Paint Me Like One Of Your French Men

Painting Six

After that kiss, whenever the two brushed up against each other or made some sort of physical contact in any way, Adrian's face turned a bright shade of red and he would hide his face with his long fringe. Vincent wasn't sure how to get him back to normal. Maybe he shouldn't have kissed him or said what he had. Adrian had already pinned him down more than once and had even bitten his lip and neck. Was there really that much to be embarrassed about at this point? Vincent didn't get it. How were they going to sleep in that tiny bed tonight if Adrian didn't want to touch him?

Vincent sighed and began to clean the dishes. He'd just gotten food today but it already seemed like they were running out after one meal. There was a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. A sense of danger flooded him. What was causing it?

"Hey," Vincent began, "if you're ever in trouble, you'd tell me, wouldn't you?" he asked. Adrian looked at him and nodded. The question was strange. Vincent wondered himself why he'd asked it. 

There was a knock at the door. Vincent turned off the water, placed the plate down, and motioned for Adrian to hide behind the couch. He slowly walked towards the door. There was another knock. It was fierce this time. If the person was forced to wait any longer they might break down the door. Vincent couldn't afford that. 

"Hello?" He looked through the peephole. They weren't people he knew but he knew they weren't friendly. "Can I help you?" he asked while opening the door.

"Word on the street says that you have something of ours," the guy in the front said. He looked like he could be hiding weapons. Vincent didn't want to find out if he was. There were only three of them but three was enough to overpower him. Especially if they were armed. Or, so they thought.

"Oh? Whatever might that be?" Vincent smiled. The man's expression didn't change. He brought out a picture and showed it to Vincent. It was Adrian, that much he could tell, but a version of Adrian that didn't exist anymore. He didn't have the scars. He was smiling peacefully.

"Are you harboring this man?" the stranger asked.

"No," Vincent said. He wasn't completely lying. The person in the picture was nothing like the Adrian of today. Vincent almost hated to admit that he couldn't make Adrian as happy and content as he was in that picture. At least, not yet. 

"Then you won't mind if we come inside to check," the guy said.

"I most certainly do mind. You're not invited. Please leave," Vincent warned. He wasn't going to play nicely for long. He began to close the door but the man put his foot in the gap to keep it open. He pushed the door open and walked in. Vincent didn't take kindly to this. He kicked the back of the guy's knee and knocked him to the ground. He exposed the hidden weapon, grabbed it, and cocked the gun before placing it on the back of this man's head.

"Did you not hear me?" his voice changed. "I believe I told you you weren't invited," Vincent turned to look back at the other two men. "If you two don't leave, your boss here is going to have an extra hole in his body. Be gone now, don't call for help, and don't turn back. If you break these rules your bodies won't be found, ever. Do you understand?" Vincent questioned. The two nodded and ran off. They tripped over their feet and fell numerous times during their escape. This amused Vincent. 

"Who sent you?" Vincent turned his attention back to the guy in front of him.

"What makes you think I would tell you?" the stranger replied. Vincent stepped on his hand. It wasn't too hard but if he stepped in the right place with the right amount of force at the right time, it would break.

"Don't tell me then. You wouldn't like what would happen," he said as he applied more force. The man tried his best not to yell out in pain. He didn't want to seem weak. However, this only made him seem more weak in Vincent's eyes.

"I don't know any names," the guy said. Fear was in his voice. Vincent liked the sound of that. 

"Are you sure?" he pressed the gun further into the guy's skin. 

"We just got a letter telling us that if we found the guy we'd get a hefty sum of money. That's it! I swear!" the guy didn't sound like he was lying. That's good. Vincent removed the gun from the guy's head and took a step back. 

"Leave," he said. "Don't come back," he warned. The guy stood up and left without a second thought. Vincent closed the door and locked it again. He held the gun in his hands. What was he supposed to do with this? Should he keep it? Maybe he should give it to Adrian for self defense. There was going to be a lot more of them soon. This wasn't over. Not yet. 

"It looks like I've picked up a prized possession," Vincent smiled. He walked back into the kitchen, placed the gun on the counter, and returned to washing dishes. "You can come out now," he said. Adrian poked his head out from behind the couch. His mouth dropped when he saw the gun. He immediately ran to Vincent and hugged him from behind. 

"I thought you weren't going to touch me for a while," Vincent laughed. "Did you get over your embarrassment?" he asked. Adrian took a few steps back. He'd forgotten about his embarrassment when he'd seen the gun. Vincent sighed. He shouldn't have reminded him about it. 

"Uny," Vincent began as he finished cleaning the last dish, "will you take a bath with me tonight? I'll close my eyes again, if I have to but, please, take a bath with me tonight," he practically begged. Adrian couldn't say no to that. 

'Alright,' he wrote, 'I'll take a bath with you.'