steins_stories (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
steins_stories) wrote2009-03-30 08:59 am
steins_stories) wrote2009-03-30 08:59 am
Entry tags:
The Best Gift, NC17, Franky/Linke, David/Timo
Title: The Best Gift
Author:
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
steinsgrrl Fandom: Panik
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I in no way intend to insinuate that any of the below actually happened. It is simply a piece of written entertainment based on the public personas of real people.
Rating: NC17
Warnings: Adult Content
Summary: Linke wants to give Frank everything he wants for Christmas
Author's Note: Written from a Christmas prompt grab on Panikslash community on LiveJournal
“Hey Franky! Where’ve you been all day?” Linke clapped the scruffy-haired singer softly on the back and reached around him to grab the eggnog carton out of the refrigerator.
Franky continued to scan the contents of the fridge, before sighing and letting the door swing closed. Nothing inside really seemed appetizing to him right now. Maybe he just wasn’t hungry after all.
He realized his friend still stood over by the sink, waiting for an answer. He didn’t really want to talk to anyone, but he wasn’t going to be rude. Linke didn’t deserve that.
“Just hanging out in my room. I talked to my sister online.” He thrust his hands deep in the pockets of his jeans and watched his bare toes curl and uncurl on the linoleum.
“They’re still snowed in down there?” Linke poured a short glass of the thick drink and placed the carton back in the refrigerator.
“Yeah.” Franky reached into the cupboard next to the fridge and his fingers danced quickly over the tops of several small glass jars, nudging them this way and that, before he found the one he was searching for. He unscrewed the cap as he approached Linke’s glass, pinched up a bit of the contents in the jar and sprinkled the brown powder over the top of the eggnog.
“What is this?” Linke picked up the glass and peered at the powder floating on the foam.
“It’s nutmeg. Don’t worry, it’s better this way.” Franky chuckled as Linke sniffed at the concoction, his look dubious. He leaned back against the sink and folded his arms over his chest. “Go on, try it.”
Linke squinted at him and took a tentative sip, letting the liquid slide over his tongue for a moment before swallowing. A smile twitched at his lips and he shrugged a shoulder at his friend.
“It’s good, right?” Franky smirked.
“Yeah, yeah. So they don’t know when the roads will be cleared enough to drive down there?”
Franky’s face clouded over again, and Linke could have kicked himself.
“No. And the storm’s headed here.“ He turned to look out the window behind the sink, but he focused on nothing, “We’ve been so busy, and I just haven‘t seen them for so long…and now I won‘t see them for Christmas, either.” The soft sorrow of Franky’s words wormed right into Linke’s chest and clenched around his heart.
“I’m sorry, man.“ Linke came to stand behind his friend and placed a hand on his shoulder. He rubbed the tense muscle under his fingers and squeezed gently. “Is there anything we can do?”
Franky sighed again before turning to the taller man. Looking straight ahead brought his eyes level with Linke’s throat, and he flicked his eyes up to meet the deep blue eyes of the man in front of him. He forced a tight smile, covered Linke’s hand on his shoulder with his own and squeezed.
“No. Really, it’s okay. I’ll be okay.”
It wasn’t difficult for Linke to realize his friend was lying. Figuring that Franky just didn’t want to burden his friends with his problems, he decided to try again. At this point, he would do anything to make Franky feel better.
“Well, look, we’re going to start decorating for Christmas. Want to come help?” He grinned. “We’ll put you in charge of tinsel and mistletoe.”
Franky tried to match the smile he was given, but his vivid blue eyes were moist and sad. It was enough for Linke.
He quickly set his glass on the counter and slowly, carefully, wrapped his arms around his friend.
Franky didn’t resist being pulled into Linke’s arms. It just felt so damn good to touch someone, to be held by someone who cared, and it opened a door he’d been struggling so hard to hold closed. He squeezed his eyelids together tightly, but it only served to push out the tears that had been threatening to fall all day.
Linke nuzzled his nose into the soft hair above Franky’s ear and petted the back of his head.
“Hey…shhh…it’s okay…”
Franky breathed a shuddering, hot breath into his neck, and desire awoke in Linke’s belly. He shook his head, took a deep breath and blew it out, willing the feeling away. He finally had Franky in his arms, but not the way he wanted.
Franky was mumbling into Linke’s neck, and it made the taller man smile and pull back a little. He rested his temple against Franky’s damp, prickly cheek.
“Tell me that again?”
He felt Franky take a deep breath.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Franky tried to chuckle but the sound caught in his throat.
“It’s okay.“ Linke held his friend tighter and smoothed his palm in circles on Franky’s back.
“No, it’s not, it’s stupid. What kind of idiot cries because he can’t go home and see his mommy for Christmas?” Franky pulled away and roughly wiped at unshaven cheeks with the heels of his palms.
Linke already missed the feeling of Franky in his arms and reached out for him again, settling for brushing the young man’s hair out of his eyes, then resting his forearms on Franky’s shoulders.
“Franky, you love your family and you miss them. It’s not a crime.” He ducked his head, trying to catch Franky’s downward gaze with his own. Franky got the hint and looked in his friend’s eyes, an embarrassed smile on his lips, a blush on his cheeks.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Besides, this is just me, right?” Franky’s smile grew and he nodded. Linke grinned back at him and pulled away, tousling his hair. “Okay, then. So are you gonna come help us or what?”
“You know, I think I’m going to go call my mom.” Linke inclined his head in assent and took a sip of his eggnog. Franky got to the door by the hall and stopped.
“Christian?” Franky waited until Linke’s eyes met his. “Thanks.”
Linke watched him leave the room over the rim of his glass.
~~~~~~~~~~
By the time Linke got back into the living room, the rest of the band had gotten their giant Christmas tree to stand upright, and more importantly, to stay upright in the stand.
Timo and David were in the corner by the stereo, flipping through cds and murmuring quietly to each other. No doubt they were planning out the Christmas carol soundtrack for the rest of the night.
The two men were pretty much oblivious to everything else going on in the room at the moment, which wasn’t particularly unusual, as they often got lost within each other. Linke wasn’t quite sure how they could miss the commotion happening around the tree, though.
Juri was hanging on to a long string of lights with one large hand while the other hand was wrapped around the calf of Jan, who sat squirming on the blonde man’s shoulders. Jan pulled another length of lights from Juri’s grasp and leaned further toward the top of the tree, almost losing his balance. The shorter blonde squeaked and grabbed at Juri’s head, hanging on.
“Dammit, Jan, get the lights anchored up there already!” Though the words were stern, Juri’s tone definitely was not. Jan dug his heels into Juri’s sides and quickly realized his mistake when the big man gasped and wiggled, lurching backward.
“Hold still, I’m gonna fall!” Jan clutched under Juri’s chin as the bigger man gasped for breath in between giggles.
“Quit tickling!” Juri finally choked out. He dropped the string of lights and spanned his hand over Jan’s knee, threatening retaliation.
“Okay, okay!” Jan laughed and leaned slightly toward the fir tree that stood almost to the ceiling. “Quit screwing around and get over here so I can get these lights started!”
Juri growled, Jan sniggered, and Linke grinned at the whole scene.
Then he remembered that someone was missing. Franky’s moist eyes swam up in his memory, and Linke cleared his throat from the doorway.
“Hey guys…” Between Timo and David being in their own little world and Jan and Juri teasing each other, Linke got no reaction.
He cleared his throat harder and had to cough for his effort.
“Hey!” It was not quite a shout, but it got the attention he wanted. Four heads spun in his direction, and suddenly felt his face warm just a little.
“Sorry about that.” He swiped his hand across his bangs, pushing them all to one side. “We need to do something for Franky.”
Timo glanced around the room. “Yeah, where is Franky?”
“He’s in his room, where he’s been most of the day.” Linke settled himself into the plush armchair by the door and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. He crooked a finger at the blondes by the tree. “He’s really depressed about not being able to go see his family because of the weather. I think we need to do something special for him.”
Timo wandered to the couch and plopped down at the end, leaning against the armrest, and David followed close after, curling up under Timo’s arm. David whispered under his breath in Timo’s ear, and Timo murmured low in response.
“We should have noticed.” They had the grace to look chagrined when they turned to Linke.
Juri bent over and let Jan dismount in front of him.
“Do you have something in mind?” Jan parked himself on the couch armrest opposite Timo.
