Ellie stepped into the office several hours later, yawning, loosely hanging Nick's coat over her arm. "Did you leave this in the doorway?"
He lifted his head, gaze tracing the lines of her face. "I, I guess I did." Nick smoothed a hand over the bandaged wound on his neck. She caught a glimpse of the bloodstain on his collar.
"Nick.." She strode toward him, depositing his jacket on the desk before coming around to lean over him, fretting. "What happened?"
He let her lift his chin, tilting it to the side as she palpated the bruise that radiated along the side of his neck. Nick hissed through his teeth, and Ellie took into account how his lip looked, where it split, still swollen.
"I thought you didn't leave Diamond City?"
Nick glanced down, brow furrowed. He was tempted to tell her everything. "I didn't."
There was a sharp intake of breath, and Nick lifted his gaze to meet hers. "Do I want to know who did this?"
"I don't think you should." Not yet at least. Nick let out a slow breath, before glancing her way again. "What about you? I take it you had a good evening."
Ellie was taken aback, sweeping a stray hair behind her ear as her cheeks bloomed pink. "I guess. Chandra - That's Dr. Amari, by the way suggested I stay overnight. It's safer to travel during the day."
"Oh?" Nick leaned back with a sigh, letting Ellie pull the bandage from his neck. She made a soft noise of shock, and he guessed she noticed the bite mark.
"Y-yeah," Ellie answered, sounding distracted. "It was nice, in a way." She folded over his collar, so the air could get at his wound before dabbing at it with a wet cloth. Nick twisted in his seat, wringing his hands. It stung, but not in the pleasurable way it had been the night before. A heat rose to his face at the memory, and he crossed his legs. "She's sweet on me." Ellie continued, letting Nick focus on her words. "I guess that's nice too."
"Mmhm." Nick settled in the chair, relaxing. "Glad to see you're getting out of here more often."
"I wish I could say the same for you, Nick." She pulled back, dropping the cloth onto the desk. "Now hold still." Ellie pressed a fresh roll of gauze to the wound, wrapping it with a bandage around his neck. Nick grit his teeth, hand clenching into fists.
She pulled back, a hand resting on his cheek. "Is that better?"
"Much." He patted her hand. "Thank you, Ellie."
She took a step back and sucked in a breath before letting it out. "I'm going to freshen up a bit, and then you can tell me what happened to you."
Ellie ran a hand along Nick's shoulder as she passed. The warm action made it hard for him to want to lie to her again.
As soon as she left the room, Nick jerked the worn jacket closer and pressed it to his face, breathing it in. It still smelled like smoke and the musky scent that seemed to linger just on the surface of Kellogg's skin.
He fumbled in the pockets. Kellogg took his cigarettes, the son of a bitch. Wait. He paused. There was something in the pocket. He reached in and pulled out a piece of newsprint, crumpled and covered in a light dusting of char dust.
At first he thought it would be an old picture, but then he unfolded it. On one side was a scribbled out note. He didn't bother to try and decipher it.
That was definitely not a picture of Jenny he'd found crumpled up in the pocket of his coat. Nick touched the corner of the page, not wanting to smudge the charcoal as he smoothed it out, standing over his desk. It was himself, sleeping, illuminated by an oil lantern drawn from an intimately close position. A knot rose in his throat and he swallowed around it. He felt dizzy all of a sudden and needed to sit down. Nick sank down further into his desk chair, leaning one elbow against his desk as he stared down at the picture. He sighed, running his hands through his hair.
"I don't know what I'd do if I lost you, Nick." Ellie stepped in, and was adjusting the scarf around her neck, where it badly concealed a fading red mark. "We almost did once already." She looked down, wringing her hands. "Can you tell me what this is about, why you keep coming back hurt all the time?"
He shoved the picture into one of the lower drawers, closing it tight. "One of my... informants has been unruly.. as of late. It's been difficult trying to get information from him. It ends in a fight every time."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Ellie followed the line of his body with her eyes, lingering on the wound at his throat.
Nick gave her a quick nod. "Sometimes."
He pulled the door shut behind him, his shoulders sagging as he let his hand drop to his side.
"I take it you found it."
"You left me this." Nick let the paper drop from his fingers.
"Could have been a real artist, people used to tell me." Kellogg spoke somewhere behind him, noting how it was spread out. Nick didn't turn. The sound of his footsteps drew ever closer until he was standing just right behind him, not touching Nick at all.
