[AI] Next Time (Won't You Sing With Me?) {R and S}
Title: Next Time (Won't You Sing With Me?) {R and S}
Pairing/Characters: Adam/Kris, Kris/Katy, Kradison friendship
Wordcount: ~1400
Rating: PG-13, this part, NC-17 overall.
Disclaimer: Everyone mentioned belongs only to themselves, and none of this ever happened. Except the bits they showed on TV.
Author's Note: They do seem to be getting shorter! S is barely 500 words. Perhaps a mirror effect will happen. ::mysterious::
Previous Chapters:
A through J (Plus Author's Note)
K through M
N and O
P and Q
R is for Responsible
Kris wakes up. It's still dark in his little curtained-off bunk, and the rumble of the bus is minimal. Adam's curled around him, one arm curled around his back, and Kris' face is pressed into his chest. He smiles into Adam's skin and Adam shifts, sighing into Kris hair.
Kris' phone buzzes again, and he realizes he never took off his jeans from the night before. He digs in his pocket, trying not to disturb Adam too much, and blinks blearily at his display.
Katy.
He swallows and considers leaving it, considers calling her back and saying he was asleep, considers insisting that they define this whole...thing on his own terms.
But it's Katy.
If you're always there when she needs you she's never going to stop needing you, Adam's voice warns him.
Kris sighs and flips the phone open. "Hello?"
"I want to hate you." Katy says without preamble, and for the first time in his life he can't read her voice at all. "I want to hate you so badly, Kris. But I can't."
He sits up, not wanting to disentangle Adam but not wanting to wake him if the conversation got ugly. "Katy - "
"Some people would say I have every reason to hate you." She continues, cutting him off. "Some people would say we were both foolish, rushing into this marriage. Some would say you did the responsible thing, telling me before anything real happened." He can hear something like resignation over the sadness that seemed a permanent strain in her voice. "But you and I both know that it doesn't have to be sex to be real."
Kris says nothing. He looks over his shoulder, at where Adam is still sleeping, soft in the dimness, and he knows she's right.
"The thing is," Katy says, "The thing is, did it feel like rushing to you? Did it feel like too soon? Because that's something I would have liked to know at the time, Kris."
Kris shakes his head. "No," He says. "It felt...natural, at the time. Like the only real option."
Katy laughs, bitterly. "And now we see how I hold up when there are other choices." She sighs a long sigh, and Kris wants to sigh back, because she's falling back on the only attitude she seems to display at all anymore. Long-suffering and put-upon. The victim. Which she is, of course, but..."I'm just trying to understand, Kris."
"What did I do now?" Kris asks, because yeah, he's a little sick of this. He did do the responsible thing. He told her pretty much as soon as anything happened and he'd been courteous and civil and her friend through it all.
"Don't you - don't you snip at me, Kris fucking Allen." Katy snarls, and Kris rubs his forehead.
"I'm not - Katy, just get to the point. Please? I was asleep."
He can hear her bite back a retort and he feels a surge of unexpected gratitude. The last thing he needs to do is wake up the entire bus to his marital problems. "Your parents called me." She says instead. "They were all sympathy and understanding - talking about how separation does this, about how the stress of the media attention would get to anyone. How did I get such a liar for a husband, Kris? I thought maybe the '"til death do we part" thing was a fluke, but lying to your parents?"
Kris swallows. "Did you tell them - "
"I didn't tell them a goddamned thing, idiot." Katy says, half anger, half reassurance. "The real question is, why didn't you? Why not mention the sparkling fairy prince that was the cause of this whole rift between us tragic lovers?"
"Because he wasn't." Kris says, softly but firmly, ignoring her mocking. "Not the only one, at least. Yes, he pushed me to it earlier than it might have happened anyway, and yes, he made me realize it earlier, but - Katy." He runs a hand through his hair. "I'm not who I was when I married you. That's not Adam's fault, it's mine."
"You're telling me that if you'd never met Adam, we would still have to be working through these fucking divorce papers?"