“Yeah, I think so,” Linke pulled his cell out of his pocket, “but we’re going to have to move to get it done before the storm gets here.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Franky couldn’t stand it anymore. After his talk with Linke and an hour and a half on the phone with his mom, he’d made another run to the kitchen, desperate for something to drink. Only now was he realizing that perhaps drowning his sorrows in a giant Red Bull might not have been the best idea.
He decided he’d held off long enough; this was getting to be almost painful. Though the house had been silent during his drink run, chances were still good that he’d run into another housemate eventually. He hadn’t really wanted to explain again why he wasn’t in the mood for cocoa and tree-trimming, but his bladder wouldn’t hold out another minute, and it was either have a truly embarrassing accident or just take the chance and get to the bathroom.
He opened the door and poked his head out, looking up and down the hall for signs of life on the second floor. Seeing none, he ventured out, and promptly stubbed his toe on the object lying in front of his door.
Glancing around again to double-check that no one was around to witness his bout of klutziness, Franky bent over and picked up the box. His brows furrowed in confusion.
Twice the size of his fist and heavy, it was badly gift-wrapped in thick, bright orange paper and black ribbon, half of which was either askew or falling off completely. Gaps in the seams, where the tape hadn’t been pushed down fully, allowed a glimpse of color from inside, but he couldn’t make out what was in it.
Curious or not, he still had to use the restroom. He quickly placed the package on the desk by the door and trotted down the hall to the bathroom.
The door to Jan’s room opened very quietly and the young blonde peeked out. He tip-toed silently to Franky’s room and peered in the open door. Spotting the present on the desk, he grinned and tip-toed back to his room as silently as he came. Just as his door closed, the door to the bathroom opened.
Franky yawned on the way back to his room, scratching his belly under his sweatshirt. He’d cooped himself up all day but perhaps it was time to rejoin the world. The boys had to be about starving by now, and he was surprised no one had come up to harangue him about when he was planning to come cook. He smiled to himself, glad it didn’t usually occur to them to just order pizza, because it was definitely nice to feel needed.
As soon as Franky entered the room, his eyes fell again on the small, orange gift. He grabbed it up, swung the door closed and plopped himself on the bed. Turning it over in his hands, he shook it a little. Whatever was inside clunked back and forth slightly, but made no real noise that might give some clue what was in the box. He hesitantly brought the package up to his nose. No, no scent, either.
“Hm.”
Franky shrugged and slid his thumb under the tape the barely held he ends closed and unfolded the paper from around the box. Setting the wrapping aside, he turned his attention to the box itself.
It was white. Plain white. Not a word on it, not a letter, not even a number. The box was also secured with tape.
“What the hell…?” Franky murmured, slitting the tape with his nail. He opened the box and peered inside.
From the top, it looked like a white mug, stuffed with paper. He flipped the box over and dumped the mug out onto his palm. Before he even turned it right-side-up, he knew what it was.
“You gotta be kidding me.” Franky picked up the wrapping paper and searched it for a name, something to indicate who gave him. Not finding one, he tossed it down and looked at his gift again.
Bill Kaulitz smiled up at him from the side of a sturdy, ceramic mug.
It wasn’t much of a secret that Franky thought Bill Kaulitz was…well, dreamy. In fact, the guys teased him about it whenever they could. Franky knew this had to be some little joke one of the guys was playing on him.
Staring down at Bill’s sexy smile, feeling a little tight in the stomach, Franky decided he would call their bluff. He was going to go downstairs and cook supper like he’d never found the mug. Franky smirked when he wondered how long it would take for the prankster to break down and ask him about the gift.
~~~~~~~~~~
For the second time that day, Franky found himself staring into the refrigerator.
This time, however, he was staring for a different reason. He’d opened it to gather the ingredients for a vegetable stir-fry. What he found inside didn’t look like any vegetable he’d ever seen.
That wasn’t entirely true. It did look like a vegetable, it looked like a yellow squash. A yellow squash wrapped in red cloth.
Franky shook his head and wrapped his hand around the squash, undressing it as he brought it to the cutting board. He righted the cloth.
Red bikini briefs with Bill Kaulitz’s face on the front, right where his…
“Do we have any more eggnog, Linke?” Timo rounded the corner into the kitchen, speaking back over his shoulder.
Franky jumped and shoved the panties into his front pocket before realizing they made a huge bulge. He pulled them out quickly, threw them into the cupboard by his knees and spun around to face his bandmate.
“Timo!” Franky’s voice was much too loud for their small kitchen, his face burning hot.
Timo stopped dead and gave Franky a blank look. “Hey, Franky. Feeling better?” Timo’s voice was just as loud as Franky’s.
“I’m…good, thanks.” Franky answered haltingly, regarding his friend for a moment before opening the fridge again and gathering the rest of his ingredients as calmly as he could.
Timo stared at his friend until Franky had gathered the produce and closed the fridge door with his hip.
Franky piled onions, peppers and zucchini by the cutting board and opened more drawers than was necessary while looking for a knife.
“Good! I’m just gonna…” Timo turned to leave, “…I think David needs me upstairs.”
Franky blew out the quick breath that rode on his chuckle and set about washing vegetables. Timo’s reaction to Franky rummaging around in the refrigerator was pretty damning; he had to have known those panties where in there.
He’d brought the vegetables back to the cutting board before he felt eyes on him. Franky looked to the door of the kitchen.
Linke stood leaning against the doorjamb, watching him.
Like Franky, Linke was barefoot. That’s where the similarities ended. Linke was all in black…black jeans, black button-down shirt, open half-way down the front. His hair was tousled, tufts sticking out on the side and back. Blue eyes were trained on him and Franky read the caring in them. Caring and…something Franky couldn’t place. His face felt hot and he looked down at the cutting board before offering his friend a smile.
“Want some help?’ Linke stood straight and swiped his bangs to the side.
Franky’s smile grew. It wasn’t often anyone came in to offer help. That didn’t usually bother him much, he liked to spend his cooking time thinking. At this moment, however, the idea of chopping vegetables with Linke seemed like a great way to spend an evening.
As Linke washed his hands, Franky pulled out another cutting board.
He set out the rest of the ingredients and started chopping the onions. They needed enough to make a big batch, enough for everyone, and Franky’s eyes burned. He’d heard that it helped to put your head in the freezer, but as soon as he thought of doing it, he shook his head. That sounded beyond ridiculous.
Tears began to roll, one by one, and then began to stream down his cheeks. His vision shimmered and at this rate, he’d end up cutting off a thumb.
With a noise of disgust, he ran over to the freezer and stuck his head in as far as it would go. Linke laughed sympathetically, shook his head, and wet a rag for Franky to put over his eyes.
And if he happened to splash a handful of water at Franky in the process, well…it was all part of the healing process, right?
~~~~~~~~~~
David and Timo had taken a while to come downstairs for supper. Of course, no one wanted to go fetch them; no one needed to see whatever it was they might interrupt.
The table was set by the time they came tripping down the stairs, David grinning, Timo flushed and wearing a sly smile. As they slid into their seats, Linke glared at them from the other side of the table, a warning in his eyes. The breathless men tried so hard to straighten up, but the corners of their mouths kept twitching and they looked as if they might explode at any moment.
Franky stared at them, a spoonful of rice stopped half-way to his plate.
“Do I even want to know what you two are up to?”
David coughed, failing to cover his laugh, and Jan kicked him under the table.
“Ow!” David kicked back, missing and kicking Juri’s shin. Juri’s eyebrows shot up and he threw an evil smile in David’s direction.
Franky shook his head and plopped a small pile of moist, egg-fried rice on his plate. There was no telling what had gotten into David, and sometimes Franky thought it might be best to stay out of it. Life was safer that way. He smirked to himself and passed the rice bowl to Linke.
Linke was just finishing filling his and Franky’s water glasses, and as he was putting the pitcher on the side-table, Franky held the rice bowl out to him and found his gaze wandering over his friend.
There was such a kindness in those blue eyes, and an intelligence that took Franky’s breath away. And when Linke laughed, the humor that shone in his face was simply contagious, and Franky didn’t want to stray too far from his friend.
Linke took the bowl from him with a smile, and Franky noticed the curve of Linke’s lips, the bottom lip full and pouty. He noticed how his mouth twitched at the corners when he tried not to laugh but couldn’t hold it in. Franky watched his friend fail miserably at eating with chopsticks, and lose control of the smile that turned into a full-on laugh, and then Franky saw the dimples he couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed before, the ones that were just this side of adorable.
