FIC: "From the Outside"
Title: From the Outside
Author: jackycomelately
Pairings: Adam/Kris; Adam/Katy
Rating: R
Word Count: ~2,300
Song: "I Would Be Your Slave" from Heathen
Warnings: AU; Adam as bi. Kris as bi. Katy is merely sexually adventurous! Duress, unequal power balance, and much swearing. I don't know any of these people, and if I did I certainly wouldn't be writing about them.
Summary: In a world where relatively minor crimes can led to being sold on the open market, Kris is in the perfect position for revenge. The freedom of Adam Lambert, the man who seduced Katy away from him, is for sale. Luckily, Kris would never take advantage of someone in trouble. Or, would he? Not even if that someone really wanted him to?
Winning American Idol wasn't the career maker Kris had hoped it would be. He got his million dollar contract, but the tour was kind of a flop.
Their reviews were pretty good, especially for the duet he and Allison had performed, but the fans were only politely enthusiastic. He had the depressing feeling that parents and grandparents were buying the tickets as wholesome entertainment. That was a deal-killer, really, and he didn't much blame the kids.
He did kinda blame Katy. If she wanted a wild and crazy sexually ambiguous rocker, she should have figured that out before she married him. He had worried that American Idol would change him; he hadn't worried that it wouldn't change him enough. She left him for someone with dyed hair and piercings. It hurt. He wasn't going to deny it. It hurt like hell.
It was also humiliating as fuck. The disadvantage of a small town: everyone knew.
Over time, the anger was proving harder to deal with than the pain. He was starting not to like himself very much. He seriously considered going back overseas. There was nothing like seeing people with real problems to put self-pity in perspective. However, he knew to be useful, you needed to be in good shape yourself. It wouldn't be fair to inflict his messed-up self on other aid workers, or, worse, those who needed help.
Buying a slave wasn't a solution that immediately sprang to mind. He had no idea what combination of keys he had accidentally hit on his new and very complicated key board to get the latest travesty of American justice.
It was the dyed hair and piercings that made him look twice at the listing. Pure reflex had him hitting the e-Bay bid button before he could identify the cause of his sense of recognition.
Katy's lover had apparently hit the skids. Kris frowned. He was good with names. He could have sworn this guy's name was Adam Lambert, but that wasn't what the listing said. He was sure it was him, although the single photograph included was not flattering. It looked nothing like the photographs he had looked up one drunken masochistic night. Lambert looked flailed. Gut-punched and stunned. His cheek-bone was heavily bruised and his mouth was cut and swollen. Even so, the bidding had far exceeded the minimum. Kris settled in for a long night of bidding, not letting himself think about why.
***
"Katy, what the fuck? You can't be serious. We've only been married for a year. Don't you think we should try to make this work?"
"I'm sorry, Kris…I don't…I can't…I've never felt this way about anyone before. He's so…I'm sorry, Kris. I'm leaving with him."
***
He was right. It had been a god-awful photo. Lambert's eyes were much bluer, his legs longer. The raw sexuality was palpable. What he didn't expect was for recognition to replace the defiant sexuality.
"Oh, shit. You're Kris."
Kris didn't know why people recognizing him still came as a shock. He nodded at the man who had seduced his wife into leaving him.
"Mr. Allen, we just need you to sign some papers. You should be aware that after inspection, you have the right to change your mind, but once you exit the premises any purchase is non-refundable."
Lambert flinched. Kris wondered if Lambert was aware of the mortality rate for gay men in the Eastlen prison system. It was obscenely high, and, somehow, he didn't think the odds would change if you were bi. If Kris defaulted, Lambert would get an automatic sentence there.
"Yeah," Kris said, "let's sign the papers."
He had to steady Lambert with a hand on his back when they hit the limo and Lambert saw Katy. Heard his harsh shuddering intake of breath. "Katy. Oh, fuck. Katy." Lambert slid into her arms with animal grace.
He'd had to call an activist friend to figure out what was going on. Somehow certain people, particularly gay or lesbian people, often had their listings messed up. That way their friends and families couldn't bid on them. Even severely fucked-up, Kris does not approve.
It was two weeks, after Lambert and Katy's painful thanks, that he saw Lambert again. Lambert made an appointment through Kris's manager. Kris reluctantly agreed to see him. He got right to the point.
"I have a fifty city tour booked and I can't leave the fucking state. Even better, they won't sue me: they'll sue you. I no longer have the legal status to keep a contract."
Kris frowned. "You mean you can't leave the state by yourself? It doesn't make sense that you couldn't travel with me."
