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Dec. 29th, 2009 07:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
why_me_why_notMore WIP Amnesty. This is the Teacher!Brendon fic. You think that as long as I've been fooling around with this, I'd be done, but I'm obviously not. So, have at it. That leaves me with only the ONE actual wip, the hs au, aka SS Teacher, fic, that has taken on a life of it's own.
This one is obviously unfinished, but I know HOW it ends. So there is a happy ending, even if it's not apparent here.
teacher!Brendon/daddy!Frank
Brendon's a kindergarten teacher! Frank's daughter is one of his students!
5700 words, unbetad, ridiculous
Brendon thought it was probably wrong that he loved his job so much. He didn't much think about it at work – most of his coworkers seemed to at least liked their jobs – but when Friday night rolled around and they were all hanging out on Spencer's back deck, Brendon's attitude felt out of place.
Jon had been bitching about Tom not liking the new blend he'd come up with. Now Jon was comparing it to the Guinness of coffee or something, and Brendon was secretly glad that Cass was headed their way because she would definitely distract him. The wives were excellent about enforcing the 'no talking about work on Friday night' rule.
Brendon jumped up to offer Cassie his seat and used that as an excuse to sneak into the kitchen. Spencer was on kid-duty tonight, and it was always fun to try and catch him being ridiculous. Sure enough, when Brendon peeked around the corner of the living room, Spencer was dancing around the room with Kaitlyn on his hip, singing an N*SYNC song and somehow managing to put the finishing touches on dinner one-handed.
"I don't think Kait's daddy would approve," Brendon teased, coming into the room.
Spencer stopped singing and spun around, pointing a spoon at Brendon. "Her daddy has no taste. Quit sneaking up on me."
Brendon laughed, deciding he wasn't going to mention the purple barrettes in Spencer's hair. He really had no room to talk; the last time he was on kid duty, he ended up letting Maddie give him a makeover. "Whatever, I just wanted to see if you needed any help with anything."
Spencer looked over at the playroom set just off the kitchen, where Maddie and Benji and Trenton were happily coloring on a floormat. The baby - Lily, Spencer and Haley's new one - was nowhere to be seen, so Brendon assumed Haley had taken her upstairs to nurse. Ryan tended to get freaked out if she did it in front of them, even though she was practiced and discreet about it. Brendon had long ago decided that Ryan was a freak. He hoped Trenton would turn out better.
"I know why you're in here," Spencer said, shifting Kaitlyn to his other hip and turning his attention back to the stove. "Zack's not here yet and you've got a story to share about one of your kids."
Brendon grinned, hopping up on the counter and reaching for Kaitlyn. Spencer knew him so well. "So, there's this little girl in my class, Rebecca Nestor, and she's the cutest thing ever." He was quick to add, "Except for Maddie and Kait and Lily, of course!" Spencer was a little fiercely protective of his daughters and Jon's.
"Anyway," Brendon continued, "this week we had a teacher-switching activity and Cash came in to teach for me. I was in Joe's class, and seriously, the way his kids talk about him makes me wish I was their age just so I could have him for a teacher. And he's trying to get Greta to approve a field trip to the park to do some sneaky learning activities that'll incorporate science and math and art. He's awesome." Brendon's borderline-obsessive fondness for Joe was old news.
"When I got back, Cash had let my kids do art, and Bec had drawn on her arm so she had a tattoo like mine. Which, awesome, but you remember how things turned out last time I let a student draw on themselves? I was freaking out waiting for her mom to get there." Freaking out was probably an understatement. Brendon was practically in tears by the time Ms. Nestor had showed up and was apologizing before she even got into the classroom. The biggest downside to his job was the parents who didn't like their kids to be kids and who had the power to make Brendon's life really difficult.
"But her mom just laughed and said Bec had done a good job with the colors. She was really cool about it. I'm glad the parents here aren't convinced their kids aren't washable. Rebecca's awesome, though. She told me this ridiculous story about a vampire unicorn today and drew me a picture to go with it. If I ever have a kid, I want one like that."
Spencer pulled a few plastic divided plates out of the cabinet and started dishing out food for the kids. "You can have a kid of your own, Bren."
"What, meet a nice girl and settle down? I don't see that happening."
"There are other ways."
Brendon looked at Trenton, who was only here every other Friday, and thought about how upset Ryan was on the holidays Trenton was with his mom. He shook his head. "I really don't want to have to share, be a part-time dad."
"Brendon-"
Brendon could tell Spencer was gearing up for a lecture and hopped down off the counter. "Kaitlyn and I'll go tell everyone dinner is ready, okay?"
The next few weeks passed quickly. Joe managed to get Greta to agree to his fieldtrip plans, and it was a huge success with the kids, as were the vegan cupcakes Brendon brought in for a class party one day. Brendon really loved his job.
Then one day Rebecca's mom didn't show up to pick her up. Brendon figured something must have come up, and he just let Rebecca help him straighten up the classroom. After an hour or so, though, he started to worry. There was no answer when he tried Ms. Nestor's cell phone. He ended up calling the first number on Rebecca's emergency contact list, and the Nestors' neighbor came to get Rebecca. Brendon felt uneasy as he sent them on their way with a wish that everything was okay.
Of course, everything wasn’t okay. Rebecca didn't come to school the next day, and there was still no answer when Brendon tried her mother's cell. Brendon found out from Greta that her mother was in an accident and was in the hospital. Brendon really wanted to go visit her – being in the hospital sucks for anyone, and it’s worse without visitors – but it wasn’t like they were friends so he didn't.
Rebecca didn't come back to class until Friday, and she was far too quiet. Brendon was accustomed to her making up for the fact that she was smaller than everyone else by being loud enough for three kids. He told her once that she should be an actress – she certainly liked the spotlight well enough – and she had rolled her eyes and corrected him. I’m gonna be a rockstar, duh.
After lunch, they went outside with Mr. Joe's class and Rebecca stuck close to Brendon, choosing to sit on the hillside with him and Joe and the kids who had lost their free time privileges instead of playing with her friends.
"Your mom is going to be okay," Brendon told her. He didn't know what exactly was wrong with her mother, but he knew Rebecca needed the reassurance.
"I know," Rebecca answered with a scowl.
Brendon was used to her being sunny and giggly, despite the few displays of temper he'd seen from her, so it made his heart hurt to see her look so upset, especially when there was nothing he could do to make it better.
He was about to say something – he hadn't quite worked out exactly what, just something – when Rebecca continued, "I don't want to stay with Mrs. Foster for the weekend, but Momma says I have to, even though she's coming home sometime tomorrow."
"Who's Mrs. Foster?"
"Our neighbor. I like her and everything, but she's an ol' cat lady and she doesn't have a TV and she likes to go to bed at like 7:00."
That was something Brendon could possibly do something about.
When Mrs. Foster came to pick Rebecca up, Brendon got the information from her so he could head from work to the hospital. He stopped on the way to get flowers (totally necessary for hospital visits) and carrot cake from his favorite diner (he remembered his sister complaining about the hospital food each time she was in there. Six kids meant a lot of complaining) but luckily still made it there before Mrs. Foster and Rebecca.
