Fic: Choices
Decided to actual post the whole of my Kradam holiday fics here rather than just the links, so excuse the repost. <3 This is the second, the first can be found here.
Title: Choices
Pairing(s): Kris/Adam
Word Count: 1689
Summary: Kris has been moping since the divorce and even though Adam doesn’t fish, he somehow he ends up in Canada doing just that with Kris. A lot of things go wrong, until everything goes completely right.
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Author's notes: Written for escribej. I know next to nothing about Canada and I know less about fishing in Canada, so blame any mistakes on Google. The fic can also be found here.
Adam doesn’t fish. Not occasionally, not once in a blue moon, not ever. He knows that some people really enjoy the hobby, but he just doesn’t bother trying to. Fish are kind of gross as it is, all slimy and scaly with their freaky bulging eyes, and he doesn’t understand why anyone would want to sit out in the sun for hours on end trying to catch the things when you can go to a restaurant and have one come to you fully cooked on a plate and covered in lemon sauce. It doesn’t make sense to him. As far as Adam’s concerned, his name and the word fishing should never even exist in a sentence together.
So how he found himself in a rowboat, in Canada, fishing is beyond him. He thinks it started with Katy’s call, notifying him that Kris was being stubborn and needed someone to be there for him and make him stop moping around the apartment in his holey pajama pants. Adam’s not sure how Katy knew for sure that he was doing just that, seeing as how she was all the way back in Arkansas and had been for the past two months, but sure enough when he showed up at Kris’s door, there Kris was wearing the raggedy old things and two weeks worth of beard. And sometime in between Kris grumbling something about already telling Katy no and Adam all but forcing Kris into the bathroom for some proper grooming, fishing had come up.
“My manager’s cousin has a cabin near a lake up in Vancouver. She thinks I should use it to get away for a few weeks,” Kris had said, flopped on the couch and head resting in Adam’s lap.
“Sounds like fun,” Adam had commented, even though fun wouldn’t be how he’d typically describe it.
“Hmm, maybe,” Kris agreed. “You think I should go?”
“I think it might be better than rotting away in your apartment,” Adam responded, massaging Kris’s scalp and staring down at him curiously. “Do you not want to go?”
Kris shrugged. “No, I do. It’d be nice to get out of LA for a little while, clear my head, get some fresh air. And I can’t go to Conway to do that. Not with… it’s too soon still.”
“So then what’s the problem?” Adam asked, confused.
“I don’t know,” Kris sighed. “Just seems like a long way to go just to be alone when I can do that here.”
And that’s how Adam had ended up volunteering to go fishing. He could have not asked Kris if he wanted someone to go with him, could have easily convinced Kris that a trip by himself would do just as much good. But he knew that him going would make Kris happy, and when he had the option to make Kris happy, he would always take it. (Brad liked called him hopeless for it. Adam argued that it was just him being a good friend, but they both knew it was more than that. If anything, proving that he could make Kris happy was his way of being hopeful. Maybe that made him hopeless after all.)
He spent the next week trying reassure himself that it wouldn’t be that bad. They’d be in Canada, so at least it would be pretty, and he’d be with Kris. He always enjoyed being around Kris, he reasoned, so it would be okay. He’d almost convinced himself too, stepping out of the airport and into the rental car with a smile. And then Kris wanted to stop for bait on the way and Adam found himself riding shotgun with a container of worms on his lap. His smile faltered just a little as he peeked at the dirty, wriggling things. When they pulled up to the lake, the sign read “Lake Spider” and he had to roll his eyes at how fitting that was - even the name of the place wasn’t comforting. He tried to remind himself it probably wasn’t an omen, but he really wasn’t all that sure to be honest.
But Kris was excited as ever, and Adam pretended to be excited along with him as they unloaded their bags into the cabin. It was nice enough and cozy in a way that he thought he could actually live with for the next week. That was unexpectedly reassuring, but he was glad for it. What he couldn’t live with, however, was the fishing hat that Kris threw at him as they were getting ready to go out on the lake.
“I am not wearing this,” Adam stated.
“Worried it’ll mess your hair up?” Kris said, eyes sparkling with amusement.