"You're not bad." Nick conceded in a small voice, giving him what he hoped was a thoughtful look, mouth dry, not real keen on being an art critic when he loomed so close behind him. Kellogg moved to stand beside him, fingers twitching anxiously. He looked as if he wanted to say something, the words stuck in his throat. Nick chanced a glance toward him, stomach clenching as he hoped the mercenary's eyes wouldn't slide his direction. Kellogg let his head drop; Nick heard him sigh.
He looked the opposite way, crossing his arms over his chest. "You drew me."
"What a great detective you are." Kellogg snapped, seizing him by the arm and turning him around. "You left me here alone."
"You were asleep." Nick's gold gaze met Kellogg's expression, tired of this back and forth. Kellogg's grip tightened, and Nick bit back a cry when Kellogg's fingers dug into the flesh of his bicep. He was tossed back against the wall and he turned his head away, expecting Kellogg's full weight on him in a matter of seconds but it never came. Nick opened his eyes, reluctantly looking to the mercenary. He was staring, inches from where Nick fell back against the wall. "Why did you come back?"
He raised his hand and Nick flinched, expecting a blow to land. Instead, Kellogg's hand lingered by his face, almost touching but not quite. He exhaled, eyelids twitching as he waited for Kellogg to grip his throat, and wring the life out of him.
"You can't just do that to me," Nick blurted, eyes opening, looking at him from just the corner of his eye. "You brought my coat back, you- you drew a picture of me. You keep kissing me, and it's so sincere. It hurts ." His voice cracked and he found he couldn't look toward him. "Why?"
Kellogg closed the space between them in the time it took for him to blink, and Nick found himself face to face with the mercenary when he regained the courage to look him in the eye.
Kellogg's eyes searched his expression. "You wanna know why? You honest to God want to know?" His fingers raised toward the side of Nick's jaw, skimming the very edge.
His breath came in shaky, and Kellogg had to have noticed. Their mouths were so close, and Nick found himself desperately wishing for him to stop talking and kiss him, just so he wouldn't have to answer him.
"You have no idea, do you?"
Nick narrowed his eyes, a hand coming up to rest on Kellogg's chest, fingers wrapping around the strap of his armor. "That doesn't matter. You want me to keep coming back and I do."
"Are you telling me you don't want to show up here out of the blue any time you need an itch scratched?" Kellogg laughed, and Nick hated the sound of it. "That every time you come here it's because you want me to be satisfied?" He pressed him against the wall, speaking right against his lips and Nick put a foot forward, as if to stop him. "How deep in denial can you possibly be?" Kellogg growled, lips curled in a snarl.
"This isn't denial. You-" Nick's gold eyes flicked down to Kellogg's lips, still so close to his own. A thought occurred to him to press his mouth to the one in front of him. He lifted his chin in defiance of himself and his intrusive thoughts, mouth curving down in a moue of enmity. A breath escaped him and Nick settled back against the wall, conceding to the loss of distance between them. "I'm disgusted by how much I need you."
"Disgust is something I can work with." Kellogg's fingers curled around his throat, and Nick took a breath, anticipating the squeeze. It never came. "Matter of fact, it's something I'm intimately familiar with."
"Is it?" Nick's voice was restrained, still half expecting Kellogg to clamp down on his throat. "Must come with the way you treat people."
"You weren't complaining yesterday." He drew Nick's face closer, pulling him by the throat. "Or do you just hate me when I'm not fucking you?"
"I hate you more and more with each passing time you do ." Nick bared his teeth, his neck taut against Kellogg's palm.
"Mm, is that so?" Kellogg worked a knee between his legs. "I'll try to remember that next time you're face down in my bed." He pressed his mouth to the crook of Nick's neck, the sharp tips of his teeth barely scraping along the surface. Nick groaned, tilting his head to the side. A sound Nick vaguely recognized as laughter bubbled up from where Kellogg's lips were latched onto his throat.
"What's so funny?"
"You." His fingers crossed over the front of Nick's throat, grazing the edge of the gauze. The detective gasped, and Kellogg worked a knuckle against the bandage. A ragged groan tore out of him and Nick's hips rolled toward the knee pressed between his thighs. "You hate me so much, and yet.." Kellogg's knee started to rub at the growing erection, noticing how Nick canted his body toward his touch. "Doesn't seem like it."
"You're making it hard to focus." Nick grit his teeth, breathing hard through his nose.
"What is there to focus on beside your dick?" Kellogg shoved him harder against the wall, free hand working its way under his shirt, untucking it from under his belt. "Can't multitask, Valentine?"
"That isn't why I'm here."
