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While Halloween wasn’t explicitly celebrated in Prague, it’s streets still lit up with the festive decorations. Despite any issues the city had, it still called tourists to it for those few macabre days. Mostly to the red light district and other areas ripe with clubs and venues people could get blind drunk at. But even in the Prekazka district, Pritchard could still hear the music, and the faint screams of delight and terror. At night, you could see various coloured lights emitted a glow above the rooftops of the city. Purples, oranges and greens, turning places like the red light district into ghoulish parades. Of course it still dealt in its usual transactions, but it’s spooky celebrations had been going on long enough that any enthusiasm Frank had for the TF29 Halloween party was dwindling down to nothing.
He wouldn’t back out of it now, no way. Not after Adam woke that morning with a spring in his step. A metaphorical one of course, not one caused by malfunctions in his augmented feet. He wasn’t explicitly excited, but he had been waiting for this night for a while. The night he promised to introduce his partner to his co-workers. The few that mattered anyhow, and the one or two who seemed to care that their emotionally constipated colleague was smiling more.
To be honest, it was the half nude augmented man in their kitchen, eating the same brand of cereal for lunch that he’d had for breakfast, who was the reason for the remainder of Frank’s enthusiasm to attend this affair. And it was all he needed.
Well, now that he was on track to overthinking things, he might need a little more, considering his costume was making him nervous and it was far too late to change his mind. It wasn’t that it was revealing, it was actually a fairly modest outfit. But it did show a touch of skin that had enough to give him butterflies, and not the good kind. If he backed out and refused to dress up now however, he’d let Adam down. So the best he could do with this situation was put the damned thing on, and own it. Besides, he’d put a lot of work into this costume, and had a few conference calls with Malik while Adam was working, to get it just right. Enough to reflect the character he was going as, but with enough of himself in it to make it his own.
His thoughts and worries silenced when Adam approached, unable to keep his straight face for long as he sat next to Frank; sleek, black fingers finding his own flesh and bone ones, slipping in-between until their hands were clasped. The thought that those same hands could take down a concrete wall, and yet hold his own with such care never failed to make his stomach do a flip.
But this hand holding was just for him. Adam felt his hand, felt the light rise in the other’s pulse through his skin. But it was all artificial feeling, generated by his augs. He did this solely for Frank, because he could feel it in all honesty. And he got a rise out of the way the corners of the other’s mouth would curl upward whenever he did it.
“You’re worried about something.”
Of course he’d be checking Frank out with his Casie. Thank god it only read emotions and behavioural patterns, not minds. That would make things more interesting for sure, and definitely more complicated.
“It’s nothing. I’ll be fine.” He made sure to smile, enough that there was truth in his words. And really, he wasn’t lying. He would be fine. It was the same as doing anything else a little dangerous and impulsive, or perhaps for someone who didn’t take so many physical risks. Fear and stomach aches leading up to the act, and then he’d find out it’s really not so bad.
Adam returned the smile, seeming to accept Frank’s answer for now, leaning in to deliver the sweetest of kisses, the neat manscaping of his facial hair doing nothing to stop the feeling of it bristling against Frank’s lips.
Ugh this wouldn’t do. They’d only lose track of time like this. He pushed Adam back, raising an eyebrow with a half grin. He’d happily lose track of time, yet-
“Shouldn’t we be getting changed now?”
“… I guess it wouldn’t be fair to the others. They’ve wanted to meet you for a while.”
Yes, and a city like this didn’t make it easy for a bunch of Interpol agents to go double dating. Adam did however have the audacity to steal another kiss, keeping it brief and innocent as he pulled away, grinning to himself as he sauntered down to the bedroom.
Frank peered over the back of the couch, not just to enjoy the site of his boyfriend’s bare back as he walked away, but so that when he closed the door, he himself could get into gear. He pulled the costumed he had so diligently worked on and bagged up from under the couch, claiming the bathroom as his changing room. He wasn’t shy about being naked in front of Adam, but there was something different about getting into costume. He had to make sure everything was right before anyone, let alone Adam, see him.
And besides, there was some sense of ceremony to this, getting dressed up as a character he used to play a lot of when he was younger. He had been worried that he wouldn’t be able to pull it off, but thanks to Malik’s assurances over their conference calls, he went for it. And now, looking at himself in the mirror, he was glad he did. The dress, that wasn’t really a dress was made of a shiny, rich purple material, that was form fitting yet also flowy, trimmed with gold. He wore black thigh highs, with a gold band holding them in place, causing his exposed thighs to bulge just a little more than he had expected. But it was too late to go to the story and get some stockings. Besides, it didn’t look bad exactly… just a little more… provocative than he would have liked.
