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A couple of hours Dean had said, there had been no reason to start worrying. But how many hours did Dean mean when he said a couple of hours? For Richard that was three, for a friend of his that was six. It had been ten in the morning when Dean had left the apartment. At one in the afternoon he still wasn’t back. But no reason to worry right? It had only been three hours. And besides, Dean had said he would be back before dinner. That gave Dean until at least six in the evening. Could a couple of hours mean eight for Dean? That seemed a little bit exaggerated for Richard.
But when it was six in the evening Dean still hadn’t returned. Richard hadn’t dared to start cooking at five just because the other wasn’t home yet. Despite all of that, Richard forced himself not to worry. Dean was a grown man and surely he could take proper care of himself. To a certain extent at least, Dean undoubtfully had a couple of bad habits that he couldn’t hide away. But the sky grew darker and Richard wished he at least had the others phone number so he could call him and see if everything was alright. He didn’t even know if Dean had a cell that he carried around, and if so, did he have it with him now?
At ten in the evening, twelve hours after Dean had left, Richard couldn’t take it anymore and reached for his own cell phone. He might not be able to call Dean but he had others that would be willing to help him out. Or so he hoped. Richard swallowed his fears and scrolled through his embarrassingly short contact list until he found the contact entitled ‘James N.’ and pressed on the green button. It took longer then Richard had wanted it to, but eventually he heard James voice speak up in a singing manner. “Good evening Richard!” James started with. “What are you doing this lovely evening, not sitting in I hope?”
With the boisterous noise going on in the background, the both singing and shouting and clapping and eighties rock music, Richard decided that James was drunk on his free Saturday evening and probably wouldn’t be to much of help at all. Didn’t the man have a wife and kids? Yet he went out like that? Richard didn’t quite understand it and neither did he think about it. He just hoped that Richard would be able to help him, drunk or not.
“Evening James. I hope I’m not disturbing?” Richard asked with the damn British Politeness that his mother had mashed into his backbone since infancy. He was sure that he was calling at a bad moment and he didn’t feel sorry for that at all. But James didn’t need to know that now. There was a loud laughter in the background, louder then all the others, quickly followed by a thud and laughter from more people, James included.
“Aidan you fucking idiot! Get up!” James shouted loud enough for Richard to remove the phone from his ear for a moment. He didn’t have time to be stalled like this. “Sorry I didn’t catch that, you were saying?” James attention suddenly seemed to shift back onto him and Richard bit down on the inside of his cheek. He refused to lose his patience with a drunk man roughly five or ten years his senior. Richard wasn’t sure.
“I said I-“ Richard started to repeat himself, a bit louder now so that James would be able to hear him properly. But he didn’t even get to finish his sentence as James was shouting towards him again and had cut him off halfway through. Richard let out a frustrated sigh.
“Hold on, lemme go outside.” James said and the next that Richard heard once more was the mix of the eighties rock, people laughing and talking. But no more thud and a chorus of laughter after words. Then, a loud slam, which made Richard flinch a bit in anticipation, followed by total silence. At least it remained silent until James spoke up again. “Can you hear me now? You were saying?” Richard thanked whatever god was up there or below him that James sounded less drunk then he had originally feared.
“I’m sorry to disturb you.” Richard started again with the damn British politeness and grimaced as he spoke. He wasn’t sorry at all, he was worried beyond. A couple of hours didn’t mean twelve hours, and with Dean’s bad habit anything could have happened to him. What if he was dead? “But I really need your help right now James.” At least now he spoke the truth, which had been a change from earlier.
“Tell Papa James your concerns and I will help you anyway I can.” James murmured, followed by a clicking sound that Richard vaguely remembered in the back of his head. But he couldn’t pin point what it was exactly. A lighter?
“Please don’t call yourself that.” Richard mumbled, suddenly regretting that he had called James in the first place. He was ruining the others evening, and he didn’t want to drag more people into it then necessary. Dean didn’t need more prying eyes and hands to help him out.
