Light My Fire

Ship: Adam/Kris from American Idol
Plot: Adam teasing Kris during the AI show and tour.
Notes: No Drake or Katy exist in this story. Danny is somewhat of a douche. Written upon request as a turnabout from my last story, Playing with Fire, in which Kris teased Adam.
Style: Humor/Dialogue
Rating: NC-17 probably eventually

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Chapter One: Prologue: Kindling? There's Kindling?


"I could be sexy like Jim Morrison," Danny argued. "In fact, I'll try it right now. Hey, Kris, you've got your guitar, let's--"

"I don't think I wanna see this..." Matt muttered. "I really don't."

Anoop made a gagging motion with his finger in his open mouth. "I know I don't."

"I don't think you should see this," Megan pointed at Allison. "It would turn you off of sex forever."

"I agree!" Lil nodded, then grinned. "Then again, speaking as a mother myself, perhaps your mama would want you to see it -- the best birth control is having no urge to have sex."

"Ah, not a problem I've ever had," Adam quipped as he startled them all by speaking from the doorway to the music room.

"Adam! You're back." Kris jumped to his feet and wove his way through everyone else in the room to stand before Adam, who was leaning heavily against the door frame. He smiled happily up at his roommate, glad to see that Adam had been able to go out and relax with his brother after the emotional rollercoaster of Michael Jackson week. Tomorrow was the results show and given the audience reaction to Adam's performance, he should be safe, but... Kris put his hand on Adam's arm and squeezed tightly. He wanted Adam to stay. So bad.

"Yeah, Neil got me back even before curfew...like a good little boy." Adam nodded over his shoulder at his brother, then looked down at Kris and smiled sloppily at his roommate and, thankfully now, friend. He didn’t know how to convey his appreciation of Kris’ quiet words of encouragement last night as they lay in their beds talking. "What are we talking about? Sex? Because if so, I'm in."

Megan grinned. "I don't think you're drunk enough for this. Danny wants to do his version of Jim Morrison."

"You... are not serious." Neil twisted his mouth in distaste. He glanced over at his brother and saw one eyebrow raise at Megan's words. Hmm. What was that about... Oh wait. Last summer. This might get interesting, he decided and skirted Kris and Adam to walk into the room. This might be worth delaying his drive home.

"You can't make this shit up," Allison told him.

"The universe has a really twisted sense of humor," Neil agreed.

"Hey! C'mon! I'd be great at it." Danny protested. "In fact, let's all -- the guys, I mean -- do our version of Jim Morrison."

Neil's eyes met Lil's and they both shook their heads. He should have kept up with Adam's liquor intake if he was expected to watch Gokey trying to be sexy. Then again, maybe alcohol wasn't strong enough. Where was that shit from Burning Man when he needed it? Burning Man... Neil looked over at the piano and back at Adam. Wait. A. Minute. A memory began flickering through his brain. Should he? Hmm. Well, given the way Kris was looking up at Adam... Oh yeah, he should. But first, there was a pretty available girl in the room and he wasn't a fool.

"You in?" Matt asked Kris.

"I'm not doin' it!" Kris laughed, half-amused and half-aggravated. He frowned as he felt his normal calm chip away. It had been a long evening worrying about Adam and now this?

"Yes, you will!" Danny argued. "Are you afraid to do it?"

"No. I just don't wanna. I won't. No freaking way and--" He stopped when Adam put his arm around Kris' shoulders and pulled him in to his side for a quick hug. Kris sighed and relaxed into Adam’s warmth. Adam was the best hugger ever. He’d decided that this morning. Adam had foolishly Googled himself and the look on his face... well, Kris had no choice but to hug him, anyone would have done the same. To his surprise, he'd discovered that he fit perfectly into Adam’s arms. Everyone should hug Adam, he’d decided then.

"You don't have to if you don't want to. Contrary to his own belief, Gokey isn't god. Nor does he speak for him. Or her. What have you guys been doing that you ended up at this unfortunate destination?" Adam asked Kris as he released him. Damn, the boy had pretty eyes.

