Street Smarts & Stolen Hearts

by Rob Hunter

  “Hey, Roy…” Solomon responded quietly. Roy suppressed a sigh. He knew what that tone of voice meant. “He didn’t turn up today either,” Solomon said, and that was one thing he appreciated about the older man—his directness. No attempt to beat around the bush, or gloss up the facts, they were just the truth and nothing but.

  “He’s probably left town by now then,” Roy mused, his lips curling downwards.

  “I don’t think he would just leave like that,” Solomon replied stubbornly. Roy hummed but said nothing. “How’s Daveth doing?” Solomon asked, changing the subject with a sigh.

  “He’s still coughing,” Roy answered. He’d heard the younger man coughing throughout the day, albeit it in isolated bursts.

  “Have you actually talked to him today?” Solomon pushed. Roy grunted vaguely. “Roy, you’re not doing yourself any good by isolating everyone else,” he continued. Roy didn’t respond. “Listen, I’ve got to get back to work. At least try to distract yourself. Bye, Roy.”

  “Yeah, bye,” he said, hanging up without another word and ignoring the spike of guilt within him. He knew it wasn’t Solomon’s fault, but he couldn’t handle the way everyone was treating him like breakable glass.

  He cursed quietly to himself, swinging his feet underneath him and standing up, pacing restlessly for a few minutes. He knew what he wanted to do; what he had wanted to do since Adam left. He frowned, grabbing his worn purple hoodie that was tangled up with a bunch of clothes on the armchair after Solomon had done the laundry. He wrapped it round himself, trying to ignore the way it now smelled familiar, traces of the others wafting around him.

  He opened the front door, blinking against the cold as he took a step out. He shoved his hands into his pockets, trying to ignore the pinpricks of cold that prickled at his cheeks. He’d been off the streets for far too long if he was already affected by the weather. He almost jumped a mile when he heard the crunch of gravel behind him, followed by the wheeze of heaving breathing.

  “Where are you going?” Daveth asked, his eyes narrowed as he hobbled further out. Roy took a step towards him instinctively, watching with concern as the Brit stumbled and swayed on his single crutch.

  “Dude, go back inside,” Roy ordered, trying to usher the other man back into the house. Daveth clenched his jaw, remaining fixed on the spot, unable to be moved without risk of hurting him.

  “Where are you going?” Daveth repeated, pushing forward a few more steps that almost had him hurtling face-forward had it not been for Roy hovering worriedly by his side.

  “I’m just going for a walk. Go back inside. Seriously, dude, you’re going to get hurt.”

  “No, I’m going with you,” Daveth retorted stubbornly, a deep, uncharacteristic frown etched onto his face. Roy glared at him, the howl of the bitterly cold wind seeming to back up his point. Daveth just glared back.

  “I’m going to look for Adam, okay?” Roy admitted, rubbing a hand down his face wearily. Daveth blinked, but remained stubbornly still. “It’s fucking freezing, dude, you’re going to get pneumonia or something,” he exclaimed, pushing on the other man’s uninjured shoulder. Daveth squeaked, grabbing the edge of the door and managing to slam it shut before falling on it with a satisfied glint in his eyes.

  “It’s just a little cough. If you’re going, I’m also going,” he replied. Roy glared at him.

  “You know neither of us actually have a key to get back in, right?” he pointed out, eyes fixed on the shut door. Daveth frowned, glancing behind him to the door, before his mouth parted in silent realization.

  “Oh… Well, I guess now I have to come with you. That was my plan all along.” Daveth smirked, straightening up painfully slowly as his crutch scrambled for purchase over the frosted ground.

  “I should just leave you here,” Roy muttered. Daveth squawked, moving forward suddenly and once again almost toppling. Roy rolled his eyes, grabbing the Brit around the waist and acting as an additional crutch to lean on. “You’re a fucking idiot.”

  “Aww, Roy…” Daveth whined as they stumbled out of the driveway, latched awkwardly onto each other. Roy huffed, torn between hurrying them along and making sure that Daveth wasn’t putting too much strain on his body. “Where are you planning to look then?”