James laughed, and if Richard knew the other man right then he could be confident in the fact that he was nodding along now. He closed his eyes, this was wasting his time. “Alright, no more Papa James.” James agreed to. “So what is it with then, that I can help you with? Need to get laid? There are quite a couple of lovely ladies here that I’m sure would want to climb your lap, need to hurry if that’s the case, Aidan might run off with some of the nicest one if you aren’t quick. Or! Or are you having troubles with your kitty? She being mean and scratched you?” James asked before letting it be followed by an actual giggle. Richard rolled his eyes, but at least he had gotten some bits right.
“Yes it’s about my kitty.” Richard looked up to the television screen which was still displaying the news channel. The only channel Richard had been able to find that also showed what time it was whatever was going on. 22.13. Far to late for Richard’s liking, it was over twelve hours and Dean had acted weird before he had left of. Richard stood up and headed over to the hallway to go and grab his jacket, glancing to the door as if he hoped that Dean would suddenly barge in again. “I kind of lost my kitty and I need help finding it again. You know Auckland better then I do.” Richard turned back to the living room and tossed the jacket over the couch.
“Find your kitty huh?” James purred as if he was mimicking an actual cat. Richard bit down on his lower lip as he awaited the answer. If James didn’t want to help him then he would have to go out on his own. With two there were more chances. Or he could make James stay in his apartment with some wine while he was searching the streets. It felt like a hopeless mission, Dean was born and raised in Auckland, if he wanted to he could disappear completely. “Alright, have no fear little Richard I will help you to find your kitty again. I’m going to get my jacket and I’ll be right out. Where do you want to meet up?” Richard could have groaned in relief, and it wasn’t much that stopped him from doing so.
“Thank you James, really.” Richard said, feeling how there was a weight being lift of his chest, he wasn’t in this alone anymore. He would have someone who was going to help him. With that in mind Richard sat back down on the couch. “I’ll text you my address, I’ll stay here until you arrive incase Kitty comes back, makes sense yeah?” Richard chuckled nervously and looked back up to the door, still no movement. He swallowed. “Thank you so much James, I am so sorry to ruin your evening, I really am.” He wasn’t.
“Sounds like a wonderful plan if you ask me. I’ll et you know when I’ll be at your place once I am in the cab and have your address. Sounds good? Swell, I’m going to grab my jacket and I’ll be on my way, and pay my tab, or you know, try to get away with not paying. Alright? Great, see you soon!” James perked up, for a moment there was noise and laughter everywhere again and then the phone went dead.
Richard sighed and rubbed his temple, than he looked back to his screen on the phone and sent a quick text to James with his address. Now came a dreadful part, waiting for James to arrive. All he could do was sit down and hope that James wasn’t at the complete other side of Auckland and that Dean was alright.
It took about ten minutes before his phone rang again and Richard snatched the phone of the living room table made out of glass. It was just a text from James, informing him that he was in the cab and that it would take him twenty minutes to reach Richard’s apartment. Even if it was a relief to know that the other was on his way, Richard got a feeling he wouldn’t be able to leave his apartment until eleven in the evening. He desperately wanted to grab something to drink and settle his nerves a little bit before he would go out looking for Dean. Yet he couldn’t do that. No matter how calm it made him feel, he would have to be completely sober.
Richard counted down minute by minute as if it would make the time go by faster. It didn’t, but it offered him a little bit of comfort which he was happy enough with. The time passed by so slowly and Richard thought that he would go insane with worry, maybe he it was better off if he called the hospital just to make sure if an ambulance hadn’t picked up a blonde named Dean somewhere along the road.
He was on twenty-four minutes when he heard laughter in the hallway and his heart sank. Surely that wouldn’t be for him. James would come on his own after all. As would Dean. Maybe it had been better if he hadn’t gotten involved with the other in the first place, maybe he shouldn’t have come to New Zealand. Suddenly Richard wanted to call his mother, talk to her and listen to her advice. But it was expensive and ten in the morning for her on a free day, he didn’t want to disturb her. Then there came a knock on the door after all, which made Richard’s heart stop.