Kris speaks slowly and calmly. "I'm telling you to stop blaming him, because no one can see what might have been."
There's a long silence on the other end of the phone. Kris thinks that maybe she's hung up, but finally she sighs, shortly. "Well thats a whole shitpile to go through when I have an introspective moment." He can hear her smile, slightly. "Does Adam know he has such a knight in shining armor?"
"Probably not." Kris smiles back. "What's with all the fairy-tale metaphors?"
"I'm tutoring for Ian Campbell's kid again."
"The little girl with the ninja obsession?" Kris asks, his smile widening.
"Yeah, only she's moved on to fairies. I know, I know, way more girly than you'd ever expect from her, but she's been telling me the Grimm's originals at every opportunity, and Good Lord. There's more gore in there than three ninja attacks."
Kris chuckles. "Three? Really?"
"Well, two. Three might be stretching it a little. Depends what school of ninja we're talking, I guess." Katy chuckles back, and then sobers. "Kris..."
Kris' smile fades. "Yeah?"
"I still really want to hate you."
"I know." Kris bites his lip, looking down at his lap. "I'm glad you don't."
Katy pauses. "...Yeah."
She hangs up, and Kris stares at his phone. Adam shifts and mutters something. Kris leans down to listen. "What?"
Long arms rope around him and pull him in until he's tucked under Adam's chin, snug and warm. "Said..." Adam mutters louder, warm breath in Kris' hair, "Don' lean down, 's a trap."
Kris chuckles, feeling elated, and squirms impossible closer. "Bastard." He mutters, and Adam nods absently, more than half asleep. "Yknow you luh me." He manages, his palms warm against Kris' back. Kris enjoys the thrum of his heart against his cheek. "Yeah." He whispers, and lets himself drift away.
S is for Secret
Kris wakes up for the second time to lips on his chest. He shifts, eyelids fluttering, to let Adam have more room. His hands slide through Adam's hair, tugging and combing, and Adam lifts his face from Kris' ribs to look at him. "Good morning, sleeping beauty," He breathes, and Kris can't help but laugh, remembering his conversation with Katy the night before.
Adam slaps a hand over his mouth immediately, but it's too late. Allison yanks open Kris' curtains, hair wild from sleeping. "Kris, what's so fun - "
She stops and gapes. Adam reacts first, and fast, yanking Allison bodily into the bunk, while Kris shoves the curtains closed behind her. The tiny bed was cramped enough with two, with three it's nearly overflowing. Adam somehow manages to flip them so that Kris is sprawling in his lap, Allison sitting facing them. Her eyes are huge, her mouth stuck open. Kris flushes and buttons his shirt. He can feel Adam's hardness pressing into his back and resists the urge to squirm against it.
"I - what - " Allison says, and Adam shushes her, curving over Kris to whisper. "Get lunch with us. We'll explain then. And please. Allison, this is important." She meets his eyes, closing her mouth with a snap. "Don't. Tell. Anyone."
She rolls her eyes. "Two things." She says back in a whisper almost loud enough for the stage. "One, I have nothing to tell - I don't even really know what I saw. I expect that to change at lunch. Two, if you wanna be secretive, maybe don't make out on the tour bus where anyone could stumble on you?"
Kris smiles wryly, and Adam grins, but there's a tightness to both of their faces and they know she's right. She takes Kris' hand and squeezes it before slipping back out between the curtains. Kris crawls off Adam, turning to look at him.
Adam gnaws his lip. "I'm sorry." He mutters, and Kris shakes his head violently, taking Adam's face in his hands and pressing their foreheads together. "I don't think I would have been able to sleep without you." He whispers, barely speaking at all. "I was wrecked last night - but you were there. You made everything okay again. Don't apologize."
Adam shakes his head at him, and then gasps as Kris slides a hand into his lap, cupping him. "I just wish I could do something about this in return..."
Adam pulls away regretfully. "You and me both, baby. But there's a time and a place, and this is neither."
He slips out of the bunk, and Kris flops back down, sighing. He knows Adam's right, but he also knows he's impatient, and the tour is long. He runs a hand through his hair.
