AN-Some dialogue taken from the movie 'Adam' and 'Charlie Countryman', both of which I do not own.
Really happy about how well received this story is. Thank you for that. You never know with these kind of pairings.Not Beta Read
OoOoO
After many reassurances that Nigel was fully capable of going to the bathroom all on his own, and wasn't that an odd repetitive conversation, Adam went back to work on Monday after taking a week off to care for his strange guest. It gave Nigel free reign of the apartment, the very bad man from Bucharest doing some snooping around out of boredom and old habit.
The end result was somewhat disappointing.
Most of Adam's DVD's consisted of 'The Actor's Studio', though there were some odd choices as well that made Nigel wonder. Adam's diverse collection of porn was kept side by side with bagged and boarded issues of 'Playbill', but on the upside, NIgel found his wallet, phone, and gun in the closet beside the neatly arranged yet uniquely separate collections.
Checking his messages and texts gave Nigel the impression that everyone thought he was dead with the exception of Darko who told Nigel in so many words to call him when he was done fucking around. Still not knowing who had betrayed him, Nigel decided it would be beneficial to let everyone in the organization just keep presuming that he was a corpse for now. When he showed back up on the scene, it would be to the symphony of a massacre, one composed of his wrath, other people's pain, and a whole lot of useless begging. With vengeance, inner darkness, and his gun in hand as his sidearm, Nigel would make them all pay for this inconvenient indignity with a wave of spilled blood.
For now though, Nigel healed slower than he would have liked, and wandered around a stranger's apartment, looking into drawers and peeking into spaces. In a stroke of good luck, Nigel found his soft pack of cigarettes in the infrequently used bedroom bin, along with his Zippo lighter. He figured it was safe to presume that Adam didn't like smoking. He would have to remember to open a window or something. Nigel couldn't even bring himself to feel pissed about it, too amused by the thought that Adam had tolerantly kept his gun, but had disposed of his smokes with extreme prejudice.
His poking around did turn up more than a few books about Asperger's syndrome though. Curious and having nothing much else to do except watch crap American morning television, Nigel took some of the books back with him to the bedroom after helping himself to another bowl of All Bran. It was like chewing shredded petrified cardboard, but at least it was filling.
Asperger's was more complicated than Nigel realized as he read up on the characteristics, causes, and management for the condition. From what he gathered, Adam was a highly functioning, self sustaining example of his disorder, though he obviously had the telltale marks of it. The apartment's contents was proof enough of that, Adam displaying an Aspie's pursuit of very specific and sometimes very narrowed areas of interest. Space in general seemed to be Adam's main focus, though he seemed to have a thing for telescopes as well.
Talking with his hands seemed to be another trait, one that Nigel had noticed and chalked up to an Italian upbringing, rather than a mental tic. He learned that repetitive gestures were another core part of the disorder along with inability to maintain eye contact. Aspies could also be unusually sensitive or insensitive to light, sound, and other stimuli, like touch. Nigel was willing to bet it was the former for Adam.
Socially, Apies were limited due to their lack of empathy, their inability to demonstrate it. It made them unable to understand social psychology, the give and take of relationships and common day to day interactions. The incapability of recognizing other's emotions could reflect in their own mannerisms and facial expressions, their speech stilted, word inflection off, and responses adverse to what was going on around them.
As Aspie presented with the death of a loved one could be more upset by the person's sudden absence in their life and the loss of what they could attribute to it as apposed to grieving for what the person had meant to them on an emotional level. Because Adam still had use of the chore graph, 'Dad's chores' was simply crossed out in dry erase marker. A neurotypical would see it as a painful reminder of a loved one's absence, and taken it down. Nigel realized that as an Aspie, Adam saw the list as just a list, with no emotional attachment to it.
Because they could miss obvious social cues, an Aspie could be long winded about a favored topic of interest, making the conversation extremely one sided, the Aspie often misunderstanding or misinterpreting the listener's reaction to the information. Which was why Nigel now knew more about flesh eating bacteria than he ever cared to.
Interested, he read on further, learning that talking to an Aspie could be off putting, and not just due to their tendency to reiterate upon topics they obsessed over. Their speech itself tended to lack nuances, coming off as flat and/or very formal, lacking or mistiming the rhythm, stress, or intonation in their vocal patterns. Sarcasm was not understood or generally used, people with this disorder tending to take whatever was said to them very literally.