"Talking about the show, talking about music, wondering what next week's theme will be. I wish you'd been here... It would've been better, more fun," Kris said softly.

"Thanks for saying that," Adam responded in kind, feeling a warmth -- a warmth he needed -- that had nothing to do with Kris standing so close to him. Okay, maybe it did, a little, but he was in control. The warmth was more from the honest affection in Kris' gaze.

Kris kept looking up into Adam's eyes. Who knew blue could be so warm? And... What guy had lashes like that? Day-um. He shifted his feet and rubbed his thumb along the leather of Adam’s jacket sleeve. "If you'd been here, then maybe Danny wouldn't have monopolized the conversation and we wouldn't have ended up talking about his idea of sexy songs."

"What's wrong with sexy songs?" Adam asked, raising his eyebrow. Who didn’t like the high you got from getting sexy?

"I..." Kris looked down. "I'm not really comfortable with them, I mean, performing them."

"Why not? It's fun. You get a charge, the audience gets a charge. It's all good, right?" Adam jiggled his arm and smiled as Kris wiggled around while still looking downward. "Look up at me," Adam ordered, waiting until Kris lifted his eyes obediently, but was still shaking his head. "Good. Now, why not? You're great Kris. You know that. You could totally do it."

"I could?" Kris looked up into Adam's eyes. They had so much confidence in them... "I could. Maybe... or not. I'm not doing Light My Fire, though. Not here. You should." Kris squeezed Adam's arm to emphasize his point. "You know how to move."

"Do I?" Adam asked softly as his eyes caught and kept Kris' gaze firmly held within his own. “I bet you do too.”

Chapter 2: Prologue: Yeah, there’s kindling.


"Hi, Neil!" Megan smiled as Adam's brother sat down next to her on the couch. "Did you get Adam relaxed tonight? He needed a break, poor guy. You know we all love him--"

"We all?" Neil raised his eyebrow and looked at Danny. Adam had thought that Danny didn't mean to hurt with his comments, but... surely that was Adam just trying in his freaking annoying way to be positive. Because, geez, Danny, how much imagination did it take to realize that those sort of comments weren't funny? He had a feeling that if Adam weren't hoping to make it on that tour bus, Danny might have found himself on the wrong side of Adam's tongue.

Megan shook her head. "There's always a jerk in every group, right?"

Neil grimaced in frustration and grunted. "Yeah."

"But really, we love Adam. And at least Adam lucked out with his roommate. Kris is the nicest guy." Megan paused, then said softly, "Plus he really likes Adam and they seem super... attuned. You should have seen the pain in his puppy dog eyes when he saw Adam was hurting."

Neil's own eyes opened wide. Adam had always been the protector in relationships and their mother had often thought... Hmm. He looked back at his brother, who was focused on Kris, who was focused on Adam. Adam was leaning laconically against the doorway while Kris was shifting from side to side, always maintaining his hold on Adam and... "Kris looks like a puppy dog wagging his tail in the door when --"

"Does that make Adam his master?" Megan grinned.

Neil began to laugh. "You have no idea. How long has Kris acted like this?"

Megan giggled. "Don't you remember Kris having a fit when Adam was reprising Satisfaction? Kris has been wagging his tail over Adam since...well, since they met."

"That's interesting."

"Why?" Megan asked curiously.

Neil shook his head. There was so much he could say, but he confined himself to nonchalantly commenting, "Oh, Kris is his type. If Kris swung that way, of course."

"Yeah, of course. So Adam has a type?"

"Yeah. Little guys he can throw around. Dominate."

"Throw around? Dominate?" Megan asked in surprise, her eyebrows nearly reaching her hairline.

"Adam is a total dom."

Megan choked. "Seriously? Adam? He's so sweet. Vulnerable. And funny. Are you sure?"

