Earlier, the news had warned that there would be six inches of snow by Sunday morning before the storm moved it way through the state of New York. It was a major storm.
That was what Adam recalled as he trudged through the mounting snow, finding it hard to move in his cumbersome jacket, a couple pairs of pants, and multiple layers of everything else. He couldn't drive, didn't have a license for it and no one have ever bothered to teach him since he had such an aversion to it. The subways were too confining and noisy and full of strangers. The same went for the busses. In desperation, Adam had worked up the courage to call a taxi company, but only drivers willing to brave the snow storm were few and far between, and they couldn't give Adam a definite time for pickup. He was already starting to panic by the time he got off the phone with them.
Due to his lack of options and a burning need to talk to Nigel, Adam dug out his father's old coat, the one he had worn for the worst winter days when he still worked for Juilliard and had to commute. Googling the address Nigel as left behind, Adam followed the walking directions like he had found religion in them and began the long hike from the nicer parts of Manhattan to the Bronxs.
OoOoO
Rizzo's turned out to be a hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant and bar, sublevel and practically hidden from the street in what Harlan would have called a 'dicey neighborhood'. One of the few good things about the storm was no one else seemed to be out and about in the freezing weather to bother or detour Adam, something he was grateful for.
Adam didn't like this place or being here, his toes and fingers beginning to hurt from the bitter cold despite all his careful layering. The building that loomed in front of Adam was dirty and falling apart, its windows like poorly cared for black eyes glaring down at him. Wondering why Nigel would want to come to this sort of place, Adam crept to the front door, trying the handle to find it locked. The window shades were drawn, but Adam could see some light and movement from somewhere deep inside the restaurant, meaning someone was there. That someone might know where Nigel was.
Walking to the back of the building, Adam found another door, its lock broken and the handle of it hanging at a funny angle. Pushing the door open caused several empty bottles of wine to fall over and shatter, the sound echoing off the empty kitchen's stained walls. Adam looked down at the mess in dismay, wondered why someone would put glass so close to a door and if he would have to pay for breaking the bottles. He would have to take off his coats to clean it up, unable to really move well or even bend at the waist.
Any thoughts of cleaning were wiped clear from Adam's head, someone bodily picking him up by his front to slam his back up against the wall, knocking the air from his lungs. Something hard and metallic was shoved under his chin, Adam focusing on the feel and smell of that unique sensation to realize it was a gun, and it was being held by Nigel.
"N-n-n…" was all Adam could manage out, but it was enough, Adam dropped as suddenly as he was lifted, falling as his backside. He was glad he hadn't had the time to take off his dual pair of gloves, Adam landing at Nigel's feet near all the broken glass.
The jacket's hood was ripped back from Adam's head, the man looking up in response to it, wide eyed and rendered speechless. Nigel stood over him, wearing gloves and clothing Adam had never seen before, all of it covered in random spays of blood.
"Darling, what are you doing here?" Nigel crouched down to confirm once again that it was Adam, his precious Adam, here and now in this shithole. For the first time in what felt like forever, Nigel felt sick to his stomach, realizing what he had almost done. It was by pure whim that he had wanted to see face to face who had been stupid or unlucky enough to interrupt him during this crucial moment. He hadn't shot that someone in the back of their head solely because Nigel had wanted to make that someone else into another example of why it was a really bad idea to piss him off.
Fat Tony, the dipshit mobster who had gutted Nigel and caused all this death, was gagged and duct taped spread eagle to one of his own unclean tables. Time was of the essence, and the only reason Nigel had that much was because of the storm. The mob boss would keep for now, but Adam being here was another matter entirely.
Putting away the gun, Nigel stripped off the latex gloves so he could use clean hands to stroke Adam's pale face, in an attempt to calm him down. It broke his heart when Adam flinched from him, his body noticeably shaking even under all the crap he was wearing.
"Adam, I need you to look at me." Nigel said softly, pulling hands clad in too many pairs of mittens away from the scared man's face.
"W-w-hy…" was as far as Adam got before his voice got trapped in his throat again. Nigel had been scary before with his eyes all hard and fathomless, but now they were all soft again. The bloody gloves were gone now too, Nigel's warm callused fingertips stroking his face in gentle passes.
"I didn't know it was you. This place is very dangerous. The door was broken so I stacked the bottles by it to warn me if anyone came in. You of all people are not supposed to be here. Why would I think it was you coming through that door and not someone else?" Nigel trying and failing to keep his voice and face calm for Adam. If Adam had died, if he had shot Adam…Nigel thanked whatever angel was watching over Adam and whatever devil wanted his soul that badly to be owed this favor. No one would have survived this night if Adam had died by his hand.