Unlike other forms of autism, Aspies were not as withdrawn or adverse to socialization, some displaying an almost childish need for it. Most just lacked the ability to initiate it without some sort of awkward behavior or could maintain a relationship with another person who was unaware of their limited capabilities.
Absorbing all this information made Nigel wonder about Adam. Distracted himself from thoughts of vengeance, Nigel let his mind linger over thoughts about the man who had designated himself his caretaker. For some inexplicable reason, Adam had fit Nigel into his life and made him a part of it as misshapen a puzzle piece as Nigel knew he was.
To his knowledge, Nigel had never been anyone's number one priority, that thing that was set above and before everything and anyone else. Well at least not by they own volition anyway, usually more aided by his gun being pressed into the back of their head or his fist connecting with flesh. Something like that felt new. It also felt good, really good, to be cared for and about.
After being the focus of such intense attention, Nigel realized that he didn't really know anything about Adam other than he had Asperger's, he liked space, and his father was dead. Nigel didn't even know what Adam did for a living, hadn't bothered to ask the man such a simple question. He had seen Adam leave the apartment nicely dressed though, but not overly formal, so office work perhaps?
Opening the bedroom window, Nigel lit up a cigarette to blow blue grey smoke out into the street. Keeping himself hidden behind the curtain, Nigel tapped the pack to see how many cancer sticks he had left. He would have to ration them out, make them last. After finding them in the trash, Nigel couldn't see Adam wanting to buy him cigarettes, at least not without a very long list of reasons why cigarettes were evil incarnate and bad for him. Second floor or not, he also couldn't risk anyone seeing him, catching wind that he was alive or know where he was hiding while he fully healed. Knowing how cities worked, Nigel was well aware that eyes and ears were everywhere, and any information could be bought for the right price.
The thought of people like him getting their hands on Adam made Nigel's gut twist and his upper lip curl, the man bearing his teeth at the very idea of it. No, he would be patient and wait out his wounds, give himself time to heal up. It would also give him the chance to get to know Adam better.
Now there was a thought that made Nigel smile, the expression slow and wicked.
OoOoO
"Where you been, Adam? You missed quite a few lunches last week. I was starting to get worried."
Harlan looked over at his oldest friend's legacy, that unique son of his. The fact that Adam had broken a regular routine was probably not be a good thing. Past experience had taught Harlan that Adam didn't take change well. Most recently prevalent, his father's death was a huge thing to adjust to, and Harlan had been waiting for some sort of fallout from it. He wondered if this was it.
"Home." Adam said, taking a bite out of his sandwich. He people watched as per usual, completely unaware of the older man's concern as he enjoyed his food and being outside. His work space at Replay Inc. was nice enough, all organized, quiet, and out of the way of office foot traffic, but all the social interaction could be tiring at times. He tried to understand it, but most of it seemed so pointless to Adam, especially when it appeared some people just came to work to stand around and talk instead of doing their job.
"Well, that's good. How's the job going?" Harlan worried for the boy, really he did. Now that his father was gone, Adam didn't have an anchor at home anymore, someone to keep his head from getting lost in stars, the movement of planets, or whatever else was going on up there.
"I took a few days off. I called in to work to let them know." Adam said, looking over at Harlan to see that the man was staring at him. Adam looked down to check his shirt to make sure he hadn't gotten any stains on it. Seeing none there, Adam knew now that Harlan's look pertained to something they were talking about, but in review, he couldn't think of anything mentioned that was noteworthy.
"Oh Lord, I know I going to regret this but why did you stay home?" Harlan asked, expecting some long, drawn out update about what the universe was doing now.
"I was taking care of Nigel." was the calm and totally unexpected answer, Adam taking another bite of his sandwich.
"What is a Nigel?" Harlan was getting a really bad feeling, hoping to hell and praying to heaven that 'Nigel' was some stray cat or dog.
"My houseguest. My human houseguest." Adam amended, smiling at the knowledge that he had someone staying at his apartment to eat meals and have conversations with. He wasn't alone anymore, and even better, he was doing normal things that other people did.
