Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ All I Have ❯ Toxic ( Chapter 11 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

: Toxic :

Nearly two hours later, Ian and Adam were walking into the lobby of the Royalton, a fancy hotel located within the East Side, known for its club and bar. Adam already had a bad feeling as the rich strolled around them, dressed in high fashion and highly priced jewelry. The marble floors reflected the candlelight around them, and a harpist played off in the corner. Ian led them through the lobby and down a set of stairs, where DJ-commanded music played. Instead of heading for the crowded doorway of the club, people their age milling about with well-dressed bodies and high priced drinks, he took an adjoining corridor that was empty save for the very end, where three large men lingered in white.

“Ian!” Adam hissed at him, kidney punching him.

Ian stumbled but he rubbed at his lower back with a sheepish expression. “I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, Adam, but it was urgent. I can't just tell her `no'.”

“All this time it was her texting you?”

“Yes…yes, I know, it's totally pitiful. C'mon, Adam, you have to understand that—”

“I don't have to understand anything! How'd you get her number?”

Ian gave him another sheepish expression. “Um, I…you don't want to know. Trust me, Adam, I feel like an idiot anyway, but if I tell you, you're going to explode with, like, horror.”

Adam grunted, trailing after him as Ian walked up to one of the men and introduced himself. After a glance at their person, another quickly frisking them with invasive hands, he opened the door to admit them into a large room. With glass floor to ceiling windows, large potted trees and a shimmering pool in the very center, it was a VIP room that overlooked the club next door's dance floor. She was standing at the two-sided mirror that allowed her this view, a glass cup in one hand.

Felicia looked back at them, her long hair in a low-side ponytail and a fedora in hand, menswear covering her frame. Diamonds shined at her ears, her exposed wrists lined with bangles and bracelets. Her tie was loosened, and her shiny men's wingtip shoes were two toned. Adam seethed at the sight of her.

At her side was Dallas, who was wearing a similar getup, but instead of a button shirt he was wearing a simple tee underneath suspenders, and his spiky bleached hair was exposed. His arms were covered with bracelets and cuffs, a Rolex hanging loosely from the other wrist. His lips were covered with some gloss, because as he spread them with a grin, Adam could see them shimmer in the nearby candle light.

Off by the bar was the other Mackian, Vegas, whose stiff posture and stressed features turned into blank surprise with their appearance. His straight black hair, parted in the middle and dashed behind his orange ears, looked flattened by some headwear. He was wearing the full three piece suit, the material screaming expensive and well handled. He was sipping at some dark liquor with ice, and he eyed the pair of them with apprehensive tawny eyes.

“Hey, you made it,” Felicia greeted Ian. “Wanna drink?”

“No thank you. Dallas,” Ian greeted the pink skinned Mackian, who flashed a grin at him. “How are you tonight?”

“Just dapper. Everything's in a good place,” Dallas chirped, his British accent cheery and strong while Felicia finished off her drink and set the glass aside within a potted tree's soil. “Adam Byrons, right? Didn't think I'd have the pleasure to meet you outside your uniform.”

Adam grunted at the insinuation, crossing his arms tightly over his chest to refuse the touch of the leering Alien's hand. Dallas grinned at him again, before walking away to join his partner's side. Vegas hissed at him and said something that caused a small argument between them.

Felicia looked up at both of them, surprisingly feminine in the menswear attire she wore. “I figured I'd treat you guys to a night out. I wasn't doin' anything.”

“As long as it doesn't involve any debauchery, it should be fine,” Ian said, not taking his eyes away from her, and it curled Adam's stomach with sick disgust. He knew at that moment that if he could, he'd storm away. But he didn't want to leave Ian's side, not wanting to trust the other into making a good decision if he were hanging out with the socialite alone.

“Dammit then, go home. I'm all about havin' a good time,” Felicia said, then shrugged. “I kid. Adam, want a beer?”

“No.”

“You still mad at me?”

“For what?”

“For being awesome. That's okay, really. I'm pretty much used to it.”

Adam rolled his eyes, then looked over at the two Mackians that were watching them quietly.

He walked over to them while Ian asked Felicia a question he tuned out. They turned away to look over the dance floor, but Ian's attention was all on her. She didn't give him half the attention that he bestowed upon her, and at that, Adam's suspicions about her intentions grew tenfold.

