wanting to curl in on himself and hide from that unwavering gaze.

It wasn’t long, though, until he was on his back again, Gerard’s completely undressed body pressed against his, sliding and grinding everywhere that their skin met. Gerard had to physically take Frank’s hands and put them against the skin on his hips, persisting on getting Frank's touch against his body.

Frank’s hands gathered enough confidence to move around while Gerard kissed his neck and chest. Gerard was skinny and yet somehow still filled out enough to have subtle curves in all the right places. Frank looked down at his hands, resting lightly over Gerard’s hips. There was the faint sight of stretch marks on Gerard’s hips, indicating that he had been heavier at one point. Frank finally allowed himself to actually grip, digging his fingers into the soft flesh. He moaned at the feeling and Gerard caught him with those alluring eyes and that smug smirk. Gerard made this needy noise right in Frank’s ear as Frank squeezed at his soft skin, causing Frank to panic and retract his hands.

“Stop freaking out,” Gerard mumbled against Frank’s skin; he almost sounded pleading. “Touch me wherever you want…”

Reluctantly, Frank settled his hands back onto Gerard’s hips with a tight grip. One hand even wandered a bit to the small of Gerard’s back, just above where the curve of his ass began. Gerard kissed him with intent, hoping to secure Frank’s newly found courage.

“Could you turn around and get on your knees?” Gerard whispered into Frank’s ear since Frank was finally growing comfortable enough to enjoy things without being too tense.

Gerard moved off of Frank while he immediately followed Gerard’s directions. He stood up on his knees and Gerard sat in the same position, right behind him. Gerard’s hands wandered over the tattoos on Frank’s back, rough hands sliding over the soft skin, lowering and lowering...

Frank couldn’t help but gasp when he felt Gerard’s hand slide down to cup his ass and then right between his cheeks, his thumb pressing against his entrance, not going in, simply teasing. The rest of his fingers brushed lightly behind Frank’s balls and he felt that same intense rush he had felt when Gerard was sucking him off.

Frank let out a whiney moan, his head falling back and landing against Gerard’s shoulder.

“Mm, you like that?” Gerard teased, pressing his finger harder against Frank’s asshole, but still not going in.

“Fuck... yes.” Frank sighed, biting his lips to stifle his moan.

Gerard’s free hand slid around to Frank’s front, merely ghosting past Frank’s boner, touching every bit of skin around it without actually touching it. Frank groaned impatiently, shifting on his knees a bit, like he was trying to push his erection closer to Gerard’s hand and Gerard’s thumb into him.

“Come on.” Frank moaned. “Fuck, come...come on.”

“Eager much?” Gerard chuckled, grazing his teeth over the back of Frank’s neck and then biting gently on his earlobe.

“Oh God.” Frank groaned, crumbling forward so that he was on his hands and knees. He thought maybe that position would encourage Gerard to continue. It did exactly that.

“Perfect,” Gerard said with a smirk and Frank waited for his thumb to finally give that one needed push to slip inside, but it didn’t. Instead, Gerard retracted his hand.

Frank was desperate. He needed more and Gerard’s hand leaving him did not feel like more. He had just turned his head to look back at Gerard and beg or yell or do who knows what, when he saw Gerard coating his fingers with lube.

“Oh, God, fucking...shit, shit.” Frank moaned, practically yelled, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight. Gerard’s fingers were even paler than usual, pressed into the flesh of one of Frank’s cheeks, the other hand lost between them. He’d slipped a finger all the way in and Frank could feel the tip of it crooking inside of him.

Frank’s arms shook until they gave out and he fell face first on the bed, choosing to prop himself back up using his elbows instead. This gave Gerard more access, his fingers more maneuverable freedom, a reason to moan approvingly. He added a second finger, loving the way Frank’s body was shaking with desire.

Gerard’s fingers were darting in and out of him, delving deep, stroking, and then pulling out. And Frank could do nothing but buck back, wanting to push them further in. Gerard couldn’t go any further with just his fingers, but Frank wanted so much more. “More,” Frank grunted, his ass still thrusting back, still searching. “Fucking... fuck me, oh my God, just fuck me already.”

“Finally,” Gerard said, licking his lips as he reached for the condom and lube. “I was starting to think I would never get to hear what you actually want me to do to you.”

Frank just buried his face into the sheets and groaned against the fabric. He could hear Gerard behind him, the crinkling of the condom wrapper, the slide of it going on his dick, and then the lube, and applying it onto his cock. Frank refused to turn around and look because he really couldn’t handle much more without blowing his load.

Gerard placed one hand on Frank’s hip and used the other to guide himself in. Frank brought his face up so that he could bite on his forearm as Gerard eased into him. It wasn’t too much of a stretch, but he could still feel it slightly. He could feel the way his insides had to accommodate Gerard’s length, stretching to adaption. All the sound he had been making earlier was trapped in his throat; there was a slight edge of pain, but he was waiting for his body to adjust. It had been so long since he’d gotten laid and regardless of the pain he felt at the moment, he was excited for the pleasures Gerard would surely make him feel.

Gerard buried himself deep inside Frank and then stilled for a few moments, unsure of whether or not Frank was ready for him to move since he wasn’t making any noise.

“You ready?” Gerard grunted, having to hold his hips back from their automatic desire to fuck fast and hard into Frank.

“Fuck.” Frank gasped, the air having been trapped alongside his moans. “Yes, yes, yes, fuck, go.”

Gerard moaned agreeably and began thrusting, gradually gaining speed with each thrust. They were both close already, the lead up having been long enough to leave them both teetering on the edge of self-control.

“Ah, fuck,” Gerard sighed, leaning down so that his chest was pressed against Frank’s back. Frank lifted himself up onto his hands so that they could be closer, so that there could be more skin contact. Gerard placed wet kisses along Frank’s shoulder blades and up to his neck. “Come on, let me hear you, Frank...”

Just hearing Gerard moan out Frank’s name was enough to have him obeying that command. He moaned loudly, thrusting back to meet Gerard’s forward grinds. Gerard wasn’t pulling in and out anymore; he was grinding deep inside of Frank, brushing against Frank’s prostate.

“Oh,” Frank moaned, turning his face to catch Gerard’s lips for only a moment. Frank finally felt that ache in his spine turn to a heated surge of pleasure that was coiled up deep in his stomach.

Gerard stood back up straight, thrusting harder now. Frank was clenching tighter and tighter around him and Gerard could almost feel Frank's pleasure through it. The muscles on Frank's back were clamping together as Gerard tried this and that angle, trying to stimulate Frank's prostate the best he could. He dug his fingertips roughly into Frank's hips, pulling him back harder each time. Frank was moaning with every single thrust now and Gerard couldn't feel any better just from watching this.

“Oh, fuck, fuck Gerard,” Frank cried out when he felt his orgasm prickling under his skin, straight up his torso, reaching his brain when Gerard placed a hand on the small of Frank's back. And that was all it took to have Frank crumbling.  He came for what felt like a long time, coming hard, his hips twitching within Gerard’s now single-handed grip on them.

“Oh my God.” Frank groaned, his arms giving out again. He muttered a few more muffled and indecipherable words, made unclear because his face was pressed against the bed.

Gerard was panting against the skin on Frank’s back for a few seconds, completely still, and then he was sat up and pulling out. Frank allowed his body to give out, lying flat on the bed. After catching his breath completely, he shifted onto his side to look for Gerard, who had already discarded the used condom and was moving to get off of the bed.

Even in his post-orgasm haze, Frank reached over to Gerard, who stilled his movements, always willing to give the clients whatever they needed. Frank didn’t want anything for himself necessarily. What he wanted was for Gerard to come. His dick was still hard and so pushing all his precious apprehensions behind, Frank wrapped a hand around Gerard and jerked him off.

Gerard was half lying down, propped up by his elbows, watching closely as Frank’s tight hand moved over him. Gerard was there and so with a few more strokes, he was jerking against the bed, coming onto Frank’s hand as well as his own stomach, his body hot and tingly with the force of it.

Frank was entranced by Gerard’s face as he came, head thrown back, and moans spilling out of his mouth. Gerard remained in that position for a few moments, silent pants of air replacing the moans until his body came down from its peak. Frank moved his hand off of Gerard and collapsed back into bed, feeling beyond spent.

Gerard didn’t need the same break. He was already out of bed and was wrestling to get his skinny jeans on, whereas Frank was still naked. Frank had to admit to himself that he was a bit disappointed about having to get up and leave instead of cuddling and possibly falling asleep with Gerard in his arms... but Gerard was a hooker. Hookers didn’t do things like that and Frank was an idiot.

“You should probably start getting dressed,” Gerard said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed to get his shoes on.

“Oh, yeah, right.” Frank nodded, scrambling off of the bed and searching the floor for his own clothes. He had gotten his underwear on when he realized that he had his own cum on his stomach. He grimaced at the mess.

“Here,” Gerard said, handing Frank a box of tissues that had been on the nightstand; he was obviously holding back a laugh.

Blushing, Frank took it from him and cleaned himself off. Gerard was already fully dressed, so Frank hurried to get the rest of his clothes on. Gerard sat on the edge of the bed, watching as Frank covered himself up with his layers of clothes. He didn’t bother putting the blazer on, and the top buttons of his shirt were left unfastened. The tattoos around his wrists were peeking out from beneath his shirt since he had the cuffs unbuttoned as well. His hair was a mess, most of it hanging in his face, parts of it still damp with sweat.

“You look like you just got fucked,” Gerard observed, picking up Frank’s blazer from the ground and handing it to him.

“Well I, uh... kind of did. Weren't you here just now?” Frank shrugged, embarrassed by Gerard’s bluntness, and trying to counter it with his own. He could hear Gerard let out a breathy laugh and Frank looked up to see him. Gerard looked the same as when Frank had picked him up, aside from some of the sweat that still lingered on parts of his skin. “You look... the same.”

“Yup.” Gerard laughed, standing up off the bed when he saw that Frank was ready. “That’s ‘cause I’ve been fucked and fucking all night. Come on, you gotta take me back already.”

Every blunt statement Gerard threw at Frank grew harder to swallow, no pun intended, and left Frank to follow Gerard out in a complete daze. They returned the key to the front desk, got in Frank’s car and, riding solely on autopilot, Frank took Gerard back to the street he had picked him up from.

Gerard turned to Frank right before getting out of the car to say, “If you want more, and I bet you will, you know where to find me.” And then he was out the car and into the street.

It almost seemed as though Frank didn’t just have amazing sex because everything following it had flashed by so quickly. Frank would have believed he didn’t actually get fucked had he not gotten home, jumped into bed, and fallen asleep without jacking off because his body was spent and satisfied. And he would have tried to deny it the following morning had he not woken up with a hard-on because his dreams consisted of Gerard in ways that he had not gotten to see him the previous night.

Gerard was completely out of his mind for the rest of the day, however, as soon as his life went back to being the dull drag it always was. He worked in a tax office as the office manager, so no matter what, he always had something to do. That day specifically, his desk was swamped with paperwork. Payday was coming up, so he had to go through all the employees’ timesheets and confirm their hours. That was always a pain because it inevitably meant that some people would try to squeeze in hours they didn’t actually work and when Frank called them out for it, he had to deal with their complaints.

By the end of the day, Frank was actually able to get through and confirm every single employee’s hours, which was a rare thing to happen, and he gathered his things to check out. On his way out, his boss stopped him with a file that was fat with papers.

“I need you to look over these resumes and filter them out for me,” he said, shoving the folder at Frank. “I want them on my desk by tomorrow morning so I can begin calling them in for interviews.”

Frank wanted to make a sarcastic remark about how he actually had a life and that he had better things to do than spend his night looking over mediocre resumes for mediocre employees looking for a mediocre job. He didn’t, though. He never did. He nodded, told his boss to have a good evening, and then headed home, the folder staring up at him from the passenger’s seat.

The rest of the week went about the same way. They were hiring and laying people off in the office and all of that seemed to fall onto Frank’s shoulders. His boss asked him to review complaints about various employees, and then the next night gave him the resumes of applicants wanting to fill the emptied position. Whenever Frank arranged an interview with lively people who were most likely fresh out of college, he was tempted to warn them to run and never look back. But of course he didn’t. He never did.

The one thing he did, though, was go back to Gerard. It had been exactly a week since the last time, which was actually his first experience with a prostitute, and he had to admit that it was the only time he’d been able to relax and loosen up.

Frank had been sitting in his small apartment, reading incident reports that had been filed about a specific employee who Frank had never actually met, when he made the spontaneous decision that he wanted to have sex again. Truth was, he always wanted to have sex, but it had never been that easy, that accessible. Knowing that he could just drive up to that specific street, pick up Gerard who he knew was good, and then have amazing sex was too irresistible to Frank. He had just gotten paid, so he knew he could afford it.

Frank’s nerves started to eat at him halfway to his destination. He would be returning to the same hooker, admitting that he couldn’t find anything better elsewhere. Frank wondered how pathetic he looked to someone like Gerard, someone who got paid to have sex with desperate people like Frank.

All of Frank’s doubts and apprehensions were eliminated when he saw Gerard. He was still a few yards away, but that red hair made him easy to spot in the dark of the night. Frank’s stomach flipped with anticipation, his mind flooded with the memories of the week before. His whole body was suddenly hot, looking forward to what the night would entail this time around.

Gerard was leaning against the wall of a building, one foot propped up behind him. Even from far away, Frank could see the confidence oozing out of him. Gerard wasn’t as exposed as last time, considering that the night was a lot colder. He still donned the same skin tight jeans, though, and the sleeves of the hoodie covering his arms didn’t make him look any less appealing.

Frank sped up a bit so that he could pull up before anyone else beat him to it. When he slowed to a stop by the curb, Gerard glanced around for a moment, before pushing himself up off the wall and approaching Frank’s car. Frank rolled his window down and Gerard bent over, his eyebrows shooting up his forehead when he saw Frank.

“You’re back,” Gerard stated. It wasn’t a question; he’d known it would only be a matter of time before Frank returned.

“Uh, yeah.” Frank nodded, wishing for a moment that he was outside of the car so that he could see Gerard’s bent body, hips undoubtedly cocked out and away from the car, maybe even some of his pale skin peeking out from beneath the hem of his sweater.

Gerard stood up, taking another look up and down the street, before he finally got into Frank’s car. Frank knew the drill, same as the first time, and he already had the money ready. He handed it to Gerard, who took it wordlessly. Gerard counted the money and then looked towards Frank, who was already heading towards the motel.

“Same as last time?” Gerard asked, using that same breathy tone that drove Frank crazy.

“Yeah, I wanted, uh...” Frank struggled to focus on what he wanted to say. He wanted Gerard to fuck him for the rest of his life and, when they were done, he wanted to fuck Gerard. He did not have enough money for that, though, and he most definitely did not have the balls to express it either.

“You’re gonna tell me what you want this time, then?” Gerard smirked, taking in Frank’s appearance. He was dressed more casually this time around, ditching his suit for jeans and a hoodie, but his self-consciousness was still pretty obvious. “Mm, this’ll be fun.”

Frank was silent, afraid that he would make a fool of himself if he attempted to speak. He managed to get them to the same motel as last time, even with Gerard’s hand rubbing against his thigh and straight up squeezing his crotch at one point. How they safely arrived would always be a mystery to Frank.

Gerard spoke to the same man as the week before, going by the name of Eric, and then taking them up to the room; it wasn't the one they had been in last week, but it looked exactly the same.

Frank should have been more comfortable considering that he’d done this with Gerard before, but he was still a nervous wreck. With his hands shoved into his hoodie pockets, he stood next to the bed and stared at Gerard who stood by the door, staring right back at him.

“You still look nervous,” Gerard noted, shrugging his hoodie off and letting it fall to the ground. He was wearing a loose fitting t-shirt beneath it and Frank’s fingers were itching to take it off already. Gerard made his way over to Frank, strutting over to him with this sway of his hips as though he was still walking the streets and attracting clients. “Come on, you’re not a first timer anymore,” Gerard breathed when he stood right in front of Frank, their bodies just an inch apart. “Remember last time.” Gerard pulled the zipper of Frank’s hoodie down and then his hands crept beneath it, slipping it off of him. “Relax,” he whispered, placing an open mouth to Frank’s neck, licking and nipping while he got Frank’s sweater completely off.