"Yeah, well, I doubt the tour of the American Idol is going to coincide with mine."
"I'm not booked. I'm taking time off to write."
Lambert looked at him. Chewed his bottom lip. Released it, leaving an imprint. "Would begging help? I know what I owe you. I know you hate my guts. I know you have more justification for hating my guts than anyone in existence, but this is my life. I know losing the tour doesn't compare to five years in prison, but..."
Kris was a musician. He knew. He knew he should have stopped him long ago, but Lambert was right. He still kinda hated him. Not as much, though. There was something about having someone at your mercy that leeched out poison. He figured that if he had Lambert at a humiliating disadvantage another half a dozen times, he'd probably be okay with the guy. In contrast, Lambert would probably kill him.
"Katy and I aren't divorced yet."
Anxiety flared in Lambert's eyes. "I'm sorry, Kris, but I'm not that big an asshole. I can't do anything about..."
"No, I mean we're still legally married. As long as she has a copy of your papers with my name on it and our marriage license, you and she can travel together. Once the divorce goes through, you're boned without me, but for another six months ... I don't know why your lawyer didn't explain this to you."
"She said it only works like that if you don't object. If anyone gets unhappy with me, they can hold me until you can be reached."
Kris nodded. "Katy has my cell."
Kris was called twelve times in the first three months. He learned to always answer his phone no matter what the call display said. Sometimes it was Lambert sounding angry, sometime it was bored law enforcement. Twice there was a note of smugness, followed by disappointment, that had him dialing Katy to check that they weren't buried in a cell somewhere despite the call. Honest to God, he was starting to develop a nervous twitch. The thirteenth time, there was an undercurrent of fear in Lambert's voice that had Kris instinctively reaching for his car keys.
"Kris."
"Yeah."
"Kris, the fucking divorce has gone though. They won't… They said you have to come. Kris, will you come?"
"Yeah, where are you?" Kris went. Fidgeted the whole flight. Took a taxi from the airport to the police station. Lambert looked like absolute shit. Katy looked like she was on her last nerve. Neither looked like they had eaten or slept for a month. Kris pled guilty to leaving the state without taking proper legal steps to secure his slave and covered the huge fine. Sometimes it paid to have the best legal advice on speed dial.
"Okay, obviously this isn't working anymore. You're what? Halfway through?"
They both nodded.
"Okay, I'm sorry, but I'm not up to spending the next three months with my ex-wife. I'm not actually all that thrilled to spend them with her lover either, but…"
They looked unhappy, but resigned.
***
It was going to be a long tour, watching Adam rather than working on his own stuff. Still, even in rehearsal, Adam put on quite a show. If he had toned it down, Kris wondered how he would have done on Idol. At least Simon would never have called him boring.
As the weeks went on, it didn't get any easier, but Kris was surprised by the amount of writing he was getting done. Having something outside himself to focus on did help.
The problem was that Adam was really really…ummm...warm. The vibes Adam gave off were confusing his responses. Adam had really long legs, smiled a lot, and made frequent eye contact. Adam was clearly grateful that he had agreed to tour with him.
Adam also fussed with his appearance, liked to be told he was pretty, and did a lot of validating in return. Kris felt like he had a new girlfriend, and the relationship was going pretty well, and they were just about to hit the getting laid part. With Katy, he had really really liked that part.
He missed having someone in his life. He missed sex. He hated the permanent cold loneliness in the pit of his stomach. Travelling together, they were also pretty dependent on each other for company. Grabbing meals together, long nights on the bus.
One night, after a particularly electric performance, Adam coaxed him into his room for a drink. It was clearly a huge mistake. Over his vodka and tonic, reclining on the shabby couch, Adam smiled at him, slow and inviting. Kris's nerves twitched.
"Damn, you can sing."
"Yes, I can sing." Adam stretched, arching his back. He drew his legs up, running his hand up his inner thigh.
"Ummm…Adam, are you trying…" Kris fumbled for words.
"Trying to get you to fuck me?"
"Well, I might not have put it exactly that way, but..."
"Yes, I'm trying to get you to fuck me."
"Um…why, exactly?"
"Besides the fact that you're cute, and kind, and basically have total control of my future? Being my current's ex is a bit of a problem, I admit. Normally, I'd be trying to make amends. I screwed you over and I'd like to make up for that. But, frankly, right now, I just want to figure out what I can give you to keep you from fucking my life, despite Katy's reassurance that you wouldn't do that. I don't like…I don't like…not having control."
"So, you want to control me with sex?"
