Chapter Text
Plans had changed and Nigel and Adam were sitting in the car, food from the restaurant laid out on the back seats, following Will who was driving in front of them. They had agreed that they would like more privacy and Will's home would provide that.
The drive was quiet. Adam stared out of the window. Nigel glanced over at him a couple of times but didn't push him to talk. They arrived in front of a beautiful house. They entered it, and everyone's head swam with all the sounds and smells.
"Wait a minute," Will said, disappearing down the hallway, leaving Nigel and Adam standing awkwardly in the entryway.
"Are you okay?" Nigel asked, took a step closer to Adam. He inhaled his scent. He wanted to be closer, wanted to hold him, anything.
Adam glanced around the room, unsure of how to answer. He wasn’t okay, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong again. But he nodded anyway, offering Nigel a small smile.
"I’m fine."
Before Nigel could say anything more, they heard footsteps approaching. Will returned, but this time, he wasn’t alone. Walking beside him was a tall man with dark, tousled hair and a calm presence that seemed to fill the room.
"I wanted to introduce you," Will said, his voice slightly softer now, "Hannibal, this is Adam, my brother, and his mate Nigel, Nigel, Adam, this is my mate, Hannibal."
"Pleasure to meet you, Adam. I've heard a lot from Will and I never thought we'd meet," Hannibal extended a hand. He breathed in deeply and Adam shifted a bit.
"Yeah..." Adam swallowed hard, feeling a bit intimidated by Hannibal. He and Nigel were quite similar in appearance, but Hannibal was more well-put together. His eyes wandered to Nigel. He exhaled.
Hannibal then turned to Nigel, offering the same polite handshake: "And you, Nigel, it’s a pleasure to meet you as well."
Nigel nodded, his expression unreadable as he shook Hannibal’s hand, he replied: "Likewise."
Hannibal smiled once more, but there was a flicker of something in his gaze, a silent acknowledgment of the tension in the room.
"I’ll just finish one thing and join you right away," he said as he headed toward the kitchen. "Can I offer anything for drinks?"
"Just tea for me," Adam said quietly, feeling small under the weight of everything happening around him. It was too much, they had just arrived, he had seen his brother after a long time and now he was in his house. A house he'd probably lived in for a long time. And not alone...
"I'll have a coffee, thank you," Nigel said, his voice calm.
As Hannibal disappeared into the kitchen, Will gestured toward the living room: "You guys can settle in there. We’ll be right with you."
Nigel and Adam did as they were told. They sat down on the sofa and waited. Adam fidgeted with his hands, his mind racing, wondering what would happen next. He could feel Nigel’s eyes on him, but neither of them spoke. The alpha finally couldn't stand it and grabbed Adam's hand. He brought it to his mouth and kissed it.
After a few minutes, Hannibal and Will returned. Nigel stood up and made room for the older brother to sit in his place. He grabbed his coffee and walked a little further, looking at the walls, which were filled with all sorts of things. Hannibal interrupted him and started asking him questions. On art, music.
"So...how are you?" Will asked. He watched the face of the other omega, his brother, the last one he'd seen...he couldn't even remember when. It had been so long, it felt like a dream.
"Good, great," he took his tea, took a small sip, "s-sorry...I don't know how to act."
"Normally, I'm your brother. I know you, it's okay, no need to freak out. It's so good to see you," put his hand on his thigh to give him a grounding feeling, he always used to do that. He looked great, calm, confident.
"So...how did you meet?" Will asked, moving even closer to his brother and then looking over to his mate who was talking to Nigel.
"W-well...in the center...I...," Adam shifted uncomfortably. His mouth felt dry, the feeling on his thigh didn't feel as comforting as it should have.
"What?" Will's voice was sharp as a blade. He said it loud enough, that Hannibal and Nigel fell silent.
"Will?" Hannibal wondered.
"What did you just say?" Will demanded. Adam could see it, the same look Will had when they were kids, the one he got whenever someone tried to mess with Adam. But this time, that look was directed at Nigel.
Adam looked fearfully at Nigel. He knew he'd messed up. Will was furious, he knew that look. When the kids made fun of Adam, Will didn't hesitate to come to the rescue. He was scary, Adam was scared of him himself.
"You fucking bastard," he snapped, taking a few steps towards Nigel and shoving him. Nigel barely had time to react before Will was on him again, pushing him back further. Adam jumped to his feet, not knowing what to do. His whole body was shaking.
"Come on, mylimasis." Hannibal grabbed him around the waist and pulled him close.
"Let go of me," he growled.
"What happened?" the alpha obeyed him like a dog.
"This prick bought my brother and he comes in here and pretends nothing. Don't you think that's stupid? Are you a complete asshole?" he didn't shout, but he said it harshly.