“No,” Adam glared. “Just don’t feel like looking ridiculous, thanks.”
Kris shrugged and put his own hat on his head before grabbing the equipment. “Suit yourself.”
Adam grabbed his fishing pole with a frown and followed Kris out to the lake. He could already tell it was going to be a long week.
They didn’t catch any fish that day. Adam did, however, manage to acquire a sunburn to rival his 8th grade beach day disaster and went back to the cabin with his face an unpleasant shade of pink. He shot a glare at Kris as he grabbed the fishing hat off the table and brought it to his room for the next day. Kris didn’t stop laughing for a good ten minutes, but he did bring Adam some aloe and help him put it on the back of his neck where he couldn’t see the sunburn, so Adam couldn’t even properly be mad.
There were no fish the second day either. Adam was beginning to doubt if there were even any living in the lake; maybe they’d migrated south or north or somewhere that evidently wasn’t here. (Lucky them.) Adam did manage to hook Kris’s shirt at one point though. He wasn’t allowed to fly fish after that.
On the third day, Adam realized that he was counting down the days like he was in a hostage situation. (This was pretty fitting actually, when he thought about it.) A bird crapped in Adam’s hair that day too. He made Kris bring the boat in early and promised him that if he ever spoke a word of this to anyone, he’d deeply regret it. Kris didn’t laugh this time.
On day four, Adam had pretty much assumed that they were going out to the lake to sit in the boat and pretend to fish at this point. Of course, then it would be Adam who caught a fish that day. And of course it would have to be a big one. Big enough that Adam had to stand to try to reel the damn thing in at the same time that the boat floated overtop of a small wave, thereby causing him to lose hold of the pole and his balance and topple forward into the water.
Before Adam could even think to do anything, Kris was diving in after him and wrapping himself around Adam’s back like he meant to keep him afloat. Adam let him act as his own personal life preserver, but he did say, “Kris, I can swim you know.”
“But you were flailing!” Kris said, grip tightening protectively around Adam’s chest.
“Yeah, because I’m floating in a gross fish infested lake,” Adam said with a grimace. “I don’t even want to think about what might be in the water.”
Kris’s hold loosened slightly at that. “Oh.”
“It was kind of cute and heroic of you anyway,” Adam added before Kris could let go completely. He enjoyed having Kris wrapped around him - sue him. It was like a consolation prize for being stuck in fish water. “Not sure how you thought you were going to drag me back into the boat, but I appreciate it.”
“I would have figured out a way,” Kris answered quietly. “I’m not losing you too.”
Adam rested his head back on Kris’s shoulder and kissed his cheek. “You know you couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.”
Kris turned his head and leaned closer until his mouth was just inches from Adam’s, the peppermint lingering on his breath from his gum making Adam’s lips tingle. “I wouldn’t want to try,” he whispered, pressing his lips to Adam’s so lightly that it made the rest of him tingle as well. Adam couldn’t help but shiver, and Kris chuckled adding, “I think Katy was right maybe.”
“About what?” Adam said, only slightly breathless still.
Kris rested his head against Adam’s, arms slipping lower around his waist and holding him even closer. “She thinks I need someone in my life to help me move on. Said you’d be a good choice. I didn’t really want to think about it at the time, but I am now. You are kind of perfect.”
“I am?” Adam asked, turning around in Kris’s arms to face him fully.
“Adam,” Kris said, face serious and a little reverent. “You let me drag you on a trip that I know you didn’t really want to go on. No one’s been there for me more than you have. I can’t really think of a better choice.”
Adam didn’t say anything, just stared at Kris, unsure of how to even respond to his words. Kris seemed to mistake his silence for something else, letting go of him finally to swim back towards the boat and saying, “It’s okay if you need to think about it.”
Adam didn’t really need to think about it. He’d made his choice a long time ago, and he grabbed Kris before he could get into the boat and pulled him back against him until their legs tangled under the water with each motion. This time he was the one to kiss Kris, making sure that Kris could feel how easy of a decision it was in the movement of their lips - could feel everything that Adam had always felt. And when he felt Kris smile against his lips he realized that sometimes when you go fishing, you catch something even better than you expected.