Ms. Nestor looked surprised to see him, but she quickly assured him she was delighted to have company. She also told him that she had no family in the area, that Frank's family was all in New Jersey, and that Frank himself wouldn't be able to make it home before Monday. This is why Rebecca had to stay with Mrs. Foster, who was an awesome neighbor and made a killer lemon meringue pie.
She stopped suddenly, as if she realized she was rambling. Her cheeks were a little flushed and Brendon didn't know if she was blushing or if that was from her illness. She was cute. Brendon would totally hit on her if she weren't in a hospital. And apparently in a relationship with this Frank person. And obviously female.
Brendon explained that he knew he was overstepping the parent-teacher bounds, but he was really fond of Rebecca and this was a special circumstance. "I was wondering if it would be okay if I kept Rebecca for the evening. My friends and I have a tradition of getting together on Fridays with the kids. Their kids, not mine, obviously, since I don't have any, but the kids would love to make a new friend and I'm sure Rebecca would love to be around other kids. If she wants to, of course."
Ms. Nestor said, "Like she'd have any objections. If she were here, she'd be giving me that puppy-dog-eyes look she learned from her father."
Brendon laughed. He'd seen that look. "Yeah, that's why I wanted to get here and ask you first. I promise, Ms. Nestor, I'd take good care of her."
"I think if you're going to be spending time with my daughter outside of school, you can call me Jamia."
Brendon's pretty sure that means yes.
Rebecca was beyond excited about spending the weekend with Brendon, and even though she voiced a token protest, Brendon could tell Mrs. Foster was a little relieved. He could imagine she wasn’t used to the constant presence of an energetic five-year-old.
Rebecca kept up a steady stream of mostly one-sided conversation when they left the hospital, Brendon following Mrs. Foster back to her apartment building so Rebecca could pack a bag for the weekend.
Brendon and Rebecca had been almost to Jon’s before Brendon realized he should call and warn them he was bringing company. He called Cassie, because he figured she would give him the least amount of shit.
“Hey, where are you? Tom and Jon need a mediator; Spencer and Ryan have already chosen sides.”
“Sorry, we’re on our way. I wanted to warn you that I’m bringing someone with me tonight.”
“Someone isn’t four-pawed and furry, are they?”
“No.” Honestly, Brendon showed up a time or two with a stray animal that needed a home and no one ever trusted him again. “And don’t act like you don’t love Marley.”
“Ohh, it is a boy, then? Brendon Boyd Urie, you can’t just spring something like that on me with no warning!”
Brendon laughed. “No, nothing like that. It’s one of the girls from my class.”
“Oh, okay.” Cassie sounded vaguely disappointed, and Brendon wondered if his friends weren’t more invested in him finding someone to settle down with than he was. “I’m sure the girls will be excited to make new friends. Plus, with Tom here, I don’t know that a boyfriend would be a good idea.”
“Haha,” Brendon faked. Tom was Jon’s forever best friend, the one that he’d known since long before he’d even met Brendon and Spencer. He and Brendon had hooked up one night a few years back. It was good, but it was only a hook up. Neither of them had been expecting or wanting anything more, but their friends seemed to think that they deserved a shitload of teasing about it. “We’ll be there shortly.”
Tom was actually leaving when Brendon pulled up in the driveway.
“Hey,” Brendon greeted, walking over to stand next to his car. “Guess this means I don’t have to get in the middle of you and Jon after all, huh?”
“Yeah, like you would ever complain about being between me and Jon,” Tom teased, waving at the little girl hiding behind Brendon. “I’ve got a date. Just tell Jon he’s wrong. He and Ryan both are very, very wrong about this.”
“Okay.” Brendon didn’t know what they were arguing about, but siding with Spencer was usually the best course of action. It had kept him from spending a weekend in a holding cell with Ryan that time they were in Cancun, so it was a pretty sound strategy.
Rebecca looked a little nervous, so Brendon picked her up as they watched Tom drive off, even though she was probably too big for that.
He found Benji and Maddie creating an elaborate mural on the back of the garage with sidewalk chalk, made introductions, and went inside to field questions.
Brendon and Rebecca ended up spending the entire weekend at Spencer and Haley’s, since Rebecca and Maddie seemed to become instant friends. Brendon tried not to think about the way things could have been if he actually did have a child of his own, not just one he borrowed for the weekend.
Brendon was a little sad when he had to take Rebecca home, but at the same time he was really looking forward to his own bed and a full night’s sleep. Eight hours a day with a classroom of kindergarteners, plus Friday nights and the occasional babysitting gig for his friends, wasn’t enough to prepare him for an entire weekend of ceaseless kid energy.
Mrs. Foster let them into the apartment and Brendon dropped Rebecca’s bags by the front door before following her to her mother’s bedroom. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, telling Jamia about Rebecca and Maddie “helping” Spencer in the kitchen that morning, when someone spoke up from the doorway.
“Is this the new boyfriend?”
Brendon nearly fell off the bed as he jumped up and spun around. The voice wasn’t friendly and the man in the doorway looked less so.
“Daddy!” Rebecca threw herself off the bed and the man scooped her up into a hug. Brendon couldn’t help checking him out. He told himself he was drawn to the tattoos – seriously, there was a lot of ink – but he was actually thinking that Jamia had awesome taste.
Brendon stood awkwardly off to the side as the man leaned down to kiss Jamia on the cheek, Rebecca still balanced in his arms. He was pretty sure this was his sign to leave.
“So?” The man shifted his attention to Brendon. “Boyfriend?”
“No, silly!” Rebecca corrected cheerfully. “Mr. Brendon is my teacher!”
He looked suspicious but still held out a hand. “Frank Iero, Rebecca’s dad.”
“Brendon Urie, kindergarten teacher,” Brendon answered, shaking his hand and managing not to add that Frank was much more his type than Jamia was.
“Brendon was nice enough to keep Rebecca this weekend,” Jamia added.
“Well, it was no trouble,” Brendon insisted. “My friends have kids, and we spent most of the weekend over there. And, um, I need to be getting home. It was very nice to meet you, Frank, and I hope you recover quickly, Jamia.” He reached out for a hug from Rebecca. “And I’ll see you tomorrow, munchkin.”
Brendon tried really hard to pretend he didn’t feel Frank watch him walk out the door.
A few days later, Frank was waiting outside Brendon’s classroom when the last bell of the day rang. Brendon waved at him as he helped Rebecca into her jacket and turned around to help Molly Mabry untangle herself from her backpack. He was surprised to see Frank and Rebecca still there when the rest of the students cleared out.
“Hey, what’s up?” he asked, walking over to them.
“I think maybe we started off on the wrong foot,” Frank answered with a grin. “Rebecca and I would like to take you out for pizza this afternoon, if that’s okay?”
Brendon hesitated. Socializing with parents wasn’t really acceptable, but he was already doing it with Jamia, right? “That’d be great! I have to clean up and everything, but there’s this place around the corner that Joe and I sometimes go to. It’s called Checkmarks. I can meet you there?”
Frank nodded. “Sounds good.” Rebecca waved at Brendon as her daddy hustled her out the door.