"Will..." Hannibal was ready to say something.
"No, don't talk," he directed it to Hannibal, then to Nigel, "I don't understand what you're thinking. I'm not going to thank you. You're a fucking cunt, like all the other alphas. You don't deserve Adam. You're a motherfucker, you make me sick. When this system falls apart, and it will, you’ll be left with nothing. Adam deserves better. He deserves freedom. A life without you."
"Will, that's really enough," Hannibal said, visibly touched by what his mate was saying.
"You're accusing me of something...well. You leave him and let your father have him and you think he'll be fine. Be thankful that I have him. Be thankful that he wasn't taken in by another pig who would only have him for sex, who would beat him, hurt him, forbid him everything. I'm not perfect, but I don't think you are either," Nigel replied, shooting a quick glance at his omega.
"Don't try to compare yourself to me! I did it to save him," Will was really angry, ready to do something to Nigel, to protect his brother. Adam had seen that, he remembered Will beating up a kid who'd called him names and made fun of him.
"And I fucking didn't?" Nigel defended himself.
"No! Am I supposed to believe you? You own him. Go fuck yourself, you selfish prick, leave now," Will pointed to the door. Hannibal just watched, he didn't step in. And Adam didn't dare either.
"Okay, I'm leaving, Adam, I'll come get you tomorrow," Nigel looked at him. His whole face softened.
"No, Adam's staying. Forever," Will looked in the same direction. He took Adam's trembling as fear of Nigel. He wouldn't allow it.
"I-I'm going with Nigel," he walked over to Nigel. He wanted to grab his hand, finally he did, and the shaking stopped for a moment when Nigel squeezed it back.
"Adam, you don't have to, you're safe here, he won't hurt you, you've got us," Will was helpless.
"I want to go with Nigel," Adam replied, strongly, firmly. He squeezed his mate's hand again.
"We had a picnic planned for tomorrow morning at Patterson Park. So if you calm down...you can join us," Nigel said the last sentence and pulled Adam out of the house.
---
The drive to the hotel was quiet. Adam mouthed a quiet 'sorry', Nigel replied saying it wasn't his fault and that was it. The omega looked out the window and tried not to cry. This was probably the end, he wouldn't see Will again and it was his own fault.
They went upstairs to their room, Adam laid down in bed and tried to sleep it off. He didn't want to face the consequences, Nigel. He knew it was rude and that he would face it afterward, but at that moment he didn't care. He clutched his pillow, closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing, tried not to think about what had happened.
Nigel, meanwhile, was smoking his second cigarette. It was afternoon and it was beautiful. He would have loved to go for a walk with Adam, but he didn't want to bother him. When he came into the room, Adam was asleep. So Nigel took his laptop and tried to concentrate on anything else.
When Adam woke up, he didn't say a word, his head was down. He laid down next to Nigel, didn't say anything. Nigel didn't say anything either. He wanted to give him space.
After a while, Adam got up and went to take a shower. He came out in his pyjama pants and a t-shirt that Nigel had given him because Adam loved the way it felt on his body.
"N-Nigel?" he spoke softly, his hand brushing the edge of the t-shirt.
"Yes?" he looked up from his computer.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...and...and I understand if you want to go home," he took a step forward, he had to face it. He couldn't beat around the bush, he couldn't avoid it, he wanted to get it over with.
"No, Adam..." he put the computer to the side, waved his hand for Adam to come closer. Adam sat on the edge of the bed, looking around in confusion.
"And you can...you can punish me, I know I deserve it. I'm so sorry, Nigel," he put his hand in a fist, pinching it, trying to stay calm, not wanting to break in front of Nigel, not now.
And Nigel had had enough. He grabbed Adam, threw him on the bed and straddled him.
"Hey, listen to me. You have nothing to fucking apologize for. You didn't do anything wrong, and the next time I hear you say anything about this, I'm going to bend you over my knee, okay?" his eyes burned with fierce, protective anger.
Adam shuddered beneath him, nodding weakly but still unsure of what to do next. He stared up at Nigel, fear and confusion swirling in his wide eyes. He hated this...seeing Nigel angry, seeing him upset because of him. He felt like he’d failed, and the weight of that failure pressed down on him like a lead blanket.
Nigel’s expression softened as he cupped Adam’s face in his hands.
"Baby, look at me. I'd be surprised if he didn't react that way. He loves you, okay? He cares about you. I'm a fucking asshole, I literally paid for you, he's right and he has a right to treat me like this, he has a right to be pissed. At me. If he hadn't reacted, it would have been wrong. Don't apologize, there's nothing to apologize for, okay? He just needs time."
