#nicalex

Alex pretends to sleep while Nic signs.

His hands create fragments of poetry, if with a gangster flair. Piss off, don't laugh, fool, this hurt, greatly.

She lies upon the couch like Worick had, the day she'd seen his tattoo. Her chest, stomach and thighs are pressed against the cushions; her calves and feet upon the armrest. The side of her face, too, pillowed. Her eyelids droop like wax crescents, lashes aflutter.

Nic knows that she's awake.

He shifts his legs, pyjama-clad, feet scraping against the floor. Her eyes track a heel, sooty, as it presses into the air.

Any moment now, he'll leave. Alex understands this.

But for the little time she has with him, she can bask. In the warmth of the day, in the motion of his arms, his shoulders. In the laughter like bells his vexation brings out of Worick, lounging about in the other room.

[Happy Birthday Nico!] Nina happy signed to him, sliding off her stool, hugging him tightly and kissing his cheek. He gruffly thanked her through sign and rubbed the back of his neck bashfully as he received a small box wrapped in birthday paper with little kittens dotted around it with a pink background. As he opened it as he sat on his stool and received a plate of pancaked, maple syrup and berries from Nina, and a mug of coffee from Worick. 

[Happy Birthday Nicolas,] He grinned widely. [Finally catching up with me, huh?]

  Nic slyly replied with a middle finger as he took a large bite and swig of coffee and grunted, [Please no more fuss, it’s just the day I was born.] 

Worick suddenly looked deflated, [Well you see Nic…] 

Nina piped in happily, [I already got something planned Nico. Tonight Connie, Granny Joel, Dr Theo, and some of the Bastard members are coming over for some cake and drinks!]

Nico grunted and sighed, finishing unwrapping Nina’s present and hid a blush of happiness. A little statue of two cats, one a big brother cat, and one a little sister cat. A tiny card was attached, reading: To my big bro Nico! Happy Birthday, Love N xxx 

Sighing deeply, he nodded and shrugged. [Better than nothing, I guess.] 

Worick grinned, “That’s his way of saying yes, Nina!” 

“Yay!” Nina clapped her hands together, blushing and then looking up to Worick. “T-that means your present will be here t-tonight, right?” 

“Damn right,” Worick chuckled behind his hand. 

Nicolas frowned deeply, deciding not to bother asking and finished his pancakes with ease. He waited inside as Worick collected booze, food and party banners from the shops. He helped Nina make his cake, however, he was soon hushed out of the kitchen after he somehow burnt the chocolate fudge icing. Instead, he sat in his room, reading his books and cleaning his katana.

  The day soon started to darken, he was ordered by Nina to dress appropriately for tonight, he was given a purple button up, a black jacket and some dark blue jeans and shoes. He dressed and sprayed some softly scented cologne from Worick’s collection. 

The guests arrived, Loretta politely gave him a present of a new set of button up shirts, jackets and shoes for work. The price tag was off, but it didn't take a genius to realise the quality of them. He thanked them deeply and was surprised by Marco handing him a large bottle of sparkling water. “It is a water that comes straight from the top of mountains. It is quite expensive, and is meant to have a lovely taste.” 

[Thank you,] Nic signed, however, he was confused as to how on earth water could be so… fancy. 

Dr Theo just gave him a glare and a nod, which is something more than the usual abuse he gained from the man. 

Connie handed Nicolas a bundle of cleaning object for his Katana, specifying that they're from Asia and meant to be perfect for his brand of Katana. He bowed for Connie, thanking her, almost not knowing that to do other than that. Granny Joel handed him some coffee chocolate from her store, some of his favourites. 

The party seemed to go steadily, Loretta and Nina danced to the music that was on, Worick teased and drank steadily with Connie and Granny Joel. Marco served their drinks, and Galahad was in charge of the music and entertaining Nina and Loretta. Dr Theo meanwhile had a cup of tea and watched Nina with a smile. 

Nicolas had to admit, the party was somewhat fun. He danced with Nina, had one very small drink of whisky to celebrate, which even that made his cheeks feel warm. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves as well, eating their fill, laughing and talking. Marco and Connie looked at each other longingly, and when it hit nine at night, they left with knowing looks in their eyes. Granny Joel soon followed. Dr Theo took a sleeping Nina home in his arms, and Loretta fell asleep on the couch whilst Galahad drank shots with Worick. 

When it hit ten, Worick’s head snapped up towards the door and smirked. 

“Right on time.” 

Galahad looked confused, “Who is it?” 

Worick grinned cheekily, “Nicolas’s final present.” 