The dinner-time chatter seemed to fade away as Franky gazed at his friend. He wondered why he was just now noticing all these things about Linke, and he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off him.
Linke laughed again as Jan threw his own chopsticks down and bolted toward the kitchen. His eyes turned to Franky, catching him staring. Linke’s laugh melted down to a smoldering smile and as Franky watched, the blue of Linke’s eyes went dark slate.
Franky didn’t know what it was about that look, but he knew what it did to him. His chest felt warm and his cheeks even warmer. His mouth was dry and any thought of how to fix that completely escaped him.
What Franky didn’t notice was that the rest of the band had also stopped talking. They looked from their singer to their bassist, eyes wide at how the two were lost in each other’s eyes.
“I’ll starve to death if I have to use chopsticks to eat rice!” Jan came strolling back into the room, looking down at his handful of forks. “Anyone else want one?”
Hearing no answer, he looked up, and stopped just inside the room. He narrowed his eyes and glared at his bandmates.
“What’d I miss?”
~~~~~~~~~~
Franky’s cheeks were still flushed when he had excused himself soon after Jan had come back with the forks. He’d said he wanted to shower and get an early night. Linke was sure that wasn’t quite the whole truth.
Linke knew he was giving too much away. He knew it, but his control was slipping away, bit by bit. He frowned and scrubbed harder at the dried eggnog coating the bottom of the glass. He finally worked it loose and dredged the glass through the soapy water again before rinsing and setting it in the rack to dry.
He was really confused. No matter how much Linke cared for Franky…oh hell, no matter how much he had grown to love Franky these last couple years, Linke knew he wasn’t who Franky wanted.
The kind of man Franky wanted was delicate, feminine. A man so beautiful that he stole your breath just looking at him.
He’d seen Franky watch Tokio Hotel videos on his laptop; Franky had barely been able to rip his eyes away from the tall, lithe vision of Bill Kaulitz. When they had met at that festival last summer, Franky had been a mess of nerves before he and Bill were introduced, and on the way home, they’d listened to him gush about the singer for hours until they’d begun to roll their eyes at the mere mention of the singer’s name.
Linke wasn’t stupid, and Franky’s feelings were very clear. But if that was how Franky felt, then why did Linke catch Franky looking at him? More to the point, why did he catch Franky looking at him like that?
The look on Franky’s face when Linke had looked at him had started as adoring. As he’d watched though, Franky had blushed and licked his lips. If he didn’t know better, he’d have thought Franky was trying to look coy. Whatever it was, whatever it meant, the sight of that look in Franky’s eyes…the thought of that look in Franky’s eyes made Linke’s insides twist pleasantly and his groin tighten.
This wasn’t about what he wanted, though. This was about what Franky wanted, and random look or not, he didn’t want Linke.
He rinsed the last of the plates and stacked it with the rest in the rack to dry. Reaching into the drawer next to the silverware, Linke found a hand-towel and dried his pruny hands. He slid his cell from his pocket and flipped it open, searched for a particular recently acquired number. With a heaviness that made him feel much older than he was, he dialed.
“Hi. Yeah, sorry, it’s Linke again. I just wanted to make sure you were still coming tomorrow…?”
~~~~~~~~~~
Franky squeezed his eyes closed and twisted the taps, cutting off the flow of the shower. He swept the tepid water from his face, looked around for a towel and grunted.
As he dripped on the floor, goosebumps broke out and spread across dripping skin. He didn’t particularly enjoy cold showers but there hadn’t seemed much of a choice after the look Linke had given him.
Franky couldn’t let himself think of that look or the whole point of his shower would be moot.
He was starting to shiver harder and scrambled for the pull of the towel closet. Yanking open the door, Franky was faced with a stack of neatly folded, fresh towels.
Franky grabbed the towel on top, and pulled the cotton to his face before he realized it wasn’t a towel.
One eyebrow raised, Franky let one side of the ‘towel’ drop and watched it unfold.
Franky groaned and dropped his hands in front of him, looking at the ceiling. He brought them up again, inspecting the garment more closely.
Who the hell would have bought him a Bill Kaulitz hoodie? Where was the lead singer of a popular German band that wasn’t Tokio Hotel going to wear a Bill Kaulitz hoodie?
This was getting ridiculous, and Franky wondered when they were going to get to the punch line.
He grabbed a real towel this time, dried off quickly and brushed his teeth. Wrapping the towel loosely around his waist, he shoved the hoodie amongst his dirty clothes and made the short trip to his room.
Franky closed the door behind him before turning the light on and tossing his dirty clothes in the hamper. He was holding out the hoodie, checking it out, when he noticed the difference out of he corner of his eye.
His bed had been changed.
Franky could only stare. The hoodie dropped, forgotten, by his foot, and his mouth hung open.
Bill Kaulitz was everywhere. On his pillow, on his sheets, on his blanket. Everywhere.
Very slowly, Franky walked to the bed and stared at the visage in front of him. The dark hair, the brown eyes, the pale, delicate skin…he knew these things like he knew his own face. Franky had stared at them enough, studied them enough, he figured he should be able to sketch them with his eyes closed.
As he sat on the bed, it occurred to Franky that having the face of a man that hot, a man you had fantasized about for years was really very naughty. He smiled and stripped his towel off, tossing it away.
He fingered the switch on the lamp before letting it go and climbing on the bed. Maybe it would be better to see this. After these new feelings he’d been having around Linke, this just felt so familiar and warm and safe.
Propping his new ‘Bill’ pillow up against the wall, Franky leaned back against the headboard. He let his eyes skim over the young man’s features.
He eyed those plush lips, and Franky ran a finger across a pert, pink nipple, circling and teasing. He tugged gently between his thumb and finger, and his cock twitched in response.
Yeah, this would be good.
Dragging his fingers down his belly, over soft, damp skin, he sucked his breath in slowly. He wanted to grab himself, wrap his fingers around his dick and just start stroking, but he made himself wait, be a little patient. He looked from the pillow to where his hand ran down his thigh, and watched his cock pumping up next to it, straining to get to his hand.
Sighing at the warmth spreading over him from the middle out, Franky cupped his balls, rolling them, squeezing so slightly. His legs spread further.
Bill’s eyes were such a deep brown, like wildflower honey, and Franky gazed into them as he began to stroke himself. And once he began to touch himself, rubbing came faster. It wasn’t really a choice.
Franky sucked on his bottom lip, biting and chewing on it to stifle the moans he knew would be echoing in the room otherwise. It wasn’t something he usually worried about, since they’d all heard each other jerking off at least once, but the thought that Linke might hear him…
Well, it had two effects on him. He would be mortified if Linke really heard him touching himself, especially since he didn’t know who had made his bed up like this. It was an adolescent move, jerking off to a picture of your celebrity crush.
But the thought of Linke hearing him jerking off put him closer to the edge quicker than any picture of Bill Kaulitz ever had. For the second time that night, Franky fought to put naughty thoughts of Linke out of his head.
Better to concentrate on Bill, get back to Bill’s eyes.
But as Franky drank in the picture of Bill in front of him, he started not to see Bill.
Bill’s plush lips turned into Linke’s curved bow lips. Bill’s thin face filled out and became the manlier face of Franky’s friend.
Franky closed his eyes and tipped his head back, his knees bending and toes curling, and behind his eyelids, Bill’s brown eyes became slate blue. Franky came.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Tell me again why we had to go shopping today.” Franky held the door open for Juri, who was struggling to carry most of their grocery bags into the house. “To get salmon? When was the last time we had salmon?”
Franky set his own bags on the kitchen counter and started stripping out of his gloves and hat. When Juri had unwrapped from his face the mile of wool he called a scarf, he was finally able to answer.
“I had a craving,” the tall blonde grumbled, “which oddly enough, I don’t seem to have now.”
Franky glared at him and sputtered.
“Did I tell you Timo called while we were out? He and David had a fight, and Timo’s pouting in your room.” Juri’s voice was muffled by the rustling of paper bags as he emptied them of groceries.
Franky froze. Timo was in his room. With ‘Bill’. He squeaked.
His socks sliding on the tile floor, Franky scrambled for the kitchen door as fast as he could, throwing back over his shoulder, “I’m going to see if he’s okay!”
Just outside the door, however, Franky came to a sudden, jarring stop when he ran full-on into a very solid object. Grunting and rebounding backward, he just caught himself from falling by grabbing the waist of the body in front him.