Frank shut his eyes and did as he was told, forcing his body to loosen up with the breath-hitching way that Gerard’s hot mouth was exploring his neck. Frank reached out to grab onto the hem of Gerard’s shirt, showing that he wanted it off. Gerard smirked against his neck when he felt Frank’s cold fingers sliding against the skin of his hips. He pulled back and helped pull the shirt off, and then took Frank’s off as well.

“There you go,” Gerard smiled, sliding his hands around Frank’s waist and clasping them around his back, pressing their bare upper bodies together. “I want you to fucking let go this time...I know you want to.”

Gerard followed that up with a heated kiss, his mouth open the moment it came in contact with Frank’s. His tongue was relentless, slipping past Frank’s lips, displaying that urgency that Frank had felt the moment he saw Gerard. So Frank gave in to the same eagerness he’d felt in himself and pushed back into the kiss, meeting Gerard’s tongue with his own, pressing his body against Gerard’s, weaving his fingers into Gerard’s red locks.

Frank took one step back, pulling Gerard with him, and he was met with the bed. He lay down, Gerard following him, smiling smugly at the way Frank was actually going for it. Gerard busied himself with Frank’s chest, his parted lips tracing over the tattoos that littered Frank’s upper body, while he undid Frank’s jeans and began inching them down. Frank stared down at Gerard before he snapped out of the trance he was in and helped get his own pants off.

“Fuck, just get out of yours,” Frank panted, sitting up to take his shoes off.

Gerard was pleased to see Frank’s change of attitude in the way he was unashamed of his desperation, obvious through his clumsy act of stripping and then as he pushed Gerard down on the bed and shamelessly rutted against him.

Gerard returned the favor, flipping them over and doing the same against Frank just to keep Frank’s mind from wandering and growing self-conscious again.

Frank knew it was just part of Gerard’s job to get into sex no matter what, and so there was no guarantee that he was actually enjoying what he was doing; that didn’t take away from how amazing Gerard looked above him, though. Gerard was biting his bottom lip, eyes shut and eyebrows furrowed in this blissed out expression. When he looked down at Frank and saw him blatantly staring, he buried his face in Frank’s neck and, panting heavily, whispered, “You gonna fuck me this time?”

Frank groaned, feeling Gerard’s words go straight to his dick, and nodded. He didn’t care how it went, who fucked who, as long as fucking was involved. Frank was just about to coat his fingers with lube and get things going, but Gerard stopped him, pinning his wrists to the bed.

“You like to watch, don’t you?” Gerard asked, recalling the way Frank had been staring at him minutes ago. It was just a small hunch, but he had a strong feeling he wasn’t too far off.

Frank just swallowed and stared up at him, unsure what Gerard was going to do next. Gerard placed two fingers into his own mouth, sucking on them, lathering up with enough spit, while maintaining an unwavering gaze with Frank.

Gerard changed his position so that he was still straddling Frank’s hips, but with his back facing Frank. This gave Frank a perfect view of Gerard reaching behind himself and slipping a finger into his asshole. There was absolutely no resistance – truth was, he didn’t need any prep at all, but seeing the look on Frank’s face while he did it was well worth it. Gerard bit hard on his lip as he added another finger, his other hand clutching tightly to Frank’s thigh. He let out a pleased sigh, moving his fingers around, rolling his hips back.

Frank was panting as though he was the one getting fingered. Gerard was looking over his shoulder, keeping his eyes locked with Frank’s. Frank watched the way Gerard’s face contorted with pleasure and he practically felt it himself.

Gerard had to lift his ass a bit, shifting on his knees, and giving his fingers better leverage to maneuver inside him. He moaned softly, pushing back harder, forcing his digits in deeper. Frank’s eyes were locked on the way Gerard’s pale hips were rocking back, his thigh muscles tensing and untensing with the effort, but then he had his eyes back on Gerard’s face. His bright hair was hanging down, a few strands clinging to the sweat that coated his cheeks. His mouth hung open, lips wet and red and enticing.

Frank reached down to his own dick that was hard against his stomach and only stroked it a couple of times, feeling like he’d come if he went any further. Gerard knew this so he withdrew his fingers from himself and moved things along. He turned around so that he was facing Frank again, and Frank pulled him down immediately for a messy and urgent kiss.

Gerard moved quickly then, getting the condom and lube on Frank, hoisting himself up, and then pressing down. Frank was loud, so much louder than Gerard would have expected because it had been so long since Frank had fucked anyone. Gerard had absolutely no complaints about the jumble of moans and curse words constantly spilling out of Frank every time Gerard so much as shifted over him.

They were going at it for so long, Gerard changing it up every once in a while from using his heels on the bed to move himself up and down, to settling down on his knees to rock and grind over Frank.

“Come here,” Gerard said, his voice sounding completely fucked out. He grabbed clumsily at Frank’s shoulders until Frank was sat up. Gerard brushed the hair out of Frank’s face and then pressed their mouths together, pushing harder into Frank’s lap. Frank had one hand braced behind himself to prop himself up, and the other wrapped around Gerard’s back, blunt nails dragging across his shoulder blades.

“I’m about to—” Frank grunted into the kiss, but Gerard occupied his mouth again before he could finish, riding him with more vigor. Frank felt his orgasm building up in his stomach and then seconds later, it was hitting him. A long, satisfied whine came out of his throat, getting lost in Gerard’s mouth as he came. Gerard continued rocking on top of him, slowing it down so that he could drag it on for Frank, who was shuddering in his arms. Frank pulled out of the kiss, but held his forehead against Gerard’s, gasping for air as the final stages of his climax surged through him.

Just as his orgasm was wearing off, Frank reached between them and took a hold of Gerard’s cock, pumping him as fast as his languid body could go. Gerard leaned back, holding onto Frank’s leg, panting at the ceiling. Frank took in the sight, watching Gerard’s flush body begin to tense up as he came near to finishing. With one more stroke, Frank squeezing slightly, Gerard’s hips bucked in Frank’s lap when he came.  

“Fuck, fuck.” Gerard gulped, his body shaking with the intensity of it. His grip on Frank’s leg tightened, biting into the soft skin.

When Gerard’s body stilled and his breathing began to regulate, Frank pulled him back in and kissed him again. The kiss seemed out of place, just an innocent peck, after the things they had just done.

“That was fucking… exactly what I needed,” Frank said with a sigh, content.

“You finally let go.” Gerard nodded, smiling at him. “I told you it’d be fun.”

Before Frank could figure out what he was supposed to say back, Gerard was bracing himself on Frank’s shoulders while he pulled off of him.

Gerard climbed off of the bed, wiped himself off with tissues, and then threw the box on the bed for Frank. Frank really wanted to just lay down again and not do anything for a few hours; it was so easy to get lost in Gerard and forget that he was just paid to have sex with Frank and go, nothing else. Frank sighed, discarded the used condom, and then cleaned himself.

They didn’t exchange any words until Frank was pulling up at the same spot he’d dropped Gerard off last time, when he noticed the time on his car’s dashboard.

“Fuck,” he said suddenly, looking at Gerard. “I went over the time I paid for.”

Frank hadn’t noticed it, but they were about fifteen minutes overdue the allotted time that he’d paid Gerard for. He didn’t realize that they’d taken so much time that night compared to last time.

“Oh, I hadn’t—”

“Shit, I’m sorry, I could pay you for that,” Frank interrupted Gerard, already doing the math in his head. He didn’t know how much cash he had on him, so he dug into his pocket for his wallet when he felt Gerard’s hand stop him.

Frank was so focused on his actions that he didn't notice Gerard leaning in closer to him, but he did feel Gerard's breath on his ear and looked up. Frank had to hold his breath because the smirk on Gerard's face was remarkably appealing. Then, Gerard winked at him and said, “It's okay, I really didn’t mind.”

It took Frank merely a second to stop calculating how much he owed Gerard and begin calculating when he would be able to afford to come back and get more of him.

**

A month later, Gerard watched Frank’s car drive down the street for the fifth week in a row and he just couldn’t stop thinking about him. Frank wasn’t like any of the johns Gerard had ever dealt with. It wasn’t the fact that he was awkward and nervous that made him different, because Gerard actually saw that a lot; it was that Gerard didn’t have to pretend for any part of the night when he was with Frank. The pleasure was not one-sided and that was simply because Frank wasn’t concerned with only himself like all the other clients. Gerard couldn’t say he had to fake it every single time he was with someone, because there was no denying that he did get pleasure off of it sometimes, but it was not a constant pleasure that lasted from beginning to end. Sometimes, Gerard didn’t even get the chance to orgasm because the john he was with just didn’t care. It didn’t bother Gerard, obviously. This was his job and he knew what went with it, but he still found Frank to be endearing for not being completely selfish. He just wondered if Frank would keep coming back — many of them didn’t — and if Frank would continue to be just as focused on Gerard as he was on himself or if the desire to make Gerard come would fade as he came to realize that he didn’t actually have to do it.

Gerard could see the headlights of another car approaching, so he drove Frank out of his mind, and slowed his walk, cocking his hip to the side with every other step. The car pulled up a few feet ahead of him and Gerard saw the window roll down. There was no room for Frank or any other client in his mind except for the one he was meeting right then and there.

**

Frank literally added Gerard to his monthly budget. He had a strict way of handling his money, dividing each paycheck he got towards a list of various things so that he would know exactly how much money he would have left afterwards. It included his monthly rent, phone bills, electric bills, estimated gas for his car and all the other basic stuff, but he added Gerard to this list after only the third week. According to his calculations, Frank realized he could afford Gerard once a week without struggling too much over his finances.

So Frank went back week after week. It became a way for him to get through the tedious tasks at work by telling himself that he could indulge in amazing sex with Gerard once he was through with everything. Every time Frank pulled up, and since Gerard had already memorized which car was his, Gerard looked smug. Frank didn’t even care because Gerard had every right to be arrogant. He never disappointed, making every night with Frank more pleasurable than the last. The fact that they were both pretty versatile made everything much simpler and it was great that they didn't stick to any roles; sometimes he fucked Frank and sometimes Frank fucked him and they never really argued about it. They just went with the flow of things, not overthinking their actions, and just allowing their bodies’ drives to do all of the decision making.

They had taken to having a few conversations, except they mainly concerned the sex they’d had or the sex they were going to have.

“I was thinking...” Frank said one night as he drove Gerard back, “handcuffs, maybe? Or just some sort of bondage, maybe, I dunno if you’re into—”

“Mm, that sounds interesting.” Gerard nodded, always using that enticing voice with Frank. Frank couldn’t help but think to himself that Gerard didn’t really need to try anymore. Frank was already hooked. “How about you bring what you want next week and we’ll find out who ends up wearing them, yeah?”

And with that, Gerard was out of the car, leaving Frank with a week of wondering and fantasizing about the many possibilities that awaited him.

Frank had been doing a lot of thinking about Gerard. He’d become such a strangely regular and routine part of Frank’s life and yet all he was to Frank was a prostitute and all Frank was to him was just another paying customer. Every week that Frank met with him again, paid him, and then got laid, he grew more curious about who Gerard was outside the job. He had this confidence about him that amused Frank, making him want to have a conversation not regarding sex just so he could get an idea of who the man was outside of his streetwalking career. It had been weeks of nothing but sex, so while buying a cheap pair of handcuffs, Frank simultaneously made a decision to pay for an extra hour the following week so that he could possibly get a chance to talk to Gerard normally.

“An extra hour, hm?” Gerard noted after he’d counted the money Frank handed to him.

“And handcuffs,” Frank said with a nod.

“Well, fuck, tonight’s gonna be good, isn’t it?”

“It always is.” Frank shrugged.

When they got to the motel, it was no surprise that Frank was the one to end up handcuffed to the bed. Gerard stripped him down to nothing in no time, and then teased him, dragging things on without ever getting straight to the point — the point being Frank’s cock. When he finally got around to fucking Frank, neither of them lasted very long, having built up to both their climaxes for most of the night. Frank’s orgasm was the most intense he’d ever experienced, having left everything up to Gerard’s hands since he was incapable of using his own.

“God, that was good.” Frank sighed as Gerard reached out for the handcuffs that were restraining Frank's hands to the headboard. “Like... really fucking good.”

“You wouldn’t hold still,” Gerard noted, finally getting Frank’s wrists free of their bonds. Frank twisted his wrists around while Gerard mouthed at his neck. “But it was pretty fucking hot.”

And then Gerard disconnected from the moment, moving away from Frank, who was still lying in bed with half-lidded eyes. He used to take a long time to come down from his post-orgasm high, but he never got the chance to bask in it with Gerard.

They both cleaned themselves off, and Frank had only gotten in his boxers when he noticed that Gerard was already fully dressed. He quirked his eyebrows up and then, Gerard pointed out, “We didn't even use the extra hour.”

“Oh, I hadn’t noticed,” Frank lied, anticipating how his plan would actually play out.

“I can give you your money back for that hour since we’re already done,” Gerard said, shrugging and slipping his hand into his back pocket.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Frank said quickly. “I mean... you can go, but like, you can keep the money; it’s cool.”

“Are you sure? You don’t have to feel bad, it’s—”

“No, no, it’s whatever,” Frank shrugged. “Just one hour, no big deal. You can, like, do what you want with it, you know?”

Frank hoped that his nervous rambling wasn’t pretty much screaming for Gerard to just hang out with him. Gerard, for the most part, seemed oblivious to Frank’s desperation. He pursed his lips for a moment, seeming to be thinking something over.

“Well,” he said, “we did pay for another hour in here, and they wouldn’t refund it ‘cause they’re assholes, so I guess we could just hang out in here.”

“Yeah, that works, might as well,” Frank said nonchalantly.

“Well, you can go if you want,” Gerard suggested, “but I can just relax in here for a while before I go back to work. Might as well since I got an hour paid for.”

“It’s fine.” Frank shrugged, giddy that things had fallen perfectly into place. “I’m fucking lazy anyway, tonight was intense.”

Gerard slipped off his shoes and settled back onto the bed, his back against the headboard. He took one long, deep breath, his entire body relaxing. He would be rejuvenated for the rest of the night since he was getting an entire hour of paid rest. Frank was sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to contain his smile. He stood up before Gerard could spot it and began putting on the rest of his clothes.

Once Frank was dressed, he settled onto the bed, sitting with his legs crossed. He stared at Gerard, who had his eyes shut and was taking deep breaths. If Gerard fell asleep, Frank’s plan would be scrapped, but he couldn’t complain about getting to just watch Gerard like that. Gerard wasn’t asleep, though, so he caught Frank staring when he opened his eyes. Frank quickly looked away, blushing. Gerard didn’t point it out; he just reached for the TV remote that was on the nightstand and started flipping through the channels. He may or may not have been smiling smugly at the fact that Frank had been checking him out. It was something he was used to that never got old.

“So,” Frank broke the silence while Gerard zoomed through the channels. He hadn’t planned what to say next, so he just fell silent. Gerard stopped on the news channel, the temperatures for the next week displayed at a small section on the bottom of the screen. “The weather’s been nice,” Frank decided to use as a conversation starter. “It’s been nice to have the sun out.”

“Yeah,” Gerard agreed, “and it makes the nights warmer, too.” Frank was about to agree as well when Gerard continued. “It makes it a lot easier to get new clients when it’s warm, ‘cause I can show more skin. I can’t handle the cold, so most of the new guys look for someone else that can handle wearing a tank in this fucking weather.”

“Oh, uh, yeah, right, good point,” Frank sputtered, feeling awkward as Gerard just casually driveled on about his career as a prostitute.

“And, like, I try to make up for it with my best jeans or something,” Gerard went on, waving the remote in his hand as he gestured aimlessly. “I mean I think my ass is better than my arms, honestly, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. Hm, it’s probably ‘cause it’s dark, you know? So maybe they don’t notice.”

“That’s true,” Frank agreed, feeling stupid for trying to have a normal conversation with the hooker he’d been sleeping with. It suddenly seemed idiotic and naive for him to try and make his and Gerard’s nights different than what they had been. He couldn’t even maintain a proper conversation because he’d flail every time Gerard made a blunt statement.

“Fuck, sorry, am I making you feel awkward?” Gerard asked, noticing that Frank wasn’t as keen to talking as he had been just minutes ago. “I think out loud sometimes.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Frank said, turning his body a bit so that he was facing Gerard more. “Well, yeah, I was a little, but it’s cool.”