Galahad and Nicolas’s faces mirrored each other’s confusion. 

Worick went to the door, adjusted his shirt and opened it with a joyous look on his face. “Ah, you’re here, thanks for coming.” 

Nicolas didn’t see who it was it first, but Worick talked to the person who a few moments before letting them in. And suddenly Galahad’s face became completely different to Nicolas’s. “Whoa!” He mouthed to Nicolas. 

The woman in beside Worick was an inch shorter than Nicolas, her hair was long, black, and shiny. Her eyes were the most crystal clear of blues, and her skin was the same colour as cinnamon. Her figure was one of many men’s dreams, her breasts larger, waist small, hips large and buttocks prominent. Her legs were endless and her smile was luring and kind. 

She was one of the most beautiful women that Nicolas had ever seen, however, her presence made him uncomfortable. It suddenly became clear as to why she was here, the grin on Worick’s face, the clothes that the woman was wearing. A dress that was short, black, and long sleeved. It showed her cleavage and didn't leave much to the imagination. The woman was an escort. And it didn't look like she was here for anyone but Nicolas. 

“Nicolas, this is Alex. She’s your last present for today.” Worick grinned wider, winking towards him. 

“Nice to meet you, Nicolas.” She said, her most moved clearly. As if she already understood his disability. She bowed, and looked up to Worick. “Do you want to pay before or after?” 

“After.” Worick smirked, “Gotta make sure you do me proud, Ally.” 

She rolled her eyes, “I guess.” 

[Worick.] Nicolas signed, [I don’t want an escort. I don’t want what comes with it. You just wasted this poor girl’s night. Pay her, and let her leave.]

Worick’s eyes widened he then patted Nicolas’s shoulder and turned him around, signing to him. [Nicolas, you haven’t done anything in … years! You’ve been a grumpy bastard for ages, you need to … relax, unload, have a little fun.]

  [I don’t want sex to be bought for me.] Nic signed and eyed the girl from over his shoulder, [Look she’s attractive, she looks like she’s a nice person. But I don’t want to waste her time, after all, I don’t want sex, oral, or anything along those lines.] He sighed, [Just pay her, Worick.] 

[Nope.] He smirked, [She’s gonna have a drink, entertain me and Galahad for a while. Hey, and after a while, if you change your mind, you take her to your room.]

[Entertain?] 

[Hey, her boss is that asshole we’ve been investigating. That Barry asshole who sells that new brand of cocaine. He beats all of his girls, especially Alex. She’s the most wanted out of all the girls, she’s raped and beaten all the time. If she goes home early tonight, without all the money, without a story to tell, you know what’ll happen to her.] Worick stared at his friend and nodded. [See it was a present, but also a business venture.] 

Nic glanced at the girl again, who now had a glass of white wine in her hand and was laughing with Galahad. He recognised her now, he had seen pictures from Chad’s files that had been given to Worick and Nic a week prior. She was the number one girl, she was Barry’s plaything, the girl he could give to anyone if they paid enough. He suddenly felt sorry for her, that her only night in a long time with something entertaining and fun in it, had to come from someone who ‘paid’ her. 

[Fine, she can stay and have a few drinks.] 

[Thanks, Nico.] Worick smiled, patting his shoulder and walked over to the woman and poured more wine into her glass. The vibrations from the stereo became more prominent. She danced happily with Galahad, Worick laughing and clapping his hands along with the song. Nicolas felt awkward, not knowing what to do. 

He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, turning towards his bedroom door and going inside. Today had been long, stressful and tiring. He closed his door slightly and sat on his bed, turning on the bedside lamp and dragged his book into his hands. 

After he kicked off his shoes, he brought his legs up and crossed them under him. His book became something far more interesting and a lot less stressful than what was happening in the living room. He began to get caught up in the world of poetry, politics and deceit. Happily, he played along and kept reading for an hour before he suddenly felt the presence of someone watching him. 

His head snapped up, his eyes catching crystal blue orbs of surprise. She jolted slightly, clutching her chest and pursing her glossed lips. “Um!” She gasped, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” She played with her hair nervously and peeped up at him, “You haven’t come out in a while, are you alright?” 

He nodded slowly, looking behind her and giving her a questioning look. She shuffled her feet a little, looking back at him, “They’re playing poker, I said I’d go check on you and see if you were ok.” She peeped behind her and then back to him, “May I stay in here for a while, there’s a little too much cigarette smoke for my liking in there.” 

Nicolas suddenly felt uncomfortable but seeing the woman’s shy expression comforted him a little. He sighed and nodded, pointing to the door, gesturing for her to close it again. She stepped inside, and just as she reached for the door, a hand reached out and slammed the door closed. She jumped, and looked to him, addled. “Um… Mr Worick?” 

