"Stuck" - pg13 - jg291
Title: "Stuck"
Author: asm614
Rating: PG-13, if only for language
Pairings/Characters: Kradam (mostly friendship, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel...)
Written For: jg291
Prompt: At least part of the fic taking place with Kris/Adam stuck in an elevator by themselves
Summary: Kris and Adam end up stuck in the mansion elevator. Set during the week of preparation for the first Top 7 night (Idol Goes to the Cinema).
Warning: Contains spoilers for the plot of "Once"
Author's Note: Ended up a little longer than I anticipated (almost 3,000 words), but hopefully that's a good problem, lol. Also... I've toiled around with Kradam fic over the last few months, but this is the first thing I've ever shared... Be gentle, please :)
There’s a kind of jarring thud before the feeling of upward motion ceases.
“It didn’t just…” Kris trails off, his tone wary.
“I think it did,” Adam confirms, surveying the panel of buttons to his right. “We’re stuck.”
“And in the elevator of a freakin’ mansion, no less.” Kris wonders if his life is going to get any weirder in the next few weeks. Sometimes it feels like he’s at capacity.
“Do you have your phone?” Adam asks, patting his front and back pockets for his own.
“Nope. Left it on the nightstand.”
“Yeah. Mine’s with my laptop. Shit.”
“Oh come on, Lambert. Don’t act like this isn’t one of your greatest fantasies come to life,” Kris teases, a smile playing at the corners of his lips.
Caught off-guard, Adam’s eyes widen and he has the decency to blush. “I cannot believe you just said that to me.”
Kris only gives him a challenging look, daring him to argue or deny it. Adam swears he winks too, but he’s not completely sure about that.
He feels like maybe Kris has been pushing his buttons lately, but he doesn’t want to jump to conclusions. After all, no matter how adorable his roommate might be, he is, above all things, married.
“So what do we do now?” Kris asks after another moment, his previously joking demeanor temporarily abandoned.
Adam shrugs. “I guess we wait?”
“For what? Isn’t there supposed to be some kind of like… emergency phone system in all elevators, or something? Shouldn’t we call for someone or yell or something?” Kris isn’t really panicking, but he sort of is. Adam almost feels bad for finding it hopelessly cute.
“Just chill… I’m sure the power probably went out or something.” He tries to keep his voice calm, neutral.
“You think? But the lights are still on…” Kris hesitates, still looking a little bit worried. “Maybe we should try yelling for someone…”
Adam sighs. Kris is usually so low-key and mellow. It’s a bit disconcerting to see him on the verge of a potential panic attack.
“Look, there’s probably some kind of emergency system or generator that keeps the lights on if the power goes out. And we’re the only ones here. I doubt anyone would hear us if we started screaming like idiots.” Adam leans over and grabs Kris’ wrist, glancing down at his watch. “Matt and Anoop should be back from rehearsal in like a half hour. We’ll call for them then if this thing hasn’t started running again, alright?”
“A half hour,” Kris repeats, nodding like he thinks he can handle that. “Why’d we take this stupid thing anyway?”
“Because I wanted to be tired and lazy and you’re easy, so you went along with it,” Adam replies, grinning at Kris.
“Easy, huh?” Kris makes a face at the suggestion. “Well, I may be easy, but your ideas suck.”
“Maybe so. My ideas often do tend to involve a lot of sucking.” Adam raises an eyebrow suggestively, and laughs at Kris’ reaction.
“You are so bad, man,” Kris says, finally allowing himself to laugh. He backs up to one of the elevator walls and lets his body sink to the floor. “If we’re gonna be in here for awhile, might as well get comfy.”
Adam joins him, sprawling out a bit, his long legs nearly spanning the width of the small-ish enclosure. He leans back on his elbows and bends his right leg at the knee, foot flat on the floor.
“So,” he says, flicking lightly at one of Kris’ frayed-denim-covered knees. “Movie week coming up…”
“Do you know your song yet?” Kris asks, smiling. He always likes knowing Adam’s song in advance, tries to imagine how Adam will arrange it, what kind of performance he will create. If Kris is completely honest with himself, aside from performing his own song choices, watching Adam take the stage each week is one of his favorite things about being on the show.