“Diarrhea of the mouth.” Gerard smiled, pointing at his mouth. “I am the origin of that disease.”

Frank found Gerard’s smile endearing. It wasn’t the usual smirk he always gave Frank, even though Frank enjoyed that, too. This one was sweet, small, and genuine, and most definitely contagious because Frank was smiling right back.

“I’ve showed symptoms sometimes.” Frank laughed lightly, trying to lighten up the atmosphere.

“So how do you deal with the heat with your stuffy suits and shit?” Gerard asked, trying to do the same. “The humidity is fucking killer.”

“I’m in the office pretty much all day,” Frank said, “so the AC is always on, so I don’t feel the heat much.”

“Oh, what’s your job?”

“I’m the office manager at a tax office,” Frank answered, internally fist pumping because they were having some wonderfully normal conversation.

“Oh, that sounds...” Gerard paused, obviously trying to contain the cringe on his face.

“Boring, fucking annoying, and a pain in the ass,” Frank helped him out. Gerard wrinkled his nose and smiled — and Frank thought that was adorable; he never knew someone could be that as well as sexy and scandalous.

“That bad, huh?” Gerard chuckled.

“Horrible,” Frank confirmed. “But, you know, it pays good, so whatever.”

“Oh, yeah, I know how that goes... obviously.” Gerard chuckled. Frank laughed along this time, not feeling too awkward at the vague mention of Gerard’s career. “It’s weird, though, ‘cause no matter what job you end up getting, you’re most likely gonna hate it at some point? Like, it’s never exactly what you expect it to be.”

“Oh man, that’s true,” Frank concurred. “I always thought an office job would be cool ‘cause it’s easy, it pays good, and you’re still free, but I was way fucking off. I don’t have time for shit anymore and it’s a pain in my ass.”

“The pain of adulthood,” Gerard mused.

Frank hummed agreeably and they drifted into a comfortable silence, putting their attention onto the TV that had been forgotten for a few moments. Frank sat back on the bed so that he was more comfortable, and quite possibly to keep himself from staring at Gerard.

They passed the rest of the hour that way, Gerard browsing the channels, the two of them making some offhanded comments about this person’s hair, what terrible acting, or wow, they had no regrets about not having time for TV anymore.

When it was time to go, they left the same way that they always did, silently and casually. “Your ideas are fucking great,” Gerard said, just before getting out of Frank’s car. “So feel free to dish more of them out sometimes.”

Frank had no idea if Gerard meant the handcuffs or relaxing and hanging out for an hour, but he would be telling himself that Gerard meant both and because of that, he would go home with a smile on his face. They hadn’t talked as much as he would have thought, yet he had no complaints. They had been comfortable and conversed as if Gerard hadn’t just fucked Frank because Frank paid for it.

The following week, Frank did the same thing, paying Gerard for extra time. He made it just one extra hour so that it wasn’t glaringly obvious. Gerard didn’t say anything about it. He fucked Frank against the headboard of the bed, pressing Frank’s chest into the metal bars every time he thrust into him. When they finished, Frank took the time to clean the rails of the bed where his cum had landed on it.

“We have fifty minutes,” Gerard pointed out, getting dressed after he’d discarded the condom and gotten clean.

“Let’s hope there’s something good on TV this time,” Frank said simply, going for his own clothes.

“Doubt it.” Gerard laughed. They got into the same positions they had been in the week before, lying next to each other on the bed, still fully dressed, with Gerard holding the remote.

“I don’t miss TV, that’s for sure.” Gerard sighed, having gotten through every single channel already.

“Me either,” Frank agreed. He brushed his fingers through his hair, completing the mess that Gerard had left it in. It was neatly combed when he’d arrived, but he’d sweated out the products that were in it and Gerard had pulled on it enough times that it now hung and pointed in every direction.

“You were still in your work clothes,” Gerard said randomly. “I kinda like when your hair’s all fixed, ‘cause then I get to fuck it up. I mean it’s nice either way, ‘cause there’s so much to grab, but you know, just the concept of getting to, I dunno, fuck up your uniform... I like it.”

Frank breathed out a nervous chuckle. He could never understand how Gerard was able to talk about things like that so casually without flustering in the slightest while Frank was basically flailing at every word he said.

“Oh,” Gerard caught himself again. “Sorry. I still don’t have a filter.”

“I-It’s ok,” Frank said, running his hand through his hair again, but this time out of pure nerves. “I, uh, was stuck at work late, so I came straight from there, that’s why.”

“Oh, ok.” Gerard nodded.

Frank realized that if he continued to be an awkward idiot, he’d kill every conversation they ever came close to starting. Gerard was a straightforward person, so everything he said would be completely candid, and Frank had to get used to that in order to actually talk to him.

“I like it, too,” Frank added, willing himself to just toss aside the jitters and gracefully fall into any sort of discourse. “The concept, I mean. They put me in a uniform or whatever, and I have to act a certain way at work, but after that I can do whatever the fuck I want. And that includes fucking up my hair... or having you fuck up my hair.”

“Is that why you ended up on my street?” Gerard inquired innocently. “Oh, is that too personal?” he backtracked. “Most guys wouldn’t wanna be asked that, I guess, so it’s—“

“I don’t mind,” Frank cut him off, wanting to show Gerard that they could talk comfortably about anything. “I’m not married with ten kids, escaping here when it gets too much or whatever. I was out one night, finally fucking taking a break, and I realized that getting laid is really hard, like, how do you even pick someone up? And I just overheard some guys talking about your street, so I just went for it. It was mostly an impulse, really, but it went well...”

“Huh, so the street has some cred around town.” Gerard nodded. “That’s awesome. We always worry about people not knowing, and if old johns stop we might not get new ones. But word spreads, so that’s good to know.”

Frank kept telling himself that he was simply talking business with Gerard in order to keep himself from shying away from the conversation.

“Are you guys all, like, individuals? I mean, there’s no, uh...” Frank waved his hand around, skirting around the word he was obviously avoiding.

“Pimp,” Gerard said with a laugh. “Nah, I guess you can say we’re freelance. It’s easier that way, safer. You just do what you gotta do and go. You get to know the others sometimes, but you don’t have to if you wanna, like, keep it in the shadows. But me and a few guys have been in it for a while, so we kind of have to think a lot about this shit, about if people will keep coming.”

“Don’t you hear people talking about it when you go out?” Frank asked.

“I don’t go out much,” Gerard said. “Most of my nights are... well, you know, occupied. Maybe if I have a good fucking week, I can take the weekend off, but then I just wanna relax, not go out.”

“Mm, that’s true.” Frank nodded. “It’s like, while you’re working you wanna do stuff, but then when you have a break, you realize you just don't wanna do anything at all.”

“Yeah, totally!” Gerard agreed enthusiastically. “Like, God, I can’t remember the last time I had time to read a fucking comic book. And comics are my fucking life, so what the fuck? I’m pretty ashamed of how behind I am.”

Frank’s head snapped towards Gerard the moment he heard “comic books.” There was no way that someone as self-assured and, to put it frankly, hot as Gerard could actually genuinely be into comic books.

“Did you say comic books?” Frank asked.

“Yeah.” Gerard nodded, turning his head to look at Frank.

“You’re into comic books?” Frank raised his eyebrow.

“Yeah, and very proud of it,” Gerard said, tilting his head up like he was trying to show more of his confidence. “Don’t start spewing all your judgmental shit, I have had enough of that for—”

“No, no, dude, I fucking love comics!” Frank interrupted, grinning stupidly.

“No fucking way,” Gerard gaped. “You?”

“Exactly what I thought when you said it.” Frank laughed.

“Seriously, though?” Gerard beamed. “Comics? Like comics-comics?”

“No, comics as in comedians.” Frank rolled his eyes. “Yes, fucking comics!”

“Holy shit!” Gerard exclaimed, scrambling up to sit properly. He crossed his legs and faced Frank, so Frank scooted himself up against the headboard. “You don’t know how much more awesome I think you are right now.”

“I dunno if I should be insulted.” Frank said with a laugh.

“No, it’s totally a compliment,” Gerard quickly said. “It’s been so fucking long since I talked to someone about comics.”

“Geez, me too.” Frank sighed. “The last person I talked to that liked comics was the guy that got me into them in high school, and I don’t know where the fuck he’s at now.”

“How’d he start you off?” Gerard asked, already recalling the first time he read a comic and how his love for them was instantaneous.

“A Small Killing,” Frank smiled, knowing he had a copy laying around somewhere at home, falling apart due to having been read so many times.

“Dude!” Gerard yelped and Frank jumped a bit. “Alan Moore?? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”

“You’re a fan then?” Frank laughed at the way Gerard’s face was stretched out into an encompassing grin. He would have never guessed that the mysterious and sultry prostitute he’d been with would turn out to be just as much of a dork as he himself was.

“Fuck a fan!” Gerard shook his head, still smiling. “He is my fucking inspiration. Watchmen was the first comic I ever read, and you have no idea... That man fucking changed my world. He made me wanna write comics.”

“So I’m guessing more awesome points for me, then?” Frank boasted, ecstatic to have found something to bond over with Gerard.

“All the points in the world,” Gerard nodded.

They passed the time by discussing some of Alan Moore’s earliest work, and then whining about how they hadn’t read his newest installments and how they had failed him as fans. They had talked for a half hour more than what Frank had paid for and Frank was the first to notice.

“Fuck, sorry,” Frank said, hurrying out of bed so he could take Gerard back. “I’ll pay you for the half hour.”

“It’s cool.” Gerard shrugged it off, following Frank’s lead to get out of the room. “It’s just half an hour.”

“Yeah, but that’s still a pretty good amount of money,” Frank rambled on, his hands already scrambling to search through his pockets. “I don’t wanna waste your time like that. You could’ve been making money.”

“Frank.” Gerard laughed, placing a hand on his arm. “It’s cool, really. It was cool to just sit back and talk comics. I’ll be in a good mood for the rest of my clients and maybe make more.”

“Are you sure?” Frank pressed, feeling guilty still.

“Totally.” Gerard nodded.

Frank then took Gerard back and they talked a bit more about other comics on their way there, Gerard raving about Doom Patrol and berating Frank for being out of the loop since he hadn’t followed it closely. Every time he wanted to make a point, he’d just wave his hands around and say, “It’s Doom Patrol, you have to just... It’s Doom Patrol!”

Frank laughed and promised that he’d make up for all that he had missed so that he was no longer committing a crime against the world of comics. When Gerard got out of his car, there was no sexual smirk, wink, or suggestive words. He just smiled warmly at Frank and said, “See you next week?”

“Yeah, for sure,” Frank answered happily. His plan had succeeded better than he expected. Not only did he get to know Gerard, but Gerard was apparently awesome and held the same love for comics that Frank did. That was the last thing Frank would have ever thought they would talk about, and yet it was the best thing that could have happened.

The following two weeks were absolutely wonderful for Frank, despite his boss putting him in charge of orientation for all the new employees. If there was anything more annoying than the pretentious people he worked with, it was the new employees that kissed their equally pretentious asses. The only reason Frank maintained his happy mood was because of his one night a week with Gerard. Frank didn’t think anything could be better than having sex with Gerard, until he was able to hang out with Gerard after having said sex.

Frank continued to not-so-subtly pay for extra time that he knew they wouldn’t use so that they could hang out afterwards. The conversations never stopped since they’d developed a comfortable bond over their love of all things comics. That wasn’t even all they talked about anymore, which made Frank even happier, but it just served as the starting point to some strange yet comfortable relationship. They would complain about work, Frank having gotten used to Gerard’s random streetwalking-related rants, reminisce on their reckless teenage years, and even introduce each other to new bands they’d recently started listening to.

It happened on the third week, after Frank had just tired himself out riding Gerard, which had become a personal favorite position for both of them. That night, he lay on the bed, panting and looking up at the ceiling, while Gerard got dressed. Frank gave his body a few minutes to cool down and then he got up to get dressed as well. Gerard was still seated on the edge of the bed, staring off at nothing in particular. Frank noticed this while getting dressed because one thing he’d learned over the past few weeks was that Gerard talked a lot, almost always initiating conversation.

Frank finished getting dressed and when he turned to face Gerard, Gerard was looking right at him, a strange expression on his face. He looked perplexed about something, which was another unusual thing to go along with the silence. Gerard almost never looked confused. He was always so sure of everything.

“Uh,” Frank spoke, crossing his arms nervously. “You good? Is something wrong?”

“I dunno if I feel right about doing this,” Gerard answered openly.

Frank’s mouth dropped open the moment he heard those words. Gerard had been in the business of prostitution with absolutely no complaints for a long time, and now that Frank was finally happy and getting a hang of things, Gerard was deciding to back out? Frank could not believe that he was about to guide Gerard out of the life of prostitution. He was getting ready to speak, to say something wise, helpful, and inspirational, when he realized he wasn’t about to help Gerard out of anything at all.

“I mean, you’re obviously paying extra just so we can hang out, right? Or am I assuming too much?” Gerard explained.

And then Frank’s dignity dropped to the floor along with his jaw.

“I, um, well,” Frank stuttered hopelessly.

“Are you?” Gerard asked, looking up at Frank innocently through sweaty strands of red hair.

“Yeah?” Frank said, scratching the back of his head, hoping he wasn’t flushing from embarrassment. “Sorry if that’s not, like, a normal thing to do. We just... well, it was nice talking and all, and I dunno. I enjoyed it, so I wanted to do it again.”

“It’s not normal.” Gerard smiled and Frank had no idea what to make of that smile since he was expecting Gerard to tell him they had to have a strictly fuck-and-go relationship. “But I liked it, too, so that’s why I didn’t say anything. But I don’t feel right having you pay me to hang out, you know?”

“Wait, really?” Frank beamed. “You didn’t mind hanging out?”

“Duh.” Gerard rolled his eyes playfully. “I haven’t had this much fun just talking to someone in forever. I wanna keep hanging out, but basically I’m just saying you don’t have to pay me just to hang out anymore. Getting paid to fuck is part of my job description, but hanging out I can do for free.”

Frank was repeatedly instructing himself not to jump up and down with excitement. “That’s awesome,” he said simply instead. “But, hey, I don’t wanna take up your time just hanging out. You could actually be making a lot of money instead of just sitting here with me. And that wouldn’t be fair either.”

“Fuck, that’s a point.” Gerard sighed, leaning back a bit on the bed, resting on his hands behind him. They both just thought about it for a moment, trying to come up with a solution that worked without either of them having to make any compromises.

After a long moment of silence, Gerard finally said, “Why don’t we just hang out... not at night? Is that something that could happen?”

Frank blinked at Gerard a few times before he burst out laughing. Gerard just pursed his lips, wondering why hanging out during the day was such a farfetched idea that it was that hilarious.

“We are so fucking stupid.” Frank gasped, trying to control his laughter. While Gerard tried to not be insulted by Frank laughing at him, he allowed himself to admit that Frank’s laughter was adorable. It was strangely high pitched and his shoulders shook with it, as well as his eyes disappearing almost completely with the size of his smile.

“Why’s it funny?” Gerard finally asked when Frank’s laugh died down.

“‘Cause I can’t believe we couldn’t come up with that shit.” Frank shook his head, a smile still plastered over his face. “Like, we were talking as if we only existed at night or something. I can’t believe we had to actually think about that.”

“Oh.” Gerard chuckled. “Well you’re dumber since I thought of it first.”

“Whatever, you still had to think about it.” Frank shrugged, grinning wide.

They made plans to meet the following Sunday, since Frank would have that day off from work. Gerard would also be free in the morning, so they agreed to meet for coffee. They exchanged phone numbers just in case there was some sort of change of plans and, after Frank dropped Gerard off and drove home, it hit him that he technically had a date with Gerard, the hooker he’d been sleeping with for over nearly two months. He had no complaints whatsoever.

**

Frank sat at the coffee shop, feigning a nonchalant attitude while he sipped at his coffee and waited for Gerard to arrive. He pretended as though he hadn’t freaked out the night before and lost a huge amount of sleep, that he hadn’t changed his outfit a million times, and that his heart wasn’t nagging at him relentlessly, packing a huge amount of nerves into every beat against his chest.