Adam frowned. "Well, yes, basically. Do you have a problem with that? I also think you're really cute and sexy. Did I mention that?"
"Um…" Kris decided to ignore that part for now. "I think it's wrong to take advantage of the situation? You're in a relationship? What would Katy think about that?" Although Kris really has to applaud the irony.
Adam bit his lip. "Katy and I have an open relationship."
"Oh. Really?"
"Sure, we're both sexually adventurous. There's no way I could just sleep with one gender, let alone one person. It's just not the way I'm made."
"Oh."
"Are you saying that you never slept with anyone other than Katie while you were together?"
Actually, Kris was saying he never slept with anyone other than Katy period.
"I don't really think I want to discuss my sexual history with you, Adam. I have your contract for five years. Katy would be the first to tell you that I get attached. You don't want someone who's interested in you with that kind of power. Not if you're not in it for the long haul. Hell, even then, it's probably a really bad idea. What happens if it goes bad? What happens when you get bored?"
"I can deal with relationship fallout. I'm just not good with…I need…Fuck, Kris. I don't want to be dependent on someone who doesn't give a damn, okay?"
"You figure if I have sex with you, I'll forgive you?"
"I figure you'll have a vested interest in not sending me to jail."
"I'm not going to let you go to jail. Jesus, you were carrying a few joints, not robbing banks."
"Fuckin' zero tolerance policy."
Kris thought about complications with Katy; he thought about going through Idol and coming out the same person he was going in; he thought about something his mother used to say. Don't worry about being perfect. If it's neat, tidy, easy, it's probably wrong. He looked at Adam who represented everything flawed, messy, and complicated. And, maybe, right.
Kris bit his lip, hard. Adam looked at him and knew he was wavering.
"Climb on, baby." Adam patted his knee. Kris kicked off his shoes, put his hands on Adam's shoulders, and started the ride of his life.
-
Story Note: Ummm…answer to the summary? Not very. This wasn't the story I originally planned to tell. I wanted Kris to be the villain, and for it to include lots of hardcore sex. However, I just couldn't see Kris's strong sense of social justice going for it even in an AU. Also, to me? The song I Would be Your Slave has a slow deliberation to it. A sense of withholding, of deliberate restraint, in contrast to the lyrics, which are about wanting knowledge, intimacy. The story to me became Kris choosing one over the other, while Adam seeks connection.
Author: jackycomelately
Pairings: Adam/Kris; Adam/Katy
Rating: R
Word Count: ~2,300
Song: "I Would Be Your Slave" from Heathen
Warnings: AU; Adam as bi. Kris as bi. Katy is merely sexually adventurous! Duress, unequal power balance, and much swearing. I don't know any of these people, and if I did I certainly wouldn't be writing about them.
Summary: In a world where relatively minor crimes can led to being sold on the open market, Kris is in the perfect position for revenge. The freedom of Adam Lambert, the man who seduced Katy away from him, is for sale. Luckily, Kris would never take advantage of someone in trouble. Or, would he? Not even if that someone really wanted him to?
Winning American Idol wasn't the career maker Kris had hoped it would be. He got his million dollar contract, but the tour was kind of a flop.
Their reviews were pretty good, especially for the duet he and Allison had performed, but the fans were only politely enthusiastic. He had the depressing feeling that parents and grandparents were buying the tickets as wholesome entertainment. That was a deal-killer, really, and he didn't much blame the kids.
He did kinda blame Katy. If she wanted a wild and crazy sexually ambiguous rocker, she should have figured that out before she married him. He had worried that American Idol would change him; he hadn't worried that it wouldn't change him enough. She left him for someone with dyed hair and piercings. It hurt. He wasn't going to deny it. It hurt like hell.
It was also humiliating as fuck. The disadvantage of a small town: everyone knew.
Over time, the anger was proving harder to deal with than the pain. He was starting not to like himself very much. He seriously considered going back overseas. There was nothing like seeing people with real problems to put self-pity in perspective. However, he knew to be useful, you needed to be in good shape yourself. It wouldn't be fair to inflict his messed-up self on other aid workers, or, worse, those who needed help.
Buying a slave wasn't a solution that immediately sprang to mind. He had no idea what combination of keys he had accidentally hit on his new and very complicated key board to get the latest travesty of American justice.
It was the dyed hair and piercings that made him look twice at the listing. Pure reflex had him hitting the e-Bay bid button before he could identify the cause of his sense of recognition.