“I’m torn,” Adam admits, humming thoughtfully. “So many options… so few with approval. I’ll figure it out, though.”
“You always do,” Kris agrees, kicking his foot against one of Adam’s. Adam smiles softly at the contact.
“Et tu?” The lilt of a question lingers in his voice as he gazes over Kris’ face.
“Guess.”
“Oh, you want to play games, huh?” Adam’s amusement is evident through his tone, blue eyes sparkling. “Greased Lightning.”
Kris lets out a loud, startled laugh, unable to avoid the snort that escapes him. “Seriously? Seriously?”
“The chicks will cream,” Adam recites, two sharp pelvic thrusts following for emphasis.
“No thanks!” Kris wrinkles his nose, and Adam can’t help but notice where his gaze lingers for more than a few seconds. Finally he looks back up to Adam’s face, still smiling. “Try again.”
“Hmm.” Adam appears to genuinely give it some thought for a few seconds. “Let’s come back to you,” he suggests. “What’s your guess for everyone else?”
They do this sometimes, though it’s usually late at night, as they’re trying to wind down from the craziness of one of their days. Sometimes they make serious predictions; most of the time, they don’t. Except now, there’re only seven left - and nearly all of them have a real shot at winning this whole thing. Sure, it would’ve been hilarious to suggest that Sarver could sing “I Will Follow Him” from Sister Act, but now they’re (mostly) among friends.
Kris shrugs. “Who you wanna start with?”
Adam leans his head back against the elevator wall. “Lil.”
“She should totally do something from, like The Bodyguard or something,” Kris offers.
Adam nods. “You’re totally right. Or even Waiting To Exhale. They both have some incredible Whitney songs. She’d get to show off that sick range of hers, and it seems completely her style.”
“Yeah. Exactly. Okay... How about Allison?” Kris suggests next.
“She’s gonna kill anything she picks. We both know that,” Adam says loyally, but he looks thoughtful. “You know what would be really beautiful?”
“What’s that?” Kris asks, moving closer with interest.
“Take My Breath Away.”
“Ohh yeah, that would be incredible. You think she’d pick it? Top Gun might be kind of old for her,” Kris points out, frowning a little.
Adam smirks. “Because you’re soooo much older than she is. What were you, like a whole year old when that movie came out?”
“You’re right, old man. I’m sure your 4-year-old self was just eating it up, drooling over Tom Cruise,” Kris shoots back, not missing a beat.
“Hey, he was hot back then. Less batshit crazy,” Adam teases back. “But yeah. I could totally see Alli doing that song.”
“Or maybe something like... what’s that one movie? It’s a total tearjerker... Bette Midler, another dark-haired lady...” Kris’ brow furrows.
“Beaches?” Adam supplies.
“Yeah! I only saw it once; Katy and my mom were bawling their freaking eyes out, but it has that one song... ‘Wind Beneath My Wings.’ It’s not typical, but I could hear Allison working her thing into that, too.”
“Hmm, I like,” Adam says after thinking it over for a moment. “Her voice would be kickass if she belted out the ending. We’ll have to ask what she has in mind, perhaps offer some brotherly guidance.”
Kris grins. “Definitely.”
The “game” goes on for a little while longer, as they predict “Kiss From A Rose” for Matt (or maybe “Eye of the Tiger,” Kris also thinks) and “Everything I Do (I Do It For You)” or “Unchained Melody” (someone does it, almost unfailingly, every year, Adam points out) for Anoop.
“Who’s left?” Kris asks.
Adam clears his throat. “ Gokey.”
“Oh. Well...”
“There’s always ‘Hip to Be A Square’...” Adam tosses out casually, trying to suppress a smirk.
Kris laughs. “I love it. But I was thinking something more... Oh, I don’t know... ‘My Heart Will Go On.’” His lips mash together in an attempt to suppress his own laughter as he waits for Adam’s reaction.
Adam cackles, his laughter loud and warm, and Kris feels fairly pleased with himself.
“Well, well, Kristopher Allen. I knew sooner or later, your inner bitch would emerge!”