Neil shrugged. "I'm his brother, plus he has no filter. I know him. Adam can be sweet, actually his positivity can be sickening! Blech!" Neil rolled his eyes. "But believe me, he has another side. Or sides. I'm not gonna talk any more about his sex life because that's just creepy, but for the record, you do not want to fight with him." Neil winced. "We used to beat up on each other all the time and we don't do that any more, but he never gave up. And damn, these days his mouth can slice you to ribbons if he's angry. Last Thanksgiving, I was the one carved up, not the turkey."

"Adam did that?" Megan blinked, then after thinking a minute, nodded slowly. "I can see that, actually. Because he dealt with all that shit this week when a lot of people would have just given up and quit. He just dug down and found the strength. And he was...angry tonight on stage. Angry, before we saw him get vulnerable."

"Exactly," Neil commented, wondering why yet again he ended up talking about his brother with a beautiful woman. He sighed and they both turned back toward the room as Danny's voice impinged upon their conversation. "Yeah. I think Danny gets to play turkey tonight."

"C'mon, guys, let's do it--" Danny urged again and again. "Go get Scott and Jorge and--"

Anoop raised his hand. "They're asleep. Or Scott is eating. Again. But anyway, I need to object. No one knows the music for the piano or guitar. And besides, there is no way--"

Danny punched Anoop in the arm. "C'mon, man. Don't be so dried up. It'll be fun. We can all do it and the girls can vote on who's the best...what did he call himself?"

"Serpent King. Snake King. Lizard King?" Adam asked Neil. He tilted his head to get a better look at the suddenly-smug look on Neil's face and bit back a groan. Perhaps tilting his head wasn't his best possible option. Why had he allowed Neil to keep buying him drinks? Especially after he'd told Neil about his little crush on his roommate? Which was really only useful for distracting him from his problems. Right? He searched for an answer, but got distracted, again, by Kris' soft voice and his eyes. Geez. Get control, Lambert. Losing your inhibitions wasn't your... what was that... best possible option when you were sleeping six feet from... that... Adam sighed as he looked down at Kris. So gorgeous.

Neil grinned and held out his hands. "Hey, you know what? I can help--"

"No good will come of this, Neil offering to help," Adam whispered, leaning down to Kris. He clamped his hand on Kris' shoulder when he began to tilt too far, then sighed when Kris helpfully wrapped his arm around Adam's waist. He didn't really need the help, but he wasn't stupid. A hot guy clinging to your side? Not the time to move. He sighed and looked at Neil, waiting for the cue.

Neil smiled the smile Adam know portended evil. Meeting Adam's amused eyes, he knew his brother had known from the moment they walked in what would happen. "Oooh, all sorts of good will come from this, Adam. Remember? The stars aligning and all that shit you're into? Because we walk in and they're talking about a song I think I know on piano. Or at least I once knew, kinda, the music for the piano for the Jim Morrison version of Light My Fire," Neil said to the room. "Because we're not talking the Jose Feliciano version, right?"

"Oh, wait --- that'd be better!" Danny argued and turned to where Kris and Adam were once again talking to each other. "Kris, do you, could you play your guitar-- Kris? Kris?"

"Forget about it," Matt griped under his breath as he sullenly watched Adam and Kris whisper to each other. "He's too busy staring into Adam's baby blues to think about his guitar."

"Sure, Adam, I could play my guitar," Kris offered as he reluctantly slid his arm away from Adam and turned to the room. "I wouldn't sing, just play."

"I dunno, Allen." Allison smirked. "I think you could still do your version of Jim Morrison. Like in that famous picture of him."

"I agree!" Megan winked as Kris' face turned red. "I think I speak for all of us judges when I say that we'd all like to see Kris without his shirt."

Lil nodded. "Yeah. We all know how important the visual presentation is to the performance. So, speaking as a judge..."

Anoop groaned. "The power has gone to their heads."

"Strip, boys!" Allison ordered, then giggled.

Adam shook his head. "No, actually, don't." The last thing he needed to see when he was slightly drunk was a half-naked Kris Allen or... He whispered to Kris, "Yuck, the last thing I ever want to see, drunk or sober, is a half-naked Danny Gokey. That might put me off of sex ... for all of an hour."