"Since when?" Harlan's bad feeling was getting more confirmed by the moment.
"Since Monday. Last Monday. Eight days." Adam nodded, glad that he had something to talk about and Harlan seemed interested. Most of the time he just wanted to talk about 'guy things' which had always confused Adam about what those topics actually were and what made them masculine. For example, how was weather a 'guy thing'? While some storms and other weather phenomenon were given names for tracking purposes, to Adam's understanding weather was genderless. It was like people who made animals talk in stories for no reason. Adam just didn't get it.
"And how in the hell did you get a houseguest?" Harlan felt like he was venturing out into deep waters here, not liking what was coming up out of the ocean. Godzilla was about to eat Tokyo in his mind.
"I found him." Adam said in that blunt manner that made Harlan want to run his hands down his face in frustration.
"Found him? Like in an ad or a store or God help us all, online?" Harlan made himself ask, reminding himself not to judge. It wasn't his place and Adam was a good kid. Wired a little different than other folk, but a good person none the less.
"On the ground." Adam clarified without really doing so. Harlan looked toward heaven and prayed for some patience, wondering not for the first time how Adam's father had done it and made it look so effortless.
"Adam. Adam, look at me." Harlan said firmly, getting and keeping Adam's attention for once. "Tell me about Nigel."
"I found him on the ground in the park. He was hurt so I took him home. He got better and I went back to work." Adam explained, watching Harlan's face intently for some sort of indication to what he was thinking. As per usual, it was in vain, so Adam made himself ask. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Adam, it sounds like you should have called the police or an ambulance. You found a man lying on the ground so you took him home? What were you thinking? You know better than that. I know your daddy taught you better than that." Harlan lectured, trying to keep calm about the situation. He didn't know all the details, so he couldn't jump the gun here. It might not be all that bad.
"I took really good care of him. Nigel's doing better. He can go to the bathroom on his own now." Adam said quickly. Harlan had brought up a valid point, but Harlan hadn't been there at the time. No one had been.
"Oh Lord, he's still there? In your apartment?" Harlan sighed, knowing he would have to stop by now to check up on the place and on Adam.
"Yes. He's my houseguest." Adam said, his brow furrowing. He could tell that Harlan was upset about Nigel, but he didn't know why or what to do about it. He had explained what had happened to Harlan and in his opinion, he had done well. Nigel was proof enough of that, the man getting better everyday and talking to him more. There was even touching now.
"That doesn't make him a good guy. What do you know about him?" Harlan tried to make Adam understand, hoped that he was getting through a little bit.
"I know that Nigel has brown eyes, a tattoo of a pretty woman on the left side of his neck, and is an inch taller than me. He has very warm skin and an aesthetically pleasing penis…" Adam began to launch into all that he knew of Nigel.
"No. Stop talking." Harlan interrupted. He didn't know what to do with that last bit of information. "I think I'm going to need to meet this Nigel."
"Oh, ok." Adam ate the rest of his sandwich and went back to people watched, inwardly pleased that his oldest friend would be meeting his newest friend.
OoOoO
"Hello, gorgeous." Nigel purred at Adam upon his return, the man not reacting to the pet name or the flirtatious manner it was given in. New knowledge fresh in his mind, Nigel had been expecting that, but wanted to test it out for himself to see where Adam's boundaries lay if they existed at all. Nigel knew woman and even a few men who would have blushed themselves stupid over such a greeting. The fact that the flirtation flew so high over Adam's head it was practically in orbit was endearing.
"The Star Tracker's sensor system has detected an error in analyzing space radiation." Adam said by way of greeting, the man seeming quite excited by the prospect of it for some reason.
"Did it?" Nigel smiled for his spot on the bed, putting his book aside for now. He was getting stronger everyday but still got tired if he exerted himself too much. That and his side hurt like a bitch whenever he moved too much, the stitching tugging weird and tight in places. The vet had done a piss poor job of patching him up, but it was to be expected considering the guy had been working with his face kicked in and a gun pressed to his head. You get what you paid for, Nigel thought ruefully. Task completed, Nigel had murdered the vet so it wasn't like he had anyone to complain to about it.