“Why are you encouraging this?” he asked in disgust, signaling at the pair of them. Ian stood awkwardly but adoringly in her space, and she regarded him with a flirty expression, knowing exactly what she was doing. “Aren't you two supposed to be monitoring her Goddamn wellbeing? What's so healthy about setting up a teenager with a guy his age?”

“All it is is communication,” Dallas said, leaning back against the bar. He tipped his head slightly. “Get `im somethin' light on ice, will you Rolly?”

Both of them screamed expensive and high class, ruffling Adam as he leaned against the bar with a hip, towering over both of them. The bartender did as Dallas asked, Adam resolving not to touch it.

“It's non-alcoholic,” Dallas then added.

“Stay out of my head,” Adam snapped at him. “I've nothing to expose to you.”

“All tensions aside and to answer your question,” Vegas interrupted smoothly, New Jersey accent heavy with polite manner. It bewildered Adam how these Aliens, who had never visited the places of their accent, could possess such convincing drawl. “If we can't always be there, why not be there while it occurs? That way, we could monitor right off any ill-intentions.”

“And he checks out whole-heartedly, mate,” Dallas said with a frown. “There's no ill-intention with that one. That's why we aren't upset if they meet. He don't even try for anything that he ain't supposed to. Quite boring.”

“Sorry to interrupt yer evening,” Vegas then said to Adam. “If it's all the same, we were put out as well. I don't approve of such things. I personally think he's too old for her, an', quite frankly, the differences in backgrounds? Scandalous. He's a soldier, she's an East Sider. If the pap caught wind of such things, it'd be an inconvenience for all parties.”

“Are we below your class?” Adam asked him.

“Not at all. I'm just sayin', as notorious as we are with the East Side, it raises a few eyebrows. Y'know?” Vegas sipped at his drink. “She has a boyfriend. A Normal boy from school. Rich. Comes from a multi-race background. She only feels flattered by your friend's behavior an' leads him on for something nice on the side.”

“`Flattered'?” Dallas repeated with a chuckle.

“That's real good to know!” Adam said sarcastically, bristling.

“Being of another race is hard for her,” Vegas continued. “She does what she does to fit in. She does ill-will only to express her frustrations.”

“You sound like an excuse-giving mother,” Adam grumbled, shooting the orange-skinned Mackian a disgusted look. “Where's Merrick's fucking excuses?”

“Merrick leaves it all to us, really,” Vegas confessed. “An' we haven't done very well. Since the death of Quieter Lexus, she's really been hit hard with grief. She'll never get over it. So she acts out. She's just a child.”

“A teenager knows exactly what she's doing,” Adam snapped. He looked at the glass that was set before him suspiciously.

“A Shirley Temple,” Dallas said. “Seven-up and grenadine.”

“As soon as he's done talking to her, we're out of here.”

“Understandable. There are other things to do,” Dallas said. “Boys to chase and catch.”

Adam lifted an eyebrow, wanting to respond to that but Dallas flashed him another smile. Adam knew that Dallas had done more looking than he was letting on, and felt uncomfortable and tense at the very thought that the Mackian knew of his involvement with Andy. He looked over at Ian, inwardly cursing him for thoughtlessly bringing them out, where he knew that Dallas could shift without notice through his mind for information on Andy.

“Well, I can't really say that's an ill-fact,” Vegas continued with a half frown, studying the contents of his glass. “At least she isn't lost. Again.”

Adam sipped at his drink and found it harmless. Rolly refilled Vegas's cup, using expensive whiskey.

“By the way, sorry for the thing that happened last week,” Vegas said, looking at him sideways. Adam tensed. “We know that you were caught in the middle. It's unfortunate that civilians are caught in the midst of some stupid battle between our groups. Who knows what the excuse is this time. Merrick has punished those that were involved in a pointless gun battle.”

“You knew exactly what was going on. And we're not staying here any longer, so—!”

“I assure you, it's not what you think,” Vegas said quickly, grabbing his arm before he could shift away from the bar. Adam snatched his arm out of reach. “We're not prying or anything of the sort. She truly wanted to see Ian. We're just here to supervise, but I thought it would be wise to apologize to you, personally, what had happened.”