“Linke! Shit, I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?” Franky’s eyes were wide and searching.
Linke had grasped Franky’s arms by reflex, and now with Franky’s hands at his waist, it took everything he had not to pull Franky to him. To kiss the nervous look from his face, to feel Franky taut against him.
But what Franky wanted was upstairs, just meters away, and Linke wanted Franky to have everything he wanted. He held his breath.
“I’ll be fine.” Linke’s fingers stoked softly through the fine hairs of Franky’s sideburn, and he released his breath slowly. “I believe you’re needed upstairs?”
The confusion in Franky’s eyes was clear, but his fingers tightened on Linke’s waist for a moment before he released his friend and walked slowly toward the steps. Their eyes locked until Franky’s foot touched the bottom step, and then he turned and ran up them.
The door to his room was closed, and Franky hesitated just a moment, terrified of finding Timo in there, laughing at all the ‘Bill’. He still didn’t know who had given him all these gifts, but maybe it wasn’t Timo, and Franky knew that he’d never live this down if it wasn’t.
He steeled himself, opened the door and walked in.
Again, he was faced with the image of Bill Kaulitz. Not on his sheets, not on the pillow, though they were all still there.
Bill Kaulitz was in his room, sitting against the headboard of his bed. Right where, just last night, Franky had…
Franky’s face flushed bright red and he choked as he tried to swallow. Coughing hard, he turned his back to his visitor and hung on to the door for support. A surprisingly strong hand thumped him on the back and rubbed in between his shoulder blades.
After a moment, Franky recovered and turned around. Bill had moved back to the bed, sitting on the edge of it. His black hair was flat and straight, his makeup minimal, and he was dressed in a regular jeans and tee-shirt. No rings, no bling, just Bill. Franky was breathless.
“So this is…awkward.” Bill glanced around the room at his face staring back at him.
“Yeah.” Franky didn’t know what to say. Masses of questions jumbled in his head and none of them were coherent enough to make it past his lips.
The men stared at each other in silence for a moment, neither moving, until Bill’s lips curved into a small smile. He crossed the room to Franky and placed his hand in Franky’s moist palm.
“Come and sit.” Franky followed mutely, and wondered if he would ever be able to speak to Bill. Here, in his room. Mortified. They settled on the edge of the bed, each with a foot on the floor, and Bill noticed that Franky’s face had gone from flushed to pale.
“It’s okay, Franky. It’s kind of cute, actually.” Bill’s slim fingers stroked over Franky’s palm, opening his hand and wiping the moisture away. “I heard you had a bit of a crush,” the smile on Bill’s face grew to dazzling proportions, “but I didn’t realize it was anything like this.”
Franky gasped. Bill thought Franky had done this himself!
“No!” Bill’s smile started to fade, and Franky shook his head at him. “No, I mean, I didn’t do this. My friends did it. I’m sure they were just trying to make fun of me because they knew about my crush, so yeah, I did have a crush, well, I mean I do have a crush, but it’s not like you think, I’m not planning to do--”
Bill placed his fingers on Franky’s lips, stilling them.
“It’s okay.”
Franky ducked his head, trying to hide his face behind his bangs. Bill squeezed Franky’s hand, making him peek back up.
“I have the idea that your friend down there, Linke?” Franky nodded. “I think Linke’s idea was to set us up.”
Franky groaned and grabbed the ‘Bill’ pillow, burying his face in it, before he realized what he was doing and dropped it quickly. Bill’s smile became a smirk before he broke out in a chuckle and shook his head.
“But while I think you are…” Bill’s eyes swept over him, and Franky forgot how to breathe, “quite gorgeous, there are a couple reasons why that can’t happen. First, I’m spoken for.”
Franky waited to feel disappointed, but the feeling never came. He was curious who had captured the heart of this beautiful man, but he was strangely not disappointed that he wouldn’t be the one to do it.
“And the other reason?”
Bill furrowed his brows at Franky, and spoke matter-of-factly.
“Well, Linke, of course.”
“What about Linke?” Franky wasn’t sure if this day could get any more confusing. He didn’t know what Linke had to do with this, but he felt his palms begin to sweat again.
“You can’t be with me because Linke loves you.” Bill shrugged and got to his feet, pulling Franky up with him.
“What?” Franky’s laugh was thin. “Of course he does, he’s my friend. We all love each other. Though Davii and Timo are a little more--”
“No, Franky, Linke really loves you.” Bill interrupted again, this time with an indulgent smile and a nod. “He set all this up. He called and explained it to me, how you were upset about not seeing your family for Christmas, how he and your friends were going to surprise you with these gifts.”
Franky’s mouth gaped, “So you didn’t think…”
Bill laughed, “No, I didn’t think you collected all these. But it was funny to watch you sputter.”
“Oh, God…” Franky groaned again.
“Franky, Linke asked me to come here because he wanted to give you what you wanted, and he thought what you wanted was me. But I thought you should know how much he cares about you and what he would do for you.”
Franky thought of Linke holding him tightly in the kitchen as he cried over not seeing his family this year. He thought of spending time with his friend, just doing mundane things around the house, like cooking, and how he really enjoyed that time with him. He thought back to the times in the studio when Franky would have trouble with a lyric, struggling to hit the right note or find the right emotion, and Linke was right there for him, encouraging him and backing him up, his own sweet voice blending with Franky’s.
Suddenly it all made sense. The giggling around the house, Timo and David acting like fools, Juri taking him shopping this afternoon. The scorching look and the gentle touches Linke had given him.
Franky’s chest tightened and a prickling began behind his eyes. He was so blind.
He grasped Bill’s hand and brought it to his lips, planting a kiss on the delicate knuckles. Bill flushed and Franky glowed, a bright smile blooming on his face.
“Thank you. I’m sorry, but I have to go…” Franky backed toward the door, “…I have to go. And thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Bill laughed. “Now go!”
Franky tore from the room and ran through the upstairs, his voice echoing down the halls.
“Linke!” He poked his head in the bedrooms, pausing at David and Timo’s room, shaking his head and stopping himself from opening the door. “Uh uh, not that one.”
He ran downstairs, feet thudding loudly on the carpeted landing. “Linke!”
Franky slid through the kitchen, his socked feet gaining no purchase, and scrambled out the other door. “Linke!”
He wasn’t in the dining room and that left only one place.
Franky slowed as he entered the living room, and stopped when he spotted Linke standing in front of the Christmas tree, his back to him. His friend’s shoulders were low, and he seemed to be staring up at the star at the top of the tree.
“Christian…” Franky panted the whisper and Linke turned quickly to face him. Franky sucked in his breath. Linke’s eyes were moist…hell, they were more than moist, and his sweet bottom lip stuck out a tad more than usual. The pain in his face lingered through his surprise and it occurred to Franky that Linke was more than beautiful.
It didn’t take long to cross the room to get to Linke, and before he realized it, Franky was standing in front of him and wrapping his arms around Linke’s neck.
Linke couldn’t hold back this time, he just couldn’t. He wound his arms around Franky’s waist and pulled the singer to him, and nuzzled his nose into Franky’s hair.
“Franky…”
“Christian,” Franky pulled back to meet Linke’s eyes and caressed his fingers down his cheek, “I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.”
“You don’t have to…I mean, I didn’t expect you to…” Linke’s protests faded as Franky smiled at him and stole the breath from his chest.
“I know you don’t. But you wanted to give me everything I wanted, so you gave me Bill.” Linke winced, and his chest ached.
Franky continued softly, “But Christian, I found something I want more….”
He curved his fingers behind Linke’s neck and pulled him closer until their lips barely brushed together.
“…you.”
Franky leaned up, gently took his friend’s beautiful face in his hands, and pressed their lips together.
Linke moaned, held Franky tight against him and captured Franky’s bottom lip between his, teasing it with the tip of his tongue.
Behind them, the Christmas tree lights sparkled and danced, and carols wove softly through the air around them.
~~~~~~~~~~
As the snow began to fall heavily around them, coating their hair and lashes with soft, white flakes, five men stood shivering outside the window, watching the tender scene inside. Bill hugged his arms around himself, looking very pleased. Timo and David linked their arms around each other and smiled. Juri laughed at Jan and held his palm out.
“Ha! I told you. Pay up.” the big blonde wiggled his fingers.
Jan grumbled and pulled a note out of his pocket, slapping it in his friend’s hand. As he turned to stalk away, he stopped and leaned down to tie his shoe.