"Yes!" Adam said, attention torn between telling the man all about his news, and getting out of his work clothes as quickly as possible so that he could boot up his laptop to show Nigel. He was too wrapped up in his own head to remember that people usually didn't do that sort of thing in front of others as he stripped down to his boxers and undershirt.
Not one to stop an impromptu show freely given or point out the wrongness of it, Nigel quietly admired the view as slender, well toned arms and legs were revealed. Adam was a lean, wiry thing, made so from nervous energy and all the walking he did everywhere. It was disappointing to see it all covered up again in way too many layers, Adam shoving his work clothes into the laundry bag that hung in his closet.
"Do you like stars, Nigel?" was the question that got the older man's mind out of the gutter, who hadn't bothered to hide his leering stare. He knew now Adam wouldn't recognize it for what it was, and it was refreshing that he didn't have to hide or play the usual games with Adam.
Adam seemed really excited about knowing his answer though, like his very existence balanced on it, and wasn't that a small miracle in and of itself. Wondering what he was in for, Nigel decided to buy the ticket to that ride.
"Yes." Nigel said. To his surprise, instead of launching into a lecture, Adam motioned at Nigel to follow him. That lacked appeal, but Nigel made himself get up anyway. He needed to get back into the habit of moving around again. Besides that, he liked to see Adam smile all on his own and was curious to what would put such a beatific expression there on that still face.
"I want to show you something." Adam said, moving out into the living room. Nigel followed behind him slowly, loping over to the couch to rest his bones there as Adam went to the front door to click off the light. Earlier when Adam had come home, Nigel had heard him moving around in the living room. He realized now it was to properly darken the room and set up the space as a stage of sorts, every corner of the room now filled to its brim with stars. The Milky Way painted itself across the walls in shimmering points of light from some small strange looking projector that made stars dance and spin all around them.
"Because it looks like this, people think of space as still, even though we know it's expanding." Adam began talking, his voice growing stronger and more confident the longer he did so. Enthusiasm for what he was speaking about brought color and vitality to his normally dull tone as it rose and fell with new, rarely shown feeling. "All parts of the universe are moving away from one another, most of them faster than the speed of light, except for..."
Only half listening, Nigel could only stare about, watching as comets shot from one corner of the room to the other. Reaching some sort of pinnacle in his rambling, Adam flicked a series of switches on his device to make the space around them shift and change as star charts flowed in and out of one another in a stream of shimmering color and glittering light.
"Uh, these are all pictures of stars and galaxies that have been traveling away from us for hundreds of millions or billions of years." Adam was proud of himself. His star projector was working perfectly to his specifications and even better, Nigel seemed to be really listening to what he was saying, not looking bored or wandering off like other people would. "But that's still nearby compared to most of the universe that we'll never see."
"How did you do this?" Nigel interrupted. The light show wasn't like anything he had ever seen before, and he didn't recognize the machine producing it. "Where did you get that?"
"I'm an electrical engineer. I made it. It was a simply matter of…" Adam started to explain to be waved off by Nigel who gestured for him to come stand by him. Or at least, that was what Adam thought he wanted. Instead Adam found himself pulled into Nigel's lap and tucked in-between the couch and the crook of the man's arm and uninjured side, trapping him there.
"Skip the details. I get it. You're a smart guy. Tell me about all this instead." Nigel said, pointing up to the constellations and nebulas that faded in and out overhead. Playing with dark curls at the base of a pale neck, he loved how plaint Adam could be, confusion making it easy to move him to where Nigel wanted.
"Um, uh, do you know about Big Bang theory? Or I could tell you quickly about M-brane theory. It's very speculative." Adam offered, feeling happy that Nigel had called him smart. He knew he was intelligent, but it was surprisingly nice to hear someone say it, more used to people dismissing him than receiving compliments. He was experiencing so many new things with Nigel around, like sitting together in what he presumed was cuddling. No one had ever wanted to cuddle with him before. It was surprisingly comfortable and warm even if he didn't know where to put his hands or where to look. What he supposed to look at Nigel or could he keep looking up at his stars?
"I don't know a fucking thing about either." Nigel admitted freely, knowing he was about to find out and he was surprisingly ok with that. Adam felt nice by his side, the younger man fitting in against Nigel like he was made for him.