“What happens in our lower levels isn't approved by us,” Dallas added, signaling for a drink. “We're just the kid's bodyguards of sorts. We're involved with Boston and his antics, but it wasn't something he ordered, either. We weren't involved. But it was our troops that captured you in the middle.”

Adam glared at Ian. At the moment, he disliked the other man for putting him in an awkward situation. He knew both Mackians were speaking lies, and he knew that Dallas was secretly fishing for information about Andy. But it was to his fortune that he really knew nothing of the other man's involvement.

“So, really, what in the world do you do to get that sorta definition?” Dallas asked, looking at his forearm and glancing at Adam's.

Adam frowned at him, not feeling friendly enough to divulge in such tips.

“High protein diet?” Vegas asked, scrunching his orange forehead. Both of them were fashionably thin, wearing their clothes in a fitting manner. Almost as if they were male models, both were good-looking for their race and very humanoid in appearance.

“Ah, I get my protein in ways I shouldn't, but it doesn't seem to be helping much,” Dallas lamented, flexing his arms.

Vegas sputtered into his drink. “Please don't go there!”

“I'm just saying, I can't be gulping down these shakes every morning, not when I'm in a hurry! How can I bug the cooks for somethin' like that? I'll just take cock instead.”

“It their job to do things like that! Don't talk about—!Stop being so fucking crude.”

“I'm tellin' you, it's too much for me. I'm busy in the morning, I can't be bothered,” Dallas said impatiently. He patted his pockets before withdrawing an expensive cigarette case.

Adam noticed the way Vegas slapped that out of his hand. Looks were passed between them, and Dallas was grumbling as he put it away. Vegas glanced at Adam and said sheepishly, “I know that you guys don't smoke. It's offensive as hell ta have someone smokin' around non-smokers.”

“Thanks,” he muttered.

“So, if you don't mind my asking, if you're against this sort of clandestine meeting, why do you let him?”

Vegas was the sort to get anybody talking, without the use of head tricks. With his weary expression, he was the type who worried over everything and everyone around him, speaking with the draining effort of a tired mother overrun by her kids. Adam didn't mind him so much. “Like the kid, he'll do whatever it is he wants to do. Even if someone told him `no'. But I can't let him go off by himself at these sorts of things.”

“Ah.” Vegas finished off his drink and gave a sigh. “I wish I could get drunk like you humans. It'd make life a little easier.”

“Don't'cha need to piss?”

Grumbling, Vegas left them, and Adam felt apprehension as the Mackian headed for the restrooms. He felt as if he'd been set up, somehow, to be alone with the telepathic Mackian. He sipped at his drink and resolved to crush the Alien's throat if he dared tried to hit on him. He really couldn't see how, after spewing what he had earlier, Ian could handle being about the obvious bisexual. Being half gay was the same thing.

“To pass on a little information,” Dallas began, shifting closer to be heard, Adam's entire body tensing in response, “we don't know what's in that boy's head. Dost doesn't either. But both of us are convinced that it's something that the other has done and wants to tattle-tale.”

“That's what this is. You're fishing.”

“We're casting, yes,” Dallas agreed. He watched Felicia laugh at something Ian said, punching him lightly on the arm. But it caused the Normal male to hunch and wince. “It would help if we only knew what it was.”

“I wasn't part of the team that discovered it.”

“I see that. But you're involved,” Dallas murmured, sipping at his drink.

Adam seethed, wanting to encase his head with the safety of his uniform helmet. He hated the notion that his thoughts were so easily read by the telepath. He hated the violation that was occurring, and the acknowledgement of his relationship with Andy. But there was nothing he could do; he couldn't leave Ian by himself. He was going to make sure Ian felt another kidney-punch for the rest of next week.

“The Grey Aliens that were found weren't killed by us,” Dallas added. “They're so low on our hierarchy levels, they're almost like rats. Naturally investigative and curious, their fascination on how things work clouds their one-track minds. They were roaming the homeless sector for one reason only; the deaths there should be obvious. Despite the fact that they are living with humans, they are still curious how you tick.”

Adam's jaw tightened.

“How they came into contact with this…receipt? Is beyond us.”

Adam felt his mind twinge. He knew nothing of a receipt. All Andy said was that a Grey Alien had attacked him, and periods of time were lost while he found himself in unfamiliar places.