Juri grinned and stuffed the note into his pocket before turning to gaze back at the new couple. He didn’t see the snowball before it thwacked into the back of his neck, icy water dripping down the back of his coat and shirt.
He growled and turned. The grin fled from Jan’s face. Juri scowled and took two steps toward the DJ.
Jan paled and squeaked. “Don’t hurt me?”
Juri threw him an evil grin.
Jan ran.
Franky continued to scan the contents of the fridge, before sighing and letting the door swing closed. Nothing inside really seemed appetizing to him right now. Maybe he just wasn’t hungry after all.
He realized his friend still stood over by the sink, waiting for an answer. He didn’t really want to talk to anyone, but he wasn’t going to be rude. Linke didn’t deserve that.
“Just hanging out in my room. I talked to my sister online.” He thrust his hands deep in the pockets of his jeans and watched his bare toes curl and uncurl on the linoleum.
“They’re still snowed in down there?” Linke poured a short glass of the thick drink and placed the carton back in the refrigerator.
“Yeah.” Franky reached into the cupboard next to the fridge and his fingers danced quickly over the tops of several small glass jars, nudging them this way and that, before he found the one he was searching for. He unscrewed the cap as he approached Linke’s glass, pinched up a bit of the contents in the jar and sprinkled the brown powder over the top of the eggnog.
“What is this?” Linke picked up the glass and peered at the powder floating on the foam.
“It’s nutmeg. Don’t worry, it’s better this way.” Franky chuckled as Linke sniffed at the concoction, his look dubious. He leaned back against the sink and folded his arms over his chest. “Go on, try it.”
Linke squinted at him and took a tentative sip, letting the liquid slide over his tongue for a moment before swallowing. A smile twitched at his lips and he shrugged a shoulder at his friend.
“It’s good, right?” Franky smirked.
“Yeah, yeah. So they don’t know when the roads will be cleared enough to drive down there?”
Franky’s face clouded over again, and Linke could have kicked himself.
“No. And the storm’s headed here.“ He turned to look out the window behind the sink, but he focused on nothing, “We’ve been so busy, and I just haven‘t seen them for so long…and now I won‘t see them for Christmas, either.” The soft sorrow of Franky’s words wormed right into Linke’s chest and clenched around his heart.
“I’m sorry, man.“ Linke came to stand behind his friend and placed a hand on his shoulder. He rubbed the tense muscle under his fingers and squeezed gently. “Is there anything we can do?”
Franky sighed again before turning to the taller man. Looking straight ahead brought his eyes level with Linke’s throat, and he flicked his eyes up to meet the deep blue eyes of the man in front of him. He forced a tight smile, covered Linke’s hand on his shoulder with his own and squeezed.
“No. Really, it’s okay. I’ll be okay.”
It wasn’t difficult for Linke to realize his friend was lying. Figuring that Franky just didn’t want to burden his friends with his problems, he decided to try again. At this point, he would do anything to make Franky feel better.
“Well, look, we’re going to start decorating for Christmas. Want to come help?” He grinned. “We’ll put you in charge of tinsel and mistletoe.”
Franky tried to match the smile he was given, but his vivid blue eyes were moist and sad. It was enough for Linke.
He quickly set his glass on the counter and slowly, carefully, wrapped his arms around his friend.
Franky didn’t resist being pulled into Linke’s arms. It just felt so damn good to touch someone, to be held by someone who cared, and it opened a door he’d been struggling so hard to hold closed. He squeezed his eyelids together tightly, but it only served to push out the tears that had been threatening to fall all day.
Linke nuzzled his nose into the soft hair above Franky’s ear and petted the back of his head.
“Hey…shhh…it’s okay…”
Franky breathed a shuddering, hot breath into his neck, and desire awoke in Linke’s belly. He shook his head, took a deep breath and blew it out, willing the feeling away. He finally had Franky in his arms, but not the way he wanted.
Franky was mumbling into Linke’s neck, and it made the taller man smile and pull back a little. He rested his temple against Franky’s damp, prickly cheek.
“Tell me that again?”
He felt Franky take a deep breath.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Franky tried to chuckle but the sound caught in his throat.
“It’s okay.“ Linke held his friend tighter and smoothed his palm in circles on Franky’s back.
“No, it’s not, it’s stupid. What kind of idiot cries because he can’t go home and see his mommy for Christmas?” Franky pulled away and roughly wiped at unshaven cheeks with the heels of his palms.
Linke already missed the feeling of Franky in his arms and reached out for him again, settling for brushing the young man’s hair out of his eyes, then resting his forearms on Franky’s shoulders.
“Franky, you love your family and you miss them. It’s not a crime.” He ducked his head, trying to catch Franky’s downward gaze with his own. Franky got the hint and looked in his friend’s eyes, an embarrassed smile on his lips, a blush on his cheeks.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Besides, this is just me, right?” Franky’s smile grew and he nodded. Linke grinned back at him and pulled away, tousling his hair. “Okay, then. So are you gonna come help us or what?”
“You know, I think I’m going to go call my mom.” Linke inclined his head in assent and took a sip of his eggnog. Franky got to the door by the hall and stopped.
“Christian?” Franky waited until Linke’s eyes met his. “Thanks.”
Linke watched him leave the room over the rim of his glass.
~~~~~~~~~~
By the time Linke got back into the living room, the rest of the band had gotten their giant Christmas tree to stand upright, and more importantly, to stay upright in the stand.
Timo and David were in the corner by the stereo, flipping through cds and murmuring quietly to each other. No doubt they were planning out the Christmas carol soundtrack for the rest of the night.
The two men were pretty much oblivious to everything else going on in the room at the moment, which wasn’t particularly unusual, as they often got lost within each other. Linke wasn’t quite sure how they could miss the commotion happening around the tree, though.
Juri was hanging on to a long string of lights with one large hand while the other hand was wrapped around the calf of Jan, who sat squirming on the blonde man’s shoulders. Jan pulled another length of lights from Juri’s grasp and leaned further toward the top of the tree, almost losing his balance. The shorter blonde squeaked and grabbed at Juri’s head, hanging on.
“Dammit, Jan, get the lights anchored up there already!” Though the words were stern, Juri’s tone definitely was not. Jan dug his heels into Juri’s sides and quickly realized his mistake when the big man gasped and wiggled, lurching backward.
“Hold still, I’m gonna fall!” Jan clutched under Juri’s chin as the bigger man gasped for breath in between giggles.
“Quit tickling!” Juri finally choked out. He dropped the string of lights and spanned his hand over Jan’s knee, threatening retaliation.
“Okay, okay!” Jan laughed and leaned slightly toward the fir tree that stood almost to the ceiling. “Quit screwing around and get over here so I can get these lights started!”
Juri growled, Jan sniggered, and Linke grinned at the whole scene.
Then he remembered that someone was missing. Franky’s moist eyes swam up in his memory, and Linke cleared his throat from the doorway.
“Hey guys…” Between Timo and David being in their own little world and Jan and Juri teasing each other, Linke got no reaction.
He cleared his throat harder and had to cough for his effort.
“Hey!” It was not quite a shout, but it got the attention he wanted. Four heads spun in his direction, and suddenly felt his face warm just a little.
“Sorry about that.” He swiped his hand across his bangs, pushing them all to one side. “We need to do something for Franky.”
Timo glanced around the room. “Yeah, where is Franky?”
“He’s in his room, where he’s been most of the day.” Linke settled himself into the plush armchair by the door and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. He crooked a finger at the blondes by the tree. “He’s really depressed about not being able to go see his family because of the weather. I think we need to do something special for him.”
Timo wandered to the couch and plopped down at the end, leaning against the armrest, and David followed close after, curling up under Timo’s arm. David whispered under his breath in Timo’s ear, and Timo murmured low in response.
“We should have noticed.” They had the grace to look chagrined when they turned to Linke.
Juri bent over and let Jan dismount in front of him.
“Do you have something in mind?” Jan parked himself on the couch armrest opposite Timo.
“Yeah, I think so,” Linke pulled his cell out of his pocket, “but we’re going to have to move to get it done before the storm gets here.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Franky couldn’t stand it anymore. After his talk with Linke and an hour and a half on the phone with his mom, he’d made another run to the kitchen, desperate for something to drink. Only now was he realizing that perhaps drowning his sorrows in a giant Red Bull might not have been the best idea.