Had Dean decided return after all but just decided to bring some company along as if it was nothing? In a way it wasn’t that surprising to Richard. Who knew what Dean could stuff into his head if he had taken something. The time when Richard had seen Dean high and taken him in, Dean had spent hours on the floor talking to his cat and cuddling with it without moving. Surely just dragging some people home with you wouldn’t be all that odd? Richard really hoped that Dean hadn’t. He couldn’t deal with more people now, not after having been worried for so long.
As Richard opened the door, he was met by the wide and sweet smile of James, that still managed to send chills down his spine. Despite the friendly look James had in his eyes, he still somehow managed to look as if he was secretly planning your murder, the murder of your neighbor or covering up for it so you wouldn’t wind up suspecting him. It turned out to be James as well who had brought the noise down the hall.
Next to James, was standing a much shorter figure who had his ear sticking right out like a garden gnome that Richard’s mother had in her garden. But despite the ears, the man reminded Richard of an overgrown Yorkshire Terrier Puppy who was in dire need for a cuddle or a gentle touch before it would go to its bed and burrow itself into a knitted scarf. The puppy man was currently scolding the third man on a hushed tone, slapping at his hand as it seemed he had attempted to light a cigarette in the hallway.
The third man seemed to have a rough edge around him, with quite sharp facial features and very curly dark brown hair. Though clearly young, he was by far not the gentlest of the bunch. It was almost as if the guy was born a couple of decades to late, and he seemed to fit in more in the early nineties by a grunge concert rather then now where most music was created by pre-pubescent boys. But what did Richard know, kids these days dressed in all possible ways. Just the other day he had seen a fourteen-year-old boy with bright blue hair.
“Richard!” James declared on quite a loud tone, which surely woke up a couple of neighbors and grabbed the grunge kid around his shoulders before pulling him right next to his side. “I brought in the cavalry as well, I hope you don’t mind, this here is Aidan from down in the lab, I don’t think you two have met before, this guys here barely leaves his little vials of whatever it is that’s in them.” The grunge looking boy, the Aidan, nodded and smirked to Richard. “And that, that right here is Adam down from the reception, I’m sure that you’ve at least walked past him before.” James nodded over to the overgrown puppy who also smiled and nodded, though one could get cavities from that smile. “They offered to help out, and it made my cab ride a lot cheaper, even if it was rather unpleasant with Aidan here.”
“Oh shut the fuck up James, I really needed to take a piss alright so don’t you dare go blaming it on me.” Aidan growled and glared to James, who just laughed and visibly squeezed down on Aidan’s shoulder, though he didn’t flinch, he didn’t even move his glare of James. Then James hand vanished to Aidan’s back before he was shoved over to Richard, who barely managed to catch the younger kid. Aidan laughed out. Great drunk people to the rescue, Richard couldn’t help but think.
“Ask Richard, I’m quite sure he has a free bathroom to spare that you can use for your god damn piss before we start of with our kitty hunt.” James gestured over to Richard and stepped forward. Aidan looked up to him with big dark brown eyes. Richard sighed and eased his grip on Aidan, who stood more on his own now and gestured over to his left. Aidan vanished even faster then lightning. In the mean time Adam had stepped inside as well and closed the door behind them both.
“Bloody kids, trying to get themselves pissed on beer because they think its cheaper, while all really happens is that they need to take a piss because of the beer and wind up spending more money because they drink more.” James growled to himself and looked around in the hallway, Adam adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder. Then James looked back to Richard with his bright, murderous smile. “So, who are we looking for? Show us a picture.”