Dallas coughed suddenly, sputtering his drink all over the bar. Adam looked at him, and felt himself grin inwardly.

“You didn't know that, did you?” he asked quietly. “I don't know anything. He doesn't know anything. Whatever it is you are looking for, you won't find it with me.”

Dallas frowned at him, setting his cup aside. “Well, I had to try.”

“Why don't you revisit that area and question those things there? Leave the guy alone.”

“What he has is too valuable. Then again, it could be nothing at all,” Dallas added, frowning with a bored air. He leaned back against the bar. “But neither of us can be sure until we have it. Your friend's in an awkward position, even more so if Center can't do a thing about it. Grey Aliens have the ability to put blocks on a human's memory. That's what they're good at. Though, it's been recorded in the past that these blocks could be accessed by accidental and traumatic flashbacks through hypnotherapy.”

Adam glanced at him sideways, careful not to think of a thing. Dallas flashed him a sideways grin, and then shifted away from the bar. “All righty, girly, isn't it time for your bedtime? Tell your doting prince goodnight and let's go.”

Tuning out their answer, Adam finished off his drink.

Ian gave a loud shout, twisting to the side and then hunching over as pain bloomed in his features. Adam retracted his fist, people looking back at them in curiosity. While the other man had exposed his vulnerable back while holding onto one of the poles at the back of the car, Adam had given him a kidney punch that he didn't pull back on.

“Idiot! You put me into a position I would have rather not been in!” he hissed at him. “Do you know what it's like having that fuckhead trolling through my thoughts, trying to get at something that I don't even know about?”

“Jesus, pull your punches!”

“I hope you fucking piss blood for the next month! Asshole!”

“I figured it'd be okay,” Ian said, unable to straighten. “Since you didn't know very much, anyway! You don't know where he is, you don't know what he does, and, fuck, it's not like you were there that night! I had it all in consideration!”

“You put me in an unforgiving position, and I fucking hate you right now.”

“It's not like he could get much from you! I knew this!”

“Shut up with your stupid excuses, fuck head. Don't even talk to me right now,” Adam then said, shifting away from him to sit in the back of the Fast-Trac car, where a sullen teenager glared at him and an elderly couple shifted their shopping bags aside to allow his long legs to spread over to the side of his seat. “I'm so fucking pissed at you.”

“I get it, but you only had to yell at me,” Ian said sulkily, still hunched over, a hand rubbing at his lower back. “Jesus, Adam.”

“I had to make sure you fucking knew! Fucker.”

“I get that you're mad, but you wanted to know. You wanted to know who I was talking to, and that was her. I didn't want to hide it from you anymore.”

Adam grumpily thought of Jensen's words. He decided to punch him as soon as he seen him, too, wondering how Jensen knew of Ian's secrets.

“I knew they couldn't get anything from you, Adam. That's what it was. I knew it was a set-up.”

“If you knew that it was, why go?!”

“I wanted to see her.” Ian trailed off with a heavy sigh, trying to straighten while the train came to an abrupt stop at a station. “I needed to see her.”

Adam gave him a look of disgust, feeling entirely angry all over again. Feeling his chest constrict and his gut twist at the desperate look on his best friend's face. Seethed at his tone, and the way everything was tossed to the side when it came to the teenager. His jaw twitched.

“I can't help feeling the way I do, Adam! It pisses you off, but it's something I can't control,” Ian said, catching the expression on his friend's face. “I wish you understood.”

“Oh, fuck you and your desperate dick.”

“It's not about sex, Adam!”

“Fuck you.”

Ian gave a low, frustrated sigh, shifting aside as more people piled onto the car. He didn't say anything more as the doors shut and the train started off once more. Adam seethed, his expression murderous as his feelings consumed him. A couple of people standing nearby shifted away upon seeing his face.

He glared out the window, wanting to punch that frustrated expression off Ian's face. Wanted to make him see what a fool he was making himself out to be. But at the same time, he felt the fool for feeling so hurt and frustrated. His jaw tensed, and he crossed his arms, wanting to get away from the man hunched over by the pole. But at the same time, he couldn't leave Ian. Not unless Ian told him to. He hated this binding feeling.

His phone vibrated at that moment, and he shifted to pull it out of his shorts pocket. Sam had texted him with a simple, `Found him!'