  “Places we usually sleep,” Roy explained. He did have the fleeting suspicion that Adam had indeed taken the few days to leave the town entirely, or that he would be deliberately avoiding their usual hangouts, but he didn’t bother to communicate this to Daveth. Either the Brit had already thought it himself, or at least he could be spared the worry of thinking it.

  Daveth hummed in acknowledgement, trying and failing to suppress a yawn that strained his features. Roy could feel the cold that had already seeped into the other man’s bones, could feel the icy skin which was now pimpled with goosebumps. Roy sighed, removing his own hoodie and placing it over Daveth’s back, who then managed to fumble his way half into it.

  “Thanks,” Daveth murmured, wrapping the loose sleeve over his bandaged arm like a blanket.

  “You should be in bed. Edwin is going to kill me,” Roy grumbled, scuffing the front of his shoes across the gravel, irritated. He felt bad for thinking it, but he really wished that he was alone, just so he could move faster at the very least. He could see that Daveth was making an effort, but this was probably the furthest he’d walked in two weeks and the exhaustion was obvious in his drawn, sweat-sheened features.

  It was quiet out tonight. Most sane people had hidden away from the bitter elements that now nipped eagerly at their exposed skin. At least in Texas, it didn’t tend to snow, even in the midst of winter. When he had been in New York, when he first found himself on the street, the snow had been the worst. Snow is no longer fun and enchanting when it freezes your limbs and dampens your clothes.

  They eventually managed to hobble into the first maze of alleyways that he had been keen to search. This was not typically a place people slept, there was no real shelter here for one thing, either from the winds or the rain. No large dumpsters or overhanging doorways to cower beneath. But it was one that was well-trodden by all manners of people who found themselves on the street at night. It was possible they might find Adam, or at least someone who had seen him hovering nearby.

  He noticed that Daveth had fallen abnormally quiet. He would have assumed it was just tiredness, or perhaps the melancholy atmosphere that weighed down on them, that stilled his otherwise overeager tongue. But he realized that the further they walked, the more the other man pressed up against his side. Roy glanced up at him, tilting his head with faint concern at the way Daveth’s eyes darted rapidly through the alley whilst he chewed nervously on his bottom lip.

  “Are you okay?” Roy asked, despite the fact he had somewhat been enjoying the silence. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy Daveth’s company, he just wanted to focus on the current task at hand was. Daveth startled at his voice, glancing down at him with a shaky smile.

  “Yeah. I’m good,” he said, almost believably. Roy narrowed his eyes.

  “If you’re having trouble, we can always rest for a moment…” Roy suggested. Daveth shook his head vigorously.

  “No. I’d rather we keep moving,” he replied stiffly. Roy quirked an eyebrow.

  “Are you scared?” he asked carefully. Daveth pursed his lips, seeming eager to ignore the question as he tried to push on, but Roy forced them to come to a stop. “That probably wouldn’t be abnormal, considering what happened,” he added, voice softening.

  “It’s stupid. I’m not scared,” Daveth grumbled, clawing at the loose strands that had been pulled away from his jacket absentmindedly. “I’m just a bit cautious, is all.”

  “You’ve never really talked about the incident,” Roy continued, allowing them to keep moving, if only for Daveth to stop looking like a restless and abused puppy. Daveth grunted in vague acknowledgement. “You know you can talk to us about it, right?” he offered hesitantly.

  “I just want to move on from it r
eally.” Daveth shrugged, frowning as the motion clearly jogged his injured shoulder. “I’m not scared. Not really. Just a bit on edge. It’ll fade. It’s like the first day you walk to school by yourself. It feels all dangerous but you get used to it because eventually you learn that the chances of anything happening are pretty slim, so you just get on with it,” Daveth expanded, brows furrowed together slightly.

  “What about you? How are you feeling?” Daveth added, abruptly staring down at him questioningly. Roy blinked at him, stretching his neck from side to side until he heard a satisfied pop as he contemplated his answer.

  “I want Adam back,” he said simply.

  “In what way?” Daveth asked, pulling the hoodie tighter around himself as another gust of wind managed to pierce through the urban landscape. “I mean, like, do you want a relationship with him as well?”

  “I don’t really give a fuck, to be honest. I just want my friend back,” Roy muttered with a shrug. “We’re friends before anything else. I don’t care what happens romantically as long as that remains the same.”