He decided he’d held off long enough; this was getting to be almost painful. Though the house had been silent during his drink run, chances were still good that he’d run into another housemate eventually. He hadn’t really wanted to explain again why he wasn’t in the mood for cocoa and tree-trimming, but his bladder wouldn’t hold out another minute, and it was either have a truly embarrassing accident or just take the chance and get to the bathroom.
He opened the door and poked his head out, looking up and down the hall for signs of life on the second floor. Seeing none, he ventured out, and promptly stubbed his toe on the object lying in front of his door.
Glancing around again to double-check that no one was around to witness his bout of klutziness, Franky bent over and picked up the box. His brows furrowed in confusion.
Twice the size of his fist and heavy, it was badly gift-wrapped in thick, bright orange paper and black ribbon, half of which was either askew or falling off completely. Gaps in the seams, where the tape hadn’t been pushed down fully, allowed a glimpse of color from inside, but he couldn’t make out what was in it.
Curious or not, he still had to use the restroom. He quickly placed the package on the desk by the door and trotted down the hall to the bathroom.
The door to Jan’s room opened very quietly and the young blonde peeked out. He tip-toed silently to Franky’s room and peered in the open door. Spotting the present on the desk, he grinned and tip-toed back to his room as silently as he came. Just as his door closed, the door to the bathroom opened.
Franky yawned on the way back to his room, scratching his belly under his sweatshirt. He’d cooped himself up all day but perhaps it was time to rejoin the world. The boys had to be about starving by now, and he was surprised no one had come up to harangue him about when he was planning to come cook. He smiled to himself, glad it didn’t usually occur to them to just order pizza, because it was definitely nice to feel needed.
As soon as Franky entered the room, his eyes fell again on the small, orange gift. He grabbed it up, swung the door closed and plopped himself on the bed. Turning it over in his hands, he shook it a little. Whatever was inside clunked back and forth slightly, but made no real noise that might give some clue what was in the box. He hesitantly brought the package up to his nose. No, no scent, either.
“Hm.”
Franky shrugged and slid his thumb under the tape the barely held he ends closed and unfolded the paper from around the box. Setting the wrapping aside, he turned his attention to the box itself.
It was white. Plain white. Not a word on it, not a letter, not even a number. The box was also secured with tape.
“What the hell…?” Franky murmured, slitting the tape with his nail. He opened the box and peered inside.
From the top, it looked like a white mug, stuffed with paper. He flipped the box over and dumped the mug out onto his palm. Before he even turned it right-side-up, he knew what it was.
“You gotta be kidding me.” Franky picked up the wrapping paper and searched it for a name, something to indicate who gave him. Not finding one, he tossed it down and looked at his gift again.
Bill Kaulitz smiled up at him from the side of a sturdy, ceramic mug.
It wasn’t much of a secret that Franky thought Bill Kaulitz was…well, dreamy. In fact, the guys teased him about it whenever they could. Franky knew this had to be some little joke one of the guys was playing on him.
Staring down at Bill’s sexy smile, feeling a little tight in the stomach, Franky decided he would call their bluff. He was going to go downstairs and cook supper like he’d never found the mug. Franky smirked when he wondered how long it would take for the prankster to break down and ask him about the gift.
~~~~~~~~~~
For the second time that day, Franky found himself staring into the refrigerator.
This time, however, he was staring for a different reason. He’d opened it to gather the ingredients for a vegetable stir-fry. What he found inside didn’t look like any vegetable he’d ever seen.
That wasn’t entirely true. It did look like a vegetable, it looked like a yellow squash. A yellow squash wrapped in red cloth.
Franky shook his head and wrapped his hand around the squash, undressing it as he brought it to the cutting board. He righted the cloth.
Red bikini briefs with Bill Kaulitz’s face on the front, right where his…
“Do we have any more eggnog, Linke?” Timo rounded the corner into the kitchen, speaking back over his shoulder.
Franky jumped and shoved the panties into his front pocket before realizing they made a huge bulge. He pulled them out quickly, threw them into the cupboard by his knees and spun around to face his bandmate.
“Timo!” Franky’s voice was much too loud for their small kitchen, his face burning hot.
Timo stopped dead and gave Franky a blank look. “Hey, Franky. Feeling better?” Timo’s voice was just as loud as Franky’s.
“I’m…good, thanks.” Franky answered haltingly, regarding his friend for a moment before opening the fridge again and gathering the rest of his ingredients as calmly as he could.
Timo stared at his friend until Franky had gathered the produce and closed the fridge door with his hip.
Franky piled onions, peppers and zucchini by the cutting board and opened more drawers than was necessary while looking for a knife.
“Good! I’m just gonna…” Timo turned to leave, “…I think David needs me upstairs.”
Franky blew out the quick breath that rode on his chuckle and set about washing vegetables. Timo’s reaction to Franky rummaging around in the refrigerator was pretty damning; he had to have known those panties where in there.
He’d brought the vegetables back to the cutting board before he felt eyes on him. Franky looked to the door of the kitchen.
Linke stood leaning against the doorjamb, watching him.
Like Franky, Linke was barefoot. That’s where the similarities ended. Linke was all in black…black jeans, black button-down shirt, open half-way down the front. His hair was tousled, tufts sticking out on the side and back. Blue eyes were trained on him and Franky read the caring in them. Caring and…something Franky couldn’t place. His face felt hot and he looked down at the cutting board before offering his friend a smile.
“Want some help?’ Linke stood straight and swiped his bangs to the side.
Franky’s smile grew. It wasn’t often anyone came in to offer help. That didn’t usually bother him much, he liked to spend his cooking time thinking. At this moment, however, the idea of chopping vegetables with Linke seemed like a great way to spend an evening.
As Linke washed his hands, Franky pulled out another cutting board.
He set out the rest of the ingredients and started chopping the onions. They needed enough to make a big batch, enough for everyone, and Franky’s eyes burned. He’d heard that it helped to put your head in the freezer, but as soon as he thought of doing it, he shook his head. That sounded beyond ridiculous.
Tears began to roll, one by one, and then began to stream down his cheeks. His vision shimmered and at this rate, he’d end up cutting off a thumb.
With a noise of disgust, he ran over to the freezer and stuck his head in as far as it would go. Linke laughed sympathetically, shook his head, and wet a rag for Franky to put over his eyes.
And if he happened to splash a handful of water at Franky in the process, well…it was all part of the healing process, right?
~~~~~~~~~~
David and Timo had taken a while to come downstairs for supper. Of course, no one wanted to go fetch them; no one needed to see whatever it was they might interrupt.
The table was set by the time they came tripping down the stairs, David grinning, Timo flushed and wearing a sly smile. As they slid into their seats, Linke glared at them from the other side of the table, a warning in his eyes. The breathless men tried so hard to straighten up, but the corners of their mouths kept twitching and they looked as if they might explode at any moment.
Franky stared at them, a spoonful of rice stopped half-way to his plate.
“Do I even want to know what you two are up to?”
David coughed, failing to cover his laugh, and Jan kicked him under the table.
“Ow!” David kicked back, missing and kicking Juri’s shin. Juri’s eyebrows shot up and he threw an evil smile in David’s direction.
Franky shook his head and plopped a small pile of moist, egg-fried rice on his plate. There was no telling what had gotten into David, and sometimes Franky thought it might be best to stay out of it. Life was safer that way. He smirked to himself and passed the rice bowl to Linke.
Linke was just finishing filling his and Franky’s water glasses, and as he was putting the pitcher on the side-table, Franky held the rice bowl out to him and found his gaze wandering over his friend.
There was such a kindness in those blue eyes, and an intelligence that took Franky’s breath away. And when Linke laughed, the humor that shone in his face was simply contagious, and Franky didn’t want to stray too far from his friend.
Linke took the bowl from him with a smile, and Franky noticed the curve of Linke’s lips, the bottom lip full and pouty. He noticed how his mouth twitched at the corners when he tried not to laugh but couldn’t hold it in. Franky watched his friend fail miserably at eating with chopsticks, and lose control of the smile that turned into a full-on laugh, and then Franky saw the dimples he couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed before, the ones that were just this side of adorable.
The dinner-time chatter seemed to fade away as Franky gazed at his friend. He wondered why he was just now noticing all these things about Linke, and he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off him.
Linke laughed again as Jan threw his own chopsticks down and bolted toward the kitchen. His eyes turned to Franky, catching him staring. Linke’s laugh melted down to a smoldering smile and as Franky watched, the blue of Linke’s eyes went dark slate.