“Yeah, well... You knew you’d rub off on me sooner or later,” he retorts, and Adam might be imagining things, but it’s almost like that little flirty note has returned to Kris’ voice. He must be imagining it. He debates twisting Kris’ comment into something about rubbing something, but figures he’d best err on the side of caution.
“As it should be,” he says cheekily, instead. “So back to you. What’ll it be?”
“You were supposed to guess,” Kris protests with a huff, his lower lip jutting out ever so slightly. Adam wants to put it back into place. With his tongue. Restraint! he reminds himself.
Adam sighs. “Okay, fine. How about ‘Hallelujah’... It was in Shrek.”
Kris hums thoughtfully. “You know, that crossed my mind. It’s an awesome song, but Castro did it last year, and I swear the judges are gunning for me, so I don’t want comparisons. Good guess, though. Try again.”
“I’m never going to guess at this rate. At least tell me the movie?” Adam tries.
“Once.”
“Okay, go ahead. I’m listening.” Adam makes a grand gesture of perking up and looking alert, giving Kris his best Cheshire Cat grin.
“No, smartass, that’s the movie. It’s called Once,” Kris explains, laughing.
“Oh.” Adam frowns. “Then I have no fucking clue.”
“You never heard of it?” Kris asks. “I saw it once, last year, and I watched it again the other night, when I was finalizing my choice. It’s... interesting.”
“Interesting?” Adam tilts his head and raises an eyebrow. “Do tell.”
“Oh, um, well...” And is Kris blushing? He totally is. But he sucks it up and begins explaining anyway.
“So, it’s about these two people in Dublin - two musicians, a guy and a girl... And they basically... they meet kind of randomly, complete strangers, and they end up singing this... this song together, and it sparks something in them. A romance, an interest... Some kind of attraction that just, like, manifests itself into their lives, and they spend a week together, writing these songs about their past relationships, and then this newfound love that they’re realizing they’ve found in each other...”
“Sounds... intense,” Adam breathes, mesmerized by both the storyline, and the sound of Kris’ voice as he retells it. There’s something more to it, but he can’t quite put his finger on what it is.
“It is,” Kris says, nodding. “It’s a great movie.”
“So... what happens? To the guy and the girl, I mean,” Adam asks curiously.
“Um, well, that’s kind of the sucky part, I guess. You sure you want me to ruin it for you?” Kris asks uncertainly, but Adam suspects it’s not because he’s terrified of revealing crucial plot spoilers.
“I sure I’ll find a way to cope with it,” he replies, smiling sweetly.
“Fine,” Kris sighs. “So, the guy finds out that the girl actually has a husband, and she’s kind of been separated for awhile, but she’s decided to get back with him. The guy asks her to spend one more night with him before everything has to end, and she says okay, but then she blows him off and doesn’t show. In the end, he goes back with his ex, even though it’s obviously not his ideal situation.”
“That does suck,” Adam agrees. “Pretty tragic. Love is... ugh.”
Kris smiles and lets out a small laugh that’s maybe really more like an exaggerated exhale.
“So what’s the song?” Adam asks, realizing that despite his newfound film knowledge, he still has no idea what Kris is planning to do for the competition.
“Oh, right... well... there’s this one song from the movie, the song they sing together initially. It’s called ‘Falling Slowly’ by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova... It actually won the Oscar for best song last year, they performed it live on the show,” he says.
Adam shrugs. “I might vaguely recall that, but not really. Care to enlighten me?”
Kris’ eyes widen. “You want me to sing it?”
Adam looks around - up, down, from side to side. “Do you see us going anywhere anytime soon?”
“Um, well... it’s just...” Kris stammers. He knows Adam’s eventually going to hear the song, but this isn’t exactly how he anticipated the great debut.
“Okay, you sing in front of like 80 bazillion million people on TV every single week. You can’t sing it for me, now? Kris, it’s ME. Maybe I can even help...” Adam decides to try another tactic. He’ll get this song out of Kris one way or another.
