A/N: Whee! Another older story finally finished! (Does happy author dance) . Reviews, please, for the ending of another story! -Dl
Chapter 16
Frankie jumped up when he saw his cousin and Jordan approaching. His went back-and-forth between them anxiously, looking for any visible bruises. "Is everything...okay?" he asked them worriedly.
Jordan smiled. "Everything's fine, Frankie. Seth and I had a long...talk...and we've decided to try dating."
Frankie's mouth fell open as Seth eyed his new boyfriend cynically.
"Really?" Frankie said, not quite believing it. Jordan and Seth had been so antagonistic toward each other that he found it hard to believe that they were dating now.
Jordan nodded. "Tell him, Seth," he said.
Seth snorted, but shrugged. "Yeah, we're dating. For now," he added ominously, giving Jordan a dark look.
Jordan grinned. "I think you'll find over time that you can't live without me, Seth," he replied in faint amusement.
"As if," Seth said scornfully.
"Anyway, Frankie, please don't worry about us anymore," Jordan said to his friend.
"All right," he said in relief. "As long as everything's okay."
Jordan nodded. "It's all good," he said, and much to Frankie's shock he casually reached out and squeezed Seth's ass in front of everybody in the student union.
Seth bared his teeth at Jordan over this behavior, but the blonde only unrepentantly blew Seth an air kiss. It was then that Frankie realized that Seth had met his match in Jordan, and maybe they'd turn out to be a good couple after all. This should be interesting to watch...
"So they're dating now, I guess," Frankie told Caleb later on that evening.
"Wow. There's a match made somewhere warm and pretty scary," Caleb remarked drolly.
Frankie giggled. "Exactly. I couldn't believe it when Jordan told me. But something tells me that they'll actually suit each other. Which is weird."
"So, is your horny cousin going to be spending all of his time over at Jordan's place now?" Caleb asked curiously as he stretched out in the armchair he was sitting in.
"I suppose so," Frankie felt a certain amount of depression over this thought. Seth was one of the things keeping him from going insane, living with his hick relatives. Now, he'd only have Elena in the house as a defense against Aaron, Meredith, the glaring Eric, and the morose Rena, because Roger had won some kind of prize with his horse statue(Frankie wasn't shocked about that; it HAD been very good), and had moved out of they house entirely. Trapped in that farm house with all of those not-so-lovely people...he wondered if he'd finally lose his mind altogether, like grandma had.
Seeing his face fall, Caleb straightened up in his chair. "You'll miss him that much?" he asked sharply.
Hearing his tone of voice, Frankie glanced up in surprise. Seeing Caleb's dark expression, he realized that the other man's jealousy of Seth had resurfaced again. He sighed, shaking his head. "It's not that I'll miss him so much as that he helped to keep me entertained," he replied, waving a hand in the air. "Now all I'll have are Cousin Aaron and his sermons, Cousin Meredith's depression, Eric glaring at me all the time - I still don't know what his problem is with me - and Rena shuffling around the house like Lurch. Elena's smart - she stays out every night for as long as she can get away with it. Seth at least was entertaining. Even Roger's flown the coop." he added morosely.
"I see. Is it getting too much for you? Poor Frankie. Well, you'll just have to move in here with me," Caleb remarked calmly.
He blinked, his brain not quite taking in what Caleb had just said at first. "What?"
"I said, you'll just have to move in here with me," Caleb repeated patiently.
"You want me to...REALLY?!" Frankie cried eagerly, not believing it.
Caleb smiled. "You don't have to sound so disbelieving," he chided Frankie. "You already live next door, and we've been dating for almost two months...why not? We'll find out if we can stand each other in close quarters, and you can take my car to school every day rather than having to wait for a ride from Seth. Which you might not get anyway, if he's always off at Jordan's place."
Frankie felt a swell of warmth and happiness inside of himself. "I'd love to live with you," he said happily.
"Anything to get away from the Munsters, eh?" Caleb said with a grin.
Frankie jumped to his feet and walked over to the armchair. He shook his head. "Not just anything," he replied simply. "Specifically, I want to live with YOU. Because you're amazing," he went on as he crawled slowly, lithely, and sensually into Caleb's lap.
Caleb spanned his waist with his big hands. "Am I?" he asked.
Frankie nodded. He leaned over and kissed Caleb, his own hands on Caleb's broad shoulders. When their lips finally parted, he breathed: "Yes, you're amazing. You've made my entire time living in this ice hole worthwhile. If it weren't for you, I'd have fled back to California by now."
"Good to know," Caleb told him. "I like to make an impact," he added, his eyes gleaming ferally.
"You did," Frankie said. "You definitely did."