Katy's lover had apparently hit the skids. Kris frowned. He was good with names. He could have sworn this guy's name was Adam Lambert, but that wasn't what the listing said. He was sure it was him, although the single photograph included was not flattering. It looked nothing like the photographs he had looked up one drunken masochistic night. Lambert looked flailed. Gut-punched and stunned. His cheek-bone was heavily bruised and his mouth was cut and swollen. Even so, the bidding had far exceeded the minimum. Kris settled in for a long night of bidding, not letting himself think about why.
***
"Katy, what the fuck? You can't be serious. We've only been married for a year. Don't you think we should try to make this work?"
"I'm sorry, Kris…I don't…I can't…I've never felt this way about anyone before. He's so…I'm sorry, Kris. I'm leaving with him."
***
He was right. It had been a god-awful photo. Lambert's eyes were much bluer, his legs longer. The raw sexuality was palpable. What he didn't expect was for recognition to replace the defiant sexuality.
"Oh, shit. You're Kris."
Kris didn't know why people recognizing him still came as a shock. He nodded at the man who had seduced his wife into leaving him.
"Mr. Allen, we just need you to sign some papers. You should be aware that after inspection, you have the right to change your mind, but once you exit the premises any purchase is non-refundable."
Lambert flinched. Kris wondered if Lambert was aware of the mortality rate for gay men in the Eastlen prison system. It was obscenely high, and, somehow, he didn't think the odds would change if you were bi. If Kris defaulted, Lambert would get an automatic sentence there.
"Yeah," Kris said, "let's sign the papers."
He had to steady Lambert with a hand on his back when they hit the limo and Lambert saw Katy. Heard his harsh shuddering intake of breath. "Katy. Oh, fuck. Katy." Lambert slid into her arms with animal grace.
He'd had to call an activist friend to figure out what was going on. Somehow certain people, particularly gay or lesbian people, often had their listings messed up. That way their friends and families couldn't bid on them. Even severely fucked-up, Kris does not approve.
It was two weeks, after Lambert and Katy's painful thanks, that he saw Lambert again. Lambert made an appointment through Kris's manager. Kris reluctantly agreed to see him. He got right to the point.
"I have a fifty city tour booked and I can't leave the fucking state. Even better, they won't sue me: they'll sue you. I no longer have the legal status to keep a contract."
Kris frowned. "You mean you can't leave the state by yourself? It doesn't make sense that you couldn't travel with me."
"Yeah, well, I doubt the tour of the American Idol is going to coincide with mine."
"I'm not booked. I'm taking time off to write."
Lambert looked at him. Chewed his bottom lip. Released it, leaving an imprint. "Would begging help? I know what I owe you. I know you hate my guts. I know you have more justification for hating my guts than anyone in existence, but this is my life. I know losing the tour doesn't compare to five years in prison, but..."
Kris was a musician. He knew. He knew he should have stopped him long ago, but Lambert was right. He still kinda hated him. Not as much, though. There was something about having someone at your mercy that leeched out poison. He figured that if he had Lambert at a humiliating disadvantage another half a dozen times, he'd probably be okay with the guy. In contrast, Lambert would probably kill him.
"Katy and I aren't divorced yet."
Anxiety flared in Lambert's eyes. "I'm sorry, Kris, but I'm not that big an asshole. I can't do anything about..."
"No, I mean we're still legally married. As long as she has a copy of your papers with my name on it and our marriage license, you and she can travel together. Once the divorce goes through, you're boned without me, but for another six months ... I don't know why your lawyer didn't explain this to you."
"She said it only works like that if you don't object. If anyone gets unhappy with me, they can hold me until you can be reached."
Kris nodded. "Katy has my cell."
Kris was called twelve times in the first three months. He learned to always answer his phone no matter what the call display said. Sometimes it was Lambert sounding angry, sometime it was bored law enforcement. Twice there was a note of smugness, followed by disappointment, that had him dialing Katy to check that they weren't buried in a cell somewhere despite the call. Honest to God, he was starting to develop a nervous twitch. The thirteenth time, there was an undercurrent of fear in Lambert's voice that had Kris instinctively reaching for his car keys.
"Kris."
"Yeah."
"Kris, the fucking divorce has gone though. They won't… They said you have to come. Kris, will you come?"
"Yeah, where are you?" Kris went. Fidgeted the whole flight. Took a taxi from the airport to the police station. Lambert looked like absolute shit. Katy looked like she was on her last nerve. Neither looked like they had eaten or slept for a month. Kris pled guilty to leaving the state without taking proper legal steps to secure his slave and covered the huge fine. Sometimes it paid to have the best legal advice on speed dial.
"Okay, obviously this isn't working anymore. You're what? Halfway through?"