An unmistakable head of bright red hair made its way into the café and Frank forced his nerves to calm the hell down. Gerard had his back to Frank since he was lined up at the front counter. Frank waited for him to catch his eye since Gerard was obviously craning his neck every once in a while, glancing around the place to find Frank. When he finally looked at just the right angle, Frank quickly put his hand up and caught Gerard’s attention. Gerard smiled and waved, then pointed at the cashier, signaling that he would go over after he finished ordering. Frank ushered him over with one hand and held up the drink he’d bought for Gerard with his own. Gerard grinned, then, and walked towards him.

Frank tried as much as possible not to blatantly check Gerard out while he made his way over to him. Frank could drool over the way Gerard’s hips had a natural swing to them, so used to swaying them for attention when he worked his street. He was donning skinny black jeans as usual, paired with an olive green shirt, and a tattered leather jacket. Half of his red hair was concealed with the black beanie he had over the top of it. Frank had thought he himself looked good after deciding on a dark red and black plaid shirt, but after seeing Gerard, he felt like he had tried too hard and gotten nowhere compared to Gerard’s effortlessly good look.

“You already bought me something?” Gerard asked, taking a seat across from Frank. “How charming.”

Gerard’s ability to make Frank’s face redden at a moment’s notice was obviously not confined to their nighttime exchanges.

“It’s my favorite latte here,” Frank said, distracting himself from lingering on whether Gerard was flirting or if he was just being Gerard. “I dunno if you’ll like it, but—”

“I’m sure you have good taste.” Gerard smirked, holding the cup up to his lips and taking a whiff before he actually tasted it. Frank literally looked down at his own drink just so that he didn’t make eye contact with Gerard as he tasted his drink and smacked his lips afterwards. “Oh, that is good.”

“Glad you like it,” Frank said, clearing his throat. He only lifted his gaze up when he heard Gerard put his drink down, figuring that it would be safe enough to make eye contact. “Were you hungry? Did you want breakfast?”

“Nah, I’m good, thanks.” Gerard shook his head. “I haven’t been out in forever, I swear I almost got lost.”

“You’re a bigger hermit than me,” Frank said with a laugh, his nervousness easing away as he got a bit more comfortable. “I’m not that bad.”

“Oh you have no idea,” Gerard said, slipping out of his leather jacket and setting it next to him. He rolled the long sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows and rested them against the table. “I used to live in my parents’ basement, and not just, like, sleep there. I mean, I forgot how warm the sun felt for a while. I was not a people person.”

“You?” Frank shook his head. “No way.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Gerard smirked, taking a sip of his drink.

“Oh, please.” Frank chuckled. “You know you walk around like you own the place.”

Gerard subdued his laugh so that it just came in the form of a wide grin. “Dunno what you’re talking about,” he added with a shrug.

“Yeah, right.” Frank rolled his eyes playfully.

The conversation flowed seamlessly on after that, Gerard recalling his reclusive days during the time when he was a chubby nerd that hung out alone, with long black hair to hide himself from the world, and nothing but his brother and his doodles to keep him company. Frank couldn’t believe that that was who Gerard used to be. Now, he was entirely different, bright hair making all eyes land on him the moment he entered a room, an attractive personality, and a headfirst approach at interactions with people. He explained that going to art school was what really got him out of his shell. Frank was so curious about why Gerard was working as a prostitute even though he had a degree right out of the School of Visual Arts, but he didn’t want to pry anywhere that he wasn’t welcome.

Gerard then turned the conversation around, asking Frank what kind of person he was when he was younger. Frank embarrassedly admitted that his story was the exact opposite of Gerard’s. He used to be extremely social, talkative even. It wasn’t until he attended college that his energetic demeanor simmered down. He was so weighed down with the stress of all his classes that he lost his time, as well as his ability, to socialize. Because of the competitive nature of his major, which was business, he didn’t find any good friends in school. His lighthearted attitude contrasted heavily with the gruffness of those around him.

“Wow, so even the people you work with are like that?” Gerard pondered. He was leaning forward, his cheek resting on his hand as he listened attentively to Frank.

“Pretty much.” Frank sighed, feeling so at ease when talking to Gerard even though he typically hated talking about himself. “I don’t even get what the hell is up all their asses, I mean, we’re a fucking tax office; it’s not glamorous or whatever.”

“Yeah, it totally doesn’t seem like your place,” Gerard agreed.

They then drifted off into what their dream careers would be if lucky breaks weren’t so hard to come by. Gerard was quick to rant about writing comics and how that had been the goal he had in mind when going to art school. Frank wasn’t as sure what he would do; he thought about it for a while and realized he didn’t actually have an answer. He didn’t know what he would do because he had invested so much of himself into getting a degree in business.

“Think about it,” Gerard said. “I’m sure there’s something, you just haven’t had time for anything, you know? You can let me know next time we see each other.”

And then Frank was beaming because that meant that there would be a next time, either at night like they usually did or during the day; it didn’t matter to Frank which it was.

“I actually gotta get going now,” Gerard said, glancing at the time on his cell phone. “I gotta go to work.”

“Oh, this early?” Frank asked, knowing it was probably only noon by then.

“Not the work you know about.” Gerard laughed, sensing Frank’s confusion. “That’s not till later. I work at a grocery story during the day.”

“Oh, duh, you would have another job, of course,” Frank rambled, waving his hand around in order to keep it from smacking himself on the forehead. “Sorry.”

“It’s no big deal.” Gerard shook his head, smiling. “You didn’t know. We’re just getting to know each other, right?”

“True.”

“Thanks for the latte,” Gerard said, putting his jacket back on. “Next time’s on me.”

“Deal,” Frank agreed, simply eager to acknowledge that they would be meeting up again.

Frank went home after his “date” with Gerard and realized that typically he would have been meeting with Gerard that night as well. He wasn’t sure if there was some sort of etiquette about hanging out with hookers. He still wanted to sleep with Gerard, but obviously their friendship wouldn’t allow for that. Their “business” relationship, the transaction they had for sex, would, though. So Frank decided there was no harm in showing up that night like he always did.

Gerard was a bit surprised when he saw Frank’s car pull up, but definitely not in a bad way. He even found it endearing that Frank would respect him enough not to expect sex when they were casually hanging out; he liked that Frank knew there was a distinction between Gerard on the streets, and Gerard off of them. He would not have had a problem sleeping with Frank, though, which was why he hopped in Frank’s car and greeted him, saying, “You totally could have fucked me earlier today for free.”

Frank choked on a gasp and then started coughing stupidly at Gerard’s always shocking directness.

“I, uh, I didn’t think… well… um.” Frank tried uselessly to form any words after his coughing fit was over, but Gerard spared him.

“I was kidding.” Gerard laughed. “This is still fine.”

“Right, yeah.” Frank nodded, handing Gerard enough money to cover the usual time.

Frank didn’t know if there was something different when he and Gerard had sex that night; he didn’t know if it had gotten more personal, or if that was just what he wanted to see and feel. He still paid Gerard, and yet he felt a far greater amount of intimacy than any other night that they had together. There was just something different about the way Gerard’s hands guided him, pushed him onto his back, held his knees up and out of the way while he fucked him. Frank could have sworn there was something different, more sensual, when each of them came, blunt nails dragging against sweaty skin and bodies shaking and shuddering.

It all felt different until Gerard pulled out and stood up as soon as they were finished, ridding himself of the used condom and getting dressed. Frank was reluctant to admit to himself that he was waiting for something more, maybe a moment between the two of them after they finished; that never happened before, though, so it wouldn’t happen anytime soon, not as long as they were fucking with the premise of money backing it.

Frank followed Gerard’s lead and got dressed after he’d gotten clean. He was feeling a bit down at the realization that he couldn’t really have more with Gerard.

“So did you think about it already?” Gerard asked on their drive back from the motel.

“What?” Frank asked, glancing at him briefly.

“What we talked about today,” Gerard explained. “What your dream job would be if you didn’t have all this shit in the way.”

“Oh, kind of.” Frank shrugged. “I guess I used to really like writing a lot.”

“Really?” Gerard asked, interested. “What kind of stuff would you write?”

“Oh man, everything,” Frank gushed. “Short stories, fucking reviews of CDs I would listen to, as if I’d be writing for a magazine or something.” Frank laughed a little at himself and caught Gerard’s smile when he looked at him, then returned his attention to the road. “And poems, too. I just really loved writing. I can’t believe I actually had to think about it.”

“So, a writer, huh?” Gerard mused. “I could see you doing that. It’s pretty hot, actually.”

“How the hell is that hot?” Frank chuckled, knowing Gerard was simply in his ‘night mode’ and would say anything to sound enticing.

“Well, to me at least,” Gerard replied. “I think writers are hot. Anything artistic is, actually. Like your body, with all the fucking tattoos, that’s really hot.”

“God, you’re such a bastard.” Frank shook his head, his face flushed.

“Hey, you didn’t freak out!” Gerard pointed out, knowing Frank would start flailing and rambling anytime Gerard said something like that.

“I’m getting used to you, I guess.” Frank smiled sheepishly.

Frank’s spirits that had been stupidly down were immediately lifted. He thought he was foolish for wanting more when he was still paying Gerard for sex and asking him to do exactly what prostitutes did. He was happy enough with the way things were. He and Gerard bonded perfectly well together, and he was content enough with that.

They continued meeting each other, both at night and during the day. Their nighttime meetings continued to be once a week, while their daytime meetings increased depending simply on when they both could manage according to their schedules. It was either a talk over coffee, breakfast, or lunch, the conversations always flowing easily between them.

It had been a few smooth weeks for both of them, always eager for when they would see each other again. Frank kept paying Gerard for sex simply because they both felt as though things would get complicated if they started sleeping with each other with no money involved. What would they be considered then? Would they be dating? It sounded too strange to both of them, so they let things sit comfortably where they were.

Frank knew he felt something for Gerard. It wasn’t just because Gerard was one of the rare people he could converse with; he just felt so natural around him. Comics and music were the only places their tastes overlapped heavily, but even when they talked about every other thing in the world, they seemed to click very easily. Frank thought a lot about what he felt and what he was supposed to do about it, but he could never draw any answers. Apart from Gerard and the fake friends he had at work, he only had one other person he actually enjoyed talking to and he went to him for advice, without revealing too much about what was going on.

“Let’s say you’re friends with someone, right?” Frank explained, his words a bit heavy because he had been drinking. He sat in a stool, hunched over his drink, trying to explain things clearly. “And, like, you totally feel something for them, but you wanna move things forward with them.”

“That would be—”

“No, no, wait I’m not done,” Frank interrupted. “You guys have maybe fooled around, but when you fool around, it’s kind of… well… it’s for a certain reason? And when you don’t have that reason there, you’re just friends, but like, you totally enjoy the times you mess around even if it’s for a reason, but like, if you didn’t have that reason, would it still be the same? You know? Like can you guys maybe mess around without the reason and still be cool? You get me?”

“Not really, no.” His friend shook his head, standing across the bar and wiping the surface down with a towel.

“Oh, come on, Leo.” Frank groaned, slamming his forehead down on the bar. “How do you not?”

“You lost me, dude.” Leo shrugged, taking the empty cup away from Frank before he dropped it. “Wanna refill?”

Frank sighed, lifting his head a bit to shake it. “I’m good for tonight, I think.”

Leo held his finger up to Frank and headed across the bar to serve another customer, gave them their drink, and then returned to Frank. He continued wiping the top of the counter just so he looked like he was busy.

“So you’re with a guy,” Leo tried to get up to speed on things.

“Friends with him, yes,” Frank concurred.

“You guys have fucked.”

“Yes.”

“But you’re really good friends,” Leo continued, making Frank nod in response. “And you said something about fucking for reasons?”

Frank hummed. Leo wetted his lips and carried on with his investigation.

“What are the reasons?”

Frank eyed him warily, knowing that he had way too much pride to admit to anyone that he was sleeping with a hooker. He wasn’t ashamed of what he had with Gerard, that much was true; he was ashamed to admit that he was so desperate for sex he had to pay for it.

“Complicated,” Frank answered with a shrug.

“Can’t help you if you’re talking hypotheticals, man,” Leo said. “But all I can say is whatever you wanna do, just go for it.”

“I guess.” Frank sighed, scrubbing at his face. Leo always offered great advice, Frank knew that, and his advice would have actually been helpful and probably more detailed had Frank actually given him details to go off of.

“All I know,” Leo went on, leaving the towel over his shoulder. He ran a hand over his half shaven head, hair growing out in the middle and flopping to the side — it was basically a deflated Mohawk — and Frank smirked to himself at his mental description, but Leo went on, undeterred, “All I know is that your ass hasn’t been here getting drunk for a while, so I’m guessing it’s ‘cause of whoever this guy is. And he probably has to hear about all the douchebags at your work instead of me, and I am a-okay with that.”

“You jealous that I found a new friend?” Frank chuckled, smirking.

“Heartbroken,” Leo stated with feigned sadness, rolling his eyes.

Frank went home that night, thinking over Leo’s words. He knew the answer was to just talk to Gerard, see where things stood with him in regards to Frank, and then go on from there. That was really the only logical way to do things instead of Frank's constant fretting over the status of their relationship. Would Frank actually do it, though? Hell no, he would not. He decided on that right before falling asleep, because Gerard could have rejected him and if Gerard rejected him, Frank wouldn’t have the balls to face him again.

So Frank ignored his desire for more and continued seeing Gerard the way he had been for a couple more weeks, until one night, scheduled for his visit to see the hooker side of Gerard, he didn’t show up. Gerard, to say the least, was worried. He didn’t want to admit why he was worried — hell, he didn’t want to admit that he was worried at all. He pretended not to perk up whenever he saw a black car approaching, only to be let down when he realized it wasn’t Frank’s. He had to shove his wandering thoughts to the back of his mind as he attended to the various johns of the night. The night was coming to an end, Gerard only knowing this when the other streetwalkers of that area went home. He had refused to look at the time on his cell phone because he didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that it was long past the time Frank should have arrived already.

The night ended. Gerard’s shift ended. He had made money and been fucked by quite a number of men, even fucking one of them which was a rare case, and yet none of them were Frank. Frank hadn’t missed a single week, always showing up at around the same time, always eager. Yet about four weeks after they’d begun to hang out casually, he stopped showing up.

Gerard tried not to make any assumptions, but his mind was doing it without his consent. A week ago, Gerard felt that he had advanced things with Frank in a way he had never done with anyone else. They had been going at it like they always did; Gerard was descending Frank’s body in a slow trail of kisses.

When Gerard had reached for the condom, Frank randomly asked, “Have you ever done anything with a client without a condom?”

Gerard was surprised by that question, unsure if Frank was trying to insinuate something.

“Nope,” Gerard answered causally, stroking his hand up and down Frank’s inner thigh. “It’s not easy to stay clean in this job.”

“So you stayed clean?” Frank asked, his head lifted up so he could look down on Gerard. When Gerard nodded, Frank dropped his head back against the pillow. “I’m clean, too.”

Gerard suddenly stopped moving and in his usual blatant nature, asked, “Did you want me to blow you without a condom?”

Frank’s head snapped up and he regarded Gerard with wide eyes. “N-No,” he stuttered, shaking his head. “That’s not what I was going for, I would never ask you to do that, this is part of your job and—”

“It’s alright,” Gerard said, smiling at Frank’s usual freak-out. He continued rubbing at Frank’s thigh. “I trust you. You trust me?”

Frank felt breathless with the weight of what Gerard was saying to him. Frank knew this would change things, even if he continued to pay for sex, it still made everything different.

“I do,” Frank said softly. “But you don’t have to.”

“I don’t mind.” Gerard smiled. It was one of those genuine smiles that Frank had hopelessly fallen for. “Now it’s just if you want it or not. Do you?”

Frank swallowed and nodded, letting his head fall back to the pillow again as Gerard took him into his mouth without a hint of hesitation. Frank moaned and groaned, rambling on about Gerard’s mouth and how much better it felt. Later when they fucked, Gerard used a condom simply because the blowjob had already been a huge step and that was enough for one night.

When the night ended, things felt normal between them, albeit with a silent but deep appreciation for the amount of trust each of them had displayed. Gerard had been happy about that night.

Now, though, with Frank not showing up, his mind was bombarded with negative assumptions about how Frank must have felt after that, and how Frank was possibly too shy to admit that he did not in fact trust Gerard.