It couldn’t be helped; he should have fixed that the last time he tried it on. The final touches were metal boots with a light heel, and then head gear, with a fibrotic purple visor and attachments. That was it, he hardly recognized himself through the violet tinted glass.
There was a knock at the door, Adam obviously ready and waiting. And suddenly he became very self away, eyes drifting down to his exposed upper thighs. No. NO. This was fine. He cleared his throat, looking away from the mirror and opening the door, offering a smile to his boyfriend.
“Batman? Again? I could swear that’s the same costume you wore to the last Halloween party at Sarif Industries.”
Adam himself, having only just seen his boyfriend all dressed up had barely the time to comprehend what he was seeing before his own outfit was accosted. Rude.
“If it works, why not use it as much as possible?”
Ofcourse, he had decided to forgo the mask. It still fit, but interfered with his shades. And if he couldn’t be bothered thinking of something other than batman to dress up as, you can bet your butt he wasn’t going to bother fixing his mask up if he didn’t want to. People would still know who he was. There was a giant bat on his chest for Christ’s sake.
The taller of the two coughed, smiling as he reached up to scratch the back of his head, his eyes still looking his boyfriend over.
“I feel like I know who you are, but…. I can’t place it.”
“I changed up the base outfit to suit myself… kind of.” Saying that, Adam probably thought he liked the sides of his ass being exposed. Geez, he could have changed that and he would have been none the wiser.
“It does suit you. You look incredible.”
It was a genuine, non-perverse comment, causing Frank’s cheeks to heat up more than a sleazy remark would have.
“Well then hero, shouldn’t we be off? Don’t want to be late.”
Maybe he had been overthinking things about the costume. If Adam didn’t seem to see it as provocative, then why should he?
///
The party was being held in the TF29 headquarters. Generally, because of this, no one was allowed to bring a plus one. Yet Adam had managed to be granted permission to bring Frank, basically for the simple purpose of introducing him to the few people who mattered in this city. Anyway, with the room cleaned up and the offices locked off, the centre floor made an awesome dance floor, lighting up everyone on it. They had fog machines active somewhere in the room, of course, and naturally a butt load of fake spider webs and spooky not spooky decorations.
There were a few minutes after arrival where Adam was able to scoot through some of the other agents all dressed up, and retrieve two drinks for himself and Frank. But by the time he returned to his boyfriend, so too had he been spotted by Jim Miller, dressed as a knight of some description, yet his armour was all black and he had a massive black cloak on. Adam didn’t get the reference, but hey! They matched….
“Jensen! No trouble getting in?”
“No sir. The police seemed relaxed, probably because there’s so many people dressed up, augmented or not, that they don’t really care who sits where on the trains tonight.”
It was the truth, Adam being a prime example. If he had worn the mask, no one would have been able to tell he was augmented unless they’d scanned him.
“Anyway sir, this is Francis Pritchard… My partner.”
Frank, who had been scanning the room, snapped to attention at his name. Adam knew he preferred Frank to Francis. But formal greetings and all that rot. He extended his hand to this person also clad in ALL black, having to make sure it was the right one in the dim lighting.
Jim Miller had a firm handshake, suiting the figure of the man Adam had described him to be.
“I’m glad you returned to Prague. Jensen moped for weeks after your visit last year. It was starting to effect moral.”
Ofcourse, to anyone Adam would have told, it was a tourist trip the last time. Not a covert hacking adventure. Much better to leave those sorts of details out of polite conversation with enforcers of the law.
“I can imagine.” Frank quipped in reply, shooting Adam a smirk.
His boss and his lover continued to talk, mostly about Adam to try and get a rise out of him, but generally, to his surprise, they got on quite well. There were things about Miller that he knew Frank wouldn’t really like, such as his strict, military behaviour and mannerisms. But with the casual air around them, no current crisis to avert, everyone was relaxed, including Miller. Eventually he left them, to talk to someone else.
Adam did his best to avoid Macready, and of course failed. The grizzly man approaching them and eagerly introducing himself to Frank. It was then that Adam noticed something, not just out of the corner of his eye, off to the side… but all around them.
Various people, staring, pointing, and whispering behind their hands, the focus of their actions was the very man at Adam’s side.