“No, it’s not that, it’s just... it’s not the same without music. Or the harmony. The harmony is pretty essential. I mean, it is a duet. And I-“ Kris pauses to look at Adam’s face, to see if he’s possibly made any progress. Not so much. “-I... Fine. Just a few lines, okay?”
“Pick your favorite verse or something,” Adam suggests, smiling. He shouldn’t find Kris’ shyness - his anxiety - so endearing, so irresistible, but he does. And now he’s really curious.
Kris nods, clearing his throat and closing his eyes as he begins to sing.
“Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can’t go back
Moods that take me and erase me
And I’m painted black
You have suffered enough
And warred with yourself
It’s time that you won
Take this sinking boat and point it home
We’ve still got time
Raise your hopeful voice, you had a choice
You’ve made it now”
Kris finishes singing, his eyelids snapping back up so he can see Adam’s reaction. He gasps to find blue eyes staring at him, much closer than they were previously. Somehow, while he was singing, he’d totally missed Adam completely shifting his position. Now Adam is leaning forward, mouth open almost imperceptibly, and Kris can’t quite interpret his expression.
“Adam?” he says slowly, hesitantly. Nothing’s happened yet, but he can tell that, with every passing second, things are changing - for better or worse, he’s not sure. Maybe he’s said too much, maybe not enough. Maybe he doesn’t even know what the hell he was trying to do by picking the song, but he does know Adam. And right now, he can see the wheels turning in Adam’s head, the puzzle pieces coming together.
Neither of them ever chooses a song without meaning, without purpose, without a message. (Well, except for that one time last week, but honestly, what was he supposed to sing from 1985?) Adam knows this. So does Kris.
Adam still hasn’t done anything, and really, it’s only been a few seconds, but Kris is nervous. He looks around everywhere, trying to find something to focus on besides Adam’s calculating stare.
Just as Kris’ eyes skim the walls of the elevator, he notices something he didn’t catch before, and is about to open his mouth to comment when Adam catches him by surprise, cupping a large hand around the back of Kris’ neck, pulling him closer, and capturing his lips.
For all intents and purposes, the kiss is chaste, and Adam pulls back before Kris really has a chance to let his mouth respond. But, the second he feels the separation, he leans in for more, and by the expression on Adam’s face, he thinks that’s all Adam really needed to see. He’s grinning.
“So, I was right.” Adam looks like the cat that at the canary, and Kris is pretty sure his own face is the color of Allison’s hair.
“So what if you are?” he manages to shoot back.
“You have no idea,” Adam says silkily, his face still only inches from Kris’. He’s been waiting for this moment since they moved into the mansion - maybe even earlier than that, and he couldn’t have timed it better.
“What tipped you off?” Kris asks, honestly curious. He knows he’s been a little more unfiltered around Adam lately, but he hadn’t really thought it was that obvious. Prior to choosing his song for Movie Week, it’s not like he’d even been one hundred percent positive anyway.
Adam shrugs, leaning back a little bit. “Oh, I wasn’t really sure until about five minutes ago, didn’t want to assume too much. Glad I had the opportunity to find out, though.” He pauses thoughtfully for a second. “And, Kris, the song is beautiful. It’s perfect. It’s... I love it, and you’re going to blow them away this week, but... if you wanted to let me know how you feel, you could’ve just told me.” Adam sounds so sincere, so earnest, that Kris almost regrets that he’s about to ruin their moment.
“I know,” Kris says, nodding, matching Adam’s tone as best as he can. “But Adam, it goes both ways. I mean, this elevator situation... It’s convenient, it’s private, I enjoyed it, really, but... if you wanted to get me alone for awhile, you could’ve just asked.”
Adam’s eyes are wide, and he almost manages to pull off looking confused, until Kris leans over him, reaching toward the panel of buttons on the wall and disengages the red one labeled “EMERGENCY STOP”. When their eyes meet again, Adam’s are sparkling with mischief, and maybe he looks just a little bit impressed too.
“You almost had me,” Kris says with a grin, as they feel the elevator resume its ascent. It dings a second later as they reach the second floor and the door opens.
Adam grabs Kris’ arm and yanks him out into the hallway, pulling him toward their bedroom.