Brendon stood there for a moment, staring at the spot where they had been standing, and jumped when Greta stepped in front of him. “Hey, dreamer. If you’re going to flirt with the parents, make sure your room is clean first.” The teasing glint in her expression made Brendon laugh instead of scramble to come up with an excuse.
Really, for a principal, Greta was pretty awesome.
By the time Brendon got to the pizza place, Frank was settled in a booth in the corner and Rebecca was barely visible in the game room.
"Hey, how's Jamia?" Brendon asked, sliding in across from Frank.
"Cranky," Frank answered with a grin. “She hates having to have help. I think she's ready for me to go back out on the road."
"What exactly is it that you do?"
Frank gave him a curious look, like he expected Brendon to already know that answer. "I'm in a band."
"Oh! So that's why Rebecca wants to be a drummer?"
Frank looked amused. "Nah, that's Bob's bad influence. I've been trying to get her interested in guitar but she's not having it."
"Brendon plays guitar," Rebecca piped up, climbing onto the seat beside Frank.
"Really? We should play sometime."
Brendon was sure the invite is friendly obligation. He didn't think that the Friday afternoon sing-alongs with his and Joe's kindergarten classes actually compared to the fact Frank played guitar in a Real Band. Still, his enthusiasm was real when he said he’d love that.
Brendon had a good time with Frank and Rebecca, and he liked the fact that he now had friends outside the ones who were family. Over the next few weeks, Frank would show up to pick Rebecca up from school and chat with Brendon outside the classroom door. On a few occasions he invited Brendon out for pizza again, or ice cream, or to spend the afternoon with him and Rebecca at the zoo. Brendon didn’t tell anyone about these invites, mainly because they weren’t dates, no matter what Brendon liked to pretend. His friends would be making a bigger deal about it than he was, though, so he wanted to keep his delusions to himself. Frank just liked having someone to spend time with when he was with Rebecca, and he definitely wasn’t looking for something serious. He wasn’t even going to stay in this area; Brendon was pretty certain that as soon as Jamia was recovered enough, Frank would be off to rejoin his band.
When Brendon had said, “If there's anything I can do to help, let me know, " he actually meant more along the lines of bringing over a casserole or something, but once the offer was out there, he couldn’t take it back. Plus, he liked Rebecca, liked spending time with her and her father. He knew Frank had been forced into a caregiver role he wasn’t quite prepared for. He'd always been a part of Rebecca’s life, but more in an abstract way because he was in a band. He and Jamia had always been close, and now he was struggling because she always handled the day to day stuff. He just helped pay for everything and got to do the fun stuff, like dates with his daughter and reading bedtime stories to her from halfway around the world when he was on tour and camping out in the backyard when he wasn't. He had no idea about how to get her to go to bed without a fuss or which day she was supposed to bring tennis shoes to school for gym or how the hell to braid her hair. Brendon was more than happy to help.
There was nothing to support Brendon’s daydreams of a happy family and a house in the suburbs. Brendon’s house – not the apartment that he lived in, but the house next to Spencer that he’d bought and rented out – was more than big enough for him and Frank and Jamia and Rebecca. And if he had imagined them all there, well, Brendon had always been a dreamer, but he knew when to keep it to himself.
He should have known he wouldn’t be able to do it forever.
Frank and Rebecca were dropping Brendon off in front of his apartment building when Frank leaned across the seat just before Brendon shut the door. “Hey, uh, Brendon? You wanna maybe go out for dinner Friday night? Just the two of us; Jamia’s mom’s coming in for the weekend.”
Brendon agreed before he even thought about it. When he did think about it later, it didn’t matter to him that Frank was using him to get out of spending the evening with his former mother-in-law. What did matter was that now he was going to have to explain this to his friends. Brendon hadn’t missed Friday night since college.
Friday nights usually belonged to Jon or Spencer, because the uneven number made it hard to work around Ryan’s every-other-weekend schedule with Trenton, but this week was Ryan’s night to host. Brendon tried to figure out what he was going to say before he called, but when Ryan picked up, he just blurted out, “I’ve got a date on Friday night.”
Ryan was silent for a moment. “Seriously, Brendon, my house isn’t that bad, and Spencer’s cooking.”
“What, I can’t have a date?”
“The only person you’ve been on a date with in the last three years is Tom, and he’ll be here,” Ryan pointed out.
Brendon couldn’t deny it. He couldn’t even get angry about it. “Look, Ryan, I really do have a date. I’m sorry; you know I wouldn’t just bail on Friday night tradition. But I really like this guy.”
After a little bit of teasing, Ryan conceded it was possible that Brendon actually did have a date and gave him his permission. Brendon felt a little better about it after that, but wasn’t at all surprised when Spencer and then Jon called him for details.
Brendon was having a great time with Frank. He liked hearing stories about his band that he couldn't tell in front of Rebecca, liked that Frank saw him as someone he could trust to talk about parenting concerns with, liked that they'd been holding hands over the gear shift since they left the restaurant. He didn't want this night to end.
When Frank pulled into a parking space in front of Brendon's building, Brendon guessed he wasn't the only one not ready for the night to be over.
"You coming up?" Brendon asked.
"You sure?" Frank was already putting the car in park.
Brendon nodded, waited beside the car for Frank to lock it and come around. Even though it was completely unnecessary, Brendon liked the way Frank rested his hand on his lower back and left it there as they walked up the stairs. And if Brendon fumbled the keys as he was trying to unlock the front door, well, he blamed that on the beer he had with dinner.
Brendon thought he really shouldn't be nervous, but he was. He tossed his keys onto the coffee table and took a couple steps toward the kitchen. "You want a drink-"
He was cut off when Frank grabbed the back of his shirt and tugged, pulling Brendon back to him and turning him so they were nose to nose. "Hi."
Brendon smiled. "I guess that's a no?"
"That's a shut up and kiss me," Frank answered.
Brendon was smart enough to follow that direction.
[and then there was awesomely schmoopy sex]
Brendon heard his phone buzzing somewhere in the room, but he was really not planning on answering it. It had been a while since he woke up with someone else in his bed, and Frank was all warm skin and body heat beside him, arm thrown across Brendon's chest and semi-hard cock pressed against his leg. Brendon smiled and rolled onto his side, pulling Frank closer. Frank made a sleepy noise and flexed his fingers along Brendon's back.
"Morning," Brendon mumbled.
"Yeah," Frank answered, the word a rush of warm breath against Brendon's skin.
Brendon closed his eyes again, enjoying the lazy way Frank was running his hands over his skin, the way Frank's skin felt under his own hands. Finally, Frank shifted away and stretched a little bit.
"You have big plans for today?" Frank asked.
"Um, well," Brendon hesitated. He didn't want to admit that his big Saturday involved a trip to the craft store and a National Geographic special on polar bears. He knew his lifestyle was pretty lame compared to that of a rockstar.
Frank laughed, the sound low and rough and making Brendon's stomach quiver with butterflies of anticipation. "I'm gonna take that to mean you're free to spend the day with me."