Title: Choices
Pairing(s): Kris/Adam
Word Count: 1689
Summary: Kris has been moping since the divorce and even though Adam doesn’t fish, he somehow he ends up in Canada doing just that with Kris. A lot of things go wrong, until everything goes completely right.
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Author's notes: Written for escribej. I know next to nothing about Canada and I know less about fishing in Canada, so blame any mistakes on Google. The fic can also be found here.
Adam doesn’t fish. Not occasionally, not once in a blue moon, not ever. He knows that some people really enjoy the hobby, but he just doesn’t bother trying to. Fish are kind of gross as it is, all slimy and scaly with their freaky bulging eyes, and he doesn’t understand why anyone would want to sit out in the sun for hours on end trying to catch the things when you can go to a restaurant and have one come to you fully cooked on a plate and covered in lemon sauce. It doesn’t make sense to him. As far as Adam’s concerned, his name and the word fishing should never even exist in a sentence together.
So how he found himself in a rowboat, in Canada, fishing is beyond him. He thinks it started with Katy’s call, notifying him that Kris was being stubborn and needed someone to be there for him and make him stop moping around the apartment in his holey pajama pants. Adam’s not sure how Katy knew for sure that he was doing just that, seeing as how she was all the way back in Arkansas and had been for the past two months, but sure enough when he showed up at Kris’s door, there Kris was wearing the raggedy old things and two weeks worth of beard. And sometime in between Kris grumbling something about already telling Katy no and Adam all but forcing Kris into the bathroom for some proper grooming, fishing had come up.
“My manager’s cousin has a cabin near a lake up in Vancouver. She thinks I should use it to get away for a few weeks,” Kris had said, flopped on the couch and head resting in Adam’s lap.
“Sounds like fun,” Adam had commented, even though fun wouldn’t be how he’d typically describe it.
“Hmm, maybe,” Kris agreed. “You think I should go?”
“I think it might be better than rotting away in your apartment,” Adam responded, massaging Kris’s scalp and staring down at him curiously. “Do you not want to go?”
Kris shrugged. “No, I do. It’d be nice to get out of LA for a little while, clear my head, get some fresh air. And I can’t go to Conway to do that. Not with… it’s too soon still.”
“So then what’s the problem?” Adam asked, confused.
“I don’t know,” Kris sighed. “Just seems like a long way to go just to be alone when I can do that here.”
And that’s how Adam had ended up volunteering to go fishing. He could have not asked Kris if he wanted someone to go with him, could have easily convinced Kris that a trip by himself would do just as much good. But he knew that him going would make Kris happy, and when he had the option to make Kris happy, he would always take it. (Brad liked called him hopeless for it. Adam argued that it was just him being a good friend, but they both knew it was more than that. If anything, proving that he could make Kris happy was his way of being hopeful. Maybe that made him hopeless after all.)
He spent the next week trying reassure himself that it wouldn’t be that bad. They’d be in Canada, so at least it would be pretty, and he’d be with Kris. He always enjoyed being around Kris, he reasoned, so it would be okay. He’d almost convinced himself too, stepping out of the airport and into the rental car with a smile. And then Kris wanted to stop for bait on the way and Adam found himself riding shotgun with a container of worms on his lap. His smile faltered just a little as he peeked at the dirty, wriggling things. When they pulled up to the lake, the sign read “Lake Spider” and he had to roll his eyes at how fitting that was - even the name of the place wasn’t comforting. He tried to remind himself it probably wasn’t an omen, but he really wasn’t all that sure to be honest.
But Kris was excited as ever, and Adam pretended to be excited along with him as they unloaded their bags into the cabin. It was nice enough and cozy in a way that he thought he could actually live with for the next week. That was unexpectedly reassuring, but he was glad for it. What he couldn’t live with, however, was the fishing hat that Kris threw at him as they were getting ready to go out on the lake.
“I am not wearing this,” Adam stated.
“Worried it’ll mess your hair up?” Kris said, eyes sparkling with amusement.
“No,” Adam glared. “Just don’t feel like looking ridiculous, thanks.”
