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Coloring was one of Frankie’s most favorite things to do, especially when Gerard would draw up pieces for him to fill in and turn into his own creations. It wasn’t exactly that Gerard enjoyed drawing up cupcakes and puppies on a regular basis, but it was something that always seemed to make his babyboy beam with joy.
Today in particular, Frankie had requested that Gerard draw him a mermaid which shouldn’t have been so surprising to him, as the Disney film, The Little Mermaid was Frankie’s ultimate favorite movie ever. The boy watched it damn near every day and now the two of them were currently nestled together on the couch with the movie on in the background. Frankie had placed himself between Gerard’s lap and Gerard’s chin rested on the younger’s shoulder, his eyes flicking between his baby’s face and the tail of the mermaid Frankie was neatly coloring in with a sparkly green ink gel pen.
He always looked so cute when he was coloring, Gerard thought to himself. The way his tongue poked out the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on not coloring outside of the lines, the way his long strands of brown hair fell over his face... Gerard could stare at his baby for ages and never get bored.
Gerard swept the boy’s hair behind his ear for him and pressed a tender kiss to his cheek while murmuring “My pretty baby, you’re always so cute.” He chuckled as he watched Frankie’s face heat up, a slightly amused smile on the older’s lips.
“Daaaddy,” Frankie whined, hating the fact that he always seemed to blush so easily. Gerard could tell him he was cute a hundred times and he’d still blush each time. “M’coloring.” He mumbled, his pen still dragging across the mermaid’s tail.
The older man had a habit of always teasing Frankie when he was busy coloring, sometimes he’d end up getting sidetracked by Gerard’s wandering hands.
“I know, do you want me to leave you alone then, baby?” Gerard questioned as he very gently brushed the tip of his nose against his baby’s jaw, pressing yet another kiss to his skin.
“No!” Frankie shook his head quickly, grabbing onto Gerard’s thigh that was right next to his, his small hand clinging to it. Gerard smiled in amusement and decided not to bother his baby further, his attention drifting towards the animations on the television.
Gerard felt like he was about to doze off when he suddenly heard his baby’s needy voice.
“Daaaddy..” Frankie whined as he turned around, straddling his daddy’s lap. “You’re fallin’ asleep.” He pouted while hiding his face away in Gerard’s neck.
“Did you finish coloring, love?” Gerard muttered, clearing his throat a bit as he sat up straighter, his hands brushing over his baby’s back.
“Yeah..” Frankie mumbled, pressing a tiny kiss to Gerard’s skin and then another, causing Gerard’s lips to curve into a tiny smirk. It usually meant that Frankie wanted to play. Gerard tipped his head over as Frankie began to lightly suck on his skin, his ass subtly moving over his daddy’s lap; it was his way of showing Gerard he wanted him. Except the younger of the two had other motives that day.
“Daddy.. Daddy.. Guess what I want?” Frankie mumbled again while working his hips slightly faster over his daddy’s forming bulge.
“What?” Gerard answered in a breathless tone, seconds away from flipping Frankie onto his back as his hands fondled Frankie’s round ass.
“An aquarium..” Frankie breathed out into his ear, causing Gerard to put an immediate stop to what they were doing, his hands now holding Frankie’s hips still. He had expected to hear something much different, potentially sexier or dirtier. Not that the boy wanted an aquarium.
“You want a what?” Gerard repeated just to make sure he heard it right.
“An aquarium...” Frankie stared at his daddy with his trademark puppy eyes. “Please, daddy?”
“Why do you want an aquarium?” Gerard asked with an eyebrow semi raised, his hands slipping underneath Frankie’s oversized shirt.
“To take care of the fishies...” Frankie answered back almost coyly, his gaze quickly averting down to Gerard’s shirt. He always got so nervous when he asked his daddy for things... he never knew what answer to expect.
“You think you can take care of them, Frankie?” Gerard’s thumbs were now drawing invisible circles over his baby’s skin as he stared at the younger boy with a mock skeptical look.
“Yes!” Frankie quickly answered, his head shaking vigoursly. “Please daddy, please! I want something to take care of!”