Franky didn’t know what it was about that look, but he knew what it did to him. His chest felt warm and his cheeks even warmer. His mouth was dry and any thought of how to fix that completely escaped him.
What Franky didn’t notice was that the rest of the band had also stopped talking. They looked from their singer to their bassist, eyes wide at how the two were lost in each other’s eyes.
“I’ll starve to death if I have to use chopsticks to eat rice!” Jan came strolling back into the room, looking down at his handful of forks. “Anyone else want one?”
Hearing no answer, he looked up, and stopped just inside the room. He narrowed his eyes and glared at his bandmates.
“What’d I miss?”
~~~~~~~~~~
Franky’s cheeks were still flushed when he had excused himself soon after Jan had come back with the forks. He’d said he wanted to shower and get an early night. Linke was sure that wasn’t quite the whole truth.
Linke knew he was giving too much away. He knew it, but his control was slipping away, bit by bit. He frowned and scrubbed harder at the dried eggnog coating the bottom of the glass. He finally worked it loose and dredged the glass through the soapy water again before rinsing and setting it in the rack to dry.
He was really confused. No matter how much Linke cared for Franky…oh hell, no matter how much he had grown to love Franky these last couple years, Linke knew he wasn’t who Franky wanted.
The kind of man Franky wanted was delicate, feminine. A man so beautiful that he stole your breath just looking at him.
He’d seen Franky watch Tokio Hotel videos on his laptop; Franky had barely been able to rip his eyes away from the tall, lithe vision of Bill Kaulitz. When they had met at that festival last summer, Franky had been a mess of nerves before he and Bill were introduced, and on the way home, they’d listened to him gush about the singer for hours until they’d begun to roll their eyes at the mere mention of the singer’s name.
Linke wasn’t stupid, and Franky’s feelings were very clear. But if that was how Franky felt, then why did Linke catch Franky looking at him? More to the point, why did he catch Franky looking at him like that?
The look on Franky’s face when Linke had looked at him had started as adoring. As he’d watched though, Franky had blushed and licked his lips. If he didn’t know better, he’d have thought Franky was trying to look coy. Whatever it was, whatever it meant, the sight of that look in Franky’s eyes…the thought of that look in Franky’s eyes made Linke’s insides twist pleasantly and his groin tighten.
This wasn’t about what he wanted, though. This was about what Franky wanted, and random look or not, he didn’t want Linke.
He rinsed the last of the plates and stacked it with the rest in the rack to dry. Reaching into the drawer next to the silverware, Linke found a hand-towel and dried his pruny hands. He slid his cell from his pocket and flipped it open, searched for a particular recently acquired number. With a heaviness that made him feel much older than he was, he dialed.
“Hi. Yeah, sorry, it’s Linke again. I just wanted to make sure you were still coming tomorrow…?”
~~~~~~~~~~
Franky squeezed his eyes closed and twisted the taps, cutting off the flow of the shower. He swept the tepid water from his face, looked around for a towel and grunted.
As he dripped on the floor, goosebumps broke out and spread across dripping skin. He didn’t particularly enjoy cold showers but there hadn’t seemed much of a choice after the look Linke had given him.
Franky couldn’t let himself think of that look or the whole point of his shower would be moot.
He was starting to shiver harder and scrambled for the pull of the towel closet. Yanking open the door, Franky was faced with a stack of neatly folded, fresh towels.
Franky grabbed the towel on top, and pulled the cotton to his face before he realized it wasn’t a towel.
One eyebrow raised, Franky let one side of the ‘towel’ drop and watched it unfold.
Franky groaned and dropped his hands in front of him, looking at the ceiling. He brought them up again, inspecting the garment more closely.
Who the hell would have bought him a Bill Kaulitz hoodie? Where was the lead singer of a popular German band that wasn’t Tokio Hotel going to wear a Bill Kaulitz hoodie?
This was getting ridiculous, and Franky wondered when they were going to get to the punch line.
He grabbed a real towel this time, dried off quickly and brushed his teeth. Wrapping the towel loosely around his waist, he shoved the hoodie amongst his dirty clothes and made the short trip to his room.
Franky closed the door behind him before turning the light on and tossing his dirty clothes in the hamper. He was holding out the hoodie, checking it out, when he noticed the difference out of he corner of his eye.
His bed had been changed.
Franky could only stare. The hoodie dropped, forgotten, by his foot, and his mouth hung open.
Bill Kaulitz was everywhere. On his pillow, on his sheets, on his blanket. Everywhere.
Very slowly, Franky walked to the bed and stared at the visage in front of him. The dark hair, the brown eyes, the pale, delicate skin…he knew these things like he knew his own face. Franky had stared at them enough, studied them enough, he figured he should be able to sketch them with his eyes closed.
As he sat on the bed, it occurred to Franky that having the face of a man that hot, a man you had fantasized about for years was really very naughty. He smiled and stripped his towel off, tossing it away.
He fingered the switch on the lamp before letting it go and climbing on the bed. Maybe it would be better to see this. After these new feelings he’d been having around Linke, this just felt so familiar and warm and safe.
Propping his new ‘Bill’ pillow up against the wall, Franky leaned back against the headboard. He let his eyes skim over the young man’s features.
He eyed those plush lips, and Franky ran a finger across a pert, pink nipple, circling and teasing. He tugged gently between his thumb and finger, and his cock twitched in response.
Yeah, this would be good.
Dragging his fingers down his belly, over soft, damp skin, he sucked his breath in slowly. He wanted to grab himself, wrap his fingers around his dick and just start stroking, but he made himself wait, be a little patient. He looked from the pillow to where his hand ran down his thigh, and watched his cock pumping up next to it, straining to get to his hand.
Sighing at the warmth spreading over him from the middle out, Franky cupped his balls, rolling them, squeezing so slightly. His legs spread further.
Bill’s eyes were such a deep brown, like wildflower honey, and Franky gazed into them as he began to stroke himself. And once he began to touch himself, rubbing came faster. It wasn’t really a choice.
Franky sucked on his bottom lip, biting and chewing on it to stifle the moans he knew would be echoing in the room otherwise. It wasn’t something he usually worried about, since they’d all heard each other jerking off at least once, but the thought that Linke might hear him…
Well, it had two effects on him. He would be mortified if Linke really heard him touching himself, especially since he didn’t know who had made his bed up like this. It was an adolescent move, jerking off to a picture of your celebrity crush.
But the thought of Linke hearing him jerking off put him closer to the edge quicker than any picture of Bill Kaulitz ever had. For the second time that night, Franky fought to put naughty thoughts of Linke out of his head.
Better to concentrate on Bill, get back to Bill’s eyes.
But as Franky drank in the picture of Bill in front of him, he started not to see Bill.
Bill’s plush lips turned into Linke’s curved bow lips. Bill’s thin face filled out and became the manlier face of Franky’s friend.
Franky closed his eyes and tipped his head back, his knees bending and toes curling, and behind his eyelids, Bill’s brown eyes became slate blue. Franky came.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Tell me again why we had to go shopping today.” Franky held the door open for Juri, who was struggling to carry most of their grocery bags into the house. “To get salmon? When was the last time we had salmon?”
Franky set his own bags on the kitchen counter and started stripping out of his gloves and hat. When Juri had unwrapped from his face the mile of wool he called a scarf, he was finally able to answer.
“I had a craving,” the tall blonde grumbled, “which oddly enough, I don’t seem to have now.”
Franky glared at him and sputtered.
“Did I tell you Timo called while we were out? He and David had a fight, and Timo’s pouting in your room.” Juri’s voice was muffled by the rustling of paper bags as he emptied them of groceries.
Franky froze. Timo was in his room. With ‘Bill’. He squeaked.
His socks sliding on the tile floor, Franky scrambled for the kitchen door as fast as he could, throwing back over his shoulder, “I’m going to see if he’s okay!”
Just outside the door, however, Franky came to a sudden, jarring stop when he ran full-on into a very solid object. Grunting and rebounding backward, he just caught himself from falling by grabbing the waist of the body in front him.
“Linke! Shit, I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?” Franky’s eyes were wide and searching.
Linke had grasped Franky’s arms by reflex, and now with Franky’s hands at his waist, it took everything he had not to pull Franky to him. To kiss the nervous look from his face, to feel Franky taut against him.
But what Franky wanted was upstairs, just meters away, and Linke wanted Franky to have everything he wanted. He held his breath.