He waited for her to listen to Worick’s response, she bit her lip and smiled awkwardly. “He says he’s not letting us out for a few hours. He said it’s time for you to have fun.” 

Nicolas grumbled and sighed, “Asshole.” 

“You can speak?” She cocked her head to the side, “I- I thought you couldn’t.” 

Nicolas shook his head, “Makes me tired.” He shrugged, pointing to his chair in the corner of the room. “You can sit there…read if you want.” He gestured to his books, and with that, he looked back at his book. 

She waved for his attention, “You’re not gonna… ya know?” 

He shook his head, “I don’t like the idea of paying for sex.” He waved her away, “read, it’ll pass the time.” His throat felt sore, he wished she would stop talking.

 He just wanted to read, pass the time until Worick unlocked the door again. She stood there for a moment, bewildered. She slowly moved, taking off her shoes and stretching her feet and looking received. She surveyed his bookcase and smiled at some of his choices before picking out an old poetry book and looking at the space in the bed next to him. “You mind? It looks cold by the window.” 

He raised a brow suspiciously, she looked sheepishly away from him. “I’m not gonna try anything, I don’t believe in forced sexual activity, and you don’t believe in paying for sex, let’s leave it at that.” 

He thought about it briefly and smiled, nodding, patting the space next to him. She sat down and crossed her legs like he had, opening the book and getting comfy next to him. 

He caught a whiff of her perfume and smiled, it was spicy and clean. It suited her well, and made him feel comforted with her next to him.

—— 

“Were you born deaf?” She asked him after an hour passed. She had put her hair up by this point in a loose bun. Strands of long black hair framed her face, and her eyes glittered in the dim bedside lamp’s light. She was now sitting opposite him, they were trading books between one another, once they had finished reading the short stories inside, they’d give it to the other. 

She was intelligent and kind. He had learnt that in the past hour, by the way, she giggled at some of the poems, looks saddened by some of the short stories, and smiled at the romantic ones. He couldn’t stop looking at her. In reality, he hadn’t been reading, just peering at her from behind his books and watching how she moved… 

He nodded slowly and she cocked her head and looked sad, “Don’t you wish you could?” 

“Yes.” He nodded, of course, he did. He wished he knew what she sounded like…

Why was he suddenly thinking of these things? 

Was it because she was different? Easy to talk to? Intelligent? Enjoyed the same books and topics as he did? Wanted to learn Sign Language? Also had an abusive childhood? 

Was it because there was a sense of neutralness between the both of them, they understood each other and did not persist? It could be, but the thought of liking this girl still scared him deeply. It had only been an hour, but it felt like he had known her for years… as if she was a companion he could be around… for life. 

Another half an hour passed, and now they were talking about childhoods, sarcastically comparing how horrible it was to each other. “My dad was an alcoholic who beat me almost every day.”

“Mine chained me up and left me to starve for days on end.” He grumbled. 

“My mother… I think she left, I have no idea if she’s dead or alive.” 

“Mine is dead, my father killed her when I was two.” 

She raised a brow, “Shit.” 

“Yup.” He rolled his eyes, he opened his drawer and got out a warm bottle of water and drank from it, giving it to her as well. She took a long drink. “I apparently look a lot like her.” 

She looked sad, “Same here.” She sighed deeply, “My brother… I had to leave him for this life… I wanted nothing more than for him and dad to have some extra cash - so he - Emilio… could go to school, have good clothes, eat good food. But Barry - he well… Never sent them anything.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He mumbled, his throat was sore now. He wished he could stop talking, but this was the only way for them to communicate properly. Him reading her lips and him speaking. It sucked, but he also quite enjoyed it. 

Speaking to someone new was a good thing… a fulfilling thing. 

“I wish I could run away, I really do. But he would find me, one way of another. He would kill me if I ran, he would make sure of it.” 

“After this weekend, you won’t have to worry about him again.” 

She looked at him, suddenly scared, “What?” 

He looked away, “The people should not be afraid of their government, the government should be afraid of its people.” He looked to the floor, “Sometimes, the law has to be settled outside of official hands. And that’s what I aim to do.” 

“Why?” She looked confused. 

“Because I am being paid to do it.” He smiled timidly, “It’s what my job is… I am a personal investigator… and when the police want it, I am a hitman as well.” 

“I uh…” She blinked, “oh.” She blinked in realisation, he was telling the truth. “so… After this weekend?” 