"But now that it's happening, you're not gonna complain, right?" Kellogg gave him a challenging grin, a hand working under his shirt, smoothing up past his ribs as he sank down to his knees.
Nick closed his mouth, not even bothering to answer, face growing hot as he looked down at him.
"Didn't think so." Kellogg added, tugging Nick's trousers open. He let out a slow breath, turning his head away as the mercenary finished unbuttoning Nick's shirt. "Tch, you weren't kidding." Kellogg hooked a finger under the waistband of his underwear, letting it snap against his stomach. Nick grabbed at his wrist and jerked his hand away.
"Don't," He lifted Kellogg's hand away from his bared skin. "The last thing I need right now is more marks."
The mercenary reached a hand down, stroking along the flaccid length of his cock through his underwear. Nick whined, trying to downplay his need, the subtle rocking of his hips toward Kellogg's touch still so obvious. "Your lady friend worried about you?" He cast a look up toward Nick's face, a sly smirk crossing his features as he pulled the detective's shorts down in one liquid movement. His erection sprung upward, and Kellogg curled a hand around it.
"She knows about this. Us , meeting like this." Nick breathed, turning his head away.
"Yeah?" Kellogg's breath was hot against the underside of his cock, and Nick let out a husky groan. "You tell her everything?"
He shook his head, body trembling. "She thinks it's for a case. I don't have the heart to lie to her."
"Didn't think you had a heart." Kellogg dragged his teeth along Nick's bared thigh, listening to his voice hitch when he spread the detective's legs.
"What kind of tin man do you take me for?" Nick crooked his knee as the mercenary lifted it, letting Nick's thigh rest in the center of his palm.
Kellogg pressed his mouth to the inside of his leg, leaving a bite mark that faded to a less painful looking red. He let out a low laugh, one that was less mirth than Nick was expecting, and Nick's skin prickled. "Been a long time since I thought about that."
"About what?" He held his breath, watching Kellogg slide a rough tongue along the bite mark he left. "The Wizard of Oz? That old pre-war relic?"
Kellogg didn't answer, smoothing a hand along the length of Nick's cock, pausing to look at him. "Sarah used to read it out loud. Before Mary was born."
Nick forced himself to close his eyes, hands coming to rest on the back of Kellogg's head, fingers laced. "I can't stand it when you talk about them."
His gaze took a turn toward steely, hardening as he watched Nick tilt his head back. "They're dead. I can't bring them back but I can remember them, Valentine. It's more than what I can say for you. I'm sure other people missed Jenny just as much as you."
"You never knew her, you wouldn't know." Nick growled through clenched teeth. "She didn't have anybody else."
The beginning of a look of vicious deliberation crossed Kellogg's face, and Nick's heart lurched. "You didn't know about her checkered past, did you?" He flashed him a ruthless smile and Nick squeezed his shoulder hard enough to hurt. "Oh, come on. It was in your file and everything."
Nick's brow furrowed and he stopped listening, Kellogg's words sounding hollow.
"You weren't the only sap she played up. Just the last one."
He swallowed, breath coming in shallow as his eyes lowered, peering somewhere behind Kellogg. "She loved me. That didn't matter."
"No wonder Nora dumped you. You got no spine either. You'd let a pretty girl walk all over you no matter what."
Nick's thigh shifted at his shoulder, and he grimaced, lips curling downward. "I would rather be a doormat than someone who would be willing to kill for money."
Kellogg scoffed under his breath, "That kind of thinking is what got you here."
He cast a look down at Kellogg, watching him as he buried his face between Nick's legs. A choked gasp burst from Nick's lips, and he scrabbled at the back of Kellogg's head, trying for purchase as he arched his back.
One thing was certain; he was good with his tongue, and Nick covered his face with his hand to keep from crying out. He couldn't help but roll his hips toward Kellogg's open mouth, hating how good it felt, how his body burned with embarrassment and pleasure as his erection twitched.
" Oh ," Nick's voice caught in his throat as he fell back against the wall. He'd lost Kellogg's steadying presence as the mercenary gripped his arm again, squeezing where the bruise had begun. That pain shot a red hot jolt down Nick's spine, arousal settling in his belly. His body still burned, skin hot to the touch. "Why'd you stop?"
"It doesn't matter." Kellogg spit, forcing Nick against the wall. His head turned, cheek flat against the rough surface. Nick's erection, caught between the wall and his stomach, was pressed to his sticky skin and the friction was distracting enough without the force of Kellogg's hard muscles against his back. He groaned, taking hold of Nick's waist, as he drew his ass closer. Nick's face fell against the wall; he could feel the material cutting into his flesh where it rested.