Brendon couldn’t help laughing a little himself. "Yeah, that sounds doable." He heard his phone buzz again and groaned. "Seriously, though, I'm gonna have to answer that at some point."
"Not yet." Frank pulled completely away from Brendon and leaned over to snag his discarded jeans from the floor, checking the pockets until he found Brendon's phone. Brendon caught sight of Spencer's name on the display before Frank hit 'ignore' and turned the phone off, reaching down to tuck it between the mattress and the box spring.
"Hey!" Brendon protested, more out of principle than genuine desire to answer his friends' questions about how his date went. Especially since his date was technically not over.
"Don't worry; I'm cutting mine off, too." Frank found his own phone and did the same thing, turning it off and hiding it. "My friends have been calling too."
Brendon tried not to think about what it meant that Frank's friends knew they had a date, that Frank had been talking to his friends about Brendon.
"I'm gonna walk outside and smoke," Frank continued, pulling on the pair of sweats he had borrowed last night, "then I'm gonna blow you in the shower, 'kay?" He leaned down for a quick kiss before letting himself out of the bedroom.
Brendon lay back against the pillows for a minute, then got up to go turn the shower on. When Frank returned, coming up behind Brendon to press his cold cold hands against Brendon's belly, the shower was the perfect temperature.
Frank was true to his word to blow Brendon in the shower, and he was good. Brendon was maybe a little disappointed that he didn't get to reciprocate, but the tradeoff was the image of Frank on his knees, forehead pressed against Brendon's thigh and jerking himself off. Brendon counted that as a win.
After the shower, and after Frank made fun of Brendon for having a box of extra toothbrushes in his bathroom (Brendon couldn't help it! Haley bought in bulk and seemed to think that when she married Spencer, Brendon somehow became her responsibility too!), they moved to the kitchen.
Frank lived up to his claim of being an excellent egg cracker, and Brendon made them omelets and toast. He only managed to burn the omelets a little, and that was only because Frank had his hands around Brendon's waist and was nipping along Brendon's shoulder.
Brendon resigned himself to the fact he was pretty easy for Frank, and it didn't take much to persuade him to give up any other plans he might have had. Cheesy sci-fi movies, making out like teenagers, and handjobs on the couch seemed like a pretty good way to spend the afternoon.
Brendon fell asleep sometime after that, laying mostly on top of Frank and listening to his heart beat. When he woke up, the first hint of twilight was creeping in through the blinds, he had the blanket from the back of the couch wrapped around him, and the apartment was silent.
Brendon sighed and lay there for a while before getting up to find his phone and call Spencer.
On Monday, Rebecca told Brendon that her daddy flew back to take care of “band business” and Brendon pretended like he wasn’t upset about it. If he avoided Spencer, Ryan, and Jon more than usual, it was because he was busy and not because he didn’t want to face their concerned questioning. Still, the next couple of weeks drag by and Brendon was convinced it was pretty foolish of him to think the thing with Frank was more than a casual fling between friends.
Brendon didn’t remember that Rebecca and Maddie had become fast friends until he got to Jon’s for Maddie’s birthday party and saw Jamia standing on the patio with Cassie.
“You didn’t call Frank.” Jamia’s tone was accusing, but her tone was more inquisitive.
“No, I didn’t call Frank. I don’t have Frank’s number.”
“Frank is such an idiot,” she mumbled, shaking her head with a sigh. “Frank put his number in your phone before he left. He just wasn’t smart enough to call himself so that he’d have your number as well.”
Brendon pulled his phone out and scrolled through the contacts. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Jamia, it was just… that Frank’s number was totally in his phone. Oh. He looked at Jamia, feeling a little sheepish. “Oh.”
Jamia rolled her eyes. Brendon knew that look; it was the “omg, men!” look that he had seen on Cassie and Haley more than once. “Just call him, okay?”
“I will,” Brendon said, sounding unsure even to his own ears. “After the party.”
After the party somehow turned into later that night. Brendon turned his phone over in his hands, trying to decide if he should call or not. He was alone on the deck, but he the others were watching him from behind the glass of the patio doors. He knew that if he looked, Ryan would roll his eyes, Spencer would gesture impatiently, and Jon would give him a cheerful, enthusiastic thumbs up.
Brendon didn’t look.
He scrolled down to Frank's name and hit the send button, shifting from one foot to the other in nervousness as he waited.
When the answer came, there were noisy laughter and chatter and party sounds overwhelming the greeting, but it didn't sound like Frank.
"Um, hi, may I speak with Frank?" Brendon was using his very best teacher-calling-a-parent voice, more for an extra boost of courage than anything else.
The person on the other end mumbled something that sounded like "hold on" and Brendon heard him speaking to someone in the background. A different voice came back on the line, laughing, and said, "Frank's got his hands full right now; he can't come to the phone. You want to leave a message, or maybe talk to his boyfriend?"
"No, thank you," Brendon answered, oh-so-politely, like he hadn't completely registered what had been said, and he hung up without another word.
He didn't allow himself to think about it, about Frank's boyfriend or about why he'd put his number into Brendon's phone or about why Jamia had insisted that Brendon call. Instead he went back inside, ignoring the questioning looks everyone was giving him, and dropped down into Tom's lap. "Wanna go grab a few drinks? I'm buying."
Going out with Tom was always a good time, even if it was seldom a good idea. Brendon remembered this the next morning when it hurt too much to even open his eyes and his tongue felt – and tasted – like he spent the night licking rabid kittens. Tom was pressed up against him, all heat and rumbling snores. Tom was kinda like a bear or something, fuzzy and grumpy, maybe Brendon was licking him. If so, Tom totally owed him. Enough to fetch him a cup of coffee and answer the fucking phone that was ringing insistently from somewhere on the floor, at the very least.
"Tom," Brendon whined, dragging out the 'o' and then the 'm' of Tom's name. Brendon was pretty much a pro at whining.
Tom growled something and crawled over top of Brendon to lean over the edge of the bed. His elbow was digging into Brendon's ribs, but it'd be too much trouble to complain. He heard the change in his jeans pocket jingle and cascade to the floor – seriously, every sound was amplified – before the ringer is blissfully quiet.
Tom's voice was barely a murmur, his mumbling too difficult to decipher, but then he was shifting back onto the bed and shoving the phone at Brendon.
"Quit drooling on my pillow," Tom said, grouchy as ever. It would be cute if Brendon wasn't hungover.
Brendon took the phone and swatted at Tom. "Go make us some coffee."
Tom shook his head but slid off the bed anyway, grabbing a pair of boxers of the floor.
"Hey, those are mine, wear your own boxers!" Brendon complained. Tom flipped him off as he wandered out of the room.
Brendon looked down at the phone and remembered there was someone calling. "Hello?" It was quiet, so he repeated himself.
"Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to bother you." Frank sounded more pissed off than apologetic. "I was calling you back, didn't realize you were with someone."
Frank really had no place to get angry at Brendon. Brendon wasn't the one who lied about having a boyfriend. "Whatever, it's not important."
"Yeah, I thought it was. Obviously, I was mistaken."