There was no way for Gerard to see Frank because they had not planned another day to meet up, so Gerard was left with these pessimistic thoughts to become his truth. The idea that Frank had stopped showing up because he didn’t want to see Gerard anymore held Gerard back from texting him or contacting him in anyway. It was easier to face rejection if it wasn’t so direct.

The week passed, Gerard having to go another week without seeing Frank. That shouldn’t have felt like a long time, but it felt like a lifetime. Gerard didn’t constantly check his phone. He didn’t hover his thumb over Frank’s name on his screen and then shove it in his pocket. He didn’t feel a violent stab to his gut when the week came to an end and Gerard’s shift ended without a visit from Frank. He didn’t feel angry at the fact that Frank would just drop everything they had without an explanation. No, he didn’t do or feel any of that because he shouldn’t have cared.

Frank typically came to Gerard on Sunday nights. Two Sundays had passed without any sign of him, and the Tuesday after the second Sunday, he got a call from Frank. Gerard was going to answer but a car pulled up at the same time. It was one of his regulars, so Gerard had to attend to them instead. The fact that Frank was calling Gerard after disappearing on him left Gerard confused. It was anger, mixed with a slight hint of relief that Frank was still alive, and coated with a lot of curiosity.

For a few hours, Gerard didn’t find the time to get back to Frank, and he sure as hell was not expecting Frank’s car to pull up slowly beside him along the curb he was walking on. He recognized the car immediately, so he stopped walking and got in.

Gerard didn’t say anything to Frank; he simply got settled in his seat and put his hand out for money. In his eyes, they had lost any sort of relationship that they’d established outside of their nighttime interactions.

“Uh…” Frank spoke, his voice a bit raspy. He was already driving off, heading to nowhere in particular. “I didn’t bring money.”

“Then why are you here?” Gerard asked, turning to face Frank. “Did you forget what this street is for?”

“No, I just—”

“On second thought, just pay me back later.” Gerard shrugged, a deep frown on his face. He reached over and shoved his hand between Frank’s thighs, grabbing at his crotch. Frank gasped loudly, hands twitching on the wheel. “I’ll just give you what you need now. You don’t even need to go anywhere. We can do it in the car. It can be a quick fuck and leave, like it should be, right?”

“G-Gerard,” Frank stumbled, finally tearing his hand off of the steering wheel and forcing Gerard’s away from his pants. “I didn’t come to… whoa, wait, what is up with you?”

“You look fine so I don’t need to be worried,” Gerard mumbled under his breath, barely audible.

“Is this about me disappearing for a while?” Frank asked.

“Great job, genius.” Gerard rolled his eyes. “If you’re not here with cash and you don’t wanna fuck, I don’t know why—”

“Wow,” Frank breathed out, parking alongside a curb once they were far enough away from any busy areas. He turned to face Gerard and Gerard got even angrier, but this time at himself, because he couldn’t even tell his mind that Frank didn’t look adorable. His hair was a mess, curling around his face, and brushed back randomly where his fingers had done a horrible job of smoothing it. He had his lips pressed into a thin line and cocked to the side slightly, like a shy smile, and his eyebrows were upturned. “It, uh, bothered you that much?”

“Well, no shit,” Gerard scoffed. “You fucking disappear on me after we hung out and everything we did, and I’m just not gonna notice? And not care?”

“Well, I dunno, I didn’t think…” Frank’s sentence trailed off as he looked down at his lap.

“I blew you without a fucking condom,” Gerard blurted out, sounding hurt. “And then you disappeared. I don’t know what that was supposed to tell me.”

There was a brief moment of silence before Frank looked back up at Gerard. “I got the fucking stomach flu ‘cause, you know, that’s just how awesome my immune system is. It started with a really bad fever and I actually thought you’d fucked me over and given me something, but I didn’t wanna believe that you would do that. I knew you better.”

Gerard was just staring intently at Frank, who did not pause because he would chicken out if he did.

“And I only got like two days off work. I spent one of those days in the emergency room and then I had to be back in the office while I was trying to get over puking my guts out and it was fucking hell. I felt like I was gonna die. And I’ve just been out of it. Every time I’d think to, like, get in touch with you or something, I just felt way too dead to do anything. And a part of me felt guilty for what I had thought you did. And then another part of me freaked out that you never contacted me after we trusted each other like that and…”

“Seriously?” Gerard gaped, feeling immediately guilty at all the fuming thoughts he’d had about Frank.

“Sorry I didn’t keep you updated. I honestly didn’t think you’d care.”

“Of course I fucking care,” Gerard said quickly, rubbing his forehead at how absolutely stupid they both were. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Frank just shrugged to that.

“I was so mad.” Gerard sighed. “Jesus, I thought you fucking bailed on me and didn’t have the balls to tell me.”

“I wouldn’t do that.” Frank shook his head. “I like, you know, whatever it is we have. It’s nice.”

“I do, too,” Gerard said with a smile. “That’s why I was going crazy when I thought you'd ended it. I didn’t even realize how much I cared till I thought about us not hanging out anymore.”

Frank was grinning happily at that. “I thought you didn’t, to be honest, since you didn’t call or anything.”

“I didn’t call or text ‘cause you didn’t.” Gerard shook his head. “God, we’re fucking idiots.”

“I’m sorry for thinking you gave me something,” Frank said, wanting to get all his apologies out of the way. “That’s not you...at all.”

“It’s okay,” Gerard said and he truly meant it. “You said yourself you know I wouldn’t.”

“So…” Frank trailed off, pressing his thumb absentmindedly to his bottom lip, trying to subdue his smile. “You wanna hang out again?”

“Sure.” Gerard nodded, and he made this decision spontaneously, without thinking twice about it. “Why don’t you come over to my house tomorrow?”

“R-Really?” Frank was just as surprised as Gerard. They had kept things at a non-personal distance by only meeting in cafes and restaurants. They were involved, but not too involved. By inviting Frank to his house, Gerard was eliminating any visible boundaries. “I have work during the day, though.”

“Come at night. I’ll take a night off. I can afford it,” Gerard quickly offered.

“Are you sure?” Frank asked.

“Totally positive.” Gerard nodded, not hesitating for a moment. “Just take my ass back now so I can make enough to afford it.”

Frank drove them back to the street he’d taken Gerard from, smiling the entire time, not bothering to hide it anymore. Things were advancing with Gerard, going somewhere, and Frank had only made a slight fool of himself to make it happen.

“I’ll text you the address,” Gerard said when Frank’s car came to a stop. He opened the door and just before he got out, he leaned towards Frank and planted a fleeting kiss onto his lips. Frank didn’t have time to react. He only got a short glimpse of Gerard’s smile before he was out of his car and strutting down the sidewalk.

Frank was buzzing with excitement. He hadn’t expected things to go that way at all. In going to see Gerard, he’d been overcome with nerves because Gerard hadn’t contacted him while he was gone, and he hadn’t answered when Frank called him. He thought Gerard would just be extremely uncaring about Frank’s absence and that he’d have barely noticed it. There was not any inkling in his mind that indicated that things would end up taking the exact opposite route.

The next day at work, nothing could damper his mood. He took every employee’s complaints, the pointless small talk in the break room, and even his boss’s sour attitude, all with a smile on his face. Once his shift was finally over, Frank let Gerard know that he was on his way.

Outside of Gerard’s apartment, Frank checked his reflection in the rearview mirror a million times, trying to make his expression look as neutral as possible. Frank knocked on Gerard’s door and kept his hands shoved in his pockets, ridding them of their nervous sweat. They weren’t left there very long, because the moment Gerard opened his door, he grabbed Frank by the arm, pulled him into the house, and pushed him against the closed front door. Frank didn’t have time to protest — not that he would have — with Gerard’s mouth covering his right away. It had been much too long. Frank’s skin was prickling with desire.

His hands sought for Gerard’s skin, only finding his arms to be bare, so they lowered to Gerard’s hips, slipping past his shirt and digging into the soft flesh. Frank tugged Gerard closer, pressing their bodies together.  He wanted Gerard to surround him. He wanted to feel nothing but Gerard pressed up against him. He hoped to make his desire clear by wrapping a leg around Gerard, giving him nowhere to go but up against Frank.

Gerard could feel Frank’s yearning in his frantic breaths that made themselves heard whenever their mouths separated for a moment, and most importantly, Frank’s hardening crotch that was pressed up against Gerard’s hip. Gerard dragged a hand slowly up Frank’s thigh that was tensely wrapped around him, hot over the fabric of Frank’s pants. Frank wanted to feel that warmth on his own skin. He wanted to hurry and get out of his clothes, but he couldn’t get himself to move away from Gerard.

Gerard’s hand found its way to Frank’s ass, squeezing it slightly, and pushing it, causing Frank’s crotch to grind against Gerard. Frank pulled his head back and slammed it against the door, groaning loudly into the air as Gerard’s head dipped down to his neck. Frank continued rolling his hips forward, the still constricted friction driving him insane.

“Come on,” Frank whined, finding it in himself to start tugging at Gerard’s shirt. Gerard simply moaned into his neck and took Frank’s hands, pinning them back and away from both their bodies. “Oh, fuck, come on Ger-Gerard.”

Gerard simply smirked against Frank’s skin, keeping Frank from actually progressing forward. As usual, he was controlling and a complete tease. Frank didn’t have patience for that that night, though. Not when it had been weeks since he felt the sensations of touching Gerard, and not when they would finally fuck as people and not as a prostitute and his client.

Frank knew Gerard wouldn’t be releasing him anytime soon, so he decided to move things forward some other way. He slipped his wrists out of Gerard’s grip, and then dropped down to his knees, his back sliding down against the door behind him. Gerard looked down at Frank, who quickly grabbed hold of one of Gerard’s belt loops.

“Don’t you dare fucking move,” Frank said, looking up at Gerard with an intent and fiery want in his eyes. “It’s been too fucking long for all this…” Frank paused and undid Gerard’s pants, pulling at them roughly. “…This teasing bullshit.”

Frank got Gerard’s pants and underwear down to his thighs and didn’t bother going any further. He had full access to Gerard’s cock and that was all he needed at the moment. Gerard gave in, leaning forward to rest his forearms against the door, his red hair creating a veil around his face as he gazed down at Frank, mouth slightly open, anticipating.

Frank dragged his tongue slowly from the base of Gerard’s dick, up to the tip, where he stopped to lap up what Gerard had leaked, before sucking in Gerard’s cock as far as he could go. He got straight into a rhythm of bobbing his head back and forth, going just a bit further each time.

Gerard was panting above him, entranced by the redness of Frank’s lips as they dragged against his cock, looking fuller when he would pull his head up to the tip. Frank’s eyes were shut, but when he looked up at Gerard, he also put a hand on Gerard’s ass, urging him to push into it. He looked like he was telling Gerard he could take it, so Gerard gave it to him. He allowed his instinct to take over, thrusting into the warmth of Frank’s mouth. He felt Frank stutter slightly, making a faint gagging sound and Gerard stopped his movements. Frank gave his ass a squeeze, though, urging him to keep going, so he did.

“Holy shit, Frank.” Gerard gasped, shuffling slightly on his feet when Frank brought a hand up to his balls, fingertips lightly caressing them. It was such a strong contrast to the way his mouth was being fucked roughly by Gerard. Frank moaned around him in response, eyes shutting.

Frank could have continued that way forever, his hand on Gerard’s ass, feeling the way his muscles strained with every forward thrust, hearing the constant moans and breathy utterings of his name falling out of Gerard’s mouth above him. Gerard didn’t let forever happen, though, because suddenly he was pulling out of Frank’s mouth and hauling him up off the floor.

“Jesus,” Gerard breathed, sighing at Frank’s reddened and moistened mouth. “I think I really need to fuck you now.”

“Please,” Frank panted out, pressing his lips to Gerard’s again.

This time, Gerard was actually the one to get things going, walking them clumsily to his bedroom, which was directly across from his apartment’s entrance. Once they were in there, clothes were being shed, unaware of whom took what off, just aware that they needed to get naked as quickly as possible.

Frank was laid down on the bed, Gerard kissing his way up his body, dragging his lips over his legs.

“I never noticed your tattoos here,” Gerard said, pausing to trace his hand over the large Misfits tattoo Frank had on his shin.

“Is this really the time?” Frank grunted, writhing beneath Gerard’s touch because it was not where he wanted it to be.

Gerard wanted to stop and appreciate them, because they seemed quite colorful compared to those on his upper body. Frank was too impatient, though, so with a smirk, Gerard moved up higher, pausing when he noticed words tattooed on his thigh.

“Live each day as if it were your last,” Gerard read out loud. He breathed over it for a second before placing a kiss there. Frank shivered because it was so, so close. “I like that.”

“Seriously not the time to get deep,” Frank complained.

“Deep, huh?” Gerard chuckled and then finally — fucking finally — he scooted up and took Frank’s dick into his mouth. He took him in deep, just like he said, having absolutely no issues with taking him into his throat, swallowing around him without so much as a stutter.

As if it couldn’t get any better, Frank felt Gerard’s finger press against his asshole, slick already, easily slipping in. Frank had no idea when Gerard even got the lube, but he couldn’t get himself to care either.

“Shit.” Frank gasped, hips bucking instinctively. Gerard didn’t even flinch, twisting and wagging his finger inside Frank. He grabbed at Gerard’s hair, keeping his head still. It was too much at once, way too much. Gerard obeyed Frank’s hand and held his head there, Frank’s cock halfway into his mouth. He stuck another finger in, and this time Frank was pulling on his hair, forcing him off. “Just fuck me already.”

Gerard looked up at Frank who had finally turned his gaze onto Gerard. He was still rolling his hips back onto Gerard’s fingers.

“You’re enjoying this,” Gerard teased, voice shot. “You sure?” He ducked his head down and dragged his tongue over Frank’s balls. Frank’s entire body seized up before shuddering into limpness.

“Gerard,” Frank whined, and Gerard couldn’t deny him anything when Frank said his name that way, so he drew his fingers out and sat up on his knees, getting the condom on and lathering himself up with lube. Frank watched him through heavy lidded eyes the entire time.

Plenty of times, while fucking in a dirty motel room, Frank had told himself that what he and Gerard were doing was something more, that it wasn’t just sex and money coming together. He was never actually able to convince himself. That night, though, as Gerard eased into him, their eyes locked, bodies tense on Gerard’s bed, in Gerard’s room, in Gerard’s house, no money paid by Frank… he saw things from a different perspective.

Technically speaking, everything felt the same. There was that stinging sensation of pleasure shooting through Frank’s spine, that warmth stirring at the pit of Gerard’s stomach, the sound of their skin sliding and smacking together, moans and curse words filling the air, mouths tasting and then panting and then tasting again. They were all the same experiences and yet they were coated with a sense of closeness. It wasn't only because Frank had his arms tight around Gerard's neck, hands gripping hungrily on his fleshy shoulders; there was a deeper sense that this was something more, that it mattered, that it would happen again because they both wanted it, not because Frank did and Gerard was paid to.  

It was that precise reason that when Frank came, it was the most all-encompassing climax he’d ever had. Gerard’s hand was expertly stroking him through it, his hard dick still slowly pushing into Frank, but all Frank could feel was Gerard’s chest pressed against his, the two of them heaving together with sweat binding them, as his body trembled with the intensity of his orgasm.

“Jesus,” Frank panted, going limp immediately once his climax died down.

Frank whined and shuffled uncomfortably then, his body too sensitive after coming to handle still being penetrated, so Gerard pulled out. Frank kept his thighs around Gerard, though, struggling to hold them in place since they were covered in so much sweat.

“Come on,” Frank moaned lazily, reaching down to stroke Gerard’s hard cock that now lay against his own nearly limp one. Frank’s hand came in contact with the condom so he rolled it right off, unaware where he discarded it to, and then went on to bring Gerard to his own finish.

Frank knew when Gerard was about to come, because he always had to grip onto something, as if he was bracing himself. This time it was Frank’s hair, fingers tangled into the side of Frank’s head, and his face buried in Frank’s neck, mouth open as though he was ready to bite. He didn’t, though. His teeth just barely touched the sensitive curve of Frank’s neck as he groaned loudly, voice vibrating against Frank’s skin when he came.

Once Gerard’s body stopped shaking and the gasps and pants of air stopped shooting in and out of his mouth, Frank allowed his legs to unwind from around him. They fell against the bed, the joints of his thighs feeling sore from the position they’d maintained for so long.

