AN-Some dialogue taken from the movie Adam, and I'm kinda following the events of the movie as well.
Not Beta Read
OoOoO
"5,000 at a hundred dollars. Not five at a thousand. Adam, I've got to let you go."
His boss Mr. Klieber was always saying that first part, but the latter was alarmingly new. The man was talking about candy stores and what a good job Adam was doing but he was being fired for it?
Working at Replay Inc. was point of stability and somewhat of a personal victory for Adam. It was true that Adam's father had helped him get the job, sitting with his son through the interview and handling a lot of the social interaction of it. His father had explained his condition, but Adam had been hired because he was more than qualified, having the background for it. He could do the work and do it well. There was no doubt of that. Anyway who was in the industry and knew their tech was always impressed by what Adam had to offer.
Expect now Mr. Klieber was frowning at him, and it wasn't the usual kind of frown.
"But I don't want to go!" Adam cried out at a complete loss at what was going on as he tried to keep up. One moment Mr. Klieber was complimenting his work, and the next he was telling Adam that he was being let go for it and how sorry he was. "I-I haven't finished.
If Mr. Klieber would just let him finish, Adam knew he would be impressed, and realized that he had made a mistake about letting Adam go.
"I have a bid, Adam. It's done." Mr. Klieber told him. For once, it was someone else who was trying to avoid his eyes as Adam desperately tried to read the man's face.
"You found a better chip?" Adam asked, at a loss but trying to understand. If he knew what he had done wrong, he could fix the mistake. He just needed someone to tell him where the fault in his work lie. Did they want the voice modulations enhanced or did they want the Kelli doll to hold longer conversations?
"Not better. Cheaper." Mr. Klieber told him with a frown again, the one he wore too frequently in Adam's presence. It was an expression that Adam was used to, in place on people who didn't seem to know how to act around him. They would talk louder and slower at him, wanting to be helpful while not realizing how insulting it was. "Go home. Talk to your father. I'm sure he'll find you another job."
"No, my dad…" Adam started to say to be spoken over as Mr. Klieber plowed through his dismissal. It left Adam in a fog as his mind turned inward on itself unable to really cope. His dad was dead, and now he had lost his job. Adam could feel the gaping holes inside himself, but didn't know how to fill them to make himself feel less empty.
Everything that he was at Replay Inc. fit into a small cardboard box that Adam could hold in his arms as he stumbled out of the place he no longer worked. He used the weight and feel of it to ground himself as people kept talking to him, saying things, touching him….why were they touching him?! The receptionist Kelli put some papers in his box as he passed by her, Adam mutely nodding when she said something at him. The words were lost in translation, unable to penetrate his mental fog.
The numbness he felt ran through his entire being and yet he had no idea what emotion to equate to it, what to label this overwhelming feeling that made his legs and arms weak and shaky. All Adam knew was that he felt sick with his head starting to ache, his breathing strained. He was going to end up having an episode if this kept up. If that happened, Adam knew he wouldn't be able to move or really talk so he focused on just getting back to the safety of his apartment.
Keeping his head down and shoulders hunched, Adam somehow managed not to run into other people on the street or get hit by a car. If he just got back home, he could be alone and take a moment to sort his head out, try to understand and label what he was experiencing.
Except Nigel…He wouldn't be alone, Nigel would be there, and he would want to know why Adam was home so early. He would have to tell Nigel that he had gotten fired. He would have to see that frown Mr. Klieber and other people wore on Nigel's face. Adam didn't want to see that expression there, didn't want Nigel to treat him differently, like he was something less.
Upset and not knowing what to do about it, Adam stopped walking, coming to a halt in front of the neighborhood school, Wildwood. Mentally adrift, Adam wandered over to rest his head against the cool iron bars of the fence, sightlessly watched the children play their recess games in the yard. Not for the first time, he wished he could look that happy and know why.
"Excuse me, sir. What are you doing there?" broke Adam out of his trance, looking over his shoulder to see a pair of police officers getting out of their squad car.
"I said, what you doin'?" The officer repeated when Adam didn't answer him right away, his tone taking an edge when he noticed how Adam avoided his eyes.
"Watching the children." Adam said flatly, not know why these men were talking to him. He really wasn't up for conversation, and people in uniform tended to make him nervous.
"Uh-huh. Let me have some I.D., sir." the police officer said instead of going away, even though Adam had told him why he was here.
"I-I-I was looking at the children." Adam stammered, trying again to clearly convey what he had been doing. To his dismayed confusion, his explanation did nothing to improve the situation.
"Sir, turn around. Put your hands on the fence, please." the police officer told him, gesturing to the fence.
"Why- why are you doing this?" Adam asked, his limbs feeling suddenly rigid and ungainly. He had told them what he was doing and yet all that seemed to do was make the police officers more upset with him.