Gathering Adam in his arms though it was like holding a warm marshmallow, Nigel held what he had almost lost close to him, his chest feeling like it was tearing itself apart as he gulped for air. He couldn't afford to lose it right now. This was not a safe place for people like Adam. He needed to remain sharp and focused if they were to get through this together.
"Why are you fucking here?!" Nigel growled out, his words muffled by the coat.
"I needed you to know today that I'll wait for you always." Adam whispered, Nigel only hearing it because he was so close. It made the bad man look up and into his impossible lover's eyes.
"How are you even real?" Nigel's voice came out rough and uneven, his lips finding Adam's own to bury what threatened to overtake him with Adam's warmth and taste. Nigel kept having to remind himself that now was not the time, drawing back to stare at Adam. "Why would you do that?"
"Uh, we-we have to talk again." Adam said, running both too hot and cold now. His toes and fingers were burning from the returning rush of blood to their tips. Fear, cool and icy as the weather outside, still clung to the sides of Adam's thoughts, but Nigel was so there and now for him, even if he smelled of blood and gunpowder. Blood? "Why are you covered in blood? Are you hurt again?"
Nigel laughed weakly, resting his forehead against Adam's sweaty own. He would have to get him out of at least one of those coats or else he would cook. "No, for once none of it is my own. Adam, I am going to ask you a question and this is very important so I need you to focus. Did you take a cab or a bus or subway here?" Nigel asked, his fingers finding Adam's chin to make blue eyes meet amber.
"I walked." Adam said simply, reminded of how much he liked the color of Nigel's eyes, similar in shade and luminescence to the brown dwarf stars found in the Great Nebula of Orion.
"Excuse me, but did you just say you walked?" Nigel tried again, somewhat at a loss from not expecting that answer. "You walked here, to this restaurant, from your place in Manhattan?"
"Yes." Adam answered without hesitation. If that sort of answer had come from anyone else, Nigel would have not believed it for the world, but this was Adam, who was honest to a fault, even to his own.
"Adam, it's snowing." Nigel said, letting go of Adam's chin to gesture futilely at the weather that lay just outside those thin walls.
"I layered." Adam waving his barely mobile arms, reminding Nigel of a penguin. "It's rated for -30 below."
"Which is why you're sweating your balls into soup now that you're inside. At least unzip so you don't get sick when we have to go back out." Nigel said, getting up off the floor to help Adam stand up since he was a little top heavy from the parka he had managed to find somewhere.
"How far is it from here? No, don't tell me. It will just piss me off." Nigel shook his head even as Adam opened his mouth to answer in full, unnecessary detail. By pure dumb luck and thanks to Adam's sort of crazy, there was no paper trail for him to worry about or deal with later. No witnesses in the form of fellow passengers or drivers to hunt down. It was a blizzard out there, and only madmen and Adam were desperate enough to walk for miles in it.
"I want you to wait for me here while I finish up." Nigel said, not wanting to but lacking options and time. Someone was bound to notice that Fat Tony was missing, and would eventually try to call him on his cell.
"Why?" Adam asked as he took off his many mittens to shove them in his pockets, unzipping his coat to airdry up some of the sweat beginning to pool in his nooks and crannies.
"Because you shouldn't see this. No one like you should." Nigel said, wishing he had it in him to knock Adam out or put him in a sleeper hold. Of course being who he was, Adam pressed forward past him, Nigel letting him go. He couldn't keep hiding this part of himself from Adam. Ignorance was not always bliss. It had almost gotten Adam killed.
Eventually, Nigel followed after him, not hearing any sounds of distress from Adam or the other normal sounds one made upon finding a naked man strapped down to a tacky Italian themed table. The sight of Fat Tony bleeding out or trying to beg through his gag didn't seem to bother Adam, other than make the man tilt his head in wonder. "What did he do?" Adam asked in a tone of voice most other people used to inquire about the weather. "Did you do that do him?"
Breathing in, Nigel promised to whoever or whatever the fuck was listening, that if he had to spend the rest of his life making this up to Adam and winning him back over, he would dedicate his every last second left on this earth to this goal. Right now though, he had to be who truly he was, the Romanian Ripper.
"Darling, as much as I would love to sit you down here, have a glass a wine, and reminisce about why Fat Tony here has to have all his fingers and toes chopped off one by one before I split his backside apart just wide enough to make room for his head when it parts from his neck so that I can shove it up his ass where it belongs, I simply don't have the time. We have a plane to catch tomorrow evening." Nigel said, booping Adam's nose to make him blink. "And I am willing to bet you haven't packed yet. Just believe me when I say that he deserves it and no one will miss him for all the evil he has done in this world."