“No, as a matter of fact I do not have a picture.” Richard said, being fully aware of just how much older he sounded as he spoke. But right now it felt as if he needed to, while James technically was the oldest one, right now he just seemed to be the second oldest of the bunch, after Adam who started to remind Richard more and more of a fourteen year old boy as time passed. “I’ve barely been here for a month, and I’m not really a picture taking guy okay?” Richard added, the frustration fully audible in his voice. Dean had been a photographer, he had been the picture taking kind of guy. Oh the irony.
“Alright.” Aidan clapped his hands together as if to announce his return. Which only left Richard worried what Aidan had done to his bathroom to be back already. He could barely have been gone for a minute, that had to be impossible. Aidan grinned that contagious grin of his again. “This is becoming more and more like a game, I like it, it’s starting to remind me a little bit of Clue, except you know, there isn’t a dead body, and we’re just trying to find someone but.” Aidan interrupted himself and turned to Richard, pointing to him with his folded together fingers. “Describe your kitten to us then, we’ve got to base our search on something right? Otherwise we will just be dragging home stray cats who know a Richard, I’m sure that’s not what you sent us out for.” The grin changed into a smile, and the more that Richard looked at it the calmer he started to feel. Perhaps everything would wind up alright anyway.
“The kitten is named Dean and he’s quite tiny. About five eight but seems a lot smaller then that, especially from a distance.” Richard started off, of course he seemed smaller, the guy was a drug addict. For a split moment Richard debated on telling the other guys Dean’s secret, but decided against it, it wasn’t his thing to decide who knew and who didn’t. “Short blonde hair, blue eyes, wears…” Richard’s voice eased up a little bit. What had Dean been wearing before storming out of the apartment. Richard had been to preoccupied with listening to what he had to say rather then to see which clothes he had picked up from the floor a little bit everywhere. The most vital bit of finding a person was something he didn’t even remember.
“Clothes? I hope? Aidan asked, still having that smile on his lips. And while it still did make Richard feel better about the entire situation, he now also found the urge within himself to punch the young man just to wipe the smile of his face. Dean was missing and that smile implied that Aidan treated it as nothing else but a joke. He hoped that he actually was serious. James had started to look down to the floor, fingers up to his lips as he seemed to be in deep thought, but Richard didn’t think that much of it.
“Yes of course he’s going to wear clothes, he’s not a nutcase who would streak down the highroad just like that. He just ran out in a matter of minutes, I didn’t have the time to pay any attention which clothes he was pulling on.” Richard grumbled annoyed in return to Aidan, wanting to deal with zero sarcasm right now. It wasn’t what he needed at all. Aidain seemed to notice it and stepped back a little bit in defense, raising his hands as if to gesture that he hadn’t done anything. At least the smile was wiped of his face, which not only made Richard lose home, but at the same time he felt less annoyed from it, Aidan was no longer unintentionally laughing at his misery.
“How about we all start heading down and you brief us on the way?” James then said and stepped in between Richard and Aidan as a peace maker, putting his hand on a shoulder of each man and smiled his creepy smile. Aidan nodded, and suddenly the boy looked dead serious, if not a little bit angry by the way his brows furrowed together. Richard’s throat felt thick, but he nodded along. “Adam, why don’t you stay here and guard the mountain? Let us know if a kitten named Dean wanders in through the cat flap and in the mean time, we will roam the streets in search for the stray cat?”
“I think that sounds like an awesome idea, then I can finally go out and have that smoke again that I need so so badly because I am literally dying right here.” Aidan moaned, tilted his head back and sank a little bit through his knees. James rolled his eyes and by the looks of it, he didn’t quite seem to know what to do with himself. Adam was just smiling a little bit, standing awkwardly in the hallway just a little bit out of their circle.
“Well you’re not dying now are ya? You’re standing perfectly fine next to me, breathing and moaning your ass of for nothing. If I was you I’d start to get worried that my ass might fall off from moaning like that, if me ma heard you, she’d slap you.” James growled, and just like his mother would have done slapped Aidain on the back of his head. Which just ended up in the young man glaring to the older one. Richard started to grow impatient.