Resting his head against Adam's shoulder, Nigel stopped listening at some point to the information and just focused on the sound of Adam's tone, the drum of his heartbeat, and the wind of his breathing. It was all like music to Nigel, the man fully attuned to Adam as he sat back and let it all wash over him.
"…b-but you've probably heard enough about stars." Adam stammered at some point in time way later. Nigel had no idea if they had been there only a couple of minutes or for several hours. All he knew that his moment of zen was broken and he cared more about that than what time it was.
"No darling, I haven't. I missed part of it." Nigel murmured, turning his head to let his lips brush up against Adam's throat.
"Oh, ok. I can go over it again for you." Adam offered, expecting Nigel to get up now. No one ever took him up on his offers. He looked down to see Nigel smiling at him, his eyes half lidded and bright as anything up on Adam's ceiling.
"Please do."
OoOoO
Nigel was still lounging in the living room when he heard the scrape of keys in the front door's lock. After Adam talked himself out, Nigel decided that they needed to move themselves back to the bedroom. Unfortunately it was just for sleep, Nigel unable to pursue that he really wanted to do with Adam. Feeling exhausted even now, he found that could only sit up for so long before his side started to really bother him. Fucking was out of the question, though Nigel was seriously considering jerking off, palming the front of his pants as he heard Adam move about in the background.
Knowing Adam's father was dead and confirming that he lived alone, the sounds snapping Nigel out of his revelry, putting him on high alert as he made himself get up. He wasn't in any condition to take out a threat and was too far away from his gun to deal with anything of an ominous nature in time, so Nigel reached for a nearby water glass, calmly and quietly breaking it under a throw pillow to palm one of the larger shards in his hand. He would just have to be quick and direct in his dealing with the person at the door.
The intruder turned out to be an older black man, dressed casually in jeans, heavy boots, and a work shirt, who was brought up short upon noticing Nigel. The very bad man from Bucharest knew he must have presented a very interesting sight indeed. Shoulders back, spine straight, and his head held high, he stood bare foot and half naked, only dressed in his dark slacks with a vicious wound in his side that was still so purple around the stitching it looked black from dried blood and bruising.
"Who the fuck are you?" Nigel broke the tense silence first, voicing the mutual question between them.
A life of experience and service in the military told Harlan that this man standing in Adam's apartment was extremely dangerous. Brown eyes that looked like lit amber from their intensity were about as feral as they could get while still having a passing acquaintance with the concept of sanity. The wound in the man's side was horrendous. Wondering how Nigel was even still alive, Harlan knew just from the look of lesion that it was going to scar twisted and ugly.
"I'm Harlan. I take it that you're Nigel." Harlan said, watching the man in front of him closely. Some instinct was stopping him at the door, and keeping him from entering while maintaining some distance from Nigel. Something about him was off, Harlan knew that much. Nigel stood too still, watching him with too keen an eye.
"My apologies for the lack of proper introduction, but that still doesn't answer my fucking question." Nigel growled, holding his ground. He didn't want to move unless he had to. It was obvious now that Adam had mentioned his existence to someone. This could be trouble, the kind he might have to fix permanently.
"I'm a family friend. Have been for a long time now." Harlan countered, really wishing he had thought to bring to gun. "You though…You're not supposed to be here."
"But I am. Adam wants me here." Nigel said slowly, internally debating on what to do about this man now that the issue was becoming complicated. A nosy neighbor could have been eliminated with little fuss. A concerned family friend was another matter entirely.
"Adam doesn't know what he wants." Harlan snapped, finally stepping into the apartment. He wasn't about to have this conversation out in the hall, especially if Adam needed him.
"He's hardly a child." Nigel made himself relax, trying to come off as less of a threat as he covertly slid the piece of glass into his pocket.
"Yes, he's a grown man, but Adam's special….he's…" Harlan wanted to find the right word without coming off as demeaning. He was always pushing Adam toward some sort of personal growth, taking responsibility for making adult decisions, and living with the consequences of his actions. Fact of the matter though, Adam was 29 years old and the apartment was his. If he really wanted Nigel here, Harlan couldn't do a damn thing about it.
"Innocent?" Nigel supplied with a lazy sort of grin, knowing how to win this now. "You can't have it both ways. Either he's an adult who is capable of making his own decisions or he isn't. So which is it?"