Gerard pretended to think about it before he leant down and cupped his baby’s cheek for a quick kiss. “Let’s go get one then.” He murmured against Frankie’s soft lips, the younger boy squealing in delight and hugging his daddy tight while peppering his cheek with thank you kisses.
Gerard didn’t know how, but somehow he ended up buying Frankie a full blown aquarium tank with one hermit crab, three fishes consisting of a yellow tang fish, a blue paradise fish and a green Texas cichlid. Along with a dwarf seahorse that Frankie claimed needed to be part of the family too. Who was Gerard to disagree? Besides, he was very well aware that Frankie would throw a slight tantrum if he was told no on the seahorse.
After they gathered all they needed for the tank, including the food for the tiny animals to survive, the pair made their way home with a giddy Frankie who held the creatures on his lap during the drive. The pet store had provided a plastic water filled bowl for Frankie to carry the critters in, and Gerard couldn’t help laughing at Frankie’s excitement. It was too endearing and ridiculously adorable. Apparently, Frankie had names for them all already and they were all names of the characters from The Little Mermaid. The hermit would be named Sebastian, the yellow fishy would be named Flounder, the blue fishy would be named Ariel, then the green fishy would be King Triton and lastly, the seahorse would be Flotsam.
When they arrived back home, the first thing they did was assemble the water tank to get it going for the tiny creatures. Frankie just stood aside while his daddy did everything, the only thing he did was carefully drop the animals into the filled up tank. Gerard had then given Frankie a bit of a lecture that he had a big boy responsibility now to look after the aquarium. Frankie babbled away about how he was going to take good care of them and that’d he make Gerard proud and show him he could handle taking care of his new pets.
~
All Frankie did while Gerard was away at work, was sit down crossed-legged in front of his aquarium tank, marveling at his pets he called his new friends. The aquarium just reminded him so much of his favorite movie, now he had his own version of it in his house! He wouldn’t admit it, but Ariel was his favorite fishy out of the bunch. With each day that passed, Frankie made sure to diligently feed all the animals by following the instructions Gerard had written for him on their white board that was hung on the kitchen fridge. Frankie even cleaned the tank when he had to, he definitely felt like a big boy now! And he was always happy to tell Gerard all about his day with the animals when the eldest got home.
On one occasion, while Gerard was sat in his office in the middle of finishing the work he brought home from his job, his attention was captured by Frankie who kept going back and forth between their bedroom and the aquarium tank. From where he was sat, he could see that the younger boy was bringing their piles of blankets and pillows over by the tank, along with his prized stuffed teddy bear named Ellie (short for elephant since the stuffed toy was huge). When Gerard got up to see what he was actually up to, lo and behold, there Frankie was, laying down on the floor beside the table that held the aquarium. His stuffie was tucked into the crook of his arm, his iPad tablet in his hands and his paci stuck in his mouth. His head was propped up with two pillows and he was covered with a mount of blankets, not to mention the ones he was already laying on. Gerard only shook his head fondly and went back to his office to finish his work. He’d have to bribe Frankie to get up later or carry him off to bed if he fell asleep there.
~
Months had passed since they’d gotten the aquarium and Frankie was more attached to it than he felt to some of his stuffies that he had with him for years! When Frankie climbed out of bed from the nap he’d taken that day, he rubbed his eyes and pouted to himself because he remembered his daddy was gone at work. He felt lonely but at least he had his pets to go play and talk with. They kept him distracted and happy! But first, he needed a snack since his stomach was starting to grumble so he shuffled into the kitchen with his messy bed hair, using a stepping stool to be able to reach the cabinet with the treats. Frankie took a rice krispy bar for himself, munching on it happily while he stared at his pretty aquarium tank. At some point the couple had gone back to the pet store to get more things to decorate the tank with and Frankie thought it looked spectacular to say the least.
Frankie eventually left his spot by the aquarium to go watch a movie on the couch, his thumb in his mouth as he curled up by one of the armrests. It was only when his iPad rang with a reminder to feed the animals, that he got up again. Frankie’s thumb was still in his mouth as he picked up the jar of food with his spare hand, shaking the exact portion out into the water. Frankie’s eyes flickered from Flotsam, to Sebastian to King Triton to Flounder.. he didn’t see Ariel hanging anywhere around her usual spot. Maybe she was hiding behind some of the reefs and plants?