“I’ll be fine.” Linke’s fingers stoked softly through the fine hairs of Franky’s sideburn, and he released his breath slowly. “I believe you’re needed upstairs?”
The confusion in Franky’s eyes was clear, but his fingers tightened on Linke’s waist for a moment before he released his friend and walked slowly toward the steps. Their eyes locked until Franky’s foot touched the bottom step, and then he turned and ran up them.
The door to his room was closed, and Franky hesitated just a moment, terrified of finding Timo in there, laughing at all the ‘Bill’. He still didn’t know who had given him all these gifts, but maybe it wasn’t Timo, and Franky knew that he’d never live this down if it wasn’t.
He steeled himself, opened the door and walked in.
Again, he was faced with the image of Bill Kaulitz. Not on his sheets, not on the pillow, though they were all still there.
Bill Kaulitz was in his room, sitting against the headboard of his bed. Right where, just last night, Franky had…
Franky’s face flushed bright red and he choked as he tried to swallow. Coughing hard, he turned his back to his visitor and hung on to the door for support. A surprisingly strong hand thumped him on the back and rubbed in between his shoulder blades.
After a moment, Franky recovered and turned around. Bill had moved back to the bed, sitting on the edge of it. His black hair was flat and straight, his makeup minimal, and he was dressed in a regular jeans and tee-shirt. No rings, no bling, just Bill. Franky was breathless.
“So this is…awkward.” Bill glanced around the room at his face staring back at him.
“Yeah.” Franky didn’t know what to say. Masses of questions jumbled in his head and none of them were coherent enough to make it past his lips.
The men stared at each other in silence for a moment, neither moving, until Bill’s lips curved into a small smile. He crossed the room to Franky and placed his hand in Franky’s moist palm.
“Come and sit.” Franky followed mutely, and wondered if he would ever be able to speak to Bill. Here, in his room. Mortified. They settled on the edge of the bed, each with a foot on the floor, and Bill noticed that Franky’s face had gone from flushed to pale.
“It’s okay, Franky. It’s kind of cute, actually.” Bill’s slim fingers stroked over Franky’s palm, opening his hand and wiping the moisture away. “I heard you had a bit of a crush,” the smile on Bill’s face grew to dazzling proportions, “but I didn’t realize it was anything like this.”
Franky gasped. Bill thought Franky had done this himself!
“No!” Bill’s smile started to fade, and Franky shook his head at him. “No, I mean, I didn’t do this. My friends did it. I’m sure they were just trying to make fun of me because they knew about my crush, so yeah, I did have a crush, well, I mean I do have a crush, but it’s not like you think, I’m not planning to do--”
Bill placed his fingers on Franky’s lips, stilling them.
“It’s okay.”
Franky ducked his head, trying to hide his face behind his bangs. Bill squeezed Franky’s hand, making him peek back up.
“I have the idea that your friend down there, Linke?” Franky nodded. “I think Linke’s idea was to set us up.”
Franky groaned and grabbed the ‘Bill’ pillow, burying his face in it, before he realized what he was doing and dropped it quickly. Bill’s smile became a smirk before he broke out in a chuckle and shook his head.
“But while I think you are…” Bill’s eyes swept over him, and Franky forgot how to breathe, “quite gorgeous, there are a couple reasons why that can’t happen. First, I’m spoken for.”
Franky waited to feel disappointed, but the feeling never came. He was curious who had captured the heart of this beautiful man, but he was strangely not disappointed that he wouldn’t be the one to do it.
“And the other reason?”
Bill furrowed his brows at Franky, and spoke matter-of-factly.
“Well, Linke, of course.”
“What about Linke?” Franky wasn’t sure if this day could get any more confusing. He didn’t know what Linke had to do with this, but he felt his palms begin to sweat again.
“You can’t be with me because Linke loves you.” Bill shrugged and got to his feet, pulling Franky up with him.
“What?” Franky’s laugh was thin. “Of course he does, he’s my friend. We all love each other. Though Davii and Timo are a little more--”
“No, Franky, Linke really loves you.” Bill interrupted again, this time with an indulgent smile and a nod. “He set all this up. He called and explained it to me, how you were upset about not seeing your family for Christmas, how he and your friends were going to surprise you with these gifts.”
Franky’s mouth gaped, “So you didn’t think…”
Bill laughed, “No, I didn’t think you collected all these. But it was funny to watch you sputter.”
“Oh, God…” Franky groaned again.
“Franky, Linke asked me to come here because he wanted to give you what you wanted, and he thought what you wanted was me. But I thought you should know how much he cares about you and what he would do for you.”
Franky thought of Linke holding him tightly in the kitchen as he cried over not seeing his family this year. He thought of spending time with his friend, just doing mundane things around the house, like cooking, and how he really enjoyed that time with him. He thought back to the times in the studio when Franky would have trouble with a lyric, struggling to hit the right note or find the right emotion, and Linke was right there for him, encouraging him and backing him up, his own sweet voice blending with Franky’s.
Suddenly it all made sense. The giggling around the house, Timo and David acting like fools, Juri taking him shopping this afternoon. The scorching look and the gentle touches Linke had given him.
Franky’s chest tightened and a prickling began behind his eyes. He was so blind.
He grasped Bill’s hand and brought it to his lips, planting a kiss on the delicate knuckles. Bill flushed and Franky glowed, a bright smile blooming on his face.
“Thank you. I’m sorry, but I have to go…” Franky backed toward the door, “…I have to go. And thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Bill laughed. “Now go!”
Franky tore from the room and ran through the upstairs, his voice echoing down the halls.
“Linke!” He poked his head in the bedrooms, pausing at David and Timo’s room, shaking his head and stopping himself from opening the door. “Uh uh, not that one.”
He ran downstairs, feet thudding loudly on the carpeted landing. “Linke!”
Franky slid through the kitchen, his socked feet gaining no purchase, and scrambled out the other door. “Linke!”
He wasn’t in the dining room and that left only one place.
Franky slowed as he entered the living room, and stopped when he spotted Linke standing in front of the Christmas tree, his back to him. His friend’s shoulders were low, and he seemed to be staring up at the star at the top of the tree.
“Christian…” Franky panted the whisper and Linke turned quickly to face him. Franky sucked in his breath. Linke’s eyes were moist…hell, they were more than moist, and his sweet bottom lip stuck out a tad more than usual. The pain in his face lingered through his surprise and it occurred to Franky that Linke was more than beautiful.
It didn’t take long to cross the room to get to Linke, and before he realized it, Franky was standing in front of him and wrapping his arms around Linke’s neck.
Linke couldn’t hold back this time, he just couldn’t. He wound his arms around Franky’s waist and pulled the singer to him, and nuzzled his nose into Franky’s hair.
“Franky…”
“Christian,” Franky pulled back to meet Linke’s eyes and caressed his fingers down his cheek, “I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.”
“You don’t have to…I mean, I didn’t expect you to…” Linke’s protests faded as Franky smiled at him and stole the breath from his chest.
“I know you don’t. But you wanted to give me everything I wanted, so you gave me Bill.” Linke winced, and his chest ached.
Franky continued softly, “But Christian, I found something I want more….”
He curved his fingers behind Linke’s neck and pulled him closer until their lips barely brushed together.
“…you.”
Franky leaned up, gently took his friend’s beautiful face in his hands, and pressed their lips together.
Linke moaned, held Franky tight against him and captured Franky’s bottom lip between his, teasing it with the tip of his tongue.
Behind them, the Christmas tree lights sparkled and danced, and carols wove softly through the air around them.
~~~~~~~~~~
As the snow began to fall heavily around them, coating their hair and lashes with soft, white flakes, five men stood shivering outside the window, watching the tender scene inside. Bill hugged his arms around himself, looking very pleased. Timo and David linked their arms around each other and smiled. Juri laughed at Jan and held his palm out.
“Ha! I told you. Pay up.” the big blonde wiggled his fingers.
Jan grumbled and pulled a note out of his pocket, slapping it in his friend’s hand. As he turned to stalk away, he stopped and leaned down to tie his shoe.
Juri grinned and stuffed the note into his pocket before turning to gaze back at the new couple. He didn’t see the snowball before it thwacked into the back of his neck, icy water dripping down the back of his coat and shirt.
He growled and turned. The grin fled from Jan’s face. Juri scowled and took two steps toward the DJ.
Jan paled and squeaked. “Don’t hurt me?”
Juri threw him an evil grin.
Jan ran.