A secret is a heavy thing.
Pairing/Characters: Adam/Kris, Kris/Katy, Kradison friendship
Wordcount: ~1400
Rating: PG-13, this part, NC-17 overall.
Disclaimer: Everyone mentioned belongs only to themselves, and none of this ever happened. Except the bits they showed on TV.
Author's Note: They do seem to be getting shorter! S is barely 500 words. Perhaps a mirror effect will happen. ::mysterious::
Previous Chapters:
A through J (Plus Author's Note)
K through M
N and O
P and Q
R is for Responsible
Kris wakes up. It's still dark in his little curtained-off bunk, and the rumble of the bus is minimal. Adam's curled around him, one arm curled around his back, and Kris' face is pressed into his chest. He smiles into Adam's skin and Adam shifts, sighing into Kris hair.
Kris' phone buzzes again, and he realizes he never took off his jeans from the night before. He digs in his pocket, trying not to disturb Adam too much, and blinks blearily at his display.
Katy.
He swallows and considers leaving it, considers calling her back and saying he was asleep, considers insisting that they define this whole...thing on his own terms.
But it's Katy.
If you're always there when she needs you she's never going to stop needing you, Adam's voice warns him.
Kris sighs and flips the phone open. "Hello?"
"I want to hate you." Katy says without preamble, and for the first time in his life he can't read her voice at all. "I want to hate you so badly, Kris. But I can't."
He sits up, not wanting to disentangle Adam but not wanting to wake him if the conversation got ugly. "Katy - "
"Some people would say I have every reason to hate you." She continues, cutting him off. "Some people would say we were both foolish, rushing into this marriage. Some would say you did the responsible thing, telling me before anything real happened." He can hear something like resignation over the sadness that seemed a permanent strain in her voice. "But you and I both know that it doesn't have to be sex to be real."
Kris says nothing. He looks over his shoulder, at where Adam is still sleeping, soft in the dimness, and he knows she's right.
"The thing is," Katy says, "The thing is, did it feel like rushing to you? Did it feel like too soon? Because that's something I would have liked to know at the time, Kris."
Kris shakes his head. "No," He says. "It felt...natural, at the time. Like the only real option."
Katy laughs, bitterly. "And now we see how I hold up when there are other choices." She sighs a long sigh, and Kris wants to sigh back, because she's falling back on the only attitude she seems to display at all anymore. Long-suffering and put-upon. The victim. Which she is, of course, but..."I'm just trying to understand, Kris."
"What did I do now?" Kris asks, because yeah, he's a little sick of this. He did do the responsible thing. He told her pretty much as soon as anything happened and he'd been courteous and civil and her friend through it all.
"Don't you - don't you snip at me, Kris fucking Allen." Katy snarls, and Kris rubs his forehead.
"I'm not - Katy, just get to the point. Please? I was asleep."
He can hear her bite back a retort and he feels a surge of unexpected gratitude. The last thing he needs to do is wake up the entire bus to his marital problems. "Your parents called me." She says instead. "They were all sympathy and understanding - talking about how separation does this, about how the stress of the media attention would get to anyone. How did I get such a liar for a husband, Kris? I thought maybe the '"til death do we part" thing was a fluke, but lying to your parents?"
Kris swallows. "Did you tell them - "
"I didn't tell them a goddamned thing, idiot." Katy says, half anger, half reassurance. "The real question is, why didn't you? Why not mention the sparkling fairy prince that was the cause of this whole rift between us tragic lovers?"
"Because he wasn't." Kris says, softly but firmly, ignoring her mocking. "Not the only one, at least. Yes, he pushed me to it earlier than it might have happened anyway, and yes, he made me realize it earlier, but - Katy." He runs a hand through his hair. "I'm not who I was when I married you. That's not Adam's fault, it's mine."
"You're telling me that if you'd never met Adam, we would still have to be working through these fucking divorce papers?"
Kris speaks slowly and calmly. "I'm telling you to stop blaming him, because no one can see what might have been."
