Chapter Text
“Listen Leo, you don’t have to sleep here. I don’t need a bodyguard, it’s unlikely there will be two burglaries in one day.”
Adam had dropped a pillow and bed linens on the couch nevertheless and Leo started preparing his makeshift bed.
The other man’s words sounded impatient, but Leo knew it was just part of the rough facade that Adam tried to hide his vulnerability with.
He avoided Adam’ glance, shaking out the blanket: “I can sleep way better knowing you are alright. And I can keep an eye on you, so you won’t try anything silly,” he added, an accusing eyebrow arch directed to his friend. He secretly enjoyed Adam’s annoyed stance, the stubborn line around his mouth, all because he had dared to imply he might be dependent on Leo.
But to his surprise, Adam nodded and mumbled: “’kay, convinced me.”
“We will visit your uncle in prison tomorrow, you have to talk to him,” Leo tried to take advantage of the situation immediately. “He might know something about the burglar.” Adam would never agree to that, he thought to himself.
“That won’t help us, trust me.” Adam pulled the linen over the pillow and placed it on the couch, his long hair falling softly into his forehead.
“We’ll see,” Leo decided.
Adam only sighed defeated: “Okay. Sleep tight, tiger!” the slightest smirk darted over his lips, his glance wandering from the animal photo printed on the blanket to Leo, before he turned and walked out of his living room.
Leo stared at his disappearing figure, trying to untwist his shoulder holster before adding a simple “meow”.
---
A loud ‘bang‘ had Leo start upright from his makeshift bed on the couch a couple hours later.
For a moment, he listened for any more sounds, then – with a surge of adrenaline pushing through him – jumped up, wide awake and took the gun from his jacket.
Maybe he wasn’t supposed to carry his weapon apart from his work time, but now he was glad about it. What if there was really a second break-in?
“Adam,” he whispered the name, rushing through the dark hallway, his bare feet squeaking on the cold floor.
Two, then one door away.
His heart was beating fast as he unlocked the weapon’s safety and nudged open the bedroom door with his shoulder.
“Adam,” he said again, this time louder. His mouth felt dry as his eyes fixed on Adam who half-sat on the edge of his bed, cradling one hand, but seeming unharmed.
He was okay. Relief flooded Leo’s instantly, but he crossed the room in a fast pace, fully-alert and holding his gun tightly.
But the window was closed and the bedroom spartanly furnished enough to prevent hiding places.
“What happened?”, Leo demanded to know as he walked over again, crouching down in front of Adam.
The other man didn’t quite meet his eyes. “It’s okay, I’m sorry – didn’t mean to wake you…”
Leo frowned, trying to decipher Adam’s expression. He looked worn-out, tried and on top of it flinched when the other man stood up again.
Leo closed his eyes for a moment, blinking away the spots in his view and trying to calm down his pounding heartbeat.
“Nightmare?”, he asked finally.
Adam nodded a bit sheepishly: “I think I broke the lamp.”
Only now Leo noticed the nightlight on the floor and bent down to pick it up. He put it back on the night stand and switched it on. “It’s fine,” he said reassuringly.
The soft light accentuated the dark circles under Adam’s eyes even more just as the fierce set of his jaw that Leo knew a little too well for his liking.
“Are you hurt?” The words slipped out harshly in his worry and he feared Adam would deny the obvious.
“Bumped my hand.”
With horror Leo watched a thick drop of blood slip through Adam’s entangled fingers onto his bare knee and jumped back into action.
“Come on, let’s get this cleaned.”
He reached out a hand for Adam and waited patiently, blaming the light tremor in his fingers on the cold.
For a moment he feared the other man would just lie back down, stubbornly and slowly bleed all over the bed – just for the sake of it – but then Adam tentatively reached up and let himself be hoisted up.
A trail of red drops followed them as Leo steered his friend towards the bathroom, one hand on his shoulder, walking half a step behind.
Adam pushed through the door and sat down on the edge of the bathtub, staring to the floor.
Leo remained silent as he wet a wash-cloth and pulled out some band-aids and antiseptic. The quiet house seemed eerie, only the pipes making sloshing sounds as he opened the tap.
“I don’t remember what it was about,” Adam finally spoke up. “The dream.”
A blatant lie, Leo knew that, but he didn’t question it, only nodded.
The moon provided enough light in the bathroom, so Leo avoided turning on the bright ceiling lamp, only pressed the light switch over the mirror.
He copied his earlier position again, reaching for Adam’s hand while crouching down in front of him and pressing the wet cloth on his bloodied knuckles.
With the other end of the towel he wiped at Adam’s knee, the red spots dissolving under his firm rub.
Now, with the adrenaline gone and the quiet of the night settling back again, Leo was suddenly very aware of his own bare legs and thin shirt, the cold seeping in from the floor and the bathtub’s porcelain.
Adam was still radiating a steady warmth and Leo abruptly pulled away, reaching for the bottle of antiseptic to avoid touching him longer than he had to.