Frankie tapped a finger against the glass, pressing his face near it “Ariel, fishy! Where are you?” He sing-sang, tapping on the glass again until his eyes landed on the sunken blue fish laying at the very bottom of the tank’s far back corner. Frankie shrieked and threw himself away, tears welling his eyes as he frantically shook his head and voiced it out loud, “No! No! No!”
He covered his face with his hands, the tears beginning to fall more rapidly as the realization hit him. What was more upsetting was the fact that the fish had probably been dead for hours and he hadn't noticed until now. He didn't remember seeing her swimming around during his earlier checks. The thought made his heart shatter more and all he could do was shake his head in disbelief as he blubbered Ariel’s name out into his hands and through his tears.
What had he done wrong? Worst of all, would Gerard be upset with him and blame it all on him? All these thoughts that ran through Frankie’s head made him cry even more, so much, that he had to lay down because he felt overwhelmed and scared and even then, he kept sobbing into his pillow. He couldn’t even take care of a fish, what would Gerard think of him now? Now he’d think Frankie wasn’t capable of being a big boy!
He also felt like he lost one of his best friends! Ariel knew all his silly secrets like how he ordered more glittery gel ink pens with Gerard’s credit card the other day without asking him first… like how he also ordered another stuffy for himself behind Gerard’s back... but to Frankie’s defense it didn’t cost much! Now who would listen to him? Frankie knew his attachment to his pets and Ariel were silly... but he didn’t have any real friends to play or talk with. His stuffies and aquarium were his most prized possessions because of that. They’d never judge or pick on him, and now Ariel was gone and he couldn’t handle it. His heart kept sinking all over again. There was no way he’d be able to remove her from the tank. Frankie’s cries had eventually turned into quieter ones until sleep overtook him.
In the evening, when Gerard arrived to his eerily quiet home, he knew something was wrong. Usually, he came home to the living room television on with whatever Frankie had been watching along with the smell of Frankie’s cooking permeating the air of the first floor. Tonight, there was no noise coming from the television. He didn’t hear Frankie pattering out from the kitchen to greet him with his usual hug and kiss. Gerard’s stomach started to fill with worry as he made his way over to their bedroom after setting his briefcase and coat aside by the door. He had also texted Frankie earlier while he was at work but hadn’t gotten a response. Had something happened to his baby?
Meanwhile, Frankie had long woken up from his sleep but he had stayed in bed, alternating between sniffling or crying out softly into his pillow. When he heard the sound of the front door opening downstairs, Frankie’s breath hitched and he started crying out harder into his pillow. He was just so scared his daddy would be mad at him for what happened. He didn’t even know how he’d tell him.
Frankie sat himself up once he heard the footsteps over the stairs, holding his shaky arms out towards Gerard who looked alarmed as he entered their room, finding the puffy-red-eyed boy an absolute mess.
“D-daddy..” Frankie whimpered out as Gerard went to scoop the younger boy into his arms and onto his lap as he took a seat at the edge of the bed.
“Baby.. sweetie, what’s wrong? What happened?” Gerard cautiously inquired while rubbing a light hand against Frankie’s back, pressing a couple of tender kisses to the top of the boy’s head.
Frankie hid his face into the man’s neck, crying against the collar of Gerard’s shirt as he began to tell him what happened; leaving Gerard with an incomprehensive story as he could barely understand a thing the boy was saying since he was blubbering and stuttering nonstop, his crying only getting worse when Gerard gently asked him to repeat it again.
“Baby, please take a deep breath for me, yeah? I need to know what has you so upset so that I can help you feel better okay?” Gerard kept his tone soft, hoping it’d provide some sort of comfort to the other.
After Frankie had listened and his shoulders stopped shaking so much and his breathing slightly calmed, Gerard pulled away enough to be able to cup his baby’s face in his hand, gently swiping away the tears that were littered on his cheek. “What’s got you so upset, baby? Tell me.” He searched his baby’s eyes, staring at the younger with a kind but expectant expression.