“Who says I’ve lost my chance?”
Author: asm614
Rating: PG-13, if only for language
Pairings/Characters: Kradam (mostly friendship, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel...)
Written For: jg291
Prompt: At least part of the fic taking place with Kris/Adam stuck in an elevator by themselves
Summary: Kris and Adam end up stuck in the mansion elevator. Set during the week of preparation for the first Top 7 night (Idol Goes to the Cinema).
Warning: Contains spoilers for the plot of "Once"
Author's Note: Ended up a little longer than I anticipated (almost 3,000 words), but hopefully that's a good problem, lol. Also... I've toiled around with Kradam fic over the last few months, but this is the first thing I've ever shared... Be gentle, please :)
There’s a kind of jarring thud before the feeling of upward motion ceases.
“It didn’t just…” Kris trails off, his tone wary.
“I think it did,” Adam confirms, surveying the panel of buttons to his right. “We’re stuck.”
“And in the elevator of a freakin’ mansion, no less.” Kris wonders if his life is going to get any weirder in the next few weeks. Sometimes it feels like he’s at capacity.
“Do you have your phone?” Adam asks, patting his front and back pockets for his own.
“Nope. Left it on the nightstand.”
“Yeah. Mine’s with my laptop. Shit.”
“Oh come on, Lambert. Don’t act like this isn’t one of your greatest fantasies come to life,” Kris teases, a smile playing at the corners of his lips.
Caught off-guard, Adam’s eyes widen and he has the decency to blush. “I cannot believe you just said that to me.”
Kris only gives him a challenging look, daring him to argue or deny it. Adam swears he winks too, but he’s not completely sure about that.
He feels like maybe Kris has been pushing his buttons lately, but he doesn’t want to jump to conclusions. After all, no matter how adorable his roommate might be, he is, above all things, married.
“So what do we do now?” Kris asks after another moment, his previously joking demeanor temporarily abandoned.
Adam shrugs. “I guess we wait?”
“For what? Isn’t there supposed to be some kind of like… emergency phone system in all elevators, or something? Shouldn’t we call for someone or yell or something?” Kris isn’t really panicking, but he sort of is. Adam almost feels bad for finding it hopelessly cute.
“Just chill… I’m sure the power probably went out or something.” He tries to keep his voice calm, neutral.
“You think? But the lights are still on…” Kris hesitates, still looking a little bit worried. “Maybe we should try yelling for someone…”
Adam sighs. Kris is usually so low-key and mellow. It’s a bit disconcerting to see him on the verge of a potential panic attack.
“Look, there’s probably some kind of emergency system or generator that keeps the lights on if the power goes out. And we’re the only ones here. I doubt anyone would hear us if we started screaming like idiots.” Adam leans over and grabs Kris’ wrist, glancing down at his watch. “Matt and Anoop should be back from rehearsal in like a half hour. We’ll call for them then if this thing hasn’t started running again, alright?”
“A half hour,” Kris repeats, nodding like he thinks he can handle that. “Why’d we take this stupid thing anyway?”
“Because I wanted to be tired and lazy and you’re easy, so you went along with it,” Adam replies, grinning at Kris.
“Easy, huh?” Kris makes a face at the suggestion. “Well, I may be easy, but your ideas suck.”
“Maybe so. My ideas often do tend to involve a lot of sucking.” Adam raises an eyebrow suggestively, and laughs at Kris’ reaction.
“You are so bad, man,” Kris says, finally allowing himself to laugh. He backs up to one of the elevator walls and lets his body sink to the floor. “If we’re gonna be in here for awhile, might as well get comfy.”
Adam joins him, sprawling out a bit, his long legs nearly spanning the width of the small-ish enclosure. He leans back on his elbows and bends his right leg at the knee, foot flat on the floor.
“So,” he says, flicking lightly at one of Kris’ frayed-denim-covered knees. “Movie week coming up…”
“Do you know your song yet?” Kris asks, smiling. He always likes knowing Adam’s song in advance, tries to imagine how Adam will arrange it, what kind of performance he will create. If Kris is completely honest with himself, aside from performing his own song choices, watching Adam take the stage each week is one of his favorite things about being on the show.
