The Funtom Company

7: The |Comfort| Company

Adrian got to work that day, business as usual but there was an aura about the place that he didn't quite enjoy. He wanted more than anything just to turn around and leave. He had the suspicion that if he stayed at work that day he would do something he regretted. Adrian pushed the thought to the back of his mind. He knocked on Vincent's office door. No response. He peeked his head out behind the door. He wasn't there. That's strange. Vincent was usually here at this time. Did he forget to change the clocks? Maybe that's what happened...

The man went to the bedroom. He wanted to knock but he was afraid to. He didn't want to wake Vincent up, should he be sleeping. His boss worked long and hard the night before, that much was clear. Adrian opened the door. Vincent was sitting on the floor with his back against the bed surrounded by tissues. It was the first time Adrian had seen him with disheveled hair and no suit jacket, tie, or vest. Under different circumstances, he might've enjoyed it. 

Adrian entered the room and knelt down beside Vincent. He wanted to ask him what was wrong, but Vincent spoke before he could ask a word. "My wife, the mother of my children, Rachel, left me," Vincent spoke. He'd stopped crying a while ago. Now all he felt was the strange emptiness left behind the sob storm. "She was having an affair. I should've known. I could've fixed things before they'd gotten this bad...but I didn't. I let them get like this. I ruined our marriage because I'm a dreamer. I dream too many things and I lose the people important to me," Vincent confessed his sins, (not that Adrian felt they were sins). 

Adrian opened his mouth to speak but he realized everything he would've said would've sounded like pity. He wasn't pitying Vincent Phantomhive. He didn't want the man to think that. Not one bit. 

"Hey, Uny," Vincent grabbed hold of Adrian's arms. "Is it because I'm an old man? Is that it? She used to love me. We used to love each other. What went wrong? Did I not age well?" 

"You're hot as hell, Mr. Phantomhive," Adrian replied. He didn't want to say that, not like that, but Vincent didn't seem to mind. He was thrilled. Vincent was relieved. But, what other excuses could he give? Why else would Rachel leave? 

"It must be foolish of me to think that a relationship can last forever," Vincent fell to the ground. No, more precisely, he laid down and rested his head on Adrian's lap. Adrian ran his hand through Vincent's hair. He played with it. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do but he hoped this was enough to comfort Vincent. 

"I'm a fragile guy," Vincent began. "Sorry to ruin your marvelous interpretation of me. I know, I'm quite lame," Vincent sighed. 

"Not at all, Mr. Phantomhive," Adrian smiled. "Not at all." 

"Uny," Vincent rolled onto his back and looked up at that face. It was a nice face. The scar didn't make it any less beautiful. "I'm only going to ask you this once. You can reject me. I know how out of place this is...but..." Vincent paused. He looked away for a moment. He thought about all the rumors surrounding him and if making one of them true was worth the trouble. He was empty. He was lonely. He was nothing but a shell. What did it matter what people thought anymore? He'd lost his wife. He deserved something, just for today, he deserved a little sin. 

Vincent made eye contact again, "Will you comfort me? Just for now, just for today, I'd like to forget everything...just for a moment...please?" Vincent's eyes were hollow, filled with emotion but at the same time lacking in all of the important ones. He was vulnerable. Adrian wanted to take advantage of that. He wanted to do what Vincent asked. He'd been attracted to him from day one. Who was going to give him permission? It was just the once, right? He hadn't believed any of the rumors to begin with. This incident wouldn't mean that they were true. 

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Adrian asked. 

Vincent sat up. He faced Adrian. He smiled the most sorrowful smile Adrian had ever seen in his life. "Yes, I don't want to remember a single thing about reality right now." 

"What about, er, supplies?" Adrian was embarrassed to ask this question. He didn't want to have unprotected sex or sex without lube. And, perhaps this would be his way out of it. If Vincent didn't have anything around, he wouldn't have to embarrass himself further by being terrible in bed. He hadn't done anything like this in a while...if at all...now that he thought about it. 

"There is a box in the closet," Vincent pointed. Adrian went over, sure enough, there was a box. Why? Was this because Vincent was indeed the type to seduce his secretaries? Adrian was starting to feel like a fool.

"It's not my box. I just haven't gotten around to removing it. A secretary a while back used to bring someone up here. The typical office romance. Instead of a storage room, why not use your boss's emergency bed?" Vincent explained. Adrian wasn't sure if he should believe that. At this point, he didn't really care. He'd committed. 

"I'm not pressuring you into anything, right?" Vincent asked. He wanted to be sure. "You can say no. I promise I won't be offended. There are plenty of people I could hire...or maybe I could go to a bar...or I don't know...but you don't have to do this. I just want that to be clear." 

Adrian wasn't sure why he felt jealous at that moment. He just did. The thought of Vincent going to someone else angered him. So, he made his actions louder than words. He wasn't going to let Vincent get 'comforted' by anyone other than him. 

"Are you ready, Mr. Phantomhive?" he said as he removed his tie. 

Vincent couldn't help but snicker a bit. "Yes, I believe I am."