There's a long silence on the other end of the phone. Kris thinks that maybe she's hung up, but finally she sighs, shortly. "Well thats a whole shitpile to go through when I have an introspective moment." He can hear her smile, slightly. "Does Adam know he has such a knight in shining armor?"
"Probably not." Kris smiles back. "What's with all the fairy-tale metaphors?"
"I'm tutoring for Ian Campbell's kid again."
"The little girl with the ninja obsession?" Kris asks, his smile widening.
"Yeah, only she's moved on to fairies. I know, I know, way more girly than you'd ever expect from her, but she's been telling me the Grimm's originals at every opportunity, and Good Lord. There's more gore in there than three ninja attacks."
Kris chuckles. "Three? Really?"
"Well, two. Three might be stretching it a little. Depends what school of ninja we're talking, I guess." Katy chuckles back, and then sobers. "Kris..."
Kris' smile fades. "Yeah?"
"I still really want to hate you."
"I know." Kris bites his lip, looking down at his lap. "I'm glad you don't."
Katy pauses. "...Yeah."
She hangs up, and Kris stares at his phone. Adam shifts and mutters something. Kris leans down to listen. "What?"
Long arms rope around him and pull him in until he's tucked under Adam's chin, snug and warm. "Said..." Adam mutters louder, warm breath in Kris' hair, "Don' lean down, 's a trap."
Kris chuckles, feeling elated, and squirms impossible closer. "Bastard." He mutters, and Adam nods absently, more than half asleep. "Yknow you luh me." He manages, his palms warm against Kris' back. Kris enjoys the thrum of his heart against his cheek. "Yeah." He whispers, and lets himself drift away.
S is for Secret
Kris wakes up for the second time to lips on his chest. He shifts, eyelids fluttering, to let Adam have more room. His hands slide through Adam's hair, tugging and combing, and Adam lifts his face from Kris' ribs to look at him. "Good morning, sleeping beauty," He breathes, and Kris can't help but laugh, remembering his conversation with Katy the night before.
Adam slaps a hand over his mouth immediately, but it's too late. Allison yanks open Kris' curtains, hair wild from sleeping. "Kris, what's so fun - "
She stops and gapes. Adam reacts first, and fast, yanking Allison bodily into the bunk, while Kris shoves the curtains closed behind her. The tiny bed was cramped enough with two, with three it's nearly overflowing. Adam somehow manages to flip them so that Kris is sprawling in his lap, Allison sitting facing them. Her eyes are huge, her mouth stuck open. Kris flushes and buttons his shirt. He can feel Adam's hardness pressing into his back and resists the urge to squirm against it.
"I - what - " Allison says, and Adam shushes her, curving over Kris to whisper. "Get lunch with us. We'll explain then. And please. Allison, this is important." She meets his eyes, closing her mouth with a snap. "Don't. Tell. Anyone."
She rolls her eyes. "Two things." She says back in a whisper almost loud enough for the stage. "One, I have nothing to tell - I don't even really know what I saw. I expect that to change at lunch. Two, if you wanna be secretive, maybe don't make out on the tour bus where anyone could stumble on you?"
Kris smiles wryly, and Adam grins, but there's a tightness to both of their faces and they know she's right. She takes Kris' hand and squeezes it before slipping back out between the curtains. Kris crawls off Adam, turning to look at him.
Adam gnaws his lip. "I'm sorry." He mutters, and Kris shakes his head violently, taking Adam's face in his hands and pressing their foreheads together. "I don't think I would have been able to sleep without you." He whispers, barely speaking at all. "I was wrecked last night - but you were there. You made everything okay again. Don't apologize."
Adam shakes his head at him, and then gasps as Kris slides a hand into his lap, cupping him. "I just wish I could do something about this in return..."
Adam pulls away regretfully. "You and me both, baby. But there's a time and a place, and this is neither."
He slips out of the bunk, and Kris flops back down, sighing. He knows Adam's right, but he also knows he's impatient, and the tour is long. He runs a hand through his hair.
A secret is a heavy thing.