"So, we're good," the omega swallowed hard, his eyes searching Nigel’s face for reassurance. Nigel’s serious expression melted into something gentler as he leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to Adam’s forehead.
Nigel started to move, but Adam grabbed his arm, his voice barely a whisper. “Stay?”
The alpha stopped and smiled. He pounced on Adam, rested his head in his neck, gave a few kisses, felt Adam's body melt under his.
---
The next day they woke up in a hug. They got dressed quietly, Nigel took a blanket and a bag and they went out. They stopped at a café, Adam quietly asked for hot chocolate, Nigel bought lots of sweets, though Adam protested. They reached the park, found a quiet spot and sat down. They ate, Adam put on a video that interested him.
Then he told Nigel about new discoveries, as he was finding out a lot of remarkable things thanks to his access to the internet. Nigel just watched him, fascinated. Adam was very clever, it warmed his heart.
"Hi..." came from behind them, and it inadvertently interrupted Adam's monologue. They both turned around.
Will was standing there.
"You came," Adam's hand began to tap furiously against Nigel's thigh.
"Can I talk to Adam? Alone?" Will asked towards Nigel.
"Yeah, sure," the alpha looked at Adam, gave him a kiss on the cheek and stood up, leaving them some space. Will sat down on the blanket, looking into the distance, trying to organize his thoughts.
"I'd like to apologize, for my behavior...I...I've been living under the assumption all this time that you just hate me, but you're okay, if nothing else. That our dad...that he might send you to a worse school, but that you'd be able to study and get a job and become independent. That you won't have to rely on the alpha," he sighed. Adam shot him a look, he looked very elegant again, probably the influence of Hannibal.
"Your dad...he's not my dad. He blamed me for you leaving. He sold me. And Nigel saved me," he said, looking up at the sky.
"What? We still need to talk about this...I'm so sorry. And...Nigel...is he...nice to you?" he tried to lighten the situation a little, countless questions were running through his mind, but he didn't want to upset his brother at the moment, the previous day had been enough.
"Very," Adam nodded, looked at the blanket, at the unfinished chocolate and the unfinished sweet pastries.
"Is he hurting you?" Will asked cautiously, looking at his neck, which was adorned with a bite mark from Nigel, healed, not very visible, but there.
"No, not once...in the centre...they told me all the things he could do to me...he didn't do anything," looked at him, shook his head. He grabbed his chocolate, drank some.
"What if you do something?" he realized that he hadn't kept his promise not to disturb his brother too much...probably.
"Then nothing," Adam answered, took a piece of croissant and put it in his mouth.
"Nothing?" he made sure.
"He's really good to me," he whispered sincerely, looked around the park, breathed in the fresh air.
"I'm glad...sorry I ruined yesterday. He doesn't...he doesn't mind me being here?" the older brother watched Adam's movements, trying to decipher him, read him, see if he was sincere, what was different.
"No, he found you. He did...he did it for me," he smiled.
"That's nice."
"Yeah."
"I don't know what to tell you," Will rubbed his face.
"I'm sorry," Adam whispered, not knowing what else was appropriate in the situation.
"No, I was a dick...I feel..." he waved his hand.
"It's okay."
"Do you think we could go for a walk? I'd show you around town," Will suggested. He wanted to talk to him, for a long time, to tell him everything, about Hannibal, about himself, about school, about work, about everything he could. And in turn, he wanted to hear everything about what Nigel was like, what he was doing, how they were living.
"With Nigel?"
"Well...I was thinking we could be alone for a while?" he tilted his head.
"I'll ask if he's okay with it," Adam got up.
"Okay."
Adam walked over to Nigel. He was sitting on the bench, smoking a cigarette.
"Finished, gorgeous?" exhaled smoke, smiled at him.
"I was...I was wondering, was...would it be okay if I was with Will this day? He wants to take a walk with me...and..." he was babbling.
"Sure, doll. You want to be with your brother. Here, this is my credit card. Take it, okay? Buy whatever you want, take him to lunch, go anywhere. Here's your phone, so when you want, text me, I'll pick you up," he put it in his hand and stroked his cheek.
"Nigel..." he was looking into his chest, studied the pattern of the shirt.
"What?" he stroked his cheek again, gently, as if it would crumble under his touch.
"Thank you so much, I don't know... how to thank you more," he sighed, holding his cell phone and credit card in his hand, thinking about everything Nigel had done and was still doing for him.
"I know about something," he laughed.
"Yes?" Adam lit up.
"Give me a kiss."
Adam exhaled, gripping his alpha in a hug, then pulled away and kissed him. Nigel crushing his hips, returning the kiss, furiously, desperately. Everything seemed suddenly bathed in sunshine.