"You're taking advantage of him." Harlan snapped. He wasn't going to play this game with some guy who was obviously a thug.
"You seem to think that you are well informed about something you don't know a fucking thing about." Nigel growled back as his voice rose, his temper starting to get the better of him.
"What's going on? Are you two fighting?" Adam said as he padded into the room barefoot, his skin still damp from his shower with his sleepwear clinging to it. He knew he had heard voices but he hadn't expect to find Harlan there.
"No, sweetheart." Nigel smiled, purring out the words in such a manner it made Harlan's stomach painfully twist. It was like watching a wolf lope toward a lamb, teeth bared and jaw agape, as Nigel turned to Adam to brush some stray locks of wet hair out of the man's face.
"But I heard shouting." Adam stammered. He had never like raised voices. Loud voices usually meant that something bad was happening and the odds of Adam knowing what that problem was in a timely manner were never in his favor. He was made to stop looking at the floor though by Nigel when the man left off his hair to cup his face with both his hands, gently tilting Adam's up toward his own.
"Just a simple misunderstanding is all. See?" Nigel spoke quietly, keeping his tone even and calm as he smiled and softened his eyes. "Look at my face. Hear my voice. Nothing is wrong."
"Oh….ok." Adam nodded shakily as Nigel let his face go. He appreciated that Nigel took the time and effort to make him understand, telling him was he was feeling instead of making Adam ask. Mimicked back the smile, Adam remembered that he was the host and knew that came with certain responsibilities. He had looked it up. "Nigel, this is Harlan. Harlan, this is Nigel. If you would like a conversation starter, consider and discuss that the peanut is neither a pea or a nut. It's a legume. I can go get us all some water while you two do that."
"That's alright, Adam. I just came by to check in on Nigel here. I was getting worried, was all." Harlan glaring at the man in question who smiled smugly back at him.
"W-worried?" Adam stammered. Nigel looked one way but Harlan looked another way that was completely different. He wasn't stupid, knew that something was going on right in front of him. He just couldn't pinpoint it down, especially while in-between such a wide range of emotions. Nigel looked and acted calm but Harlan appeared to be upset.
"About my health. A kind concern but unnecessary. He's all done now though and leaving." Nigel said pointedly, gesturing to his side.
Adam nodded slowly, looking down at the wound to study it. He found that it was upsetting, and could see why Harlan was troubled now. He didn't like the collection of bad stitching in Nigel's side either.
"Why don't you go pick out something to read. I'll join you as soon as I see Harlan out." Nigel said, not bothering to make it sound like a suggestion. Adam would take it at face value while Harlan, if he was smart, would take it as his cue to leave.
"Ok. Goodnight, Harlan." Adam said in parting, already well on his way down the hall. The two men watched him go, waiting until he was safely in the bedroom.
"I could still call the cops." Harlan said dismally. With an injury like that, Nigel should have gone to the hospital. The reasons why he didn't or couldn't were not good things in Harlan's mind.
To Harlan's dismay, his threat only made Nigel snort in open amusement. They both knew it was an idle threat. Even if he did call the cops, what would he be able to tell them? That as far as he knew, his friend's son took a man home with him and that man had been invited to stay? And what would happen if the cops did show up at Adam's door? More than likely, they would be fed some convincing bullshit by Nigel, and it would be backed up by Adam. They would leave and nothing would change for the better.
"You could, but you and I both know that would be a very fucking stupid thing to do. It would also make my darling Adam upset. Once I am better, I intend to take care of him, and considering I don't see you or anyone else for the matter lining up to do it, feel free to fuck off. " Nigel said, liking how Harlan flinched when he said Adam's name. He hadn't intended to say that, caring for Adam, but now that he had, the idea settled in his mind with a strange weight to it, warmly appealing yet heavy. "Rest assured, old man. I have no intention of harming, Adam, now or ever. I can't guarantee the same sweet peace for others who threaten his happiness though."
"If you hurt that boy…." Harlan gritted out, his hands clenching into fists helplessly at his side. Even to him, it sounded weak, and Nigel was obviously not impressed by it if his smirk was any indication.
"Be careful what you say…" Nigel hushed, placing a finger to his lips to claim silence from the other man.
"….it could all turn to blood in an instant."
OoOoO
TBC