He hung up before Brendon could answer, and Brendon stared at the phone for a minute before dropping it down beside the bed. Throwing it would take too much energy. He pulled the un-drooled-on side of the pillow over his head and tried to convince himself the churning in his stomach was just the alcohol.
This one is obviously unfinished, but I know HOW it ends. So there is a happy ending, even if it's not apparent here.
teacher!Brendon/daddy!Frank
Brendon's a kindergarten teacher! Frank's daughter is one of his students!
5700 words, unbetad, ridiculous
Brendon thought it was probably wrong that he loved his job so much. He didn't much think about it at work – most of his coworkers seemed to at least liked their jobs – but when Friday night rolled around and they were all hanging out on Spencer's back deck, Brendon's attitude felt out of place.
Jon had been bitching about Tom not liking the new blend he'd come up with. Now Jon was comparing it to the Guinness of coffee or something, and Brendon was secretly glad that Cass was headed their way because she would definitely distract him. The wives were excellent about enforcing the 'no talking about work on Friday night' rule.
Brendon jumped up to offer Cassie his seat and used that as an excuse to sneak into the kitchen. Spencer was on kid-duty tonight, and it was always fun to try and catch him being ridiculous. Sure enough, when Brendon peeked around the corner of the living room, Spencer was dancing around the room with Kaitlyn on his hip, singing an N*SYNC song and somehow managing to put the finishing touches on dinner one-handed.
"I don't think Kait's daddy would approve," Brendon teased, coming into the room.
Spencer stopped singing and spun around, pointing a spoon at Brendon. "Her daddy has no taste. Quit sneaking up on me."
Brendon laughed, deciding he wasn't going to mention the purple barrettes in Spencer's hair. He really had no room to talk; the last time he was on kid duty, he ended up letting Maddie give him a makeover. "Whatever, I just wanted to see if you needed any help with anything."
Spencer looked over at the playroom set just off the kitchen, where Maddie and Benji and Trenton were happily coloring on a floormat. The baby - Lily, Spencer and Haley's new one - was nowhere to be seen, so Brendon assumed Haley had taken her upstairs to nurse. Ryan tended to get freaked out if she did it in front of them, even though she was practiced and discreet about it. Brendon had long ago decided that Ryan was a freak. He hoped Trenton would turn out better.
"I know why you're in here," Spencer said, shifting Kaitlyn to his other hip and turning his attention back to the stove. "Zack's not here yet and you've got a story to share about one of your kids."
Brendon grinned, hopping up on the counter and reaching for Kaitlyn. Spencer knew him so well. "So, there's this little girl in my class, Rebecca Nestor, and she's the cutest thing ever." He was quick to add, "Except for Maddie and Kait and Lily, of course!" Spencer was a little fiercely protective of his daughters and Jon's.
"Anyway," Brendon continued, "this week we had a teacher-switching activity and Cash came in to teach for me. I was in Joe's class, and seriously, the way his kids talk about him makes me wish I was their age just so I could have him for a teacher. And he's trying to get Greta to approve a field trip to the park to do some sneaky learning activities that'll incorporate science and math and art. He's awesome." Brendon's borderline-obsessive fondness for Joe was old news.
"When I got back, Cash had let my kids do art, and Bec had drawn on her arm so she had a tattoo like mine. Which, awesome, but you remember how things turned out last time I let a student draw on themselves? I was freaking out waiting for her mom to get there." Freaking out was probably an understatement. Brendon was practically in tears by the time Ms. Nestor had showed up and was apologizing before she even got into the classroom. The biggest downside to his job was the parents who didn't like their kids to be kids and who had the power to make Brendon's life really difficult.
"But her mom just laughed and said Bec had done a good job with the colors. She was really cool about it. I'm glad the parents here aren't convinced their kids aren't washable. Rebecca's awesome, though. She told me this ridiculous story about a vampire unicorn today and drew me a picture to go with it. If I ever have a kid, I want one like that."
Spencer pulled a few plastic divided plates out of the cabinet and started dishing out food for the kids. "You can have a kid of your own, Bren."
"What, meet a nice girl and settle down? I don't see that happening."
"There are other ways."
Brendon looked at Trenton, who was only here every other Friday, and thought about how upset Ryan was on the holidays Trenton was with his mom. He shook his head. "I really don't want to have to share, be a part-time dad."
"Brendon-"
Brendon could tell Spencer was gearing up for a lecture and hopped down off the counter. "Kaitlyn and I'll go tell everyone dinner is ready, okay?"
The next few weeks passed quickly. Joe managed to get Greta to agree to his fieldtrip plans, and it was a huge success with the kids, as were the vegan cupcakes Brendon brought in for a class party one day. Brendon really loved his job.
Then one day Rebecca's mom didn't show up to pick her up. Brendon figured something must have come up, and he just let Rebecca help him straighten up the classroom. After an hour or so, though, he started to worry. There was no answer when he tried Ms. Nestor's cell phone. He ended up calling the first number on Rebecca's emergency contact list, and the Nestors' neighbor came to get Rebecca. Brendon felt uneasy as he sent them on their way with a wish that everything was okay.
Of course, everything wasn’t okay. Rebecca didn't come to school the next day, and there was still no answer when Brendon tried her mother's cell. Brendon found out from Greta that her mother was in an accident and was in the hospital. Brendon really wanted to go visit her – being in the hospital sucks for anyone, and it’s worse without visitors – but it wasn’t like they were friends so he didn't.
Rebecca didn't come back to class until Friday, and she was far too quiet. Brendon was accustomed to her making up for the fact that she was smaller than everyone else by being loud enough for three kids. He told her once that she should be an actress – she certainly liked the spotlight well enough – and she had rolled her eyes and corrected him. I’m gonna be a rockstar, duh.
After lunch, they went outside with Mr. Joe's class and Rebecca stuck close to Brendon, choosing to sit on the hillside with him and Joe and the kids who had lost their free time privileges instead of playing with her friends.
"Your mom is going to be okay," Brendon told her. He didn't know what exactly was wrong with her mother, but he knew Rebecca needed the reassurance.
"I know," Rebecca answered with a scowl.
Brendon was used to her being sunny and giggly, despite the few displays of temper he'd seen from her, so it made his heart hurt to see her look so upset, especially when there was nothing he could do to make it better.
He was about to say something – he hadn't quite worked out exactly what, just something – when Rebecca continued, "I don't want to stay with Mrs. Foster for the weekend, but Momma says I have to, even though she's coming home sometime tomorrow."
"Who's Mrs. Foster?"
"Our neighbor. I like her and everything, but she's an ol' cat lady and she doesn't have a TV and she likes to go to bed at like 7:00."
That was something Brendon could possibly do something about.
When Mrs. Foster came to pick Rebecca up, Brendon got the information from her so he could head from work to the hospital. He stopped on the way to get flowers (totally necessary for hospital visits) and carrot cake from his favorite diner (he remembered his sister complaining about the hospital food each time she was in there. Six kids meant a lot of complaining) but luckily still made it there before Mrs. Foster and Rebecca.