He knew the other man could be peculiar with touch, but he seemed calm and collected.
“This will sting,” Leo warned unnecessarily.
Adam didn’t even blink an eye, simply let Leo’s experienced fingers work their charm.
Once his hand was all wrapped up, Adam raised his head and searched Leo’s eyes.
Leo was forcibly reminded of the moment they had had earlier that year, when Adam had appeared in his office like the ghost from the past that he was.
He had stared at him similarly, hardly any emotions visible but still intimately enough for Leo to wonder over and over again what might have shown on his own face.
The blond hair hung over Adam’s light eyes and his breath initiated a warm breeze past Leo’s cheek.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep again,” Adam whispered hoarsely and Leo nodded. “You should go back to bed though.”
“Will you be fine?”, Leo asked, shifting his weight slightly.
Adam grabbed his shoulder and Leo inhaled sharply at the sudden cold contact, his hand the temperature of the bathtub he had been gripping.
Adam didn’t waver, holding him until he found his balance again.
Leo critically inspected his friend again, unsure about how to proceed. It would be no good leaving Adam on his own.
“Do you need to tuck me in to fulfil your bodyguard duty?”, Adam said with his usual sarcasm and Leo felt the corner of his mouth twitch in amusement.
“You wish,” he countered, using Adam’s knee to push himself upright.
“Will you be okay?”, Leo couldn’t stop himself from asking. “You know where to find me.”
Adam nodded sharply and left the bathroom with a small “night”.
Leo closed the bathroom’s door quietly and watched the other man’s silhouette disappear into the bedroom, with no choice left than to return to the couch with a sinking heart.
---
Leo had just lied down when he remembered the gun.
With a sigh, he tried to reconstruct where he might have left it. Not the bathroom, he had been leading Adam there with two empty hands.
Only the bedroom was a possibility.
For a moment, he was tempted to just close his eyes and look for it the next morning, but his sense of duty tugged him away from the warm blanket.
Deja-vu enveloped him in the hallway and Adam’s door seemed miles away all of a sudden. The walls here were bare except for one lonely frame, the photo removed, leaving only a dark spot on the white colour behind.
The whole house was like this, hardly any signs of anyone living here. How Adam was able to stay here after all he had been through and in such a depressing atmosphere was a mystery to Leo.
He wasn’t even sure he would make it through this hallway.
But he crossed it nevertheless, a shiver running down his arms – from the cold if not the darkness, and softly knocked.
There was no answer, so he knocked again, this time more forcefully.
“What?”
Leo exhaled at Adam’s unmistakable annoyed tone.
“Can I come in?”, he didn’t wait for a response this time, opening the door impatiently and froze on the spot.
Adam stood at the window, back to the door. His worn-out shirt hung loose over his hips, the long curve of his back hidden underneath.
His shoulders moved with each forcefully calm breath.
Leo stood awkwardly, not even daring to clear his throat.
For a moment it was completely silent, until Adam turned around.
Even behind his unreadable expression, Leo could see the frustration and exhaustion in his eyes.
He would never know the whole story, never understand all that Adam had run from, had faced in the last months.
But the boy he had befriended all that years ago was still there and Leo wasn’t ready to let him go.
Again – like so many times – they simply looked at each other as the seconds passed.
The blond man stood so motionless, it seemed inhumanely and Leo wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around him, protect him from harm and nightmares alike.
Finally, Adam sighed and immediately yawned.
Leo grinned and scratched his neck: “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…, I just forgot my…” He pointed towards the gun on the night stand.
The small motion from Adam’s head could have been both a nod or a head shake.
“Are you sure you don’t want to lie down?”, Leo couldn’t avoid the words slipping out.
Adam was still leaning against the window, the glass had to be freezing through his thin shirt, but he didn’t show any discomfort.
“It won’t help as much as actually sleeping, but you have to unwind a bit.”
“What is it with you…?”, Adam mumbled. Leo frowned.
“I’m an adult now, I can care for myself.” There wasn’t the usual venom in his voice, but Leo heard the underlying bitterness.
“You don’t have to, Adam.”
The words hung in the space between them for a moment and Leo became queasy. He hadn’t meant to phrase it like that, the implied ‘I’m here for you’ seeming too clear to ignore it.
But Adam was… well he was Adam, maybe he ignored it, maybe he didn’t care, but he stomped past Leo and actually lay down.
Until Leo recovered again, Adam had already flopped down, fighting with the tangled sheets and shooting Leo an angry glare. “Don’t laugh.”
“I won’t”, Leo promised. “Let me just…”
He easily grabbed the blanket and let it float down over the already laying man.
“Light on or off?”, he asked, standing in the door.
“On,” Adam responded. He looked small and frail in the plain room whose corners were always a shade darker than comfortable and Leo smiled at him tentatively.
“You know where to find me.”
Adam nodded, pulling the blanket further up and turning to the side and Leo had no other choice than to return to the couch with a sinking heart and the familiar weight of a gun in his hand.