"Lean forward, put your hands on the fence, please." the police officer said, his tone forceful as he gestured to the fence again. When Adam just stared back at him, the officer moved with quick intent, taking hold of Adam. It made him drop his box as he was turned around and slammed up against the fence, the officer yelling at him now. "Hands on the fence!"
Shakily, Adam complied, his hand trembling as he gripped the cold metal, feeling the police officer begin to touch him, patting down his sides and behind.
"What - what are you doing?" Adam managed out, the words coming out as shaky as his voice.
"I'm taking your wallet out of your back pocket to check your identification, sir." the police officer told him, handing over said wallet over to his partner who called it in.
"Hey, take a look at this." the other officer said, pulling out another card from Adam's wallet to show his partner. Shutting his eyes to press his head against the cool metal in an attempt to stay calm, Adam realized it must be his Asperber's syndrome alert I.D. card that they were looking at. Before the officer could inquire about it though, a tall red haired woman walked up to them.
"Is this the man you reported?" the officer asked her.
"I wasn't the one who saw him." the woman told him as she studied Adam. "I'm the director of Wildwood. What's going on with him?"
"Just running his I.D. but he had this on him too." the officer said, handing her Adam's alert ID. "Do you know what this is?"
Oh…oh dear. Please let him go. I think there's been a misunderstanding." the woman said as she studied the card. "Aspergers is a developmental disorder, a kind of high functioning autism."
Returning the card, the red headed woman turned her attention back to Adam as he was released. Not knowing what to do, Adam stood there, staring blankly at her left shoulder.
"Your card says your name is Adam Raki. May I call you Adam?" the director asked, keeping her tone light as she smiled at Adam, his eyes flickering up from time to time now that there was a moment of calm.
"Y-yes. That's my name. A-adam." Adam stammered out softly. He was happy he wasn't being touched anymore, but he needed his I.D.s back.
Do you live nearby, Adam." the director asked, the woman keeping her tone soft and kind.
"Y-yes." Adam nodded, the movements jerky and tense.
"You can go home. You're not in any trouble." the director told him, looking over at the officer whose com reported that Adam Raki had no hits and that his record was clean.
"Alright. Sorry about that. Can't be too careful with kids, right?" The officer said as they finally backed away. Nodding because he was sure some reaction was expected of him, Adam found he was getting too far gone to keep all this up. Ducking his head to keep everyone out, Adam ran home, leaving his box behind.
OoOoO
Nigel had been sleeping when he heard Adam enter the apartment, the killer waking easily at the out of place noises. His inner clock stated it was too early for Adam to be home, Nigel squinting over at the time to confirm the hour. The man who had never worked a 9-5 gig a day in his life wondered if offices had half days or something.
Debating on whether or not he should get up, Nigel stretched out lazy as a cat, wincing as he went a little too far, the movement bothering his side. Despite the ugly scarring, he was doing a hell of lot better, and was ready to pull out his stitches.
The decision was made for him though, the sharp and sudden sound of glass breaking coming from the living room. It was a noise that Nigel was well familiar with, of meat hitting a hard surface with force. Moving faster than he had in weeks, Nigel rushed out of the bedroom to find Adam standing in front of a now ruined mirror, the man staring impassively at his fractured reflection as blood ran down his forehead.
"Fuck!" Nigel swore, going over to Adam to grip the man by his shoulders, making them face each other. Usual fathomless expression in place, Adam's face gave nothing away to why he had done such a thing. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what had happened, that it wasn't an accident, that Adam had intentionally slammed his head into the mirror. It was the reasoning, or lack there of, behind it that was bugging Nigel. That and head wounds bled like a bitch.
"Why did you do that, darling? What are you upset about?" Nigel asked as he titled Adam's head back to access the damage to it. There was a small laceration, but nothing that looked too deep or needed stitches as a small bump started to form. It was nothing life threatening though, much to Nigel's relief. More so than he had felt in a long time for anyone.
"I lost my job. Mr. Klieber fired me." Adam said flatly, his eye managing a tour of Nigel's face without really hitting any of the key points of interest. "I don't know if I am upset. I wish I did."
"You just broke a mirror with your face. I'd say you're fucking pissed. It sounds like a fucking shitty day full with fucking shitty people." Nigel chuckled, taking Adam's hand to lead him back to the bedroom with a pit stop at the bathroom to pick up some medical supplies.
Pulling Adam down on the bed with him, Nigel began the task of cleaning up the blood off of Adam's face as he kept pressure and a gauze pad over the wound with his other hand.
"Stay still. It will be over soon enough, darling." Nigel said softly. This close he could smell the soft scents of Adam, the spilled iron of his blood, the sweet milky scents of his mild soaps, the salt and musk of his sweat. It was a heady mixture, enough so Nigel leaned in to clean off the remaining blood off of Adam's skin with his tongue. Adam flinched when something wet was placed to the side of his face, but other than that didn't respond as Nigel laved his tongue from corner of Adam's jaw to his forehead.