“I..I went, went t-to f-feed the pets. and I..” Frankie spoke in-between hiccups, the tears falling from his eyes again as he continued. “A-Ariel’s g-gone.. s-she’s gone..” He mumbled as he bit down on his wobbly lip, looking as if he was about to break down all over again.
Gerard inwardly sighed with relief as he held the boy tighter in his arms, he thought it had been something much worse than that. “Oh baby, I’m so sorry to hear that.” He murmured while pecking his baby’s cheek and temple. “Please tell me you don’t think it was your fault?”
Frankie stood quiet, still sniffling as he turned his head away in an ashamed manner. His eyes closed and his expression pained as if he really believed he’d done it. “I-It w-was..”
Gerard gently turned Frankie’s chin back to him, making the younger boy look at him while he spoke in his stern but reassuring voice “It wasn’t your fault, Frankie. I promise you it wasn’t.” The boy was quiet as Gerard continued to speak. “It sadly happens all the time. These kind of pets don’t tend to have a very long lifespan...”
“R-really?” The boy hiccupped, rubbing at his eyes as he blinked up at the other cluelessly.
“Yes, Frankie. It’s sad but true. The guy at the pet store gave us a disclaimer about that remember?”
Frankie seemed to think about it in his head before he nodded and just sniffled again, tucking his face back into Gerard’s neck. “W-will you help me.. t-take Ariel o-out?”
“Of course.” Gerard responded with his hand gently combing through the back of Frankie’s hair. “If you want, I can go do it right now and order us a pizza after while you stay here in bed.” He offered a moment later when Frankie hadn’t made a move to get off his lap.
“T-that sounds o-okay..” The younger mumbled while thinking that he wouldn’t be able to handle it anyways. He knew they’d have to flush the fish down the toilet and he didn’t want to be around to see it. Frankie got himself underneath the covers while his daddy went off to take care of Ariel.
He had let a few more tears slip out his eyes after Gerard had returned from disposing the fish, sparing him the details of how he got rid of Ariel. Frankie let himself be comforted and cuddled by Gerard, and even perked up a tiny bit when their dinner had arrived. The couple ate together on their bed which was rare as Gerard didn’t allow it. Beds were for sleeping and for getting up to other things according to the eldest, but for today he’d let his babyboy have whatever he wanted.
After they’d eaten, Gerard suggested taking a warm shower together. The pair mostly just exchanged a couple of tender kisses while in there, Gerard holding Frankie in his embrace underneath the water pouring from the showerhead. Frankie got into his comfortable pastel blue jammies afterwards, while Gerard slipped on just a pair of sweats. They went right back to cuddling with Gerard asking his baby how he felt.
“A lil’ better..” Frankie spoke out softly against his daddy’s chest, nuzzling his cheek over his skin before glancing up to Gerard. “All thanks to you..”
Gerard simply smiled down at his boy affectionately, carding his hand through his brown hair. “I’m glad sweetheart, you know that I’d do anything to make you feel better.”
“I know..” Frankie mumbled, a very tiny smile showing up on his lips. “I love you..”
“I love you too, Frankie. Tomorrow we’ll do something fun together since it’s Saturday and I don’t have any work to take care of.”
“Really?!” Frankie shot up, excited about the prospect of getting to spend quality time with his daddy.
“Yes, honey. Whatever you want to do.” Gerard chuckled as he half sat up, having leant back on his hands.
Frankie squealed and threw his arms around Gerard, causing the older of the two to laugh. “I can’t wait, daddy!” He exclaimed, latching onto him and kissing all over his cheek.
“It’ll be a good time.” Gerard commented as they both laid down again, the younger settling his head back onto his chest.
“Mhm.” Frankie hummed with a small nod. Yet, there was still a smile lingering on his lips. “You’re the best, daddy..” He added, pecking Gerard’s skin before he closed his eyes.
Gerard only smiled at his baby, watching his boy drift off. He knew Frankie well enough to know that he was only going to sleep because he wanted it to be tomorrow already. The thought made Gerard chuckle as he flicked off the television with the remote and called it a night too.