Nigel watched as Adam blinked a few more times while he rubbed his nose, processing that wealth of information. He looked back at Tony who was trying to beg with his eyes, but unfortunately for the mobster, there stood before him the one person who couldn't read a room, much less one person to save his life. It was all too much for Adam to take in right now, his mind memorizing every detail to the slide of sweat and tears down Fat Tony's face to the way droplets clung to Nigel's skin in places. He would have to react later.
"No, I didn't pack." Adam answered, making Nigel want laugh and kiss him all at the same time. Nigel had mistaken a coping mechanism for acceptance. "I didn't know if you were coming back."
"Not even death could keep me away from you." Nigel grinned, leaning in to press light kisses to Adam's face even as he was given a look in return.
"That is extremely unrealistic and improbable." Adam sighed. He hated it when Nigel didn't make sense but at least he knew that Nigel wasn't making fun of him for not understanding. "You're still a liar."
"Yes, I am, but I never lied to you about being a bad man. I just didn't go into detail about it. Are you going to be fine with that?" Nigel asked warily as he slipped on some new gloves, ignoring Tony's renewed struggling. Duct tape was a beautiful thing.
"Yes. I talked to Harlan earlier today. He said that a man has got to learn the difference between just plain liars and liars worth loving." Adam said, looking around the restaurant. He didn't like how dirty it looked, making a mental note never to eat here.
"And am I a liar you going to live with? Am I worth loving?" Nigel asked, not knowing if he wanted an answer.
"Yes, I need you. You are necessary." Adam said, turning back to tell this to some point between Nigel's chin and shoulder.
"I think that's even better than I love you." Nigel said softly, his body shuddering out the tension that had been held within it since Adam had shown up.
"I can say that too if you want me to." Adam shrugged.
"Don't. You'll make me cry in front of Fat Tony. I have a reputation to maintain." Nigel laughed, the sound of it coming out hoarser than he would have liked. He ignored Fat Tony who was trying to cuss something in Italian at him.
"What difference does that make if you're going to kill him?" Adam asked, genuinely curious.
"And you have no issues with this?" Nigel snorted. Morality needed empathy though to be fully effective.
"You said he was a bad man and deserved it. That and your mind is made up, so nothing I say or do will change that. I don't want to fight you. You have a distinct physical advantage as well experience with firearms and other weapons from the looks of it. Is that a machete? Where did you get a machete?" Adam asked, noticing said machete leaned up against a chair and well within Nigel's reach.
"Oh Adam, the love, the love….how I adore you. I would kill for you, do you know that? I would die for you." Nigel drawing near again to start kissing Adam, slow and sweet. He had been resisting the temptation but Adam kept saying the most perfect things to him.
"Don't do that." Adam would have said more when they parted, but they were interrupted by Fat Tony trying to break the table by throwing his weight around.
"What is this now? Suddenly found the clever man within yourself, Tony, haven't we? I don't appreciate you ruining our moment, you shrieking cunt. The clock's ticking on my benevolence." Nigel growled, smacking Tony hard enough so that his forehead bounced off the table. The noise of it made Adam jump, reminding Nigel that he didn't need an audience for this next part.
"I don't want you to hit him again. Hitting is bad." Adam said, starting to look upset now. He truly was an amazing creature, Nigel falling more in love than he ever believed possible.
"I won't. I can promise you that much. Go wait for me in the bathroom, my darling. I'll be along soon enough." Nigel hushed, shooing Adam to the men's room to lock him in by wedging a chair under the door handle. He turned his attention back to his victim, machete now in hand.
"Oh you lucky fat fuck, you get to keep all your fingers and toes." Nigel grinned like a shark, the machete the only tool he really needed. Fat Tony screamed the best he could through his gag as Nigel approached.
OoOoO
Staring at the graffiti that was scribbled everywhere and in some places, carved into the walls, Adam wondered just how mad you would have to be while using the toilet to commit the time to doing that. Most of the messages were not in English either so Adam couldn't even distract himself by reading them. Nigel had locked him in here, here being a very gross bathroom that smelled horrible. A set of clothing sat by the sink on top of a trash can, Adam inspecting the pile having nothing better to do. A red travel can of gasoline and a gallon of bleach sat under the sink, looking very out of place. Upon inspection, all the clothing looked to be in Nigel's size and sense of style, the man liking patterns and woven textures Adam usually avoided in favor of blues and easily matching solids. Adam thought the little dogs that were part of the pattern were cute though.
Startled out of staring at the written upon wall, Nigel opened the door, going straight to the sink to strip off the gloves and start washing his hands. Adam watched as the soapy water turned pink and coated the rim of the sink.