Ms. Nestor looked surprised to see him, but she quickly assured him she was delighted to have company. She also told him that she had no family in the area, that Frank's family was all in New Jersey, and that Frank himself wouldn't be able to make it home before Monday. This is why Rebecca had to stay with Mrs. Foster, who was an awesome neighbor and made a killer lemon meringue pie.
She stopped suddenly, as if she realized she was rambling. Her cheeks were a little flushed and Brendon didn't know if she was blushing or if that was from her illness. She was cute. Brendon would totally hit on her if she weren't in a hospital. And apparently in a relationship with this Frank person. And obviously female.
Brendon explained that he knew he was overstepping the parent-teacher bounds, but he was really fond of Rebecca and this was a special circumstance. "I was wondering if it would be okay if I kept Rebecca for the evening. My friends and I have a tradition of getting together on Fridays with the kids. Their kids, not mine, obviously, since I don't have any, but the kids would love to make a new friend and I'm sure Rebecca would love to be around other kids. If she wants to, of course."
Ms. Nestor said, "Like she'd have any objections. If she were here, she'd be giving me that puppy-dog-eyes look she learned from her father."
Brendon laughed. He'd seen that look. "Yeah, that's why I wanted to get here and ask you first. I promise, Ms. Nestor, I'd take good care of her."
"I think if you're going to be spending time with my daughter outside of school, you can call me Jamia."
Brendon's pretty sure that means yes.
Rebecca was beyond excited about spending the weekend with Brendon, and even though she voiced a token protest, Brendon could tell Mrs. Foster was a little relieved. He could imagine she wasn’t used to the constant presence of an energetic five-year-old.
Rebecca kept up a steady stream of mostly one-sided conversation when they left the hospital, Brendon following Mrs. Foster back to her apartment building so Rebecca could pack a bag for the weekend.
Brendon and Rebecca had been almost to Jon’s before Brendon realized he should call and warn them he was bringing company. He called Cassie, because he figured she would give him the least amount of shit.
“Hey, where are you? Tom and Jon need a mediator; Spencer and Ryan have already chosen sides.”
“Sorry, we’re on our way. I wanted to warn you that I’m bringing someone with me tonight.”
“Someone isn’t four-pawed and furry, are they?”
“No.” Honestly, Brendon showed up a time or two with a stray animal that needed a home and no one ever trusted him again. “And don’t act like you don’t love Marley.”
“Ohh, it is a boy, then? Brendon Boyd Urie, you can’t just spring something like that on me with no warning!”
Brendon laughed. “No, nothing like that. It’s one of the girls from my class.”
“Oh, okay.” Cassie sounded vaguely disappointed, and Brendon wondered if his friends weren’t more invested in him finding someone to settle down with than he was. “I’m sure the girls will be excited to make new friends. Plus, with Tom here, I don’t know that a boyfriend would be a good idea.”
“Haha,” Brendon faked. Tom was Jon’s forever best friend, the one that he’d known since long before he’d even met Brendon and Spencer. He and Brendon had hooked up one night a few years back. It was good, but it was only a hook up. Neither of them had been expecting or wanting anything more, but their friends seemed to think that they deserved a shitload of teasing about it. “We’ll be there shortly.”
Tom was actually leaving when Brendon pulled up in the driveway.
“Hey,” Brendon greeted, walking over to stand next to his car. “Guess this means I don’t have to get in the middle of you and Jon after all, huh?”
“Yeah, like you would ever complain about being between me and Jon,” Tom teased, waving at the little girl hiding behind Brendon. “I’ve got a date. Just tell Jon he’s wrong. He and Ryan both are very, very wrong about this.”
“Okay.” Brendon didn’t know what they were arguing about, but siding with Spencer was usually the best course of action. It had kept him from spending a weekend in a holding cell with Ryan that time they were in Cancun, so it was a pretty sound strategy.
Rebecca looked a little nervous, so Brendon picked her up as they watched Tom drive off, even though she was probably too big for that.
He found Benji and Maddie creating an elaborate mural on the back of the garage with sidewalk chalk, made introductions, and went inside to field questions.
Brendon and Rebecca ended up spending the entire weekend at Spencer and Haley’s, since Rebecca and Maddie seemed to become instant friends. Brendon tried not to think about the way things could have been if he actually did have a child of his own, not just one he borrowed for the weekend.
Brendon was a little sad when he had to take Rebecca home, but at the same time he was really looking forward to his own bed and a full night’s sleep. Eight hours a day with a classroom of kindergarteners, plus Friday nights and the occasional babysitting gig for his friends, wasn’t enough to prepare him for an entire weekend of ceaseless kid energy.
Mrs. Foster let them into the apartment and Brendon dropped Rebecca’s bags by the front door before following her to her mother’s bedroom. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, telling Jamia about Rebecca and Maddie “helping” Spencer in the kitchen that morning, when someone spoke up from the doorway.
“Is this the new boyfriend?”
Brendon nearly fell off the bed as he jumped up and spun around. The voice wasn’t friendly and the man in the doorway looked less so.
“Daddy!” Rebecca threw herself off the bed and the man scooped her up into a hug. Brendon couldn’t help checking him out. He told himself he was drawn to the tattoos – seriously, there was a lot of ink – but he was actually thinking that Jamia had awesome taste.
Brendon stood awkwardly off to the side as the man leaned down to kiss Jamia on the cheek, Rebecca still balanced in his arms. He was pretty sure this was his sign to leave.
“So?” The man shifted his attention to Brendon. “Boyfriend?”
“No, silly!” Rebecca corrected cheerfully. “Mr. Brendon is my teacher!”
He looked suspicious but still held out a hand. “Frank Iero, Rebecca’s dad.”
“Brendon Urie, kindergarten teacher,” Brendon answered, shaking his hand and managing not to add that Frank was much more his type than Jamia was.
“Brendon was nice enough to keep Rebecca this weekend,” Jamia added.
“Well, it was no trouble,” Brendon insisted. “My friends have kids, and we spent most of the weekend over there. And, um, I need to be getting home. It was very nice to meet you, Frank, and I hope you recover quickly, Jamia.” He reached out for a hug from Rebecca. “And I’ll see you tomorrow, munchkin.”
Brendon tried really hard to pretend he didn’t feel Frank watch him walk out the door.
A few days later, Frank was waiting outside Brendon’s classroom when the last bell of the day rang. Brendon waved at him as he helped Rebecca into her jacket and turned around to help Molly Mabry untangle herself from her backpack. He was surprised to see Frank and Rebecca still there when the rest of the students cleared out.
“Hey, what’s up?” he asked, walking over to them.
“I think maybe we started off on the wrong foot,” Frank answered with a grin. “Rebecca and I would like to take you out for pizza this afternoon, if that’s okay?”
Brendon hesitated. Socializing with parents wasn’t really acceptable, but he was already doing it with Jamia, right? “That’d be great! I have to clean up and everything, but there’s this place around the corner that Joe and I sometimes go to. It’s called Checkmarks. I can meet you there?”
Frank nodded. “Sounds good.” Rebecca waved at Brendon as her daddy hustled her out the door.