Frankie packed the last of his clothes back into the suitcase with a pleased sigh. Caleb was waiting for his downstairs, and they'd be walking next door together to start their cohabitation in a minute. He couldn't say that he'd miss this place, he thought as he looked around his small room, because he wouldn't. He'd told Cousin Meredith that while he'd appreciated her hospitality, he was set on moving in with his boyfriend. She'd understood, he could see it in her eyes. Something told him that she'd have run away, too, if it weren't for Elena. He felt terribly sorry for her. Maybe someday she'd be able to get away from the horrible Aaron and crazy grandma and have a life of her own again.
The door of his room crashed open, and Seth breezed in. "Hey, Cousin Frankie, you ditchin' us?" he asked as he eyed the suitcase.
Frankie snorted. "As if you HAVEN'T. When's the last time you were home, anyway? And how's Jordan, by the way?"
"He's an asshole," Seth replied cheerfully. "But great in bed. You takin' off with the giant from next door?"
"That's right. Caleb asked me to move in with him," Frankie explained.
Seth draped himself against the doorway negligently. "Lucky. Anyway, I'll see you at school, Cuz."
Frankie straightened up. "What?"
"Jordan asked me to join his theater troupe. Don't know why. He says I have 'presence', and he thinks I might be a good actor. I told him he's nuts, but he insisted," Seth said scornfully.
Frankie blinked. If Jordan thought that Seth had some acting talent, then he probably did. Jordan seemed to have an eye for that sort of thing. "Well, that's cool. It'll be nice to see you again," he said.
Seth tilted his head. "Why, Cousin Frankie, have you missed me?" he cooed.
"Like the plague," Frankie snorted. "But I guess so, for some strange reason."
Seth grinned. "You love me and you know it. Anyhoo, I'll see you around campus, Cuz. Have fun with your stud," he winked at Frankie and strolled away down the hall.
Frankie shook his head in bemusement as he picked up his suitcase and left the bedroom. Life was taking some strange turns, he mused to himself as he walked along. Not bad ones, just strange ones...
The door to grandma's room creaked open and he felt eyes on him. Frankie paused. "Hey, Grandma, I'm moving out," he said, feeling kind of foolish.
No answer. The door slammed shut briskly. "I'll miss you, too," Frankie said dryly, before proceeding on to the staircase.
Caleb was sinking into the old couch, and had to wrestle his way out of it when Frankie appeared. "Ready?" he asked, sounding like he wanted to get the hell out of here as soon as was humanly possible. Not that Frankie could blame him...
"Definitely," he replied, as Caleb took his suitcase from him.
"Let’s get going, then. I want to get you unpacked, then we can celebrate," Caleb remarked with a leer in his direction.
"Fornicators," a voice growled, making Frankie jump. Aaron had appeared in the doorway and was glaring at them both. "Abominations. You'll burn in Hell."
Frankie felt a shiver run down his spine, but Caleb merely lifted a single brow. "Will we? Well, at least Hell won't have people like you in it," he drawled. "Come on, Frankie. Let's get going," he headed for the door, and Frankie scurried after him with a single backward glance at his blackly glowering cousin.
"What a peach," Caleb remarked scornfully as they walked down the drive together, their boots crunching in the snow. "By the way, did you ever find out why Meredith was willing to give you free room and board?"
Frankie shook his head. "She’d never talk about it. And I never wanted to push the issue, since I didn't have anywhere else to go if she kicked me out."
"Huh. So that's one mystery we'll probably never solve, though I’m grateful for it anyway. Because you probably wouldn’t have come here if she hadn’t offered to let you live with them, and I probably never would have met you. So I guess I'm going to go ahead and be grateful to your weird cousins, even if they DO creep me out."
"Yeah, me too," Frankie agreed. "Moving here was the best thing that's ever happened to me, though I didn't think so when I first arrived. It was only the next morning that I changed my mind, when this irate guy appeared and yelled at me..." he grinned up at his lover.
Caleb chuckled. "You looked like an angry pheasant when you yelled at me," he said. "With your feathers all ruffled. I mist admit, I was impressed that you weren't scared of me, seeing as you're so much smaller than me..."
He grunted as Frankie kicked him smartly on the side of his shin. "I’ve told you before about those 'little' cracks," he growled.
"Don't hurt me, don't hurt me, I surrender," Caleb said amiably, pretending to shake in his boots.
Frankie snorted, but he also put his arm around Caleb's waist. "I forgive you...this time," he said.
"Thanks, I appreciate it. There's nothing scarier than an angry Frankie Post," Caleb teased.
"Oh, I don't know. How about the people who live in that house?" Frankie said, jerking his head back the way they’d just come.
A laugh. "You have a good point. Come on, Frankie, let's go home," Caleb said, and the two of them set off for his house in complete charity with each other and the world.