“I’m just informing you all.” Aidan grumbled under his breath. Adam kept smiling his weak smile to Aidan, looking at the other with a fondness in his eyes, which Aidan didn’t seem to notice. For a short moment Richard wondered if the two were an item, or if Adam was showing all his affections only to have none returned. A one sided love. But he’d talk to James about it some other time. Now wasn’t the moment.
“Oh my god Aidan, nobody cares!” James said in a manner that reminded Richard of a teenager. Aidan however seemed to find the entire thing very amusing. James grinned his murdering smile again and turned his attention back to Richard. “Richard, do you feel comfortable enough, leaving Adam alone in your apartment to keep a watch from the home front?”
“Well he seems like a responsible young man so why not?” Richard said and glanced to Adam, who had gotten a red blush over his cheeks as he bowed his head a little bit from the praise. Yet Richard found the whole ordeal a little bit strange. But who was he to speak otherwise about it. Maybe Adam just had strange way of acting. “I’m quite sure he wouldn’t steal anything, now would you?” Adam looked up, eyes wide in shock and the blush now gone as he had gotten pale.
“Oh no Sir Richard I wouldn’t dare.” Adam replied quickly with his deer in headlights eyes as he looked from both Richard, to Aidan and then to James, as if he was terrified that they all would judge him for what Richard just had said. Aidan laughed and patted Adam on his shoulder again and suddenly, his cheeks flushed crescent again. Richard decided in that moment that Adam definitely had a thing for Aidan and Aidan was oblivious to it.
“That sounds like a marvelous idea, why don’t-“ Aidan started and placed his hand on James shoulder before pushing him over to Adam and Richard himself. “Give Adam a quick grand mini tour of the apartment and in the mean time I will head downstairs and have that smoke that I want so badly. And you two.” He pointed over to James and Richard. “Can join me whenever you two got the time for it yeah? Brilliant, see you all soon!” Aidan clapped James shoulder and then Adam as well, before twisting around and leaving the apartment just to rush to the elevator.
“As much as I hate to admit it, the brat is right, so lets go, show Adam around quickly so he wont be entirely lost and lets go, the sooner we get started the better.” James suggested and rubbed his hands together as he looked around in the hallway, not that Richard had much in it, just Dean’s bag was standing on the floor, his coats were hanging up and his shoes bellow them. Awfully boring, he still had boxes left to unpack.
“Yes, come along Adam.” Richard said and nodded towards the living room. Adam followed him but seemed to be out of place, James seemed to be interested enough in things to look around on his own while Richard told Adam to help himself to anything he needed. There was food and drink in the fridge and he gave a quick explanation about the television, handed over the remote and a small note with his own phone number written on. After that Richard took his phone from the table, his keys and followed James out of the apartment, heading straight for the elevator where James was quick to mash the button to call for it.
“So…” Richard started, now feeling awkward as well. In a way he had ruined James evening. The man had gone out with friends probably and now he was here instead, while James probably wanted nothing more then staying out for another few hours. He shook his head, trying to convince himself that was not the case. And after all, besides Dean, James was the only man he knew in New Zealand? Who else was he supposed to call if he didn’t want to call the police for Dean’s sake. “Adam. He’s, he has a thing for Aidain doesn’t he?” Richard asked and glanced to the man next to him, hoping to be able to start a casual conversation to ease his nerves, James sighed heavily.
“Could Adam be any more obvious then he already is? I swear the aliens in space can see how obvious he is from a couple of billion miles away.” James said with a worn out look. “It’s a world wonder Aidan hasn’t caught on yet. He usually catches on in a matter of minutes, and Adam? Such a love struck puppy it is actually making me sick. It’s almost ridicules to watch the two of them at it like that.” James rolled his eyes and the elevator plinged, the doors opened and James was the first one to step inside, Richard following just as James mashed another button.
