((Chapter heading is from the song Midnight Sun by Deine Lakaien.))
Chapter 11
Touch Your Light
They reached Peterculter in the late afternoon because a blizzard had slowed them to a crawl and they'd decided to sit it out at a service area. When they finally did get back, Francis managed to establish a call with the victim in Detroit, where it would now be late in the morning. It wasn't anywhere near as helpful as they'd hoped. The man was stone-drunk, and by the sound of him, that wasn't unusual. He kept muttering about a monster that had come and snatched him while he was relieving himself in a dark alley. The so-called monster had knocked him out and dragged him off into a warehouse. He had no idea where it was and insisted that his abductor wasn't human. They thanked him anyway and told him they'd come back to him if they needed something else before cutting the connection. Francis had walked outside wordlessly and Adam was still wondering if he should follow him.
After twenty minutes he decided that it was quite enough. The storm had calmed down, but there were still impressive amounts of snow falling. While Francis looked his normal healthy self, the mere thought that the man had almost died a very short time ago made Adam restless. Unable to stop himself, he walked downstairs.
At least it wasn't hard to find him thanks to the footprints. Francis had walked through Abi's garden, vaulted over the fence, and marched on to the Dee. He was perching at the side of the water, motionless, with snow gathering on his head. Adam crouched down beside him. 'Are you all right, Francis?'
'No.' The hacker kept his gaze firmly on the water. 'I'm worried, Adam. About Marcus. About this entire situation. The only sensible lead we had is a pisshead. All other victims will be tough to find. We have nothing. Nothing.'
Adam watched him. His face was expressionless, as if all this didn't move him, but he wasn't going to be fooled. 'Do you want me to leave?' he offered.
At last, Francis looked at him. After a moment he shook his head. 'You've got no idea, Jensen.' He let himself fall backwards into the snow and stared up into the sky. It had been dark all day, but by now the thick clouds threatened to swallow completely what little daylight remained.
'Of what?' Adam ventured when nothing else came.
Francis answered in a whisper, so low Adam wouldn't have heard him if it weren't for the silence surrounding them. 'What you mean to me.'
Adam lowered himself into the snow, too. His cloak was keeping him warm enough for the moment. He clasped Francis's hand in one of his and felt the other man intertwine their fingers. Adam turned his head to the side to watch Francis. 'Will you tell me?'
The answer was a brief shake of Francis's head. 'I don't think I can.' He sat up and scowled but didn't let go of Adam's hand. 'It's cold.'
'Yes, Pritchard. We call that winter.'
'Huh. Sure this isn't a plot by the Illuminati, Jensen? Some way to … achieve … heaven knows what?'
'Very funny.'
'Funny? Perish the thought! This is serious business! Seizing control of the world by freezing the population to death. No?' Francis briefly squeezed Adam's hand before he released it and got to his feet. Huffing, he brushed snow off of himself. 'Great. Now I need to change.'
'You did this to yourself, you know.' Adam stood up, too. 'As did I. Come on. Let's go back.'
'Not yet. I said I can't tell you, Jensen. And I … really don't know why, but if I say it, I fear that I'll curse us somehow. I know that's ridiculous but there it is.' He looked at him. 'But there's something else. Something I can do.' Francis plucked his gloves off his hands and stuffed them into a pocket of his coat. He placed both hands on Adam's chest and looked up at him. 'Hold still, you've got something on your face.'
'For some mysterious reason I strongly suspect it might be snow.'
'No. Let me …' He leaned closer and up, and suddenly his lips were pressed against Adam's. Adam couldn't have kept his eyes open if his life depended on it. He wrapped his arms around Francis and kissed him back with all he had. He felt a soft probing tongue and opened up willingly, a sigh escaping him. Francis tasted better than anything else in the world, the slow, teasing caress of his tongue sliding over his lips sending shivers through Adam's body that had nothing to do with the cold. Quite the contrary. Francis sucked briefly on his lower lip before pulling away. His cheeks were flushed dark pink, his lips red and swollen.
'I think I'll want that on my face,' Adam managed.
Francis smirked. He kissed him again, briefly this time. 'There's something else. Something I need to say.'
'Go on.'
'I have revised my answer to the question what I want.' He touched his lips to Adams and whispered against them. 'I want my last breath to be filled with your scent. Think you can do that for me?'
Adam put his hands on Francis's jaw, caressing him with his thumbs. 'I think we'll have to negotiate which one stays behind, but I agree with the implication, Francis.' He pressed their foreheads together. 'Let's go back. It's cold and it's getting dark.'
'You're right. Also this entire kissing in the snow thing is horribly soppy.'
Adam couldn't help smiling at Francis. 'It was perfect, Francis. Everything about it was. But I've got one request.'
'Yes?'
'Whenever you feel ready to take the next step, please do it someplace warm. Otherwise this is going to become a bit awkward eventually.'
Francis stared at him for a moment, then his face lit up with a smile so honest and bright he looked years younger. 'Cross my heart, Jensen.'