Breathing out heat and still tasting Adam on his tongue, Nigel placed a band aid over the cut when he was sure it was clotted. A wound that shouldn't be there at all. It's existence made Nigel angry as he held Adam in place.
"Don't ever fucking do that again? You're not allowed to harm yourself for any reason. Do you understand what I am telling you?" Nigel whispered harshly into Adam's ear, his lips brushing up against the velvet of the lobe.
"Yes." Adam said, turning his head to study Nigel in sparing glances. He tried to pull away to find that Nigel only gripped him tighter in place. His muscular arms were locked around Adam so that he had to lean into Nigel, placing his head on the older man's shoulder to sit comfortably with him.
"You can hug me back." Nigel said after a moment. This didn't feel awkward though. The fact he had to tell Adam to respond had the complete opposite effect. It made him feel powerful.
"Oh…" Adam breathed out softly, wrapping his arms around Nigel's shoulders as he moved his head to rest on the man's clavicle to keep from looking at him. The fog inside of him was dissipating while in Nigel's presence, the man grounding Adam as he gave himself something to cling to. "I was fired."
"Don't worry about it." Nigel sighed, running his hands up and down Adam's back, enjoying the feel of it as his fingers counted and measured Adam's vertebrae.
"I lost my job!" Adam pulled back enough to show Nigel just how upset he was about it, how lost. It wasn't just about the income. It was something his father had done for him, and Adam had just screwed it all up because he hadn't been able to understand what other people wanted from him. It was the story of his life, and he didn't know how to tell it to another.
"Who gives a shit? You can get a job anywhere. Smart guy like you, they'll be tripping over themselves to hire you, darling." Nigel said, surprising Adam into looking straight at him. Leaning in to press their foreheads together, Nigel kept that gaze there, admiring the view of smoky blue eyes.
"Until I get to the interview. They'll think I'm weird." Adam muttered. It was hard to keep being upset though or even going through the motions of it, especially when Nigel kept running his hands along his sides and back, the motion of it soothing.
"You are weird…" Nigel told him with a grin to show Adam that he wasn't trying to be mean about it. That was important to him now, protecting Adam even from himself. It shouldn't have been, but it was. "…But everyone's weird. Some of us just lie about it better."
"I can't lie." Adam sighed, more out of contentment though than displeasure. Nigel's hands were now in his hair, his fingers working over his scalp to send little thrills up and down Adam's spine.
"I'll teach you." Nigel offered, though the thought of it didn't sit well with him. If he had his way, Adam wouldn't work another day in his life.
"I won't lie. It's wrong." Adam said as his brow furrowing. He didn't know why Nigel could suggest such a thing.
"Then I'll teach you to fake being normal or be less fucked up about it." Nigel said quickly, recovering nicely as he distracted Adam further by running his hands from the man's scalp to nape of neck, making Adam shiver from the sensation.
"Is that why all these books are out? Are you learning about how weird I am?" Adam asked. He had noticed his father's book at the bedside before, but had decided not to comment or ask about it. He hadn't wanted to know what Nigel was thinking about it all.
"No. I'll learning to think like you. Because I want to understand you, even when you don't understand yourself. You're in limbo, left there by other people. Don't worry though. I won't let you linger there anymore. I'm here now to hasten you along to a final destination, darling." Nigel said as he watched Adam's face. It was indeterminate, the other man obviously thinking about something, but for all Nigel knew it could be about radiation coming off of star clusters in Jupiter's orbit. "Does that bother you?"
Leaning in, Adam pressed a soft kiss to Nigel's mouth in answer, sweet and chaste. It surprised him enough that Nigel just sat there and let him.
"Thank you." Adam said softly before kissing a rather stunned Nigel again. Adam kissed with everything that he was. His full attention and focus was on Nigel who wanted to be that all, that everything to someone. Letting Nigel go and Nigel finally letting him go, Adam sat back to watch the other man lick his lips.
"You can thank me by doing that some more." Nigel murmured, breathing out slow. He had gotten a taste of what he wanted and now he wanted more. He needed it all.
"Is kissing alright?" Adam asked hesitantly, wondering if he crossed or missed a boundary.
"Yes." Nigel nodded, collecting Adam in his arms again.
"Is holding alright?" Adam ventured, his own arms still floating above Nigel's own, waiting for permission.
"Yes." Nigel chuckled, liking how Adam felt against him as the man settled his arms.
"Is sex alright?" Adam said bluntly, making Nigel bark out laughter into Adam's neck as he nuzzled it. He grabbed hold of Adam's belt to pull the man into his lap, wincing only a little as it put some strain on his side. Nigel decided they would just have to take this slow but he was definitely going to fuck Adam until both of them couldn't move.
"Fuck yes."
OoOoO
TBC