Work Text:
It had been nearly six months since he had moved to the United States, completely legal thank you very much, the last thing he needed was deportation breathing down the back neck while he conducted his “business”. Six months since he fell in love again as well, with the most beautiful creature he had ever seen since. . .well, Gabi. While she still and would always hold a piece of his heart, Nigel realized that it was hopeless to keep trying to get her back. It had taken a bullet to the head to drive it home too. So he figured he might as well try to move on, except no one he had met struck him as anything other than a pretty face.
That was until he met Adam, though at first he didn't strike Nigel as anything special and their first meeting wasn't anything to go down in the book of love. It had been his first day in the building, a pretty swanky place compared to the other shit holes he'd lived in before but still affordable and he had tried to get the other man's attention.
“Hey kid.”
The younger man turned around to face him, his eyes settling somewhere above his left shoulder.
“I’m not a kid, I'm thirty-two and my name is Adam .”
With that adam turned back around and continued on to his own apartment. It was Adams blunt honesty that had immediately endeared him to Nigel. After a lifetime dealing with liars and people who would talk you up to get something they wanted, Adams no nonsense-say things they way they are was a breath of fresh air. And while Adam was already on nigels good side it had been that very night that Nigel had fallen in love with him.
The sky was dark with just a few stars out and his neighbors were bal ring their old music, the kind his parents listened to for Christ's sake. Nigel had gone out onto the balcony to escape the music and have a smoke and happened a glance down to the balcony below him, to this day Nigel swears his heart stopped.
There on the balcony was Adam, looking more relaxed and engaged than when Nigel had met him. Nigel watched as Adam observed the night sky through his telescope, occasionally reaching down to jot something down in a notebook, humming softly as his hips swayed in time with music. All in all Nigel's breath was taken away, his cigarette burning away to ash in his hand as he watched as this shy thing turned into something beautiful as the night went on. Nigel knew then and there he had to make Adam his, how good could his life ever be without him in it.
That had been six months ago to the day that he had begun trying to win Adam over and had yet to make an impression on him. It was going to be tonight even if it was going to kill him. Same as every night Nigel watched from his balcony as Adam gazed at the stars while their neighbors music played. Suddenly a very familiar song started to play, Nigel grinned knowing exactly what he needed to do to get Adam's attention. Stubbing out his cigarette Nigel leaned farther over the railing, making Adam jump as began to not quite sing the song to him.
“Hey boy, what you doin’ down there?
Dancin’ alone while I live right above you.
I can hear your music playin’, I can feel
Your body swayin’, one floor below me you
Don't even know me, I love you.”
Nigel watched on as Adam looked around him as if to make sure that yes, Nigel was in fact singing to him. Finding no one else beside them Adam turned his attention back to Nigel as he continued.
“Oh my darlin’,
Knock three times on the ceiling if you want me,
twice on the pipe if the answer is no
Oh my sweetness,
Means you'll meet me in the hallway
Twice on the pipe means you ain't gonna show”
Adam leaned back over his own railing trying to see onto the balcony above him as Nigel abruptly ran back into his own apartment, nearly running into the sliding glass door as he did. He saw Nigel come hopping back out on one foot trying to unlace his boot while he held a piece of paper in his mouth. When he got it undone, Nigel rolled up the paper and tied the shoelace around it before lowering it over the railing and down to Adam.
“If you look out your window tonight
Pulling the string with the note that's attached to my heart
Read how many times I saw you
How in my silence I adored you
And only in my dreams did that wall between us come apart”
Inside the note, was the letter Nigel had tried to send him weeks ago but had somehow ended up in the mailbox of his music loving neighbor. Trying to explain to an hard of hearing eighty year old lad that no he was not romantically and sexually interested in her. Putting the letter in the mail rather than right under Adams door came back to bite him in the ass. Though in the end it was worth it, watching the flush rise up Adam's cheeks in the glow from his own apartment was so satisfying, Nigel wanted to see it more often and be the cause of it. He leaned against the railing and smiled down at Adam.
“Oh my darlin
Knock three times on the ceiling if you want me
Mmmm twice on the pipe if the answer is no
Oh my sweetness
Means you'll meet me in the hallway
Oh twice on the pipe means you ain't gonna show”
“Oh I can hear the music playing
I can feel your body swayin
One floor below me you don't even know me
I love you”
The song ended and so did there little time out on the balcony, he stayed outside as Adam walked back inside before going to sit on his couch and wait for Adam to hopefully respond.
Inside Adams apartment, he was pacing back and fourth between the pipe that led up to the apartment above and and where he kept his broom. Back and forth, back and forth, he kept going biting at his nail unsure of just what to do. Eventually he closed his curtains and shut off his lights before turning his projector, throwing stars and galaxies across the room. He stood and watch it for a few moments before heading to broom closet.
Upstairs Nigel was almost ready to give this up as a lost cause, it had been nearly a half an hour and still nothing from the apartment below him. He groaned, scrubbed at his face, and fell against the back of his couch. Perhaps this was just a lost cause, someone as good and sweet as Adam would never want such a bad man as him--
Thump.
Nigel sat up abruptly, eyes fixated on the floor in front of him.
Thump.
He stood up, “Come on darling, just one more. Please.”
Thump.
Nigel flew to his door and wrentched it open and ran down the hallway, completely bypassing the elevator and going straight to the stairs. He jumped down several stairs at a time, nearly breaking an ankle in his excitment. When he got into the next hallway he saw the beautiful sight of Adam waiting there for nigel just slightly outside his own door. He controled himself to not run to Adam but instead made his way to him with purpose, Adams face lit up when he saw Nigel coming towards him. Coming up to Adam, Nigel took his face in his has and kisses him deeply right then an there just like he had wanted to all those months ago. Breaking away Adam ducked his head laughing softly.
“That was wonderful, Nigel. Its nice to finally meet you.”
Nigel grinned as Adam leaned up to kiss him again, this time under Adams guide it was sweet and soft making nigels heart stutter in his chest. Adam looked back into his dark apartment where his stars still danced across the walls, he looked back at Nigel biting his lip.
“Can I. . . Can I show you something?”
“Of course you fucking can darling.”
Adam took nigels hand and led him into his apartment, closing the door behind them.