The End
Chapter 16
Frankie jumped up when he saw his cousin and Jordan approaching. His went back-and-forth between them anxiously, looking for any visible bruises. "Is everything...okay?" he asked them worriedly.
Jordan smiled. "Everything's fine, Frankie. Seth and I had a long...talk...and we've decided to try dating."
Frankie's mouth fell open as Seth eyed his new boyfriend cynically.
"Really?" Frankie said, not quite believing it. Jordan and Seth had been so antagonistic toward each other that he found it hard to believe that they were dating now.
Jordan nodded. "Tell him, Seth," he said.
Seth snorted, but shrugged. "Yeah, we're dating. For now," he added ominously, giving Jordan a dark look.
Jordan grinned. "I think you'll find over time that you can't live without me, Seth," he replied in faint amusement.
"As if," Seth said scornfully.
"Anyway, Frankie, please don't worry about us anymore," Jordan said to his friend.
"All right," he said in relief. "As long as everything's okay."
Jordan nodded. "It's all good," he said, and much to Frankie's shock he casually reached out and squeezed Seth's ass in front of everybody in the student union.
Seth bared his teeth at Jordan over this behavior, but the blonde only unrepentantly blew Seth an air kiss. It was then that Frankie realized that Seth had met his match in Jordan, and maybe they'd turn out to be a good couple after all. This should be interesting to watch...
"So they're dating now, I guess," Frankie told Caleb later on that evening.
"Wow. There's a match made somewhere warm and pretty scary," Caleb remarked drolly.
Frankie giggled. "Exactly. I couldn't believe it when Jordan told me. But something tells me that they'll actually suit each other. Which is weird."
"So, is your horny cousin going to be spending all of his time over at Jordan's place now?" Caleb asked curiously as he stretched out in the armchair he was sitting in.
"I suppose so," Frankie felt a certain amount of depression over this thought. Seth was one of the things keeping him from going insane, living with his hick relatives. Now, he'd only have Elena in the house as a defense against Aaron, Meredith, the glaring Eric, and the morose Rena, because Roger had won some kind of prize with his horse statue(Frankie wasn't shocked about that; it HAD been very good), and had moved out of they house entirely. Trapped in that farm house with all of those not-so-lovely people...he wondered if he'd finally lose his mind altogether, like grandma had.
Seeing his face fall, Caleb straightened up in his chair. "You'll miss him that much?" he asked sharply.
Hearing his tone of voice, Frankie glanced up in surprise. Seeing Caleb's dark expression, he realized that the other man's jealousy of Seth had resurfaced again. He sighed, shaking his head. "It's not that I'll miss him so much as that he helped to keep me entertained," he replied, waving a hand in the air. "Now all I'll have are Cousin Aaron and his sermons, Cousin Meredith's depression, Eric glaring at me all the time - I still don't know what his problem is with me - and Rena shuffling around the house like Lurch. Elena's smart - she stays out every night for as long as she can get away with it. Seth at least was entertaining. Even Roger's flown the coop." he added morosely.
"I see. Is it getting too much for you? Poor Frankie. Well, you'll just have to move in here with me," Caleb remarked calmly.
He blinked, his brain not quite taking in what Caleb had just said at first. "What?"
"I said, you'll just have to move in here with me," Caleb repeated patiently.
"You want me to...REALLY?!" Frankie cried eagerly, not believing it.
Caleb smiled. "You don't have to sound so disbelieving," he chided Frankie. "You already live next door, and we've been dating for almost two months...why not? We'll find out if we can stand each other in close quarters, and you can take my car to school every day rather than having to wait for a ride from Seth. Which you might not get anyway, if he's always off at Jordan's place."
Frankie felt a swell of warmth and happiness inside of himself. "I'd love to live with you," he said happily.
"Anything to get away from the Munsters, eh?" Caleb said with a grin.
Frankie jumped to his feet and walked over to the armchair. He shook his head. "Not just anything," he replied simply. "Specifically, I want to live with YOU. Because you're amazing," he went on as he crawled slowly, lithely, and sensually into Caleb's lap.
Caleb spanned his waist with his big hands. "Am I?" he asked.
Frankie nodded. He leaned over and kissed Caleb, his own hands on Caleb's broad shoulders. When their lips finally parted, he breathed: "Yes, you're amazing. You've made my entire time living in this ice hole worthwhile. If it weren't for you, I'd have fled back to California by now."
"Good to know," Caleb told him. "I like to make an impact," he added, his eyes gleaming ferally.
"You did," Frankie said. "You definitely did."