Hell, he’d known forever that Frank was gorgeous. But right here and now, he realized that other people were seeing this beautiful person too. At Sarif industries, most people gave him a wide berth, because they already knew him as an irritable colleague. But here, no one one had worked with him before, no one had spoken to him and decided if they liked him or not. He was someone new, practically glowing under the coloured lights, smiling and talking like he didn’t have the capability to be the biggest asshole on this side of the galaxy.
“You’re, Eskel, from the Witcher series, right?”
Frank’s questioning voice brought Adam out of his daze, and he looked to Macready. Obviously he was asking about his costume, which again escaped Adam.
“Spot on. And you’re Symmetra, from Overwatch? Though you changed some things about the outfit.”
“Atleast someone got it.” Frank was grinning, like physically smiling as he talked about things Adam never really understood. He didn’t care so much about that, it was good that Frank had people who shared the same interests in those old video games and things.
What got to Adam was the outfit. It seemed modest before, but Macready recognized it. What part of it had he been focussing on to recognize it? He really didn’t like the mental image of people he worked with looking at his boyfriend like that…
But he couldn’t let everyone see him get all on the defensive for no reason. He couldn’t embarrass Frank like that when he had been the one who had insisted meeting all these new people. Besides, he had to remember he’d felt this jealous, possessiveness before, before the incident at Sarif Industries. When Frank himself had been checking Megan Reed’s ass out.
Only he hadn’t been checking her out so much as subconsciously sizing her up and telling himself that his ass was better. A drunken confession to Adam shortly before Panchaea.
And Macready didn’t seem to be comparing asses with Frank right now, so he could only tell himself repeatedly that they were just two nerds being nerds together. Some of the things Frank did, didn’t interest Adam in the slightest, so he had to give him this. Though he did make a mental note to pay attention next time Frank was hogging the tv with his games.
Eventually their conversation came to a close, and Adam could relax a bit. It wasn’t their fault… He was just suddenly hyper aware of how nice his partner looked tonight, and how other people must be seeing it too. Everyone that they stopped to talk to, must have seen it too.
The final straw was coming across Chang, who Adam could swear was practically ogling Frank. Ok, maybe he wasn’t, but… he could swear… he activated his Casie implants and scanned Chang. Elevated heart rate, pupil dilation, a little sweat on his upper lip.
“Mister Pritchard sir. I’m a huge fan of your work on the Cyber Security systems at Sarif Industries. I’ve taken some inspirations from them for my own-“
“Wait. How were you able to /take inspiration/ from it. Did you hack in?”
“Oh… I uh, tried. And failed! Don’t worry, I couldn’t breach it… but I’ve been trying to replicate some of the defences you had in place. If you wouldn’t mind coming back here when it’s back to normal and helping me with some of the code-“
“Ah, it was nice talking with you Chang. But we should you know, move on. Mingle some more.” Adam spoke up, a hand reaching up defensively to push Change back if need be.
“Adam? What are you doing?” Frank, obviously unimpressed, though a tad concerned by Adam’s sudden territorial stance, tugged on his arm lightly, the artificial limb telling his brain about the tight grip. He wanted to pull him away before he started throwing punches. That was probably the better call.
With a huff, he turned away from a confused Chang, deciding to let Frank lead now. As they left, he could hear Chang mutter under his breath, “And I thought I was the paranoid one.”
Later, much later, after Adam had cooled his head some, and most of the party goers had left, he let Frank pull him towards the now much more vacant dance floor, saying something about coming here to do more than talk with strangers, and actually dance with his boyfriend.
And so they did. But the music was slow, which made for slow, tired dancing. And Adam was too much of a live wire right now to be satisfied with the gentle steps. Though, the way Frank leant against him was nice.
“Am I paranoid?” Adam asked after a while, attempting to not let himself distress when the other made no move to answer right away. Eventually, he heard a light chuckle, which helped alleviate some of the heavier feelings.
“As an expert at being paranoid, yes… yes you are.”
Ah, even he thought so. Did he think it was amusing or something, the twisted feelings that made what was supposed to be a good night one where Adam spent hours scrutinizing anyone that tried to talk to Frank.
“You’ve got nothing to worry about Adam. You know I only want you.”
“I’m not worried about you… I’m worried about them, Francis…”
That got him to react, Frank stopping their slow dance so he could look at Adam, eye to eye. His hands came up and rested on his cheeks, thumbs tracing over the line of his beard lightly.