Adam thought of Andy and remembered his kisses. The way his body felt against his. Felt uncomfortably interested in only that, drawing him out of his anger. He gave a reply, glancing at Ian to tell him but holding himself back.

Sam sent another, and seeing the address caused Adam's interest to spike. He rose from his seat as he typed out a reply. He was nearest. He'd personally go and see Andy himself. He wanted to, the need so strong that it eked out his common sense. He needed Andy's distraction to take his mind off his aggravation over Ian's feelings. He needed to be needed and wanted in a way that Ian couldn't give him, and he knew Andy would give it.

“Where are you going?” Ian asked him.

“Not that it's any of your business, but someone asked me to come by their place,” Adam replied snottily.

“Who?”

“Maybe I don't want to tell you. Go home.”

Ian reached out to grab his arm, snapping, “You shouldn't go out by yourself! If they know you're his friend, they'll—!”

“I'm a big kid.” Adam brushed him off, then climbed out as soon as the doors open.

“Adam! You can't stay mad about this forever! It's stupid!” Ian shouted out at him. “Come back here and just call them! You can't just leave because you're pissed over something that I did!”

Adam ignored him, but he made sure the doors shut, the train taking off moments later. Ian was still hunched, so he knew the punch had counted. He climbed the stairs up and made his way to a ticket kiosk, noting the address once more on his cell. He paid for a bigger ticket, and replied to Sam to stay on base. It was too much of a risk for him to come out.

Sam sent a reply in that he understood, thanked him, and told Adam to tell him everything afterward. Adam assured him that he would and felt a slow building excitement in his gut.

Hours later, he was waiting at the door to Andy's new apartment. The security in the building was ridiculously comforting; no one was allowed in without proper clearance, and it had taken those working behind the desk to notify base of his appearance. He was cleared after nearly an hour of waiting. The stern voice on the other end of the phone questioned him in how he'd learned of Andy's new living arrangements, and Adam explained that it was Andy's worried half-brother. He figured Sam would be in some trouble over the situation, so he knew to make the visit worth it.

He was nervous as he waited for an answer to the doorbell he rang, unconsciously making sure that his plain shirt and shorts were clean, his short hair still in place. He fiddled with a couple of wavy strands that had escaped, feeling annoyed at the lack of control. He wondered if the man was too stressed out from the situation to even give him some thought. He hoped that he did, though. Adam really needed him, wanted his presence to stave off his frustrations and loneliness over Ian's actions.

The door opened, and Andy peered out at him. Adam knew at once the man had been drinking, for it was obvious in his pallor, the bleary eyes peering at him with some recognition before brightening slightly. The smell was also indicative, strong with alcohol. But it didn't matter, because Adam still desired him, feeling aggressive as he walked in at Andy's indication.

The place looked as if it had been ignored. Moving boxes lay in haphazard manner, but it also looked as if he'd tried to unpack and sort though things. The holoset was on some nightly news channel, and a large bottle of Jack Daniel's sat next to an empty beer mug and a half bottle of Coke on top of a coffee table. The kitchen was empty save for a few dishes in the sink and an empty stew can. The bedroom light was on in the back, and Adam hoped that it was at least in order. As soon as Andy gave him some clue in that he still wanted him, Adam was going to go for it. His mind was entirely set on it.

“Sorry. I didn't expect to have any sort of company,” Andy mumbled, shutting and locking the door. “I didn't think I'd even be found.”

“Sam knows the right people,” Adam said, turning to look at him. Andy was dressed in some ragged way, in a plain white shirt that looked wrinkled and soft, and sleep pants. His hair was askew, as if he'd been gripping it with both hands. His expression was so forlorn and lost that Adam knew instinctively he'd have no problem convincing him to submit.

“I'm glad I was able to talk to him,” Andy then said, wiping at his face. “They wouldn't let me call him. Not unless it was from a secure location.”

“It's almost like being kept prisoner,” Adam said, reaching out to touch him with a simple stroke down one pale arm, noting the way Andy immediately wilted over the simple touch. He was starved for contact, he realized, excitement building again. “Sam wants to know if you're okay. He told me where you were.”

“Oh, yes, I told him a few things here and there. Um, what about you? What happened with you after all that?” Andy asked, catching him as he jerked away, moving for the couch.