“I’m torn,” Adam admits, humming thoughtfully. “So many options… so few with approval. I’ll figure it out, though.”
“You always do,” Kris agrees, kicking his foot against one of Adam’s. Adam smiles softly at the contact.
“Et tu?” The lilt of a question lingers in his voice as he gazes over Kris’ face.
“Guess.”
“Oh, you want to play games, huh?” Adam’s amusement is evident through his tone, blue eyes sparkling. “Greased Lightning.”
Kris lets out a loud, startled laugh, unable to avoid the snort that escapes him. “Seriously? Seriously?”
“The chicks will cream,” Adam recites, two sharp pelvic thrusts following for emphasis.
“No thanks!” Kris wrinkles his nose, and Adam can’t help but notice where his gaze lingers for more than a few seconds. Finally he looks back up to Adam’s face, still smiling. “Try again.”
“Hmm.” Adam appears to genuinely give it some thought for a few seconds. “Let’s come back to you,” he suggests. “What’s your guess for everyone else?”
They do this sometimes, though it’s usually late at night, as they’re trying to wind down from the craziness of one of their days. Sometimes they make serious predictions; most of the time, they don’t. Except now, there’re only seven left - and nearly all of them have a real shot at winning this whole thing. Sure, it would’ve been hilarious to suggest that Sarver could sing “I Will Follow Him” from Sister Act, but now they’re (mostly) among friends.
Kris shrugs. “Who you wanna start with?”
Adam leans his head back against the elevator wall. “Lil.”
“She should totally do something from, like The Bodyguard or something,” Kris offers.
Adam nods. “You’re totally right. Or even Waiting To Exhale. They both have some incredible Whitney songs. She’d get to show off that sick range of hers, and it seems completely her style.”
“Yeah. Exactly. Okay... How about Allison?” Kris suggests next.
“She’s gonna kill anything she picks. We both know that,” Adam says loyally, but he looks thoughtful. “You know what would be really beautiful?”
“What’s that?” Kris asks, moving closer with interest.
“Take My Breath Away.”
“Ohh yeah, that would be incredible. You think she’d pick it? Top Gun might be kind of old for her,” Kris points out, frowning a little.
Adam smirks. “Because you’re soooo much older than she is. What were you, like a whole year old when that movie came out?”
“You’re right, old man. I’m sure your 4-year-old self was just eating it up, drooling over Tom Cruise,” Kris shoots back, not missing a beat.
“Hey, he was hot back then. Less batshit crazy,” Adam teases back. “But yeah. I could totally see Alli doing that song.”
“Or maybe something like... what’s that one movie? It’s a total tearjerker... Bette Midler, another dark-haired lady...” Kris’ brow furrows.
“Beaches?” Adam supplies.
“Yeah! I only saw it once; Katy and my mom were bawling their freaking eyes out, but it has that one song... ‘Wind Beneath My Wings.’ It’s not typical, but I could hear Allison working her thing into that, too.”
“Hmm, I like,” Adam says after thinking it over for a moment. “Her voice would be kickass if she belted out the ending. We’ll have to ask what she has in mind, perhaps offer some brotherly guidance.”
Kris grins. “Definitely.”
The “game” goes on for a little while longer, as they predict “Kiss From A Rose” for Matt (or maybe “Eye of the Tiger,” Kris also thinks) and “Everything I Do (I Do It For You)” or “Unchained Melody” (someone does it, almost unfailingly, every year, Adam points out) for Anoop.
“Who’s left?” Kris asks.
Adam clears his throat. “ Gokey.”
“Oh. Well...”
“There’s always ‘Hip to Be A Square’...” Adam tosses out casually, trying to suppress a smirk.
Kris laughs. “I love it. But I was thinking something more... Oh, I don’t know... ‘My Heart Will Go On.’” His lips mash together in an attempt to suppress his own laughter as he waits for Adam’s reaction.
Adam cackles, his laughter loud and warm, and Kris feels fairly pleased with himself.
“Well, well, Kristopher Allen. I knew sooner or later, your inner bitch would emerge!”