“Anyone interested is too scared of you. So relax.”
“Relax? How can I relax with you as my partner?”
Before another word could be spoken, Adam wrapped both arms around the other’s waist, hoisting him up and spinning him around far too quickly to match the tempo of the music. At the suddenness of it, Frank held onto the other’s shoulders tightly, a bubble of laughter escaping him. Adam smiled at that, and slowed down, setting Frank back on his feet and leaning in to claim his lips.
Regardless of the people around them, Frank returned the gesture, keeping his fingers tightly clenched in Adam’s bat cape as he bit his lower lip, grinning into it.
“Let’s go home?”
///
They missed the first train and had to wait for the second, Adam huffing in frustration, though to his disbelief, Frank only laughed, somehow finding the lighter side to this situation despite the fact that it was freezing, and Adam could see the goose bumps on his arms and thighs.
But it wasn’t like they were teenagers consumed with lust, so desperate to fuck that they did it in the dirty toilet stalls. While they waited for the next train, they just sat together, Frank leaning against Adam so he could use his cape as a semi blanket.
“Some night, huh?” Frank said, playing with a frayed edge of the cape. Adam would definitely need a new costume next year.
“Some night…”
They didn’t need to share anymore words right now, just happy enough to be somewhat alone after a long few hours of a crowded secret bunker dancing to bad music. Eventually their train arrived, and they boarded with smiles, and calm demeanours.
It wasn’t until the climbed the stairs, and made their way to the front door of their apartment, that Adam decided he didn’t want to hold back anymore. He wasn’t calm about this whole situation. The stares of his co-workers still burned into his mind.
Francis was his goddammit. He knew that Frank knew it. But he needed to remind himself that he had nothing to worry about and that any jealous and possessiveness he felt was truly without cause. As the door opened with the welcoming beep of the lock, Adam took hold of Frank’s waist and pushed him through the door and straight up against the first wall they came in contact with, closing the door with the heel of his boot.
Even with gloves on, Adam’s hands had their own unique feel on Francis’ skin as they slid beneath his costume, stopping only to squeeze his exposed thighs before slipping into his underwear. Impatient as always, not that Francis was complaining, turning his head to ask for a kiss as Adam mouthed at his neck, and ofcourse the augmented man complied, pressing his lips to the corner of his boyfriend’s mouth, smiling the whole time. If Francis could turn around, then he could kiss Adam properly, but the taller of the two seemed intent on keeping him in place, pressing his hips to the other’s ass as he slid his underwear down just enough to give him room enough to start stroking his dick.
Francis’ reaction was instantaneous, the hacker sighing as the gloved hands worked to make him fully erect. Which was not all that hard when he had Adam pressed against his backside, feeling his own hard on between both their costumes. He swallowed hard, biting his bottom lip as he pressed his hands to the wall infront of him for support, the action causing him to push back a little bit.
Soon after, the gloved hands left him, and Adam shifted back. Francis heard something drop to the floor with a light thud, and as the back of his costume slid up and folded over his back, cool metal fingers tracing down the base of his spine, he knew the gloves were off. Literally.
He heard Adam grunt softly as he sank to one knee, and heat flushed Francis’ cheeks a vibrant red, even in the dark of the room as he felt the other’s beard scratch against his skin as kisses were trailed up from the edge of his thigh highs, slow and tender as he continually stopped to bite, suck and mark them.
Francis tried to rest his forehead against the wall, trembling slightly from the anticipation, yet the headpiece his still wore clacked against the plaster, and at a loss for how to position himself, he decided to rest his head on his arm, when he caught a glimpse of Adam from the corner of his eye. It was such a strange angle, he could barely make him out, but soon he felt what he had planned.
His facial hair scratching his skin more as he pressed forward, a warm tongue gliding over his entrance, testing the waters, before both augmented hands held Francis’ hips firmly in place. The hacker tried to hold his voice down, never liking how he sounded, but against his will, a moan broke out through clenched teeth until he gave in and gasped, closing his eyes.
Adam continued like this for a time, yet eventually decided he wasn’t reaching enough of his lover with just his tongue. Still holding Francis with one hand, he shifted the other so that a cold metal finger could take over, the sudden change from hot to cold causing the other to flinch lightly, before he grew accustomed to it and leaned back, only a little, but more than enough to put a smile on Adam’s lips.