Gerard still had his mouth over Frank’s neck, not gripping; it was just resting there. Gerard felt around the bed until he found the used condom and heaved himself up off of Frank. Frank actually expected Gerard to discard the condom, get dressed, and tell Frank that he’d have to do the same. Gerard only did one of those things. He returned from the bathroom, which was connected to his room, and settled onto the bed beside Frank. From the first time Frank had sex with Gerard, he wanted desperately to cuddle afterwards. Finally, he got to do exactly that.

“God, I’ve wanted to do this for so fucking long,” Frank sighed out, as they settled underneath the covers. He tucked himself snuggly into Gerard's still sweaty side, entranced by the contrast between the dark tattoos on his arm and the brightly pale skin of Gerard’s stomach.

“We’ve fucked before,” Gerard said with a chuckle. They both sounded so fucked out; it was amazing.

“Not that, idiot!” Frank laughed, nuzzling his face against Gerard’s chest. His heart was still beating pretty fast and that made Frank smile. “This.”

“I always knew you were a cuddler,” Gerard replied, smiling back at Frank. “You always looked like you were ready to fall asleep every time we fucked.”

“I would have if you let me,” Frank affirmed.

So Gerard let him. They lay there, bodies together and legs entangled, in silence for a long while. They didn’t actually fall asleep, though, too strung up on the events that had taken place and what they meant.

“You know this means you don’t have to come pay me if you wanna fuck, right?” Gerard broke the silence after a while.

Frank ran his hand over his face and groaned. Gerard really knew how to ruin the moment with the rawness of his words.

“Yes.” Frank laughed, tilting his head up on Gerard’s chest so he could look at him. “I think I got that.”

“Does this make us a couple or something?” Gerard asked.

“Do you wanna be?” Frank asked right back.

“Well, we pretty much are.” Gerard shrugged. “We go on dates, and yeah I totally call them dates, and now this,  so… I guess so. Do you?”

“So much.” Frank smiled, peppering Gerard’s chest with small kisses. Gerard sighed, running his fingers through Frank’s hair. Frank settled his head back down. “So, as a couple, can I ask you personal stuff or is there a line?”

“I think shit needs to be personal if we’re a couple,” Gerard answered, somewhat aware of the questions Frank probably had for him.

Frank hummed and they were both silent for a short moment, before he finally asked, “So how’d you get into it?”

“Being a prostitute,” Gerard clarified, his voice still growing low with every syllable. The fact that he was expecting it didn’t make it any less of an uncomfortable intrusion.

Frank nodded. “Sorry if it’s too personal,” he mumbled.

“It’s not a tragic story or anything, it's okay,” Gerard reassured him. “I started right after I got out of SVA, like maybe months after I graduated.”

Frank lifted his head up so that he could look at Gerard while he spoke. “I was trying to get a job and failing, and my school loans were fucking stacking up, and I was just having a nervous breakdown about what I was supposed to do. I just kind of gave up, ‘cause, like, they never teach you in college that you’re gonna have to fail for a long time before things work out, you know? And I was talking to a friend about it, his name’s Cam, and I mean this guy has been my best friend since I started SVA. He was a year ahead of me, but he always had his shit together, like he didn’t have a problem with his loans, and it wasn’t ‘cause his parents were giving him money, but I just never asked how he did it.

“He finally told me when I broke down to him about not being able to handle shit. He told me that he’d gotten into prostitution in his junior year and that it was a sure way to get money. He didn’t want me to get into it, ‘cause, well, it’s fucking prostitution, but he saw how desperate I was and gave me that as an option. And I took it. I’m still paying off my loans, ‘cause there’s a shit ton, but I’m getting there.”

“It takes a lot out of you, doesn’t it?” Frank asked, sad eyes looking into Gerard’s. “I mean, you never got to try more with your art ‘cause it takes up all your time.”

Gerard nodded, a slight frown on his face. “Yeah but, I mean, that’s just a compromise I gotta make for choosing to go to that fucking school. I don’t regret it, to be honest. I learned a lot in SVA and I’m learning a lot doing this, so someday I’ll finally be able to try something different.”

Frank hummed, understanding.

“And I met you ‘cause of it, too,” Gerard added. “So that’s a big plus.”

Frank hid his smile against Gerard’s chest, even though Gerard could feel it on his skin. He pretended not to notice, though, just to please Frank.

“So would it be forward if I stayed the night?” Frank asked, his voice muffled slightly. “I mean I’m off of work tomorrow, so…”

“Me, too.” Gerard nodded. “Well, daytime work. You can definitely stay the night.”

“Good, ‘cause I wasn’t planning to fucking move even if you said no.” Frank laughed, tightening his grip around Gerard.

“Leech,” Gerard teased, squeezing Frank’s arm.

“You’re a willing victim.” Frank shrugged, nuzzling his face into Gerard’s neck.

“Mm, that is true.”

They were both growing lazier and lazier, energy running much too low to continue conversing, so they fell silent. It wasn’t long until they drifted off to sleep, bodies still pressed together. When they woke up the next morning, everything felt so natural, like they’d been living together forever. Gerard was up first; he got up, got dressed and left the room to get breakfast. Frank was up not long after and he did the same, just putting on his pants, and remaining shirtless. He joined Gerard and they had cereal, watching TV together.

Frank felt so at home. He had been nervous upon first waking up, but the moment he stepped out and was met with Gerard’s smiling face he felt at ease. Gerard simply pointed to the kitchen’s entrance and told Frank to help himself to whatever he wanted.

They spent the entire day in the same relaxed mood, falling so naturally into each other’s day. Gerard brought out a box of comics, raving over his and Frank’s shared favorites and then making a stack on the floor of his bedroom for the ones Frank had to take home because he apparently needed to read them to be able to call himself a comic nerd. Frank would just smile at the way Gerard’s eyes would widen if Frank said he hadn’t read a certain comic and, at one point, he was tempted to lie just because he wanted to see Gerard make that face again.

For an even larger part of the day, they sat together on the bed, Frank in front of Gerard, in between his legs, reading Doom Patrol, while Gerard read over his shoulder. They would get distracted occasionally when Gerard couldn’t help but place a kiss over Frank’s tempting neck and then it would turn into a short make out session, or if Frank flipped the page too soon and Gerard had to fight with him to turn it back and that would turn into a mini scuffle on the bed that resulted in them kissing and rubbing against each other like idiots. But for the most part, they read Doom Patrol like the complete dorks that they were.

“I need to shower before I head out,” Gerard pointed out, yawning. They were in bed at the time, having just finished their dinner of pizza and beer.

Gerard got up to go to the bathroom and Frank followed without an invitation. Gerard had no complaints. They showered together, actually helping each other get clean at first, until it turned into a touching session, wet hands wandering over soapy bodies, sighs and moans lost beneath the sound of the streaming shower. After they actually finished, Frank got dressed in the room, while Gerard looked through his closet for clothes.

Frank then went into the bathroom to finish drying his hair. He sat on the closed toilet seat, massaging the towel over his head, when Gerard walked in. He was wearing unbelievably tight skinny jeans, boots, and a black tank top, similar to the one Frank had seen him in the first night. The black ensemble made his pale skin and fiery hair pop. He stood in front of the mirror, adjusting his hair by carding his fingers through it until he was satisfied.

Frank just watched, amused, as Gerard then leaned forward against the counter, pushing himself closer to the mirror so that he could apply some eyeliner. He looked focused, mouth slightly open, one hand holding his bottom eyelid down and the other applying the makeup. After he was finished with both eyes, he scrubbed at them with his index fingers, smudging the black he’d just applied so it just created a dark shadow around his eyes, making his hazel orbs stand out even more than they had been. Gerard had to, of course, check himself out in the mirror for a bit before he decided he was satisfied.

“Done, princess?” Frank asked, having resorted to leaning his head against the counter, his long hair falling in curls over the surface.

“Fuck you,” Gerard scoffed. He stepped back from the counter and held his arms out. “How do I look?”

“Do you really need my opinion?” Frank laughed, sitting up straight. “You look amazing, as always.”

“Well,” Gerard smirked, “look who’s embarrassing me for once.”

Frank rolled his eyes and got up, pulling Gerard into a kiss. He felt this strange sense of possession overcome him, placing firm hands over Gerard’s hips, keeping him close. It felt strange to be kissing Gerard, in Gerard’s home, just before he would go off to fuck others for money. Frank had been one of those at one point, he knew that, but while kissing Gerard, and having Gerard’s hands placed softly over his face, he wished he could have been the last of those others.

He didn’t voice any of those thoughts, though, because who was he to be getting jealous? He had no right to be in that position, yet. So he even went as far as driving Gerard to his street, even with that uneasiness settled in his stomach the entire time.

That same uneasiness would continuously return, but only at night, when Frank knew where Gerard was and what he was doing. It had been weeks, almost a month, since they’d established that they had an actual relationship. Their bond had only grown stronger, fighting against the many obstacles that got in the way of them actually spending time together. It wasn’t as easy as the first day they’d spent together, coinciding days off of work becoming harder to come by, and each of them just being exhausted by the stress of their jobs. They managed, though, whether it was by phone calls and text messages, or brief coffee sessions in the morning. It always seemed to work out; it never stopped feeling natural.

Frank had even gotten to meet Cam in that time span. Gerard introduced the two of them when Frank dropped him off one night. He had unnaturally blond hair with random strands of color throughout it. He was excited to meet Frank, telling him that he was glad Frank had given Gerard a reason to stop bitching about everything. Frank liked him. He liked him because he seemed nice, and more than that, he liked the fact that Cam hadn’t left the prostitution business — even though he could — because he wanted to continue looking out for Gerard.

That was why Frank was driving over to that street one night, mind set on going to see Cam and not Gerard for once. That restlessness he felt every time Gerard had to work was beginning to drive Frank insane. For the past week it had driven him mad enough to actually talk to Gerard less; he just couldn’t think straight enough to form proper thoughts, much less to maintain conversations. Frank wasn’t sure if Gerard had noticed this distance or not — Frank hoped he hadn’t — but he knew that he had to talk to Cam before he even spoke a single word about it to Gerard.

Frank was relieved to find Cam walking down the street, slowly sliding a hand through his hair, cocking his hips out with a purpose, and Gerard nowhere in sight. When Frank pulled up next to him, Cam slowly bent down to look through the open window. The seductive look he had on his face turned into an innocent friendly one in an alarmingly smooth transition.

“Oh, hey, Frank!” Cam smiled. “Gerard just got picked up like half an hour ago.”

“I’m, uh, here to see you actually,” Frank said. Cam looked taken aback, his eyes widening in shock, and Frank realized it sounded as though he was trying to buy Cam. “No, no! Not like that, Jesus. I just needed to talk to you about stuff… advice about Gerard.”

“Scared me there for a minute.” Cam laughed. He opened the door and got settled into Frank’s car. “I would’ve probably agreed and then maybe chopped your dick off halfway through.”

“Oh, man, no worries I’d never do that.” Frank chuckled nervously, driving away from the street and parking alongside a random curb.

“So, what’s up?” Cam asked once they were stopped.

“Ah, man.” Frank sighed, running a hand distractedly over the steering wheel. “I dunno how to say this, but… well… I’ve been having this problem, with Gerard. We’ve been, like, officially together for almost a month now and shit is getting serious, you know?” Cam was nodding as Frank spoke, listening closely. “And, to be totally honest, it’s actually been like this since the first night we decided to actually be in a relationship. I just… I get really fucking jealous.”

Frank paused for a moment, trying to piece the words together in his mind. “I hate thinking about Gerard, you know, working and being with other guys. It fucking bothers me so much, you have no idea. Every time we do anything, I think about the shit he does with other guys and it drives me crazy. There’s nothing I can do about it, I know that, but I can’t get rid of that feeling.”

Once Frank had started, the way he felt seemed to just spill forth out of his mouth without his control.

“I’m pretty sure Gerard’s told you the reason he’s doing it, right?” was the first thing Cam said.

“Yeah, his loans.” Frank shrugged.

“Yeah, so where else is he gonna get money to pay it off?” Cam said logically. Frank knew and understood why Gerard had to do it and yet no matter how many times he repeated it to himself, it still didn’t make a difference.

“I know,” Frank groaned, scrubbing a hand over his face. “See, I wouldn’t ask him to quit. I mean, of course I want him to, but I wouldn’t tell him to. That isn’t fair, but I can’t stop feeling jealous. It just really fucking gets to me. I hate it so much, knowing he’s sleeping with so many guys other than just me.”

“Frank,” Cam started, speaking softly and calmingly; he felt bad seeing how worked up Frank was over this. It was pretty obvious that Frank really cared for Gerard a lot and that was exactly why this was eating up at him so much. “Look, I can give you my opinion on this whole thing, but it doesn’t really matter, ‘cause this is supposed to be between you and him. My opinion doesn’t matter here.”

“What do I do?” Frank asked, looking absolutely hopeless.

“Talk to him,” Cam said. “You guys will probably argue and all, but you need to just get it out there. Leaving this shit in your head, and letting it build up, isn’t gonna help you guys out.”

“I don’t want him to think I’m an asshole,” Frank whined childishly.

“You’re not.” Cam smiled, placing his hand over Frank’s shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze. “You care about him, obviously, and about your guys’ relationship. I mean, you both had to know this shit wouldn’t be easy, right?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Frank looked down at his lap.

“It’s been getting to you a lot, hasn’t it?” Cam asked. “Like… enough to maybe make shit weird between you guys?”

“Y-Yeah,” Frank answered, looking up at Cam. “How’d you know?”

“Gerard’s back to bitching again.” Cam chuckled. “He keeps saying he’s been feeling like you’re kind of getting distant, but he didn’t wanna say anything ‘cause maybe he was overthinking it.”

“Fuck, he did notice,” Frank groaned. “I’m such an idiot.”

“You both are.” Cam laughed. “Honestly, you dumb asses are meant for each other.”

Frank smiled at that. If there was anything that could comfort him, it was Gerard’s best friend telling him that they worked perfectly together.

“So, you gonna be honest with him about it?” Cam asked after giving Frank some time to silently think things over.

“Yeah, I mean it’s better than having shit be weird with us.”

“Exactly,” Cam agreed with a nod.

“Thanks, you know, for coming and talking me through it,” Frank said shyly.

“No worries, man. Gerard’s happy with you, so I’m glad to help.”

When Frank’s car pulled up near the area that he used to pick Gerard up from, Gerard was surprised to say the least. He’d just gotten dropped off a minute ago, and still had a couple more hours to go. Admittedly, though, he was happy to see Frank, so he hurried over to the car. He was more than surprised when the passenger door opened and Cam walked out.

“W-What the fuck?”

“Oh, hey, Gerard, you’re back already,” Cam greeted innocently.

“What the hell…” Gerard paused to actually look in the car and make sure it was definitely Frank, and it was, without a doubt, a sheepish looking Frank smiling at him from the driver’s seat, with a dubious look upon his eyes. “What the fuck are you two doing? Are you kidding me? Frank— I— seriously??”

“Whoa, whoa, wait, Gerard, that is not what just happened right now,” Cam quickly intervened. “Frank just needed to talk to me about something.”

“Really?” Gerard scoffed. “He had to do that here, now, on this street?”

“I don’t really have any other way of contacting him,” Frank’s small voice added from inside the car.

“Uh, maybe through me?” Gerard asked. “That sounds perfectly—”

“Just get in the car with Frank,” Cam said, much too used to Gerard’s often overdramatic assumptions. “There are johns coming.”

“I don’t wanna fucking get in—”

“Gerard,” Cam spoke in that calming way of his, placing both hands on Gerard’s shoulders. “You fucking know me and you know Frank. That is all I have to say. And if you seriously believe he just paid to fuck me, you can fuck off, ya asshole.”

Gerard visibly relaxed beneath Cam’s grip, because okay, he was willing to admit that Frank and his best friend fucking was an extremely unfair thought to even have about the two.

“Now get your ass off the street before you make us lose business.” Cam gave him a smile. “Frank needs to talk to you.”

Gerard smiled back, hoping his apology was clear to Cam, and then he got in the car with Frank.

“You seriously thought I fucked your best friend?” was the first thing Frank had to say as he drove off.

“Okay, so it was a little farfetched.” Gerard shrugged. "But, I mean, I dunno.”

