Paint Me Like One Of Your French Men

Painting Ten

The first thing Vincent did was cut the rope keeping Adrian's wrists together. The second thing he did was clean Adrian's cuts. The third thing he did was give Adrian some comfortable clothing. This had all happened so quickly that Adrian couldn't really keep up with it. Vincent was like a hard working mom sometimes. Not that he was complaining. He liked being doted on. It made him feel special. 

Adrian was tired from the stress the day had caused him. He could still see the bags underneath Vincent's eyes clearly. They both needed the sleep desperately. However, Vincent was determined to do other things. Eventually, Adrian just got fed up and grabbed Vincent's hand. He dragged him to the bedroom by force. He needed sleep.

He was shocked with what he found in there. There were dozens of paintings and empty paint containers. To a normal person the paintings seemed unconnected and strange. However, Adrian could tell they were all inspired by him in some way. Sometimes it was just color schemes. Other times it was the body of the person in the picture. Adrian didn't know whether or not to feel honored or unsettled. Was this why Vincent hadn't slept?

"Oh, these are still here," Vincent began to pick them up and stack them a little neater. They were all dry by now. Adrian frowned and grabbed his hand again. He dragged him to the bed. He wasn't doing what Adrian wanted and it was starting to make Adrian angry. The man should just listen to him already and sleep.

"I can't sleep yet. I need to-" Adrian shoved him on the bed and refused to hear any complaints. This guy was going to sleep even if Adrian had to tie him to the bed and make him. 

"Calm down, I'm going to sleep. I just need to strip first," Vincent tried to stand up but he was too tired. He had spent all of the night before painting and all of today walking to the place where Adrian was. Not to mention he had used the last of his strength to break in and save Adrian. He could barely move now that he came into contact with the bed. This was what he was afraid of. 

Adrian shook his head in disapproval. Why did Vincent have such a weird habit? Adrian would just have to take off his clothes for him or he would try to stay awake to do it himself. So he did. Vincent moved as if he was a mannequin. He didn't resist and Adrian assumed this was because he had lost all of his strength. Under different circumstances, Adrian would've loved to have his way with such a compliant Vincent. However, at the moment it was just annoying. 

Once the last piece of clothing was removed Vincent instantly fell into a deep sleep. Adrian didn't understand how that was possible. Vincent made no sense to him. Adrian plopped on top of Vincent and tried to fall asleep too. The memories of his childhood and what had happened today haunted him when he closed his eyes. Adrian wasn't sure if he would be able to sleep like this. 

Adrian rolled off of Vincent and laid beside him instead. It didn't help. He just felt less safe that way. The second he closed his eyes, even if it was just a blink, images would pop up. He started shaking even though he wasn't cold. He just wanted to forget about it all but he couldn't. Right now this was the only thing occupying his mind. He didn't want to wake Vincent up now that he was finally sleeping. He felt so alone. So useless.

As if instinct alone had forced Vincent's body to move, he rolled on top of Adrian and held him. Adrian stopped shaking. He was being distracted by Vincent's nakedness and the closeness of them both. It was fine when he was on top but now he was completely at the mercy of Vincent. He didn't usually do anything to Adrian in his sleep but Adrian still felt a bit uneasy. It wasn't the same type of uneasiness he'd felt previously. It was something similar to embarrassment. 

Adrian felt a bit better and closed his eyes. His heart rate quickened. He couldn't fall asleep for a whole new reason but at least it was better than the first time. Ideas swarmed Adrian's head that he hadn't really thought about before. All of them involving Vincent. Most of them on the sexual side. He felt stupid. The two had only kissed a few times and Adrian was already a lost cause. 

Vincent was no better. He was dreaming about Adrian instead of thinking about him. There isn't much of a difference. When morning came the two had an awkward amount of sweat. Neither one of them wanted to admit what had crossed their minds during the night. And they were both avoiding small moments of contact with each other. Each time the two touched both of their minds went to dark places. Vincent was lucky that he was going to work today or he'd have to suffer with this awkwardness forever. 

"Will you be okay on your own?" Vincent asked as he grabbed his keys. Adrian nodded. He didn't have to worry about remembering anything about yesterday because Vincent was the center of his thoughts for the moment. That much he knew for certain. 

"Okay, then, I'm off," Vincent kissed Adrian's cheek and left. Adrian's face flushed. He was glad that Vincent hadn't seen that. Now he was just alone, with this thoughts, in an empty apartment. This wasn't going to end well now that he didn't have to worry about self control. 

Since he hadn't been able to sleep a whole lot the night before due to these thoughts of his, Adrian returned to the bed. He plopped down and rubbed his face in Vincent's pillow. Even though Vincent hadn't used it much the night before, it still smelled like him. Adrian smiled as he tired to fall asleep once more.