  Daveth hummed in acceptance and they descended back into silence. There didn’t seem to be many people out today, although they could distantly hear the low moan of chatter through the walls that crisscrossed the maze of alleyways. They turned down another alley in that direction, heading to where there was more possibility of shelter.

  “I still don’t get why he left,” Daveth said after a moment, a deep frown etched on his face. Roy glanced at him, grunting vaguely but otherwise remaining silent. “I mean, I thought we were friends…like, why didn’t he come to us if he was uncomfortable?” Daveth continued, a low distressed note entering his tone.

  “Because that’s not what Adam does,” Roy retorted. Daveth looked at him, confusion sprinkled across his face. “He doesn’t trust people, Daveth. It’s a bloody miracle he let you into his life so quickly, but that was probably more to do with my influence than anything else.”

  “He must know we’d never knowingly hurt him…”

  “Look, he hasn’t had the best experience with people. Lots of shitty people talked bullshit to him about trust in the past so it doesn’t come easy now,” Roy huffed, pausing a moment to run a hand through his hair that had been blown onto his face and was now annoyingly tickling his forehead. “It’s not my story to tell, though,” he added, somewhat defensively.

  “But why so suddenly? There must have been something that happened that made him uncomfortable?” Daveth pressed, breathing heavily as he swayed, his knuckles white where they were tightly gripping the crutch. He looked about ready to pass out.

  “I don’t know. You guys and your relationship probably…” He trailed off, feeling a stab of guilt at Daveth’s hurt expression. “Not in the way you’re thinking. It’s just, I suggested you guys were showing interest in him, and I think that freaked him. He’s scared of being hurt again.”

  “Oh…I mean, I guess that makes more sense…” Daveth mumbled, breaking off into a cough that was followed by a wince. Roy frowned at him. They probably should head back. Except they didn’t have the keys to the house, so they’d have to go to the shelter first. He didn’t want to give up, but he was just chasing shadows at the moment, and Daveth was freezing his tits off, which was in no way going to help the cold he had developed.

  There was the sudden thud of hurried footsteps and he barely had time to turn before he was pushed violently to the side. He stumbled, regaining his footing quicker than he thought possible, a cold fear gripping him as he heard Daveth’s pained grunt. Roy glared, wide-eyed, at the culprit.

  “Give me your fucking money right now!” the attacker yelled, strong arms wrapped tight around Daveth’s throat in an unrelenting grip that was clearly painful as it held him securely in place. Roy swallowed, meeting Daveth’s panicked eyes and feeling a low thrum of hysteria building up inside of him.

  “I don’t have any money…” he claimed, lifting his arms up in surrender and trying to ignore the way his voice shook. The man seemed to almost snarl, but there was a flash of movement beside them and suddenly his grip on Daveth was released. The Brit stumbled, sinking against the grimy wall and slumping downwards, chest heaving as he watched the scene play out.

  The would-be assailant was punched across the face. The man took a few winded steps back, only to be hit with a deft uppercut that split his lip open with a drizzle of blood. His shirt collar was grabbed, and Adam—and oh dear God, it was Adam, fucking Adam—pulled the man in, having the pure advantage of strength if not height.

  “You don’t fucking touch them, you absolute scum. Get the fuck out of here or I swear to God, I will kill you!” Adam hissed, his face burning red as he sneered at the other man. He pushed the man away, fists clenched tightly to his side, seething as he watched the wannabe thief quickly retreat into the shadows of the alley.

  There was a moment of silence then. He could hear the others breathing; Daveth was still slumped on the floor, Roy doubted he’d be able to clamber to his feet without help, and his chest was heaving rapidly as if his heart itself was trying to escape. Adam was glaring, his nostrils flaring as he stared down the path the man had escaped to, clearly wanting to follow.

  He stared at Adam, shock eventually being overtook by reason as he realized with a sick feeling of betrayal that Adam must have been watching them. There was no way that Adam had just mysteriously appeared. He gritted his teeth, meeting Adam’s eyes as the man eventually turned back to them, taking some degree of satisfaction in the sudden guilt that flashed in the other man’s gaze.

  “How long?” he asked, not bothering to clarify. Adam scuffed his feet against the ground, shifting restlessly.