“You’re an idiot.” Frank shook his head, laughing.

“You’re a bigger idiot ‘cause you could have just told me to give you his number or something,” Gerard defended, smacking Frank’s shoulder.

“You would have asked why and then I would have had to tell you and it would have kind of defeated the purpose of me actually talking to him in the first place.”

“Okay?” Gerard cocked his head a bit. “So what was the reason?”

Frank pulled up to the same exact spot he had stopped at earlier with Cam, and just sat back in the seat, unsure of how he was supposed to go about this without offending Gerard in any way.

“I dunno how to say this,” Frank sighed, staring down at his hands. That was never a good start to any conversation, so Gerard was already having negative thoughts about where things were headed. “I don’t want you to get mad, okay? And I don’t want you to feel like you need to do anything, or whatever, ‘cause this is all me. It’s all on me, honestly, and not you.”

“Okay, uh, if you’re seriously gonna break up with me now, make it quick and painless,” Gerard said, voicing his thoughts.

Frank looked up, expecting to see a humorous expression on Gerard’s face, and was left gaping at Gerard who was being completely serious.

“Oh my God, you make the stupidest assumptions!” Frank exclaimed. “I’m not breaking up with you!”

Gerard raised his eyebrow. “‘I dunno how to say this, and don’t get mad, but it’s not you it’s me.’ Tell me that doesn’t sound like a break up.”

Frank opened his mouth to argue, but he realized it did sort of sound that way. “Okay, sorry, but that’s not it, I swear.”

“I honestly wouldn’t have been surprised,” Gerard shrugged, turning his face to look out the window instead of at Frank. “I mean, you’ve been off lately anyways.”

“I know,” Frank sighed, “and I’m an idiot for that, but I’m not breaking up with you. I’d be a bigger idiot to do that.”

A small smile forced its way onto Gerard’s mouth that had been slightly grimacing. He kept his gaze away from Frank, though, eyes on the dark outline of the sidewalk outside.

“Okay,” Frank said, bracing himself to just be raw and honest. “I talked to Cam because… because I’ve been a jealous idiot.” This caught Gerard’s attention, so he turned to look at Frank, who already had his eyes on Gerard.

“I just… I’ve been getting really bothered lately ‘cause I think, you know, about what you have to do… with other guys. It really gets to me. Like, I know you do it for a good reason and all, but it’s still sex, you know? And, God, I just get so irritated by it whenever I think about it, and at first it was just whatever, I shrugged it off. But lately, it’s been bothering me so much and that’s why I’ve been acting weird ‘cause I just couldn’t get myself to hide it and I didn’t wanna actually tell you about it. But, yeah, I talked to Cam and he told me I should just be honest with you about it… and now I am.”

“So you’ve been all distant and stuff on purpose?” Gerard asked. He had an extremely neutral expression on his face and it was making Frank more anxious than he already was because he needed to know how his confession was making Gerard feel.

“Yeah, I’m sorry.” Frank shrugged, looking down since Gerard’s face wasn’t giving anything away. “I didn’t want to, I just… didn’t know how to go about things anymore.”

“You could have just talked to me,” Gerard said. He sounded angry; Frank could only gather that much.

“I know,” he said, defeated.

“I don’t know why it bothers you,” Gerard went on. “I mean, I know why, but I just really don’t think it should. You know the sex I have is just part of the job.”

“Yeah, I know that, but—”

“Then what’s the problem?” Gerard pressed. “Why can’t you just leave what I do in my job separated from our relationship?”

“I do, shit, I try,” Frank tried to defend, feeling smaller and smaller the more defensive Gerard’s tone got. “It’s just hard. I just fucking hate thinking about them touching you like I do, and—”

“You shouldn’t even let yourself think about it,” Gerard shot back.

“I try, but—”

“And it’s for money, Frank,” Gerard interrupted him again.

“I know, I fucking know, Gerard!” Frank exclaimed. He was getting very frustrated over this. Gerard wasn’t even hearing him out; he was being so defensive that he didn’t even bother trying to understand. “Don’t you think I tell myself that all the time already?? I just can’t help it, alright? I can’t just shut off that part of my thoughts; it’s just there. I really, really don’t wanna think about it, trust me. So if I could turn it off, I would.”

“Then what do you want me to do about it?” Gerard asked; he didn’t actually look like he cared to do anything and that angered Frank even more. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Nothing, Gerard,” Frank sighed, feeling defeated. “Fucking nothing. Just forget it.”

“Ok, now why are you saying that? You obviously had a goal in mind, so what do you want us to do?”

“I don’t know,” Frank said. “I just wanted to be honest with you, but I really don’t know where this was supposed to go, so just drop it, I guess.”

“Oh, come on,” Gerard groaned. “Now you’re just gonna say that and guilt me?”

“Jesus, Gerard, I’m not trying to fucking guilt you!” Frank snapped again. “Stop trying to play the victim! You don’t need to be so defensive. I’m not attacking you.”

“Yeah, you are, though!” Gerard retorted. “You are!”

“How the fuck am I attacking you??”

“You’re attacking what I do, Frank,” Gerard managed to say in a much calmer tone. “I mean, honestly, you’re over here telling me that you’ve been feeling this way and that’s why you’ve been so gone this past week. And think about it, what is there to do? It’s either you get over it, or shit doesn’t work out. Oh, or I quit. I’ve wanted to leave this job for myself since the beginning but I haven’t been able to, so if you expect me to leave my job for you, you’re out of your mind.”

Frank was stunned into silence. He definitely never considered telling Gerard to quit for him; he wanted to, yes, but he would never be selfish enough to actually ask him for it. The fact, though, that Gerard so blatantly rejected him that way without Frank even asking stung a lot. Gerard took Frank’s silence as a sign of confirmation.

“Wow, you really wanted me to quit? Seriously? You realize this is how we fucking met right?” Gerard scoffed. “You were just like any of these guys that you’re jealous of now.”

“Just stop.” Frank shook his head. “Talking to you about this was fucking stupid, okay? There was no damn point.”

“Yeah, obviously,” Gerard muttered, with absolutely no remorse or second thoughts about anything he had just said to Frank.

“You can…you can go,” Frank said, sounding completely resigned. The sound of the car’s locks clicking open resonated loudly in the silence between them.

Gerard opened his mouth to say something, to yell at Frank for kicking him out of his car, but his pride kept him silent instead.

“Great,” he said instead, got himself out of the car, and slammed it shut as loudly as he could. Frank felt the car shake with the impact, but kept his eyes forward, not following Gerard’s body that he could see angrily walking away in his peripheral vision.

The moment Gerard was completely out of his sight, Frank was overrun with guilt. That conversation had not gone at all how he’d intended. Of course Gerard would think Frank wanted him to quit. And of course that would seem unfair to him, because it was. Frank hadn’t expressed himself properly and that left nothing but anger to be between the two of them the entire time they’d sat in the car.

Frank could have driven back to the street, but he knew that Gerard would probably be too fuming to return to him, so Frank went where Gerard would have no choice but to hear him out again. He went to Gerard’s apartment and sat himself against the front door, waiting tiredly for Gerard’s return.

“Frank?”

Frank had no idea what time it was when Gerard’s voice woke him up from the sleep he’d fallen into against the door. He blinked his eyes open for a while, lazily staring up at Gerard; he had his arms crossed, looking like he was trying to maintain an angrier exterior regardless of his obvious confusion and curiosity. Frank remembered why he was actually there and quickly stood up from the floor, patting the dust off his ass.

“Hey,” Frank said, “uh…”

“What are you doing here?” Gerard sighed.

“I wanted to talk.”

“We tried that,” Gerard said. “And you kicked me out of your car. There’s no way to get rid of me from my own apartment, though, so if you don't mind…”

“I’m really fucking sorry about that,” Frank said, shoving his hands into the pocket of his jeans. He was a little hurt by Gerard's attitude, pointing at the empty hall behind him with his open palm, clearly telling Frank to leave, but Frank was more stubborn than that. He wanted to apologize. “That was… that was really fucked up of me.”

“Yeah, it was,” Gerard agreed, crossing his arms.

“I just wanted you to hear me out properly and you weren’t, and we were both angry, and it… it really didn’t go the way I wanted it to,” Frank spoke quickly, trying to get all his words out just in case their tempers were going to rise again soon.

Gerard pursed his lips for a moment and then dropped his arms from his chest. “I shouldn’t have gotten so worked up, too,” he said with a mindless shrug. “I wasn’t listening ‘cause I was too busy being defensive.”

They were silent, just standing across from each other in front of Gerard’s door, not sure where things were supposed to go from there.

“Wanna come inside?” Gerard offered.

“Yeah, please,” Frank said, a small smile growing warm on his face. He followed Gerard into the apartment and stood there midway between the living room and the dining room, an awkward silence settling itself there.

“I feel fucking insecure,” Frank suddenly blurted out. “I hate thinking about you and other guys ‘cause I wonder if I’m not fucking good enough compared to all the guys you hook up with.”

“Frank—”

“And I know what we have is different,” Frank went on, not allowing Gerard to interrupt him. “I totally don’t doubt that, but that doesn’t mean I can just stop thinking about how much sex you’re having and how much better it is than what I give you.”

Frank took a deep breath when he was done, feeling so vulnerable in front of Gerard now that he had made that embarrassing confession. It definitely was not something he had planned on revealing, but he figured that if he really wanted Gerard to hear him out, he had to be completely open.

“God, Frank.” Gerard closed the distance between them to put his hands around Frank's face and press his mouth to Frank’s. It was sudden and quick. “I can’t believe you think that,” Gerard breathed onto Frank’s lips when he pulled away. “You honestly have nothing to worry about.”

“You’re just s—”

“No, I’m not just saying that,” Gerard cut him off, letting go of Frank's face but remaining close enough that Frank could feel Gerard's breaths falling onto the tip of his nose. Gerard looked very determined then, when he said, “I fucking mean it. I have to act sometimes when I’m on the job. I never acted with you, even when it was for money, and I sure as fuck don’t act now. What you see on my face, and I know you look you fucking pervert,” Gerard teased, poking at Frank’s side, “it’s all real and you wouldn’t see that with the johns I have to be with.”

Frank was already smiling because he was just that easy, especially when it came to Gerard. Their dumb argument was already forgotten.

“We make up after fights pretty fucking fast,” Frank said with a content laugh.

“No, we haven’t made up yet.” Gerard smirked.

“We haven’t?”

Gerard shook his head and leaned in for another kiss, a longer one, one with an obvious purpose that Frank was right on board with. They didn’t even make it to the room, stumbling over to the sofa and stripping of their clothes there. Frank settled onto his knees on the floor, bent over the couch cushion, while Gerard got comfortable behind him. Frank had no problem being faced with the sofa as Gerard groaned and moaned behind him, until he felt Gerard’s rhythm growing sloppy. He hated when Gerard came and he didn’t actually get to see.

Frank tried pushing himself up on his arms craning his neck to get a better look, but it wasn’t good enough. Gerard knew exactly what he was trying to do, so he pulled out, pushed Frank onto his back down on the floor, and shoved a pillow below Frank’s lower back. Soon, he was on his knees in between Frank’s legs, both of them panting with anticipation.

“You always like to look, hm?” Gerard teased, sliding with no resistance back into Frank. They both grunted in pleasure, getting back into their previous rhythm. “I want you to see,” Gerard panted. “I want you to… oh, fuck… see it on my face.”

When Gerard finally came, Frank definitely saw it. He always saw it, but he appreciated it so much more that night. He saw the way Gerard’s mouth fell open and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. With his head up, the skin on his neck stretching, he looked like he was in another world as his entire body trembled with his orgasm. With a loud exhale of breath, he fell forward, shoving his face into Frank’s neck, also taking Frank’s hard dick in his hand. It didn’t take long for Frank to follow, feeling the same intensity that he had seen on Gerard’s face course through him.

After they lay on the floor for a while longer, basking in the exasperated state they were always in after sex, they made their way to the bedroom and got comfortable in bed.

Gerard lay half his body over Frank, his head on Frank’s shoulder, and his hands tracing over the tattoos that littered Frank’s arms as well as his upper body.

“I really, really love your tattoos,” Gerard stated dreamily, tracing his index finger over the lines of one of the swallows drawn on Frank’s hip.

“Thanks.” Frank smiled lazily. “You don’t know how much I wanna tattoo my hands and neck,” Frank said, running his bare hand through Gerard’s hair. “Office jobs fucking suck.”

“Ugh, shit that would look good,” Gerard agreed, taking Frank's hand and kissing it. “Fuck your job.”

“Why don’t you let me help you out sometimes?” Frank asked randomly. “With rent, maybe, so you can pay off your loans faster.”

“Frank,” Gerard sighed. “I’m not taking charity.”

“It’s not charity.” Frank rolled his eyes. “It’s your boyfriend helping you out.”

“It’s charity,” Gerard said adamantly. “I’ve been handling it on my own, I still can.”

No more words were exchanged after that, until Frank suddenly said, “Then move in with me.”

“What?” Gerard lifted his head to look at Frank like he was insane.

“That might be a bit too soon and all,” Frank elaborated, “I know, but if you move into my place, at least you won’t have to worry about rent, and it wouldn’t be charity or whatever, ‘cause it’s my place. And I know rent for this place takes a lot out of your wallet. It doesn’t look cheap.”

“Frank, I—”

“I want us to work, Gerard, you have no idea. And even though I get really jealous about your job and even though I know it’ll never stop bothering me, I’m willing to overlook it because I don’t wanna lose this. So all I’m asking right now is for you to let me help you,” Frank concluded, smiling softly.

“This isn’t just post-sex talk,” Gerard said. “You really mean this?”

Frank nodded, looking more serious than Gerard had ever seen him.

“You asshole, I can’t say no to that!” Gerard beamed, and shuffled up a bit to kiss Frank. “Compromises,” Gerard said, settling back onto Frank. “That’s how all of this is gonna work.”

Frank hummed, agreeing, and it didn’t take long at all for them to fall asleep after that.

It took them about a month to get Gerard settled into Frank’s home. It was wonderful at first, the two of them giddy with the idea that they lived together and that being able to see each other would not be a problem. Then, it grew a little difficult as they adjusted to one another’s habits. They fought over the bathroom, Frank cursed Gerard for constantly leaving hairs on the counter, or not wiping up his dye residue when taking a shower. Gerard always woke Frank up in the middle of the night because Frank was a blanket hog, and even worse than that, he was the type of blanket hog that would deny it in the morning. They argued about the simplest things, bickering like children, but at the end of the day, they were content with each other.

Frank even offered to pick Gerard up from work every Friday, proving that he was forcing himself to look past all the jealousy he still sometimes felt. He’d wanted to pick Gerard up every night, but being that Gerard worked really late and Frank woke up early, it proved to be way too exhausting. It was awkward at first, Gerard getting in Frank’s car, greeting him with a kiss, while he donned obvious sex hair as well as another man’s smell. Frank shrugged it off every single time, and he was proud of himself for it. He was happy, and so was Gerard; he would not allow the angry voice in his head to ruin that. His slight envious nature was at last controlled.

"Hey," Gerard greeted him one Friday night, when Frank was picking him up. As usual, he pecked Frank's lips and settled back into this seat. “It's cold as fuck tonight."

“You should have put on something warmer,” Frank said, noting that Gerard was wearing an extremely light sweatshirt, unzipped, with an equally as thin t-shirt beneath it.

“Dress code,” Gerard joked.

Frank smiled and just as he was about to turn his attention onto the road and drive off, his eyes zeroed in on Gerard’s neck. There was a mark there, on the side, just an inch or so away from his Adam's apple. It was big, red, and taunting Frank, because he knew he hadn’t left that mark. He definitely knew Gerard had gone to work without that there.

Frank knew what Gerard had to do on the job. He knew other men kissed him, his body, and he had to return the favor, but Frank had managed to just store those thoughts far into his mind. That mark, though, was bringing them all back, adding visuals to the things Gerard was doing every single night. All the negative feelings he had shoved aside were at the forefront of his mind once again, attacking at full force.

Frank didn’t say anything, aside from a hum or a single word of confirmation at anything Gerard said. Gerard noticed this; it wasn’t exactly discreet or subtle. He waited until they were back home to ask about it. Frank was on the bed, staring at his phone, and Gerard was changing.