They both nodded.
"Okay, I'm sorry, but I'm not up to spending the next three months with my ex-wife. I'm not actually all that thrilled to spend them with her lover either, but…"
They looked unhappy, but resigned.
***
It was going to be a long tour, watching Adam rather than working on his own stuff. Still, even in rehearsal, Adam put on quite a show. If he had toned it down, Kris wondered how he would have done on Idol. At least Simon would never have called him boring.
As the weeks went on, it didn't get any easier, but Kris was surprised by the amount of writing he was getting done. Having something outside himself to focus on did help.
The problem was that Adam was really really…ummm...warm. The vibes Adam gave off were confusing his responses. Adam had really long legs, smiled a lot, and made frequent eye contact. Adam was clearly grateful that he had agreed to tour with him.
Adam also fussed with his appearance, liked to be told he was pretty, and did a lot of validating in return. Kris felt like he had a new girlfriend, and the relationship was going pretty well, and they were just about to hit the getting laid part. With Katy, he had really really liked that part.
He missed having someone in his life. He missed sex. He hated the permanent cold loneliness in the pit of his stomach. Travelling together, they were also pretty dependent on each other for company. Grabbing meals together, long nights on the bus.
One night, after a particularly electric performance, Adam coaxed him into his room for a drink. It was clearly a huge mistake. Over his vodka and tonic, reclining on the shabby couch, Adam smiled at him, slow and inviting. Kris's nerves twitched.
"Damn, you can sing."
"Yes, I can sing." Adam stretched, arching his back. He drew his legs up, running his hand up his inner thigh.
"Ummm…Adam, are you trying…" Kris fumbled for words.
"Trying to get you to fuck me?"
"Well, I might not have put it exactly that way, but..."
"Yes, I'm trying to get you to fuck me."
"Um…why, exactly?"
"Besides the fact that you're cute, and kind, and basically have total control of my future? Being my current's ex is a bit of a problem, I admit. Normally, I'd be trying to make amends. I screwed you over and I'd like to make up for that. But, frankly, right now, I just want to figure out what I can give you to keep you from fucking my life, despite Katy's reassurance that you wouldn't do that. I don't like…I don't like…not having control."
"So, you want to control me with sex?"
Adam frowned. "Well, yes, basically. Do you have a problem with that? I also think you're really cute and sexy. Did I mention that?"
"Um…" Kris decided to ignore that part for now. "I think it's wrong to take advantage of the situation? You're in a relationship? What would Katy think about that?" Although Kris really has to applaud the irony.
Adam bit his lip. "Katy and I have an open relationship."
"Oh. Really?"
"Sure, we're both sexually adventurous. There's no way I could just sleep with one gender, let alone one person. It's just not the way I'm made."
"Oh."
"Are you saying that you never slept with anyone other than Katie while you were together?"
Actually, Kris was saying he never slept with anyone other than Katy period.
"I don't really think I want to discuss my sexual history with you, Adam. I have your contract for five years. Katy would be the first to tell you that I get attached. You don't want someone who's interested in you with that kind of power. Not if you're not in it for the long haul. Hell, even then, it's probably a really bad idea. What happens if it goes bad? What happens when you get bored?"
"I can deal with relationship fallout. I'm just not good with…I need…Fuck, Kris. I don't want to be dependent on someone who doesn't give a damn, okay?"
"You figure if I have sex with you, I'll forgive you?"
"I figure you'll have a vested interest in not sending me to jail."
"I'm not going to let you go to jail. Jesus, you were carrying a few joints, not robbing banks."
"Fuckin' zero tolerance policy."
Kris thought about complications with Katy; he thought about going through Idol and coming out the same person he was going in; he thought about something his mother used to say. Don't worry about being perfect. If it's neat, tidy, easy, it's probably wrong. He looked at Adam who represented everything flawed, messy, and complicated. And, maybe, right.
Kris bit his lip, hard. Adam looked at him and knew he was wavering.
"Climb on, baby." Adam patted his knee. Kris kicked off his shoes, put his hands on Adam's shoulders, and started the ride of his life.
-
Story Note: Ummm…answer to the summary? Not very. This wasn't the story I originally planned to tell. I wanted Kris to be the villain, and for it to include lots of hardcore sex. However, I just couldn't see Kris's strong sense of social justice going for it even in an AU. Also, to me? The song I Would be Your Slave has a slow deliberation to it. A sense of withholding, of deliberate restraint, in contrast to the lyrics, which are about wanting knowledge, intimacy. The story to me became Kris choosing one over the other, while Adam seeks connection.