Adam followed, hands in his pockets. He felt the tube he'd bought at the station store, a combination of lube and protective material that acted as a gelatinous condom. Already approved as the leading choice of protection, it had been his favorite for years. He couldn't wait to use it, feeling his dick twitch in his shorts just at the sight of Andy's toned biceps flexing as he capped the bottle of JD's and fumbled with the cup.

“Nothing much,” he answered. “Leave that stuff out.”

“You want some?” Andy asked cautiously as he paused in the action of straightening from the coffee table.

“I might. If you don't mind.”

Andy studied him for a few moments. “You have that look again. Like you're ready to take off someone's head.”

“I was pissed earlier.”

“I've been…um, drinking since they told me to lay low,” Andy said on a sigh, sitting on the couch, Adam following suit as he watched the other pour into the mug. “There was nothing to do. I was discharged and I felt so depressed.”

“You were discharged?”

“General West told me I was a threat,” Andy answered lowly, picking up the mug and sipping at it, a depressed look to his features. His eyes were seeing something that Adam couldn't. “Said I was too damaged by the attacks. They're putting me on disability, now. What does that mean? I can't work anymore? I have to sit around like some Goddamned invalid?”

“Why—?”

“Because I'm easily susceptible to their attacks. It took hours just to be seen by Major Wintour, and when she finally examined me, they gave me these really powerful sedatives so my mind went all wonky. Felt like I'd been drinking for days. It was only to throw them off once I left Center and base, and it worked. I haven't felt bothered since then. But I had been drinking since then, so…same thing, I guess. They can't find me if my mind's unclear.” Andy downed the rest of the liquor in the mug. Adam could smell him, the alcohol scent so permeable through his skin it was as if the man were bathing in it.

“I see,” Adam murmured, getting an idea of General West's decision. It was too much of a risk for the rest of the base to have someone like Andy around. But he felt that inward sympathy for the other man; to be suddenly cast out must've been extremely hard on him. He couldn't imagine being put in that same position, for he had been in the military his entire life. To suddenly go without was mind-bending.

“Sam would have hated this,” Andy then mumbled. “We had a fight the last time. He hates me drinking. But he doesn't get it. There's too much shit in this world to deal with.”

“He sees it,” Adam said, reaching out to take his mug. He poured a little from the bottle, and took a careful sip. It was strong and thick, and he finished it, wondering how someone could stomach such strong alcohol. Some time had passed as both of them watched the holoset, before Adam decided on another.

“Pour some of that into it,” Andy said, gesturing at the Coke. Adam poured more alcohol and added the Coke. He found it slightly easier to drink. “Um, so…what are you doing out in the city?”

“Nothing much. Just fooling around with Ian. We were on the train home when Sam got a hold of me.” Adam drank slowly, wondering if Ian made it back to base okay. But he hoped the punch continued to hurt him. Maybe Ian would think about what he'd done.

“You left him?” Andy asked, a tone catching Adam's ear. He looked over to see Andy staring off into the darkness of his living room, and furrowed his brow.

“Yes. I wanted to come see you,” he said, drinking again. He finished that, and made another, finding that the Coke made it easier to gulp down. He kept thinking of Ian's expression as he faced Felicia Passage. The more he thought of it, the more the feeling of anger warmed his gut. He drank faster, hoping that the warm alcohol would keep him distracted. Andy poured him some JD before drinking from the bottle, Adam reaching for the Coke. As they drank in silence, Adam grew aware of the feeling in slowing down his consumption. But it continued to anger him seeing Ian behave in such a manner around Felicia. He figured nothing would affect him so quickly, anyway, considering his size and height. He presumed on having some sort of warning before he would stop himself.

“It sucked being here alone,” Andy murmured after a few moments, seemingly processing those words. “But at least this place delivers. I could call down to the front desk and they'll go out for it. All I have to do is pay them.”

Adam finished off his drink. He reached for another combination. He wanted Ian out of his head, focused as he was on Andy. He wanted Andy because he couldn't have Ian, but for some reason, in this lighting, Andy resembled him. His pallor, his thin form, the compacted muscles that flexed underneath his shirt sleeve; all of it reminded Adam of Ian, and he hated to hear himself balancing the two.

“I want to see Sam. Is he okay?”

“He's worried about you.”