“Monday afternoon, yes. If you tell him, I will have to…Well, I would let Chad arrest you.” 

“And if I don’t?” 

“… I’ll teach you how to sign.” 

She raised a brow, “… alright.” 

He smiled slowly, “Then it’s settled.”

—- “I’m hungry,” He grumbled, “just how long does Worick think I can fuck for?” 

She laughed, “just how long can you fuck for, Nico?” 

He widened his eyes, “Uh… I can’t remember.” He rubbed his neck, blushing. “It has been a while.” 

She was now in a few of his blankets, it was colder in this room at this time of night. She even wore some of his socks. He was in his pyjamas, she had kindly looked away whilst he changed. She cocked her head to the side and smirked, “Don’t you miss it?” 

He shrugged, deciding not to answer. He was too… embarrassed. He wasn't used to that sensation. But with her… he couldn’t help it. 

“W-what’s your favourite food?” He said gruffly. 

“Asian, I like it spicy, though.” She answered, leaning in closer, “Why are you changing the topic?” 

He swallowed hard and bit his lip, “Wanna go … go to a Thai place? It’s on the main street, they do good food. Cheap to…N-not that you’re cheap, just… good quality….” 

“Are you asking…asking me on a date?” She widened her eyes, “Why?” 

He itched his head, annoyed with himself. Why would she want to go out with him? For all he knew, she was just talking to him because she was being paid.

  “Do you like me, Nico?” 

He looked at her, “You’re … easy to talk to.” 

She was now kneeling in front of him, she smiled kindly and nodded, “I like Thai.” She then put her hand to his cheek, it was the first time they had touched all night. His body shuddered happily, she was warm… calming to touch. 

“And… I think you’re easy to talk to as well.” 

He nodded, “Ok.”

____

She had fallen asleep next to him by the time it hit three in the morning. He pulled the blanket over her and tucked her in, making sure her hair was out of her face. Her face looked so … calm, so peaceful. He smiled lightly and rubbed the back of her neck. He was going to sleep in the chair, but it was far too cold right now to do that. He slipped into bed next to her, realising just how - easy it was. How good it felt to have someone next to him. 

He fell asleep a few minutes after turning off the light. Her sweet scent calming him to sleep easily. His dreams full of her… her and him.

—— It was eight when she had woken up, she turned around and saw him next to her. He was still sleeping soundly, obviously still tired from the long day beforehand. She smiled happily, feeling refreshed for the first time in a long time. Slipping out of bed, she pulled the sheets neatly back and tucked it in. He was still sleeping by the time she had collected her things, left a gift with him, and knocked on the door quietly. 

Worick answered, opening the door and peeking inside the room. “You alright?”

  “Yes, I just need to get going. Barry won’t be happy if I am gone any longer.” “Want some breakfast?” 

“No thanks, I am late as it is.” She smiled, walking past him. He shut the door again, she sighed deeply. “He’s a nice guy - once you get to know him.” 

“Yeah, he’s just… odd sometimes. Especially around women, beautiful women.” He winked, “here.” 

He passed her, her money. A tip was given, which she hid inside the secret pocket in her bag. Sighing deeply she yawned, “Well, I better get going. See you around, Worick.” 

She opened the door, slipped out of the apartment and went along with her day.

——

He didn't see her for three days. When they had gone about with their job, he had expected to see her in the building, waiting for him. Or maybe he had just wished she was waiting for him. Waiting with that smile, that beautiful figure, that kind- ever so kind personality. 

But she wasn't there… 

It was a Tuesday, and he went to collect the money that Chad had owed them for the job. As he waited, the prison cell doors opened and out came Chad. He watched his feet, and then suddenly, a pair of familiar black heels came into view. He looked up at her, she spotted him and smiled widely. Her mouth said his name, he stood up and smiled lightly towards her… ah, there it was, that feeling within his chest, that tightening… that desire. 

Chad looked at the two of them and chuckled, “C’mon Miss, you need to get going. Do you need an escort home?” 

She peered at him and shook her head, “My ride is here,” she gestured to Nicolas. “Right?” 

He nodded and held out his hand, she took it and they both left the station slowly. Outside, the chill of the morning air caught their skins. She huddled closer to him and looked up at him. “What now?” 

He shrugged, holding her hand tighter and smiled. “Home… if you want it.” 

“What will I do for work?” 

He looked up to the sky for a moment and then realised the most obvious answer there could be. “We need a secretary - and I did promise some sign lessons.” 

She grinned wide, “Really? A job, lessons and a meal? Mr Nicolas, you sure know how to treat a woman.” She said, a teasing smirk placed on her lips.