"I don't want to have to see your face."
Nick's expression curdled, and he lifted his hand to push himself back from the wall, not willing to keep this charade going. Kellogg caught his wrist, twisting his arm behind his back. The angle of his shoulder caused him to gasp aloud, and he moaned, feeling Kellogg's erection against his ass. He was still breathing hard, carefully listening for Kellogg's hot breath on the back of his neck. "Y-you son of a bitch." He muttered, fuming. "Let me go. I don't want to see you again."
Kellogg held his breath, jerking Nick's arm up higher. The twist of his arm was agonizing, but Nick didn't make a sound, hips pivoting languidly against the wall. He could tell the detective was lying, and he worked a hand down between Nick's thighs. With a sharp press, Nick arched his hips toward Kellogg's touch, as he sunk his finger into his wet hole deeper. A ragged cry tore from him, and Kellogg added two more fingers. The stretch was immense, his abused hole clenching around the intrusion. He thrust them deeper, smashing Nick's body against the wall. The detective groaned, desperate for some friction. Nick was sure he wouldn't last like this, body being dragged against the wall. He heard the telltale sound of a fly unzipping and then any consciousness he was hoping to cling to was blasted away in a stretch the likes of which he'd never felt before, body unable to handle it. He came with a shout, painting the wall white with his seed. The pressure eased only a little when he pulled his fingers out of him, and he shuddered bodily, as Kellogg's mouth latched to the bare side of his throat.
"I could say the same thing to you." His voice was a rumble, low and resentful. "You keep coming back, making it so easy for me to fuck you." Kellogg's hips were slow, each rock into him deep. He was crushed against the wall, hands clenching into fists each time their bodies made contact. "You don't want me to stop." He breathed, taking the shell of Nick's ear into his mouth and biting down. Nick's knees went weak and he moaned, body tensing.
"Don't talk about things you don't understand." Nick answered, eyes closed tight, as he was pummelled against the wall. Kellogg coiled a thick arm around his throat, jerking Nick's head back. He couldn't breathe, his free hand clawing at Kellogg's forearm, feet barely touching the floor as he heaved Nick back away from the wall.
"You wanna talk about things you don't understand?" He hissed, mouth against Nick's ear. "Tell me about how you let me do these things to you. I want to know why you want me to hurt you."
Nick turned his head, breath coming in painful gasps. He fell silent, the arm twisted behind his back loosened and he let it fall before starting to stroke himself.
"Fucking answer me." Kellogg bent Nick over. The hand on his cock flew to the wall to support himself, and the arm around Nick's throat flexed before tightening. A long whine escaped his mouth as he struggled to breathe. The mercenary smoothed a hand along Nick's chest, down the dark hair trailing along his stomach before closing his fist around Nick's cock. A choked sound burst from his lips when Kellogg started stroking him fast, drawing him to hardness.
" I can't ." Nick moaned, moving with him. Each impact sent another cry from his lips, and he couldn't help but piston his hips back and forth between his touch. "It makes it easier for me to hate you." He finally announced, spit dripping from his mouth as his head bowed back against Kellogg's shoulder.
"You're pathetic," Kellogg admitted, rolling his hips without a set rhythm, so close. Kellogg's arm tensed at his throat, choking Nick, and with a stuttered thrust of his hips, Nick came again. He went slack and the mercenary came, releasing him. Nick fell to his knees on the ground, curling in on himself. Kellogg watched, eyes following the line of Nick's back, as he sat back on his heels. He wiped at his mouth with the fleshy part of his hand, breathing hard.
" I'm the pathetic one?" Nick found his footing with some difficulty, hoisting his clothing up to cover the aching bare parts of him. "You act as if we're friends." He turned, facing Kellogg. His eyes blazed gold, livid. "We are nothing , you are nothing but a nuisance to me. I wish I could say I hate you but I feel nothing but pity for you. You disgust me."
"I wish you did hate me, Valentine." Kellogg added, backing up as he fixed his own pants. "Now get out of here. You made yourself clear enough. This is it."
Nick stiffened, closing the distance between him and the door. "I should thank you for returning my coat."
Kellogg opened his mouth to speak; Nick could hear him take a breath, words imminent, but pulled the door open without listening, and in a moment was gone without hearing what he had to say.
The door clicked closed, and Kellogg sighed, taking a step and picking up the picture he drew before crushing it in his fist and throwing it into a far corner in anger.
Nick's hands were clenched into fists as he found his way home, taking the long way as he walked the winding streets through Diamond City.