Francis was muttering something under his breath, but it melted into a string of moans as a second finger joined the first, exploring and reaching for that perfect spot. There was always this hint of longing when Adam touched Francis so intimately. Whatever he felt, was relayed to his brain with augmented nerves. It wasn’t real… and yet, he easily forgot about it and moved on from that small sorrow, because the moan Francis offered when those metal fingers brushed against his prostate was otherworldly and the pining over his hands was non-existent.
Francis couldn’t take this anymore, wanting more than was being given. Why did Adam insist on taking things so slowly? Yet every time he tried to utter a complaint or ask for him to move things along, he was cut off by his own moans as his lover reached for just the right places.
Eventually, no… Finally! Finally those fingers retreated, leaving him aching for the loss of their touch, but eager for what came next. Adam rose back onto his feet, kissing Francis’ back as he did so, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small bottle of lube. He’d learned early on in their relationship that it paid to have one on him, and right now, he was thankful for it. His fingers returned to Francis’ ass, making sure to apply a generous amount of the lubricant before finally he took to releasing his own straining member from the confines of his pants, sighing as he gave it a few slow strokes, before emptying the remaining contents of the tiny lubricant bottle into his hand and smoothing it out over his cock.
Once satisfied, he once again took a hold of the other’s hips as he aligned himself, rubbing the head of his erection against Francis’ entrance, before pressing in. There was a moment of natural resistance to the intrusion before Francis relaxed and allowed him in, his breath shaking as he held onto the wall before him. Adam continued to ease in until his hips met Francis’ arse where he stopped, giving the other a moment to adjust before he began to move, slowly, easing them both into a rhythm.
Francis had since given up trying to hide his cries. Atleast like this he could hide his face, thankful he didn’t have to face Adam’s intense stare as he whispered his name amongst a string of moans which still couldn’t drown out the obscene wet sounds coming from behind him, nor the slapping of skin as Adam picked up the pace, his own voice joining the chorus of pleasure atlast. He hated his name, but oh when Adam cried out for Francis, it was the most divine thing he had ever heard. His voice sent shivers through his body, his legs trembling more and more as Adam continued to thrust into him, hitting his prostate again and again and again.
“A-Adam… I-I…” God, what was he trying to say? Whatever it was it was through a clouded mind, and choked out between throaty, wordless cries and erratic breaths. And god, was he so close, the pressure building up within his gut, making him dizzy until at last, with a muffled shout into the crook of his arm, he came, streams of white splashing onto the wall and the inside of the front of his costume.
Behind him, the grunts and moans grew progressively more erratic and load, the snapping of Adam’s hips becoming ill-timed and desperate, until he stood still, buried deep within his lover as he came, mumbling the other’s name amidst a hearty moan.
They remained standing there for a time, Francis legs still trembling, and when Adam pulled out, they gave way. But of course, his lover caught him, scooping him up into manufactured arms and carrying him bridal style to their room.
His mind still clouded from his orgasm, his body and nerves still alight post sex, Francis could say nothing, and simply let Adam lay him on the bed and undress him. He shifted when required, but for the most part, held still, eyes focused on the other as he pulled the soiled costume away, placing kisses on the softest parts of Francis’ body, his stomach, his wrists, his neck, before finally kissing his lips with a little grin.
His own costume was removed with much less care and a lot more haste as Adam was eager to lay by the other and call it a day. And when he did finally crawl to lay beside him, he rested his head on Francis chest, closing his eyes as the other pulled the blanket over them.
There was a little adjusting with chuckles and apologies, but eventually, they settled into their preferred nightly arrangement, Francis’ fingers finding their way up to card through Adam’s hair. And like that, they drifted to sleep, no ‘I love yous’ needing to be shared. They knew that was true already.
///
The next morning, Francis awoke alone, the space beside him cold as he sat up and stretched. Normally, Adam was the one who preferred to sleep in and ignore the rising sun. But not today it seemed.
Curious, Francis pulled on a pair of sweatpants, and a shirt, before padding out of the bedroom, mildly aware of the dull ache in his backside, when he paused by the end of the hallway.
The tv was on, Adam sitting on the couch, staring up at it, his expression hidden from Francis. He was going through the character details of one of Francis’ games, searching for something, until he found it. The character whom the other had dressed as. He looked closely at her outfit, spun her around, cycled through the various colours, before he huffed and leant back into the couch.
“Francis wore it better.” He muttered, unaware of the other just a ways behind him, with a blooming smile on his face. Fucking hell, Francis loved him.