Brendon stood there for a moment, staring at the spot where they had been standing, and jumped when Greta stepped in front of him. “Hey, dreamer. If you’re going to flirt with the parents, make sure your room is clean first.” The teasing glint in her expression made Brendon laugh instead of scramble to come up with an excuse.
Really, for a principal, Greta was pretty awesome.
By the time Brendon got to the pizza place, Frank was settled in a booth in the corner and Rebecca was barely visible in the game room.
"Hey, how's Jamia?" Brendon asked, sliding in across from Frank.
"Cranky," Frank answered with a grin. “She hates having to have help. I think she's ready for me to go back out on the road."
"What exactly is it that you do?"
Frank gave him a curious look, like he expected Brendon to already know that answer. "I'm in a band."
"Oh! So that's why Rebecca wants to be a drummer?"
Frank looked amused. "Nah, that's Bob's bad influence. I've been trying to get her interested in guitar but she's not having it."
"Brendon plays guitar," Rebecca piped up, climbing onto the seat beside Frank.
"Really? We should play sometime."
Brendon was sure the invite is friendly obligation. He didn't think that the Friday afternoon sing-alongs with his and Joe's kindergarten classes actually compared to the fact Frank played guitar in a Real Band. Still, his enthusiasm was real when he said he’d love that.
Brendon had a good time with Frank and Rebecca, and he liked the fact that he now had friends outside the ones who were family. Over the next few weeks, Frank would show up to pick Rebecca up from school and chat with Brendon outside the classroom door. On a few occasions he invited Brendon out for pizza again, or ice cream, or to spend the afternoon with him and Rebecca at the zoo. Brendon didn’t tell anyone about these invites, mainly because they weren’t dates, no matter what Brendon liked to pretend. His friends would be making a bigger deal about it than he was, though, so he wanted to keep his delusions to himself. Frank just liked having someone to spend time with when he was with Rebecca, and he definitely wasn’t looking for something serious. He wasn’t even going to stay in this area; Brendon was pretty certain that as soon as Jamia was recovered enough, Frank would be off to rejoin his band.
When Brendon had said, “If there's anything I can do to help, let me know, " he actually meant more along the lines of bringing over a casserole or something, but once the offer was out there, he couldn’t take it back. Plus, he liked Rebecca, liked spending time with her and her father. He knew Frank had been forced into a caregiver role he wasn’t quite prepared for. He'd always been a part of Rebecca’s life, but more in an abstract way because he was in a band. He and Jamia had always been close, and now he was struggling because she always handled the day to day stuff. He just helped pay for everything and got to do the fun stuff, like dates with his daughter and reading bedtime stories to her from halfway around the world when he was on tour and camping out in the backyard when he wasn't. He had no idea about how to get her to go to bed without a fuss or which day she was supposed to bring tennis shoes to school for gym or how the hell to braid her hair. Brendon was more than happy to help.
There was nothing to support Brendon’s daydreams of a happy family and a house in the suburbs. Brendon’s house – not the apartment that he lived in, but the house next to Spencer that he’d bought and rented out – was more than big enough for him and Frank and Jamia and Rebecca. And if he had imagined them all there, well, Brendon had always been a dreamer, but he knew when to keep it to himself.
He should have known he wouldn’t be able to do it forever.
Frank and Rebecca were dropping Brendon off in front of his apartment building when Frank leaned across the seat just before Brendon shut the door. “Hey, uh, Brendon? You wanna maybe go out for dinner Friday night? Just the two of us; Jamia’s mom’s coming in for the weekend.”
Brendon agreed before he even thought about it. When he did think about it later, it didn’t matter to him that Frank was using him to get out of spending the evening with his former mother-in-law. What did matter was that now he was going to have to explain this to his friends. Brendon hadn’t missed Friday night since college.
Friday nights usually belonged to Jon or Spencer, because the uneven number made it hard to work around Ryan’s every-other-weekend schedule with Trenton, but this week was Ryan’s night to host. Brendon tried to figure out what he was going to say before he called, but when Ryan picked up, he just blurted out, “I’ve got a date on Friday night.”
Ryan was silent for a moment. “Seriously, Brendon, my house isn’t that bad, and Spencer’s cooking.”
“What, I can’t have a date?”
“The only person you’ve been on a date with in the last three years is Tom, and he’ll be here,” Ryan pointed out.
Brendon couldn’t deny it. He couldn’t even get angry about it. “Look, Ryan, I really do have a date. I’m sorry; you know I wouldn’t just bail on Friday night tradition. But I really like this guy.”
After a little bit of teasing, Ryan conceded it was possible that Brendon actually did have a date and gave him his permission. Brendon felt a little better about it after that, but wasn’t at all surprised when Spencer and then Jon called him for details.
Brendon was having a great time with Frank. He liked hearing stories about his band that he couldn't tell in front of Rebecca, liked that Frank saw him as someone he could trust to talk about parenting concerns with, liked that they'd been holding hands over the gear shift since they left the restaurant. He didn't want this night to end.
When Frank pulled into a parking space in front of Brendon's building, Brendon guessed he wasn't the only one not ready for the night to be over.
"You coming up?" Brendon asked.
"You sure?" Frank was already putting the car in park.
Brendon nodded, waited beside the car for Frank to lock it and come around. Even though it was completely unnecessary, Brendon liked the way Frank rested his hand on his lower back and left it there as they walked up the stairs. And if Brendon fumbled the keys as he was trying to unlock the front door, well, he blamed that on the beer he had with dinner.
Brendon thought he really shouldn't be nervous, but he was. He tossed his keys onto the coffee table and took a couple steps toward the kitchen. "You want a drink-"
He was cut off when Frank grabbed the back of his shirt and tugged, pulling Brendon back to him and turning him so they were nose to nose. "Hi."
Brendon smiled. "I guess that's a no?"
"That's a shut up and kiss me," Frank answered.
Brendon was smart enough to follow that direction.
[and then there was awesomely schmoopy sex]
Brendon heard his phone buzzing somewhere in the room, but he was really not planning on answering it. It had been a while since he woke up with someone else in his bed, and Frank was all warm skin and body heat beside him, arm thrown across Brendon's chest and semi-hard cock pressed against his leg. Brendon smiled and rolled onto his side, pulling Frank closer. Frank made a sleepy noise and flexed his fingers along Brendon's back.
"Morning," Brendon mumbled.
"Yeah," Frank answered, the word a rush of warm breath against Brendon's skin.
Brendon closed his eyes again, enjoying the lazy way Frank was running his hands over his skin, the way Frank's skin felt under his own hands. Finally, Frank shifted away and stretched a little bit.
"You have big plans for today?" Frank asked.
"Um, well," Brendon hesitated. He didn't want to admit that his big Saturday involved a trip to the craft store and a National Geographic special on polar bears. He knew his lifestyle was pretty lame compared to that of a rockstar.
Frank laughed, the sound low and rough and making Brendon's stomach quiver with butterflies of anticipation. "I'm gonna take that to mean you're free to spend the day with me."
Brendon couldn’t help laughing a little himself. "Yeah, that sounds doable." He heard his phone buzz again and groaned. "Seriously, though, I'm gonna have to answer that at some point."