“Ok, what’s up?” Gerard asked once he was in his pajamas. He sat on the edge of the bed and nudged Frank’s foot.

“What?” Frank asked, not even looking up from his phone.

“You know what.” Gerard rolled his eyes and crawled onto the bed next to Frank, placing his hand over Frank’s phone to keep it out of his sight. “Why are you so quiet?”

“It’s nothing,” Frank lied, keeping his eyes off of Gerard because he didn’t want to look at the hickey on his neck again.

“Frank,” Gerard spoke firmly. “We don’t pull the ‘nothing’ bull shit. If something is wrong, tell me. There is seriously no point in being pissy because that doesn’t get us anywhere and doesn’t fix anything.”

“It’s that fucking thing on your neck,” Frank burst out. “That’s what’s wrong, okay? I know I shouldn’t care, but I do, and I’m sorry.”

“What?” Gerard asked, his eyebrows furrowed, and Frank groaned, throwing his head back against the pillow. He didn’t even know if it made him feel better or worse that Gerard wasn’t even aware that some man had been sucking on his neck.

Gerard took Frank’s phone and used the front-facing camera to get a look at his neck, using it as a makeshift mirror.

“Oh, fuck,” he said, stretching his neck out to see its size. “I didn’t even notice that.”

Frank was blinking up at the ceiling, breathing through the unavoidable anger that was bubbling up in his stomach.

“It’s really hard to ignore how much I hate your job with shit like that staring at me,” Frank muttered.

“Come on, I thought we were done with that,” Gerard said, setting Frank’s phone down.

“I was never done with it,” Frank admitted, still staring straight ahead. “I just stopped complaining because I didn’t want us to fight again.”

“I know that, and I appreciated it. I do appreciate it, so I don’t see how this should make a difference.”

“It makes a difference because it’s fucking looking me right in the face!” Frank exclaimed. “I mean, come on, can’t you just tell them ‘no marks’ or something??”

“I can’t give them rules,” Gerard explained matter of factly. “I won’t get as many clients that way. I get so many people coming to me because of that. Everyone else has terms and rules or whatever, and I don’t.”

Gerard was so calm and, even though it should have calmed Frank down, it only managed to fluster him twice as much as he already was.

“God, fuck that!” Frank sat up and scratched at his scalp with both hands. “They get to do every fucking thing I do with you, the least I can keep to myself is leaving marks on you.”

“That’s not all you do,” Gerard said, sitting up as well. “If you haven’t realized this, they just fuck me, but me and you don’t just fuck anymore, do we? I shouldn’t be just a prostitute to you anymore. That shouldn’t even matter at this point, ‘cause we’re way more than that.”

“God, don’t do that,” Frank sighed, hating the weight of the words Gerard was speaking to him.

“I’m not doing anything, I’m just stating facts.”

“I can’t look at that thing,” Frank said, having nothing else to say to Gerard without giving up his argument completely.

“Then don’t.” Gerard rolled his eyes. “You need a minute to relax. And I’m not leaving the room, so if this mark is too distracting for you, you can go ahead and go to the living room or something.”

“Yeah, sounds good,” was all Frank said, before getting himself out of bed and out into the living room. He lay on the sofa, tossing and turning, angry at everything: himself, Gerard, the unknown man that had had his mouth on Gerard’s neck, SVA for forcing Gerard to take out so many loans, whoever invented the idea of prostitution… You name it, Frank was most likely angry at it. It took him about half an hour to grumble to himself, stand up out of the sofa, and make his way back into the bedroom.

Gerard was in bed and Frank got settled next to him, being faced with Gerard’s back.

“I’m not an asshole,” Frank whispered softly, kissing between Gerard’s shoulder blades.

“Except you just acted like one,” Gerard said, not moving.

“I know and I’m sorry.” Frank scattered a few more kisses, trailing up to Gerard’s neck. “I’m getting there, though, right?”

Gerard gave in and turned over so that they faced each other.

“I said it the last time we argued, but we gotta keep this shit separated,” Gerard said. “It has nothing to do with our relationship, other than the fact that it made us meet each other, but that’s it.”

“I’m telling myself that,” Frank said, shutting his eyes for a short moment. “It’ll get easier, I know it.”

“It will,” Gerard agreed. He mouthed at Frank’s neck then, slowly and intricately, nipping at the skin in ways that caused Frank’s eyes to flutter closed every single time.

When Gerard pulled back and they got comfortable in each other’s arms, Frank couldn’t help but softly ask, “What do you guys do? What kind of stuff do your clients want from you?”

After a moment, Gerard sighed and nuzzled his face into Frank’s hair. “You don’t wanna hear that, Frank.”

“I do, I just—”

“No,” Gerard insisted, shaking his head, “you don’t. It’ll make you angry, you’ll always think about everything I tell you, and it won’t help what we’re trying to do here.”

Frank knew Gerard was right, so he didn’t argue any further. He would learn to live his life without permanently associating Gerard to the job he was in; it was unfair to do otherwise. So with Gerard’s mouth on his, hands in his hair, he ignored every faceless man in his head that teased him about Gerard.

Things did get easier, just the way Gerard said. Even with all the miniscule arguments they occasionally had, being able to come home to each other had benefits that drastically outweighed the drawbacks.

The next Friday, Frank was there to pick Gerard up from work, always on schedule. There was no greeting, and no words were exchanged during their ride home. Something was bothering each of them, and they both realized it, but their moods were individually too sour to inquire what was going on.

When Gerard walked into the bedroom, he noticed a mess of papers scattered on the floor near their bed. Frank wordlessly took a seat next to them, his bottle of beer still sat there before he’d left it to go pick up Gerard. He immediately began rifling through them, as though he hadn’t been interrupted in the first place.

Gerard changed and then slipped into bed, flipping through a comic book that Frank had left on his nightstand. He wasn’t entirely focused, his attention drifting off towards Frank. Every once in a while, after staring at a paper for a long time, Frank would exhale loudly, take a sip of beer, and set the paper back down in search of another one.

After about an hour of listening to Frank grumble to himself over the documents he was looking over, Gerard broke the silence. “Frank?”

“Hm?”

“Come to bed,” Gerard said.

“Can’t,” Frank replied, sighing for the hundredth time that night.

“Yeah, you can,” Gerard said simply. “C’mere.”

Frank was intent on resisting Gerard’s request, except that he made the mistake of looking up at their bed. Gerard had scooted over to Frank’s side, his head hanging slightly over the edge, causing his hair to fall over half of his face. He looked comfortable as he stretched his arms over his head, whining at the tension in his back; he looked comfortable and he looked absolutely enticing, so Frank had no choice but to give in.

Gerard made room for him on the bed and they quickly wrapped themselves around each other, disregarding the fact that they’d ignored one another for the entire night.

“So what happened?” Gerard asked, his chin resting atop Frank’s head.

“I’m so stressed out!” Frank groaned. “God, I just fucking knew my boss would dump this shit on me, I fucking knew it.”

Gerard didn’t say anything, waiting for Frank to continue when he felt like it.

“Some chic that used to work with us is trying to file a fucking lawsuit, accusing one of the guys of sexually harassing her and claiming that the office didn’t do anything to help her, or whatever. My boss was supposed to handle all the paperwork, but he threw that shit on me ‘cause he was like, if she had any complaints, I would have known about them. So now I have to look through every goddamn report ever filed while she was working there to try and see if she had written any up that we might have missed. Oh, and then I have to pull out any reports we have from other employees about sexual harassment to prove that the office actually does something about it. This is just way too much on my back.”

“You know everything that happens in that office like the back of your hand, though,” Gerard said. “I know this ‘cause I have to listen to your stories every day. I’m pretty sure you’d remember if she had reported something before.”

“I know! And I know she didn’t report anything, but it’s just… If we lose this case, the boss is gonna come down hard on me. It’s my job to handle this shit.”

“You can’t fucking help it if people lie,” Gerard pointed out, scoffing. “Or if they stay quiet. How are you supposed to know what’s going on?”

“Exactly,” Frank muttered.

“If your boss says shit against you, I will totally come down there and defend you.”

Frank laughed. “I bet my boyfriend telling him how great I am will totally change his mind.”

“I don’t flatter people,” Gerard nodded confidently.

“You definitely don’t, you blunt asshole.” Frank smiled, shifting himself up to place a quick kiss to Gerard’s neck. “You weren’t in a good mood when I picked you up either.”

“Dealing with bullshit at work, too.” Gerard shrugged.

“What happened?”

"It's fine, don't worry," Gerard dismissed it with a small smile, perfectly aware that Frank hated it when they talked about things he had to deal with while working the streets.

"Okay, look," Frank interrupted him, pushing away from Gerard so he could look into Gerard's eyes. "Just because we don't talk about this often, it doesn't mean you can't complain to me about your job. I'm here for you the same way you're here for me."

“It’s okay,” Gerard offered with a smile. “I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable or piss you off.”

“Gerard—”

“It’s cool, I swear,” he continued insisting, making Frank roll his eyes. Then, Frank pushed Gerard onto his back and sat astride his hips, pinning his hands to the bed.

“I’m not giving you a choice,” Frank said. “You’re gonna complain to me about work and then I’m gonna make you feel better.”

“Fine.” Gerard laughed, slipping his hands out of Frank’s grip. With a smirk, he added, “Only so you can make me feel better after.”

Frank nodded and sat up, still on top of Gerard because he figured he’d need to be in that position later when he “made him feel better.”

“So there used to be this guy I had as a client,” Gerard began, placing his hands over Frank’s thighs as he spoke, “and, well, he used to pay me a lot because he liked pain. He liked to make people feel pain, but he would pay a shitload extra for that, so I would just go for it; it was a lot of fucking money. I didn’t tell anyone, though, Cam especially, ‘cause I knew he’d freak out about it, but he started noticing after a while. A couple of times, the idiot marked my face and I’m a shit liar, so I ended up telling Cam and he told me not to take this guy anymore.”

“Fuck yeah you shouldn’t,” Frank agreed, growing to love Cam more and more every time he heard of how he protected Gerard.

“Yeah, but it’s not that easy,” Gerard smiled, continuing. “He came back and I told him no and he fucking flipped out. This was, like, a long while back, and Cam was there, thank God. He defended me and told the guy to fuck off. I didn't see him for a long time, but he did come back tonight. Cam wasn’t there and I started freaking out.”

Gerard could feel Frank growing tense beneath his touch, so he squeezed his thigh. “Don’t worry, calm down, nothing happened.” Frank breathed out, forcing himself to relax, and Gerard continued. “He came up to me, and I thought he was gonna ask for it again, you know? But he didn’t. He asked for Cam. I asked him why the fuck he wanted Cam and how he even knew his name, and he told me that Cam has been better than me anyways and that he never even asked for as much money as I did. I lied to him and told him that Cam wasn’t working tonight and he left.”

Gerard was frowning, staring at his own hand that had stilled over Frank’s knee. Frank wasn’t sure if he was supposed to say something at that point or if Gerard had more to say, so he just waited.

“I didn’t tell Cam I know,” Gerard finally went on. “I know for sure he took this guy on so I didn’t have to anymore, and I should be grateful, but there’s no fucking way I’m okay with him doing something like that instead of me. I’ve obviously seen the type of shit this guy is into, and it’s bad, Frank, so bad, and I really don’t want Cam doing it.”

“So Cam doesn’t know he came by tonight?” Frank asked. Gerard shook his head and Frank took Gerard’s hand in his. “You need to tell him you know and you guys have to talk it out together. This guy is obviously dangerous for the both of you since, you know, he’s been your client and Cam’s.”

Gerard sighed and nodded.

“I’ll be honest here, I don’t want you working with this guy,” Frank continued. “And I don’t want Cam to either. But even if I want you both to just ignore him whenever he comes by, I know you gotta think it through ‘cause that’s a dangerous decision.”

Gerard sighed again. “I know. I mean, I already hate the fact that Cam’s still in this fucking business just to watch over me. And now that he’s doing something like this for me, it just makes it worse. I feel so damn guilty.”

“You should not feel guilty,” Frank quickly said, leaning down so that his hands were resting against Gerard’s chest. “I would do the same thing for you, and you would totally do it for Cam or me. It sucks, yeah, but it’s what you do for the people you care about.”

Gerard hummed, eyes still downcast. Frank lowered himself and nosed at Gerard’s jaw, nudging it up so that he could glide his mouth over Gerard’s neck. Gerard sighed, but this time it was out of pleasure, his entire body relaxing, rather than frustration at his confused thoughts.

“Talk to Cam tomorrow,” Frank spoke softly, lips behind Gerard’s ear. “You’re not allowed to go to work until you have. Deal?”

“Deal.” Gerard nodded, threading his fingers into Frank’s hair, urging him to continue what he’d been doing.

“So you’d be a prostitute for me, huh?” Gerard breathed when Frank had moved from his neck to his chest. Frank simply hummed in response, too busy sucking and biting to respond with words. “That sounds like some hot role play we could do.”

Frank laughed loudly, mouth disconnecting with Gerard’s skin. “I don’t think role play works when we’ve already done that shit in real life.”

“But our roles would be switched!” Gerard protested. “It would totally be hot.”

“Everything is fucking hot to you.” Frank giggled. “I swear to God you call everything hot.”

“Ok, so I’m turned on easily, sue me.” Gerard shrugged.

Frank rolled his eyes and kissed his way up to Gerard’s mouth. It was a slow and lazy kiss, just giving them the chance to release all the stress they had built up at work over the course of the night. When Frank pulled away, he held his forehead to Gerard’s and asked, “You feeling better?”

Gerard nodded. “You?”

Frank nodded as well. “With you, I always do.”

**

It had been nearly eight months since Frank and Gerard moved in together. They no longer bickered over things that were simply a result of not having known each other enough, they did not get thrown off by random parts of one another’s schedule; they no longer worked against each other, they worked with each other. Frank had dropped the subject of Gerard’s street job; they both did. It was as though it didn’t even exist in their lives and that was exactly how Gerard wanted it. There were no longer any random surprises or compromises to be made. The only surprise Frank found was when he got home and saw Gerard in the bathroom, staring at himself in the mirror with brown hair. It was a natural looking shade of brown that had replaced his beloved red locks.

“Whoa,” Frank said when he saw him. He leaned against the doorframe and stared at Gerard’s reflection

“Does this look okay?” Gerard asked, turning to face Frank.

“You always look good, I mean, but wow this is different.”

“It’s actually pretty close to my natural hair color.” Gerard smiled, looking surprisingly shy. “Just a bit different.”

“It’ll take some getting used to,” Frank said, “but I love it. It suits you. What made you change?”

“Just a few reasons,” Gerard said with a shrug, walking over to Frank and draping his arms over Frank’s shoulders. “I can’t leave my hair one color for a long time, I get tired of it. The red was getting fucking annoying to maintain, and… I dyed it red because it made it easier to attract clients. I don’t need to do that anymore.”

Frank cocked his eyebrows because they hardly ever talked about Gerard’s job, and he also had no idea what Gerard meant.

“Why not?” he asked.

“Because I’m done,” Gerard said, beaming. “I paid off the last of my loans and I can finally start looking for another fucking job.”

Frank’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit,” Frank said with a huge grin, pulling Gerard in for a quick kiss. “You really fucking did it!”

“I knew you’d be happy,” Gerard smiled when Frank finally pulled away.

“I’m so happy for you, ‘cause you can look for jobs you want now, and that you don’t have to think about those stupid fucking loans, and…well…us obviously.”

“Me, too,” Gerard said, resting his forehead against Frank’s and biting his own lip. “Moving in here with you helped big time, like I can’t even fucking explain it to you.”

“I’m so glad,” Frank said.

“Prostitution technically helped, too,” Gerard added. “We can’t ever forget it did make us meet.”

“Yeah,” Frank agreed, “but unlike us moving in together, I’m fucking glad you’re done with that part of your life. But I won’t ever regret it.”

So Frank kissed Gerard again, hopeful and excited for what things would await them in the future. The kiss was harder than the first, more frantic. Frank definitely did not regret a thing. He did not regret being desperate enough to resort to hookers for sex. He did not regret hearing some guys talk about that street. He did not regret going to that street and seeing a man with a bright head of hair walking with a seductive sway of his hips. And he definitely did not regret threading his fingers into the newly brown hair of the previously fiery redheaded male prostitute he’d picked up so many months ago.