“They had a one night stand once, about a year back I think. And ever since then Adam has been looking at Aidan like that. He just doesn’t understand that Aidan is only looking for fun and not any form of relationship, his last proper relationship ended badly and now he just wants some playtime. Well he’s been playing around for the past three years now and it’s annoying the ever living fuck out of me let me tell you.” James grimaced. “Just hope that Adam comes to that realization before Aidan smashes his heart without the intention to do so. Freaking kids. Rather then speaking up they do the poetic thing and suffer in silence.”
Richard nodded slowly, realizing he had gotten a lot more then he originally had bargained for with his question. A simple yes or no would have been fine but James had seemed keen on telling their entire life stories along with it. On the other hand it did kill the amount of time in the elevator and Richard could try to distract himself with the drama that was in between Aidan and Adam. “Young love isn’t easy, we all learn that the hard way.” Richard mused as an answer. Adam couldn’t be much older then in his early twenties, and Aidan couldn’t be much older then that either. That seemed to make James burst out in laughter.
“Any way of love isn’t easy.” James said with a wide grin once his laughter had settled a little bit. “You lose your partner for instance, don’t have a picture and barely give us anything to go by when it comes to actually finding your little kitten as well.” James shook his head, the giggles eased and soon he was just smiling. “But yes, I agree, young love isn’t easy and we all learn that the hard way.”
“I’ve only just met him, don’t’ know him very well yet so excuse me for not knowing every single detail of his life just yet. We haven’t been together for ten years you know, we haven’t even reached our one month celebration yet so kindly, do shut up about it.” Richard growled and looked to James from the corners of his eyes. Seeing how the man raised his hands in defense. “All I know is that he is not dependable to go out on his own for this long alright? Knowing the little bit I do about him he could get hurt and I don’t want that on my consciousness.”
“Not dependable on his own? Sounds like you treat your little kitten as a small child. As a grown man I’m sure your Dean can look after himself.” James mused and Richard? Richard felt furious at what James had said, that James felt like he had the right to talk about the situation like that. James knew nothing of Dean and as long as he didn’t he had no right in saying what he thought of how Richard was treating him. Richard was angered by the fact that it made it sound as if he was some horrible controlling boyfriend while he really just was worried about Dean’s safety now. Only god knew that Dean could get in his head to do now and even then. There was no crime in worrying was there?
“I hope it wont ever come to that James, that I will have to explain my ways to you. But the second you will lay your eyes on Dean, you will see why I do like I do. And then you will understand why and hopefully, you will agree with me at that time.” Richard said. James shrugged as if he didn’t have a single care in the world and with that, Richard felt even more ignored then he had done earlier. It was getting harder to believe that it all was a coincidence and that James wasn’t doing this to insult him after all.
“And I suppose that will remain unseen until I meet him.” James replied with a coy smile. The elevator button plinged and the doors opened again which only was for the better really. If James had kept talking on like that then Richard wouldn’t be able to be held accountable for his actions. Or so he liked to think, a court would probably think otherwise. As he stepped out of the elevator he set his mind back on track again on which clothes that Dean had worn when he had raced out of the door.
In silence, James followed Richard out of the elevator and headed down the clear hallway. Richard gave a quick but stiff nod to the man from security who didn’t seem to notice, but instead kept reading his newspaper. The glass doors moved out of the way for them both and a surprisingly chill, evening air which Richard welcomed greatly.
“Seems like Aidan already made a new friend, takes seconds, even less then it takes for him to notice that someone’s got the hots for him.” James said and pointed to their left, Richard turned to look at the direction and felt his heart stop, a weight being lifted of his shoulders, his chest collapse and his blood start boiling all at the same time.
“Dean!” Richard barked out, even being surprised himself of how loud it sounded. James at his right flinched, as well as Aidan who pulled his arms up to his chest in an almost ridicules manner. Dean, who had been standing right next to Aidan smoking a cigarette, or at least that was what Richard hoped it was, started laughing and spread his arms out as if he wanted to hug Richard. “Dean where the flying fuck have you been?!”