  “Not that long,” Adam answered quietly, something almost shy in it now. “I heard you guys coming from almost a mile away. You’re bloody loud when you’re limping around and making noise all over the joint,” Adam added, his gaze drifting towards Daveth, who was looking up at him dumbfounded.

  “What are you doing out here?” Adam questioned, kneeling beside Daveth and placing a hand on the other man’s knee. Daveth blinked, seeming to snap out of the numb state that he’d fallen into. Adam passed him the crutch, his hand lingering against Daveth’s for a moment longer than necessary.

  “Looking for you, you idiot! Where the hell did you go, boy?” Daveth retorted, eyes earnestly searching Adam’s expression.

  “The guys are worried about you as well,” Roy said, coming to stand beside the two men. “They miss you,” he added softly. Adam averted his gaze, suddenly finding the ground a lot more interesting.

  “I heard a bit of what you were saying,” Adam admitted after a moment, a sigh tracing his words. “I…I’m not really good with this stuff, guys…”

  “You don’t have to be,” Daveth intercepted, leaning forward and resting his hand on top of Adam’s. “We’re not going to hurt you. We love you. And if you don’t want to be part of the relationship, that’s fine. We respect you, We want you as a friend first and we want to know you’re safe. We never want to do anything to upset you, but please, don’t just leave without a word…please, Adam, I missed you, boy…”

  Adam ducked his head, and there was an honest-to-God blush decorating his face and making his faint freckles even more pronounced. Roy gazed at him fondly, and mostly hopefully, because he wanted Adam to come back to them. But part of him knew that Adam didn’t have it in him to actually say the words.

  “Do you want to come back with us?” Roy asked softly. Adam glanced at him, a small but thankful smile on his face as he nodded. Daveth grinned, grabbing the other man in a hug and succeeding only in pulling Adam down onto his lap with a soft grunt. Adam twisted out of his grip, but a small bubble of laughter managed to escape him as he slowly stood up, carefully helping to hoist a giggling Daveth back to his feet.

  “We have to go to the shelter to get the keys of Solomon and Edwin. They’ll be happy to see you,” Roy explained. Adam nodded, but looked faintly nervous. Roy smiled so
ftly, brushing up against the other man’s side and tentatively reaching out a hand. He couldn’t help the burst of excitement and joy that stormed through him as Adam gripped his hand tightly. Adam then wrapped his other hand around Daveth’s waist, slotting the Brit into his side perfectly. Daveth smiled, nuzzling his head into Adam’s neck as he sighed happily.

  It was weird at first. Lots of careful touches, and even more careful kisses, that eventually worked up to something more forceful, more eager, as Adam opened up more. Kissing Roy felt like something he had done before. Kissing the others felt like something fresh, like meeting a guy in a bar and hitting it off. It was full of electricity and uncertainty.

  “Listen, buddy, we don’t want to pressure you into anything. But this house is your home now, okay? And you don’t need to leave because of something we’re doing. It doesn’t matter to us if you don’t want to be romantically involved as long as you’re happy,” Solomon had said whilst they all sat around the living room, huddled together in anticipation, all feeling the spark of change in the atmosphere. Roy had been soothingly caressing his wrist the whole time, like he was some spooked animal, but he didn’t have it in him to be annoyed at the time.

  He didn’t think he’d have been able to make the choice without Roy there. As pitifully sad as it was, Roy was his safety blanket. Roy was the one he went to when he felt overwhelmed, because Roy understood him in a bond strengthened through time the others had not had the chance to form.

  But it didn’t take him long to find out that Edwin could strings words of comfort together with a soothing ease. And that Solomon gave the best hugs, and the most amazing backrubs. The two of them together stilled his racing mind when the fears got too much. He didn’t even have to talk and they would understand what he needed.

  And Daveth…Daveth was fucking amazing in a way that he’d probably never admit to the other man. He was awful at video games, and said the most ridiculously stupid things, but he was amazing and beautiful and wonderful and Adam had never felt such a pull towards another being. Daveth was intoxicating. He was funny, and had this cute, high-pitched laugh that made his eyes crinkle and shine, despite the pain laughing caused his bruised ribs. And when he’d managed to get pulled into a contract for filming with an old friend, Adam couldn’t have been prouder.