"Not yet." Frank pulled completely away from Brendon and leaned over to snag his discarded jeans from the floor, checking the pockets until he found Brendon's phone. Brendon caught sight of Spencer's name on the display before Frank hit 'ignore' and turned the phone off, reaching down to tuck it between the mattress and the box spring.
"Hey!" Brendon protested, more out of principle than genuine desire to answer his friends' questions about how his date went. Especially since his date was technically not over.
"Don't worry; I'm cutting mine off, too." Frank found his own phone and did the same thing, turning it off and hiding it. "My friends have been calling too."
Brendon tried not to think about what it meant that Frank's friends knew they had a date, that Frank had been talking to his friends about Brendon.
"I'm gonna walk outside and smoke," Frank continued, pulling on the pair of sweats he had borrowed last night, "then I'm gonna blow you in the shower, 'kay?" He leaned down for a quick kiss before letting himself out of the bedroom.
Brendon lay back against the pillows for a minute, then got up to go turn the shower on. When Frank returned, coming up behind Brendon to press his cold cold hands against Brendon's belly, the shower was the perfect temperature.
Frank was true to his word to blow Brendon in the shower, and he was good. Brendon was maybe a little disappointed that he didn't get to reciprocate, but the tradeoff was the image of Frank on his knees, forehead pressed against Brendon's thigh and jerking himself off. Brendon counted that as a win.
After the shower, and after Frank made fun of Brendon for having a box of extra toothbrushes in his bathroom (Brendon couldn't help it! Haley bought in bulk and seemed to think that when she married Spencer, Brendon somehow became her responsibility too!), they moved to the kitchen.
Frank lived up to his claim of being an excellent egg cracker, and Brendon made them omelets and toast. He only managed to burn the omelets a little, and that was only because Frank had his hands around Brendon's waist and was nipping along Brendon's shoulder.
Brendon resigned himself to the fact he was pretty easy for Frank, and it didn't take much to persuade him to give up any other plans he might have had. Cheesy sci-fi movies, making out like teenagers, and handjobs on the couch seemed like a pretty good way to spend the afternoon.
Brendon fell asleep sometime after that, laying mostly on top of Frank and listening to his heart beat. When he woke up, the first hint of twilight was creeping in through the blinds, he had the blanket from the back of the couch wrapped around him, and the apartment was silent.
Brendon sighed and lay there for a while before getting up to find his phone and call Spencer.
On Monday, Rebecca told Brendon that her daddy flew back to take care of “band business” and Brendon pretended like he wasn’t upset about it. If he avoided Spencer, Ryan, and Jon more than usual, it was because he was busy and not because he didn’t want to face their concerned questioning. Still, the next couple of weeks drag by and Brendon was convinced it was pretty foolish of him to think the thing with Frank was more than a casual fling between friends.
Brendon didn’t remember that Rebecca and Maddie had become fast friends until he got to Jon’s for Maddie’s birthday party and saw Jamia standing on the patio with Cassie.
“You didn’t call Frank.” Jamia’s tone was accusing, but her tone was more inquisitive.
“No, I didn’t call Frank. I don’t have Frank’s number.”
“Frank is such an idiot,” she mumbled, shaking her head with a sigh. “Frank put his number in your phone before he left. He just wasn’t smart enough to call himself so that he’d have your number as well.”
Brendon pulled his phone out and scrolled through the contacts. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Jamia, it was just… that Frank’s number was totally in his phone. Oh. He looked at Jamia, feeling a little sheepish. “Oh.”
Jamia rolled her eyes. Brendon knew that look; it was the “omg, men!” look that he had seen on Cassie and Haley more than once. “Just call him, okay?”
“I will,” Brendon said, sounding unsure even to his own ears. “After the party.”
After the party somehow turned into later that night. Brendon turned his phone over in his hands, trying to decide if he should call or not. He was alone on the deck, but he the others were watching him from behind the glass of the patio doors. He knew that if he looked, Ryan would roll his eyes, Spencer would gesture impatiently, and Jon would give him a cheerful, enthusiastic thumbs up.
Brendon didn’t look.
He scrolled down to Frank's name and hit the send button, shifting from one foot to the other in nervousness as he waited.
When the answer came, there were noisy laughter and chatter and party sounds overwhelming the greeting, but it didn't sound like Frank.
"Um, hi, may I speak with Frank?" Brendon was using his very best teacher-calling-a-parent voice, more for an extra boost of courage than anything else.
The person on the other end mumbled something that sounded like "hold on" and Brendon heard him speaking to someone in the background. A different voice came back on the line, laughing, and said, "Frank's got his hands full right now; he can't come to the phone. You want to leave a message, or maybe talk to his boyfriend?"
"No, thank you," Brendon answered, oh-so-politely, like he hadn't completely registered what had been said, and he hung up without another word.
He didn't allow himself to think about it, about Frank's boyfriend or about why he'd put his number into Brendon's phone or about why Jamia had insisted that Brendon call. Instead he went back inside, ignoring the questioning looks everyone was giving him, and dropped down into Tom's lap. "Wanna go grab a few drinks? I'm buying."
Going out with Tom was always a good time, even if it was seldom a good idea. Brendon remembered this the next morning when it hurt too much to even open his eyes and his tongue felt – and tasted – like he spent the night licking rabid kittens. Tom was pressed up against him, all heat and rumbling snores. Tom was kinda like a bear or something, fuzzy and grumpy, maybe Brendon was licking him. If so, Tom totally owed him. Enough to fetch him a cup of coffee and answer the fucking phone that was ringing insistently from somewhere on the floor, at the very least.
"Tom," Brendon whined, dragging out the 'o' and then the 'm' of Tom's name. Brendon was pretty much a pro at whining.
Tom growled something and crawled over top of Brendon to lean over the edge of the bed. His elbow was digging into Brendon's ribs, but it'd be too much trouble to complain. He heard the change in his jeans pocket jingle and cascade to the floor – seriously, every sound was amplified – before the ringer is blissfully quiet.
Tom's voice was barely a murmur, his mumbling too difficult to decipher, but then he was shifting back onto the bed and shoving the phone at Brendon.
"Quit drooling on my pillow," Tom said, grouchy as ever. It would be cute if Brendon wasn't hungover.
Brendon took the phone and swatted at Tom. "Go make us some coffee."
Tom shook his head but slid off the bed anyway, grabbing a pair of boxers of the floor.
"Hey, those are mine, wear your own boxers!" Brendon complained. Tom flipped him off as he wandered out of the room.
Brendon looked down at the phone and remembered there was someone calling. "Hello?" It was quiet, so he repeated himself.
"Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to bother you." Frank sounded more pissed off than apologetic. "I was calling you back, didn't realize you were with someone."
Frank really had no place to get angry at Brendon. Brendon wasn't the one who lied about having a boyfriend. "Whatever, it's not important."
"Yeah, I thought it was. Obviously, I was mistaken."
He hung up before Brendon could answer, and Brendon stared at the phone for a minute before dropping it down beside the bed. Throwing it would take too much energy. He pulled the un-drooled-on side of the pillow over his head and tried to convince himself the churning in his stomach was just the alcohol.