"What does this say?" Adam asked, pointing to a particularly long phrase that looked fancy.
"Mmmm….Something about prostitutes and politicians. Fucking Italians." Nigel rolled his eyes, that particular language not really his forte, much to the scorn of another who thought Dante was best read in Italian.
"Why do you hurt people?" Adam asked, watching with interest as Nigel stripped down and wiped every inch of his skin with bleach wipes before changing into the clothes.
"It's my job and I like it. Luckily most of the people I have to hurt deserve it." Nigel sighed, not really wanted to go into too much detail about what he did. Adam knew enough. He didn't need to know all of it. It was just safer that way.
"Are you going to hurt me again?" Adam asked wide eyed to find himself in Nigel's arms again, his face held in place by strong hands.
"Hush, shh, shh, shh. Don't say such things. Look at me, listen to what I am saying. I could never hurt you intentionally. I would cut off the hand that dared that sin." Nigel spoke low and intense.
"That would impede your ability in your chosen profession." Adam said, wondering why Nigel was now laughing. "If you left me, that would be hurting me."
"That's why I'm taking you with me. Leaving you behind was never an option for me." Nigel said, "We'll find you a job…"
"I have a job, " Adam said, making Nigel stare in disbelief at him for a moment. "With Rosa."
"You called them?" Nigel asked.
"Obviously, since I have the job. I didn't want to think about you when you were not there. It was distracting." Adam shrugged, Nigel laughing again but that was fine. It never felt like Nigel was ever laughing at him.
"Well fuck me, you're going to be an astronaut." Nigel shook his head in wonderment.
"No, nothing like that. I'm just going to be designing code so that the satellites here can communicate with a new type of interstellar probe that will be the first to travel outside the boundaries of our known galaxy." Adam corrected.
"Oh, is that all?" Nigel chuckled, picking up the gasoline to dump it on the ruined clothing before tossing a good portion out the bathroom door to meet up with the rest he had poured around Fat Tony's corpse and interior of the restaurant. Walking and talking and dumping fuel, Nigel was careful to keep blocking Adam's view and keeping his busy by telling him to gear up for going back outside.
"What are you doing with that accelerant?" Adam asked, doing his best to get all his gloves back on in the correct order as Nigel led him toward the back of the restaurant. Nigel paused long enough to grab something from out of a booth, the expensive coat perfect for New York winter though a little too big for the slimmer man, but Nigel knew that Tony wouldn't be needing it where he was going.
"I'm going to burn down the restaurant." Nigel said, shaking the last few drops out of the can before chucking it back where they came from.
"Why?"
"Health code." Nigel shrugged, lighting a cigarette with a pack of matches before throwing the flame over his shoulder.
"Oh. There are a lot of cockroaches and this kitchen doesn't look like a sterile enough environment to prepare food." Adam nodded, watching as Nigel threw cans of cleaning materials into the microwaves and turned them on. He flipped the gas stoves on as well in passing as he and Adam exited the building, closing the broken door behind them.
"That's me, a giver. A generous man looking out for his fellow human beings." Nigel said, turning up the collar of his stolen coat. Vicious wind whipping up more snow, Nigel confiscated some ear muffs, a pair of gloves, and two scarves from Adam who had more than enough to share between them. Linked arm and arm with Adam to direct him where to go at a pace that was not suspicious, Nigel kept them pressed to the shadows of the sidewalks and building, avoiding lamplight when possible. Between the blizzard and the night working in tandem, any video images of them leaving the restaurant would be useless.
Making a mental note to burn everything they were wearing as soon as they got home, Nigel cursed and blessed the terrible weather in the same stream of profanity. They were a few blocks away by the time Rizzo's decided to burst into flames, noisily proclaiming its demise by setting off car alarms with its explosion.
"How long a walk is it?" Nigel asked, keeping Adam from turning around and kept them moving.
"A little over two hours in this weather."
"Fuck."
Linked arm and arm with Adam though, Nigel found he could ignore the cold for now. The snow that drifted out of the void looked like falling stars in the streetlight. Crystalline flakes clung to Adam's lashes, cheeks, and lips, making him glitter in the city's lowlights like he was made of stardust. It made Nigel smile, Adam's answering own only a mirrored reaction, and though Nigel knew that, it was perfect in his eyes. All in one night, he had raised hell and pulled down Heaven long enough to steal an angel and tear its wings off. It made Nigel believe just a little in the magic of shooting stars and the wishes made upon them in passing by dying men and stargazers alike.
OoOoO
"I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night…"
OoOoO
Almost The End- only the epilogue left