Brotherhood

The Naming of Men

            Blake felt mostly numb as he'd followed behind the suited man in the dark glasses, leaving the police station following the bar fight. The man, who appeared to be in his early fifties, walked ahead of Blake and Five, his arm draped familiarly around Adam's shoulders, holding Adam close by his side. The touchy bastard hadn't taken his hands off of Adam since he'd gotten them out of the drunk tank. But Adam had simply allowed it, staring at the ground, letting the man direct him and refusing to meet Blake's eyes. Blake had already decided that he detested every inch of the man's scrawny, gangly five-ten frame, from his balding head to his hawk like nose, gaunt cheeks, thin lips and pointing chin, right down to his knobby elbows and knees and his loping gait. Even dressed as he was in high-end clothing, he looked like a vulture, walking with his arm around an angel. Blake couldn't imagine an odder pairing for the Sexiest Man Alive. But of course, the empath had to know what Blake was feeling. That's probably why Adam only walked meekly next to the man with his head down and his arms crossed over his chest, not saying a word. Five, of course, was also acutely aware of the awkward situation. He certainly looked embarrassed. He walked with his thumbs hooked onto his belt, looking anywhere but at Blake even as he constantly glanced towards the country singer.

As they walked, Blake cursed himself for being a fool. Serves you right, he told himself angrily. Just serves you right! Take a good look, asshole, because that is what happens when you let the best fucking thing in your life slip right through your fingers!

Outside, the man paused by the chauffeured limousine that waited at the curb and turned to regard Blake. His arm was still around Adam, who stared at the ground. "Mr. Shelton, I am very sorry you got dragged into this," the man was saying. "You can rest assured that there will be no record. This will in no way affect your career."

"Thanks," Blake managed. As if he gave a shit about his career now, when his heart was lying on the ground in a thousand pieces. He managed to tear his eyes off of Adam to regard the man. "Appreciate you getting us out."

"The car will return you to your home," the man continued. "I'll have your personal vehicle returned as well. Again, my apologies. These gentlemen and I will be discussing this in some detail."

Adam never changed expression, but Five grimaced. "Dammit, Unum!" he exclaimed. "You keep us on too tight of a leash!"

"And this justifies getting completely intoxicated and getting into a bar fight?" Unum retorted sharply. "I hardly think so! You've put yourselves at needless risk of exposure, and you've compromised your objective, my Five! Elton's team is going to have to take over for tonight." He shook his head in disgust, tightening his arm around Adam. "What if something had happened, or you couldn't contact me? How could you have been so foolish?"

Blake recognized the name. Of course. This was no lawyer, this was Adam's boss, the one who had contacted him about being an empath. Adam had said he'd called Unum to get them out of jail, and here the man was in person. Clearly, Adam hadn't been completely honest about the nature of their relationship, though. Blake didn't know many bosses who would greet their employees the way he'd just seen Unum greet Adam. Blake also found the situation a bit strange. Here the guy was, with two employees who had apparently just screwed up. And he was yelling at one while holding lovingly to the other, and neither seemed to find this in any way unusual.

"You know, Blake didn't do anything wrong," Five insisted. "He got into that fight in the first place because he was defending Seven! There was no reason for your little stunt back in the cell!"

Unum cocked an eyebrow. "What stunt? Greeting my boyfriend after I haven't seen him in weeks?"

"Blake didn't know!" Five yelled. "Tonight was the first time they got to sit down and talk, and Blake did not know about the two of you! There was no reason for him to find out like that, Unum! And we both know why you did it, you possessive, insecure...!"