Light
Title: Light
Prompt: Slaves (regular)
Medium: Fic
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Implied physical abuse.
Summary: High school senior, Adam, works as domestic help for an abusive employer, but freshman, Kris is there to brighten his days. (Slave AU.)
It wasn't something Adam was proud of. It just was what it was.
No one knew he worked from sun-up to sun-down, with little pay and little by way of accommodations, for a family who treated all their own kids like family, and him no better than a stray.
There were rules:
Don't speak, unless he was asked a direct question.
Don't use the facilities at the house.
Clean everything up to standard, the first time.
And the pay? The pay was, if he did what he was told, they would let him stay in their basement on an old cot, and not throw him out when the winter was especially bitter.
He attended school with the family's children, and no one was the wiser. If anyone asked why he was tired, he told the truth, Sort of.
"I had to work late."
Kris was the single light in his days. The tiny little freshman boy who everyone loved. He had spiky brown hair and sweet brown eyes. At lunch, he didn't just sit with one group of kids, but circulated around to everyone, asking how they were, what was new. Adam sat alone, on the window sill beside the pay phone, holding his breath, and hoping that today would be the day Kris would come and talk to him. Even though Adam was a senior, big and kind of clumsy, Kris didn't mind.
"Hey, Adam. Aren't you hungry?" Kris asked curiously, boosting himself up to sit beside Adam.
Speechless, Adam just stared. It was like little Kris had just been conjured out of nothing.
"I...had a big breakfast," Adam lied. The family had eaten a big breakfast, he had gotten nothing but their dishes to wash. If he sneaked any food off their plates, he could count on a punishment when he least expected it.
"Oh," Kris said, looking disappointed. "Well, I got this extra basket of fries, 'cause I thought I'd be hungry, but, turns out, I'm not. I thought you might want 'em. The seasoned salt is the best," he encouraged.
Adam's mouth watered, and he reached out slowly to take a single fry from the basket. "Thanks," he said, trying not to make it seem like a big deal.
"So, you coming to the baseball game tonight? I'm pitching," Kris asked, eating a French fry himself.
"That'd be awesome, but I can't. I have to work," Adam said, his tone full of regret.
Kris's expression fell. "Oh. That's okay. What's your job? Do you like it? I wish I could have one, but my parents won't let me."
Adam shrugged. "Cleaning houses. It's nice," Adam said, because the kids in the family he worked for seemed to be everywhere he was. "I got a place to stay and everything."
"You can always stay at my house," Kris encouraged. "I won't make you work for it, either," he said with a laugh, as Adam sat perfectly still.
"Okay...that was a bad thing to say," Kris realized, seeing Adam's stricken expression. "Do you need anything, though? Prayer or something?"
"I don't pray," Adam said bluntly.
"I know. I do. Just if you, like, needed anything, you could let me know, and I could pray for you," Kris explained.
Adam glanced at the clock and saw that lunch was almost over. He grabbed more French fries and ate them quickly. "Would you pray for me if I said nothing? If I said everything was fine?"
"I already do," Kris said softly, looking Adam in the eye before he walked away.
Prompt: Slaves (regular)
Medium: Fic
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Implied physical abuse.
Summary: High school senior, Adam, works as domestic help for an abusive employer, but freshman, Kris is there to brighten his days. (Slave AU.)
It wasn't something Adam was proud of. It just was what it was.
No one knew he worked from sun-up to sun-down, with little pay and little by way of accommodations, for a family who treated all their own kids like family, and him no better than a stray.
There were rules:
Don't speak, unless he was asked a direct question.
Don't use the facilities at the house.
Clean everything up to standard, the first time.
And the pay? The pay was, if he did what he was told, they would let him stay in their basement on an old cot, and not throw him out when the winter was especially bitter.
He attended school with the family's children, and no one was the wiser. If anyone asked why he was tired, he told the truth, Sort of.
"I had to work late."
Kris was the single light in his days. The tiny little freshman boy who everyone loved. He had spiky brown hair and sweet brown eyes. At lunch, he didn't just sit with one group of kids, but circulated around to everyone, asking how they were, what was new. Adam sat alone, on the window sill beside the pay phone, holding his breath, and hoping that today would be the day Kris would come and talk to him. Even though Adam was a senior, big and kind of clumsy, Kris didn't mind.
"Hey, Adam. Aren't you hungry?" Kris asked curiously, boosting himself up to sit beside Adam.
Speechless, Adam just stared. It was like little Kris had just been conjured out of nothing.
"I...had a big breakfast," Adam lied. The family had eaten a big breakfast, he had gotten nothing but their dishes to wash. If he sneaked any food off their plates, he could count on a punishment when he least expected it.
"Oh," Kris said, looking disappointed. "Well, I got this extra basket of fries, 'cause I thought I'd be hungry, but, turns out, I'm not. I thought you might want 'em. The seasoned salt is the best," he encouraged.
Adam's mouth watered, and he reached out slowly to take a single fry from the basket. "Thanks," he said, trying not to make it seem like a big deal.
"So, you coming to the baseball game tonight? I'm pitching," Kris asked, eating a French fry himself.
"That'd be awesome, but I can't. I have to work," Adam said, his tone full of regret.
Kris's expression fell. "Oh. That's okay. What's your job? Do you like it? I wish I could have one, but my parents won't let me."
Adam shrugged. "Cleaning houses. It's nice," Adam said, because the kids in the family he worked for seemed to be everywhere he was. "I got a place to stay and everything."
"You can always stay at my house," Kris encouraged. "I won't make you work for it, either," he said with a laugh, as Adam sat perfectly still.
"Okay...that was a bad thing to say," Kris realized, seeing Adam's stricken expression. "Do you need anything, though? Prayer or something?"
"I don't pray," Adam said bluntly.
"I know. I do. Just if you, like, needed anything, you could let me know, and I could pray for you," Kris explained.
Adam glanced at the clock and saw that lunch was almost over. He grabbed more French fries and ate them quickly. "Would you pray for me if I said nothing? If I said everything was fine?"
"I already do," Kris said softly, looking Adam in the eye before he walked away.