“I worry about him. He feels too much. Sometimes I think he'll just overload himself with all his thoughts and take the worst way out. It scares me.”

Adam glanced at him. “He has the same thoughts.”

Andy looked at him, blearily rubbing at his eyes. “He talks to you?”

“When I ask.”

“It's weird how we can be so close. I think that's why we get along so well. I'm glad to have met him.”

“Are you drunk?” Adam asked him, finishing half of his combination. He wondered if he should allow himself to get drunk, considering how much he wanted Andy. How he kept thinking of Ian.

“No. I think. Actually, I was thinking of getting into the shower and trying with this unpacking thing. I don't know how long I'll be staying here, though. They wanted to wait for things to calm down. They might move me again, and I'll be lost again. I don't know if I can take being shifted around again, without anybody to talk to,” Andy said, a slight hitch in his tone. “It's hard being by myself. I hate it. I can't stand being alone!”

“Go take a shower and clean up,” Adam said, reaching out to touch his chin. He could feel the stubble that he couldn't see in the dark. “I'll help you unpack some things.”

Andy looked at him for a long while, as if assessing him. The mood shifted suddenly, Adam feeling it as a physical thing and feeling warm once more. But instead Andy asked, “Why are you really here?”

“I wanted to see you.”

“But you were with him.”

Adam tilted his head. Andy was slightly out of focus, and Adam felt woozy. But he recognized that Andy was feeling insecure in some way. “With my best friend? Yeah.”

Andy's eyes narrowed slightly, but he turned away. That made Adam feel anxious, reaching out to grab one arm, the action nearly knocking Andy off balance with his drunken focus.

“Why?” he asked, feeling alarm build over the excitement that had been rising. “What's that look mean?”

“I didn't mean anything by it. If I looked at you funny, I didn't mean to. I guess I am more than buzzed.”

Adam released him, but still felt those twinges of insecurity. He watched Andy lift from the couch and stumble away, banging into the kitchen counter, hand reaching out for the steadiness of the wall. Finishing his drink, Adam decided on another one, feeling the edges of the alcohol finally start to affect him. He focused on the holoset and watched the percentage of homicides within the city flash, the serious faced reporter gravely announcing the amount of deaths that had occurred by gang activity. He finished off that drink and made another, pouring less Coke into this concoction. As Andy took his shower, Adam finished that and found it easier to drink more. He made himself stop once he realized what he was doing, his thoughts over both Ian and Andy overwhelming.

His cellphone buzzed, and he shifted to pull it out of his pocket. Ian's icon popped on screen, along with an indignant message about ignoring him because he was pissed. Adam realized that the man had been trying to get a hold of him all this time, but he was that focused on getting into Andy's pants that he hadn't even realized it. He scrolled through the messages, reading on Ian's apologies and his reasoning, and finally reading into his anger about being ignored. As he focused on the messages, the alcohol started to take its effect. He wiped at his eyes, shaking his head in disgust. He shouldn't have started drinking, knowing he was a little susceptible to doing stupid things while under the influence.

Another was from Sam, asking if he'd got there. Adam replied to that one, saying that Andy looked okay, but had been drinking heavily in despondence over being discharged. He realized that perhaps it wasn't the right thing to say, considering Sam's attitude toward the notion, but it was true. He couldn't hide that from the younger medic. If they were going to see each other soon, Sam might as well as be prepared for it.

Sam's reply was of text dismay, telling him to hide the alcohol.

Adam had to chuckle at that one, figuring that doing so wasn't going to stop Andy from drinking. He moved to reply when he heard Andy leaving the shower, the bathroom located across the hall from his bedroom. He felt his dick twitch at the thought of the man smelling clean, of being naked. He imagined his well-toned body glistening with water, his hair hanging in a disheveled mop around his head. Instead of Andy, then, he thought of Ian, of his slender muscles, of the way his dark blond hair hung about his ears after a hasty shower. He shifted uncomfortably on the couch, pulling at his shorts, then reaching in to adjust his half-hardened dick. With the movement he recognized that the alcohol had more of an effect on him than he thought.

He finished the reply then told him he'd text him later, for he was going to help Andy unpack his things and maybe get him to eat something. Sam's grateful reply made him feel guilty, because Adam definitely wasn't going to follow up on such lies.