Frankie packed the last of his clothes back into the suitcase with a pleased sigh. Caleb was waiting for his downstairs, and they'd be walking next door together to start their cohabitation in a minute. He couldn't say that he'd miss this place, he thought as he looked around his small room, because he wouldn't. He'd told Cousin Meredith that while he'd appreciated her hospitality, he was set on moving in with his boyfriend. She'd understood, he could see it in her eyes. Something told him that she'd have run away, too, if it weren't for Elena. He felt terribly sorry for her. Maybe someday she'd be able to get away from the horrible Aaron and crazy grandma and have a life of her own again.
The door of his room crashed open, and Seth breezed in. "Hey, Cousin Frankie, you ditchin' us?" he asked as he eyed the suitcase.
Frankie snorted. "As if you HAVEN'T. When's the last time you were home, anyway? And how's Jordan, by the way?"
"He's an asshole," Seth replied cheerfully. "But great in bed. You takin' off with the giant from next door?"
"That's right. Caleb asked me to move in with him," Frankie explained.
Seth draped himself against the doorway negligently. "Lucky. Anyway, I'll see you at school, Cuz."
Frankie straightened up. "What?"
"Jordan asked me to join his theater troupe. Don't know why. He says I have 'presence', and he thinks I might be a good actor. I told him he's nuts, but he insisted," Seth said scornfully.
Frankie blinked. If Jordan thought that Seth had some acting talent, then he probably did. Jordan seemed to have an eye for that sort of thing. "Well, that's cool. It'll be nice to see you again," he said.
Seth tilted his head. "Why, Cousin Frankie, have you missed me?" he cooed.
"Like the plague," Frankie snorted. "But I guess so, for some strange reason."
Seth grinned. "You love me and you know it. Anyhoo, I'll see you around campus, Cuz. Have fun with your stud," he winked at Frankie and strolled away down the hall.
Frankie shook his head in bemusement as he picked up his suitcase and left the bedroom. Life was taking some strange turns, he mused to himself as he walked along. Not bad ones, just strange ones...
The door to grandma's room creaked open and he felt eyes on him. Frankie paused. "Hey, Grandma, I'm moving out," he said, feeling kind of foolish.
No answer. The door slammed shut briskly. "I'll miss you, too," Frankie said dryly, before proceeding on to the staircase.
Caleb was sinking into the old couch, and had to wrestle his way out of it when Frankie appeared. "Ready?" he asked, sounding like he wanted to get the hell out of here as soon as was humanly possible. Not that Frankie could blame him...
"Definitely," he replied, as Caleb took his suitcase from him.
"Let’s get going, then. I want to get you unpacked, then we can celebrate," Caleb remarked with a leer in his direction.
"Fornicators," a voice growled, making Frankie jump. Aaron had appeared in the doorway and was glaring at them both. "Abominations. You'll burn in Hell."
Frankie felt a shiver run down his spine, but Caleb merely lifted a single brow. "Will we? Well, at least Hell won't have people like you in it," he drawled. "Come on, Frankie. Let's get going," he headed for the door, and Frankie scurried after him with a single backward glance at his blackly glowering cousin.
"What a peach," Caleb remarked scornfully as they walked down the drive together, their boots crunching in the snow. "By the way, did you ever find out why Meredith was willing to give you free room and board?"
Frankie shook his head. "She’d never talk about it. And I never wanted to push the issue, since I didn't have anywhere else to go if she kicked me out."
"Huh. So that's one mystery we'll probably never solve, though I’m grateful for it anyway. Because you probably wouldn’t have come here if she hadn’t offered to let you live with them, and I probably never would have met you. So I guess I'm going to go ahead and be grateful to your weird cousins, even if they DO creep me out."
"Yeah, me too," Frankie agreed. "Moving here was the best thing that's ever happened to me, though I didn't think so when I first arrived. It was only the next morning that I changed my mind, when this irate guy appeared and yelled at me..." he grinned up at his lover.
Caleb chuckled. "You looked like an angry pheasant when you yelled at me," he said. "With your feathers all ruffled. I mist admit, I was impressed that you weren't scared of me, seeing as you're so much smaller than me..."
He grunted as Frankie kicked him smartly on the side of his shin. "I’ve told you before about those 'little' cracks," he growled.
"Don't hurt me, don't hurt me, I surrender," Caleb said amiably, pretending to shake in his boots.
Frankie snorted, but he also put his arm around Caleb's waist. "I forgive you...this time," he said.
"Thanks, I appreciate it. There's nothing scarier than an angry Frankie Post," Caleb teased.
"Oh, I don't know. How about the people who live in that house?" Frankie said, jerking his head back the way they’d just come.
A laugh. "You have a good point. Come on, Frankie, let's go home," Caleb said, and the two of them set off for his house in complete charity with each other and the world.
The End