“Yeah, well... You knew you’d rub off on me sooner or later,” he retorts, and Adam might be imagining things, but it’s almost like that little flirty note has returned to Kris’ voice. He must be imagining it. He debates twisting Kris’ comment into something about rubbing something, but figures he’d best err on the side of caution.
“As it should be,” he says cheekily, instead. “So back to you. What’ll it be?”
“You were supposed to guess,” Kris protests with a huff, his lower lip jutting out ever so slightly. Adam wants to put it back into place. With his tongue. Restraint! he reminds himself.
Adam sighs. “Okay, fine. How about ‘Hallelujah’... It was in Shrek.”
Kris hums thoughtfully. “You know, that crossed my mind. It’s an awesome song, but Castro did it last year, and I swear the judges are gunning for me, so I don’t want comparisons. Good guess, though. Try again.”
“I’m never going to guess at this rate. At least tell me the movie?” Adam tries.
“Once.”
“Okay, go ahead. I’m listening.” Adam makes a grand gesture of perking up and looking alert, giving Kris his best Cheshire Cat grin.
“No, smartass, that’s the movie. It’s called Once,” Kris explains, laughing.
“Oh.” Adam frowns. “Then I have no fucking clue.”
“You never heard of it?” Kris asks. “I saw it once, last year, and I watched it again the other night, when I was finalizing my choice. It’s... interesting.”
“Interesting?” Adam tilts his head and raises an eyebrow. “Do tell.”
“Oh, um, well...” And is Kris blushing? He totally is. But he sucks it up and begins explaining anyway.
“So, it’s about these two people in Dublin - two musicians, a guy and a girl... And they basically... they meet kind of randomly, complete strangers, and they end up singing this... this song together, and it sparks something in them. A romance, an interest... Some kind of attraction that just, like, manifests itself into their lives, and they spend a week together, writing these songs about their past relationships, and then this newfound love that they’re realizing they’ve found in each other...”
“Sounds... intense,” Adam breathes, mesmerized by both the storyline, and the sound of Kris’ voice as he retells it. There’s something more to it, but he can’t quite put his finger on what it is.
“It is,” Kris says, nodding. “It’s a great movie.”
“So... what happens? To the guy and the girl, I mean,” Adam asks curiously.
“Um, well, that’s kind of the sucky part, I guess. You sure you want me to ruin it for you?” Kris asks uncertainly, but Adam suspects it’s not because he’s terrified of revealing crucial plot spoilers.
“I sure I’ll find a way to cope with it,” he replies, smiling sweetly.
“Fine,” Kris sighs. “So, the guy finds out that the girl actually has a husband, and she’s kind of been separated for awhile, but she’s decided to get back with him. The guy asks her to spend one more night with him before everything has to end, and she says okay, but then she blows him off and doesn’t show. In the end, he goes back with his ex, even though it’s obviously not his ideal situation.”
“That does suck,” Adam agrees. “Pretty tragic. Love is... ugh.”
Kris smiles and lets out a small laugh that’s maybe really more like an exaggerated exhale.
“So what’s the song?” Adam asks, realizing that despite his newfound film knowledge, he still has no idea what Kris is planning to do for the competition.
“Oh, right... well... there’s this one song from the movie, the song they sing together initially. It’s called ‘Falling Slowly’ by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova... It actually won the Oscar for best song last year, they performed it live on the show,” he says.
Adam shrugs. “I might vaguely recall that, but not really. Care to enlighten me?”
Kris’ eyes widen. “You want me to sing it?”
Adam looks around - up, down, from side to side. “Do you see us going anywhere anytime soon?”
“Um, well... it’s just...” Kris stammers. He knows Adam’s eventually going to hear the song, but this isn’t exactly how he anticipated the great debut.
“Okay, you sing in front of like 80 bazillion million people on TV every single week. You can’t sing it for me, now? Kris, it’s ME. Maybe I can even help...” Adam decides to try another tactic. He’ll get this song out of Kris one way or another.