Kris shrugged and put his own hat on his head before grabbing the equipment. “Suit yourself.”
Adam grabbed his fishing pole with a frown and followed Kris out to the lake. He could already tell it was going to be a long week.
They didn’t catch any fish that day. Adam did, however, manage to acquire a sunburn to rival his 8th grade beach day disaster and went back to the cabin with his face an unpleasant shade of pink. He shot a glare at Kris as he grabbed the fishing hat off the table and brought it to his room for the next day. Kris didn’t stop laughing for a good ten minutes, but he did bring Adam some aloe and help him put it on the back of his neck where he couldn’t see the sunburn, so Adam couldn’t even properly be mad.
There were no fish the second day either. Adam was beginning to doubt if there were even any living in the lake; maybe they’d migrated south or north or somewhere that evidently wasn’t here. (Lucky them.) Adam did manage to hook Kris’s shirt at one point though. He wasn’t allowed to fly fish after that.
On the third day, Adam realized that he was counting down the days like he was in a hostage situation. (This was pretty fitting actually, when he thought about it.) A bird crapped in Adam’s hair that day too. He made Kris bring the boat in early and promised him that if he ever spoke a word of this to anyone, he’d deeply regret it. Kris didn’t laugh this time.
On day four, Adam had pretty much assumed that they were going out to the lake to sit in the boat and pretend to fish at this point. Of course, then it would be Adam who caught a fish that day. And of course it would have to be a big one. Big enough that Adam had to stand to try to reel the damn thing in at the same time that the boat floated overtop of a small wave, thereby causing him to lose hold of the pole and his balance and topple forward into the water.
Before Adam could even think to do anything, Kris was diving in after him and wrapping himself around Adam’s back like he meant to keep him afloat. Adam let him act as his own personal life preserver, but he did say, “Kris, I can swim you know.”
“But you were flailing!” Kris said, grip tightening protectively around Adam’s chest.
“Yeah, because I’m floating in a gross fish infested lake,” Adam said with a grimace. “I don’t even want to think about what might be in the water.”
Kris’s hold loosened slightly at that. “Oh.”
“It was kind of cute and heroic of you anyway,” Adam added before Kris could let go completely. He enjoyed having Kris wrapped around him - sue him. It was like a consolation prize for being stuck in fish water. “Not sure how you thought you were going to drag me back into the boat, but I appreciate it.”
“I would have figured out a way,” Kris answered quietly. “I’m not losing you too.”
Adam rested his head back on Kris’s shoulder and kissed his cheek. “You know you couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.”
Kris turned his head and leaned closer until his mouth was just inches from Adam’s, the peppermint lingering on his breath from his gum making Adam’s lips tingle. “I wouldn’t want to try,” he whispered, pressing his lips to Adam’s so lightly that it made the rest of him tingle as well. Adam couldn’t help but shiver, and Kris chuckled adding, “I think Katy was right maybe.”
“About what?” Adam said, only slightly breathless still.
Kris rested his head against Adam’s, arms slipping lower around his waist and holding him even closer. “She thinks I need someone in my life to help me move on. Said you’d be a good choice. I didn’t really want to think about it at the time, but I am now. You are kind of perfect.”
“I am?” Adam asked, turning around in Kris’s arms to face him fully.
“Adam,” Kris said, face serious and a little reverent. “You let me drag you on a trip that I know you didn’t really want to go on. No one’s been there for me more than you have. I can’t really think of a better choice.”
Adam didn’t say anything, just stared at Kris, unsure of how to even respond to his words. Kris seemed to mistake his silence for something else, letting go of him finally to swim back towards the boat and saying, “It’s okay if you need to think about it.”
Adam didn’t really need to think about it. He’d made his choice a long time ago, and he grabbed Kris before he could get into the boat and pulled him back against him until their legs tangled under the water with each motion. This time he was the one to kiss Kris, making sure that Kris could feel how easy of a decision it was in the movement of their lips - could feel everything that Adam had always felt. And when he felt Kris smile against his lips he realized that sometimes when you go fishing, you catch something even better than you expected.