“No, it’s not that, it’s just... it’s not the same without music. Or the harmony. The harmony is pretty essential. I mean, it is a duet. And I-“ Kris pauses to look at Adam’s face, to see if he’s possibly made any progress. Not so much. “-I... Fine. Just a few lines, okay?”
“Pick your favorite verse or something,” Adam suggests, smiling. He shouldn’t find Kris’ shyness - his anxiety - so endearing, so irresistible, but he does. And now he’s really curious.
Kris nods, clearing his throat and closing his eyes as he begins to sing.
“Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can’t go back
Moods that take me and erase me
And I’m painted black
You have suffered enough
And warred with yourself
It’s time that you won
Take this sinking boat and point it home
We’ve still got time
Raise your hopeful voice, you had a choice
You’ve made it now”
Kris finishes singing, his eyelids snapping back up so he can see Adam’s reaction. He gasps to find blue eyes staring at him, much closer than they were previously. Somehow, while he was singing, he’d totally missed Adam completely shifting his position. Now Adam is leaning forward, mouth open almost imperceptibly, and Kris can’t quite interpret his expression.
“Adam?” he says slowly, hesitantly. Nothing’s happened yet, but he can tell that, with every passing second, things are changing - for better or worse, he’s not sure. Maybe he’s said too much, maybe not enough. Maybe he doesn’t even know what the hell he was trying to do by picking the song, but he does know Adam. And right now, he can see the wheels turning in Adam’s head, the puzzle pieces coming together.
Neither of them ever chooses a song without meaning, without purpose, without a message. (Well, except for that one time last week, but honestly, what was he supposed to sing from 1985?) Adam knows this. So does Kris.
Adam still hasn’t done anything, and really, it’s only been a few seconds, but Kris is nervous. He looks around everywhere, trying to find something to focus on besides Adam’s calculating stare.
Just as Kris’ eyes skim the walls of the elevator, he notices something he didn’t catch before, and is about to open his mouth to comment when Adam catches him by surprise, cupping a large hand around the back of Kris’ neck, pulling him closer, and capturing his lips.
For all intents and purposes, the kiss is chaste, and Adam pulls back before Kris really has a chance to let his mouth respond. But, the second he feels the separation, he leans in for more, and by the expression on Adam’s face, he thinks that’s all Adam really needed to see. He’s grinning.
“So, I was right.” Adam looks like the cat that at the canary, and Kris is pretty sure his own face is the color of Allison’s hair.
“So what if you are?” he manages to shoot back.
“You have no idea,” Adam says silkily, his face still only inches from Kris’. He’s been waiting for this moment since they moved into the mansion - maybe even earlier than that, and he couldn’t have timed it better.
“What tipped you off?” Kris asks, honestly curious. He knows he’s been a little more unfiltered around Adam lately, but he hadn’t really thought it was that obvious. Prior to choosing his song for Movie Week, it’s not like he’d even been one hundred percent positive anyway.
Adam shrugs, leaning back a little bit. “Oh, I wasn’t really sure until about five minutes ago, didn’t want to assume too much. Glad I had the opportunity to find out, though.” He pauses thoughtfully for a second. “And, Kris, the song is beautiful. It’s perfect. It’s... I love it, and you’re going to blow them away this week, but... if you wanted to let me know how you feel, you could’ve just told me.” Adam sounds so sincere, so earnest, that Kris almost regrets that he’s about to ruin their moment.
“I know,” Kris says, nodding, matching Adam’s tone as best as he can. “But Adam, it goes both ways. I mean, this elevator situation... It’s convenient, it’s private, I enjoyed it, really, but... if you wanted to get me alone for awhile, you could’ve just asked.”
Adam’s eyes are wide, and he almost manages to pull off looking confused, until Kris leans over him, reaching toward the panel of buttons on the wall and disengages the red one labeled “EMERGENCY STOP”. When their eyes meet again, Adam’s are sparkling with mischief, and maybe he looks just a little bit impressed too.
“You almost had me,” Kris says with a grin, as they feel the elevator resume its ascent. It dings a second later as they reach the second floor and the door opens.
Adam grabs Kris’ arm and yanks him out into the hallway, pulling him toward their bedroom.
“Who says I’ve lost my chance?”