Kris blinked, then burst out laughing and when everyone looked over at them, Adam and Kris both smiled innocently. When they said nothing, everyone shrugged and looked away. Kris immediately stood on his tip toes and unable to resist, whispered to Adam, "So what happens after an hour?"

"I go back to contemplating my lube stash in the shower."

His face collapsing with laughter, Kris fell into Adam’s side and buried his head in Adam’s shoulder.

Chapter 3: Prologue: Finding the match


"Are you going to do it, Adam?" Danny asked, his voice loud enough to cut through Kris' laughter. Kris reluctantly lifted his head from Adam's shoulder, taking one last breath of Adam's scent.

"Why wouldn't I?" Adam asked carefully. He'd vowed to try and get along with everyone since they were going to be stuck on a tour bus forever, but there were days...

"Because it's not fair..." Danny said in a tone he thought was helpful.

Neil grinned as he looked over at his brother. He'd seen him perform enough times, seen the way women responded to Adam's performances... "No, it's really not."

"How so, Danny?" Adam asked, knowing Gokey and feeling himself tense up, the muscles in his back tightening and then... What? He felt warmth on his spine and realized that Kris had placed his hand there and was rubbing in circles.

"Well..." Danny shrugged. "If the girls are judging, you can't really win, Adam."

"Why?" Kris asked, his own jaw flexing even as he kept rubbing Adam's back. If ever anyone needed a punch in the nose, it was Gokey. Although the Lord usually found a way to teach lessons on His own...

"Because he's gay," Danny said. "Obviously, girls won't find anything he does sexy."

After a moment of stunned silence, laughter rang out. The girls were looking at each other and laughing. Neil cracked up and fell forward until his nose nearly touched his knee.

"Oh, you're on, Gokey." Adam reached back and grabbed Kris' elbow and pulled him toward his guitar, propped up near the piano. Kris sat down in a chair, while Adam crossed to the other side of the sitting area and after meeting Kris' gaze for a long moment, relaxed on the floor, closing his eyes.

"How do you know this song, Neil?" Anoop asked as Neil sat down at the piano and ran his fingers over the keys, finding the song.

"If memory serves and it's a little hazy when it comes to Burning Man, right, Adam?"

"Hmm?" Adam opened his eyes reluctantly. "Yeah. But we did do something with this song last year. Burning Man, fire... Something."

Neil looked down at his hands. "Something. Hey, Gokey. Wanna make a bet?"

"What kind of bet? Me against Adam?" Danny asked suspiciously and gestured toward the piano. "How do I know you won't sabotage me to give Adam an advantage?"

"I don't pull underhanded shit." Neil held up his hands. "If you win, I'll give you a hundred bucks."

"A hundred bucks?" Gokey whistled.

"Yeah. Buy some contacts or something," Neil suggested. A decent personality would be too expensive. "And if Adam wins... you can't talk to him for a week unless he addresses you directly."

Adam's head snapped up and his eyes met his brother's. "Incentive!" he mouthed in Neil's direction.

Neil winked back even as he thought that Adam never needed extra motivation to act sexy in front of a hot guy. Speaking of which, "Hey, Kris, come on over and let's work on the music. Well, Danny?"

"You're on!" Danny agreed as he opened his laptop to find a Doors performance. While the other men huddled around Danny's computer, Adam flopped on the floor, laying on his back, his eyes closed, wondering why he'd done that given that the room was spinning. Now there was an idea for camera work... Focus, Lambert, he told himself, then listened as Neil and Kris began to work on the instrumentation, tuning out the conversation and snippets of singing from the other men.

"The guys are taking a long time," Allison complained as she tugged and shoved Adam into a sitting position in front of a chair and sat down next to him.

"I'm sure it will be worth the wait." Adam opened one eye and peered at Neil and Kris who were laughing softly while they blended their instruments.

"Are you doin' okay?" Allison asked as Adam closed his eyes again. "Hard week."

Adam sighed. "What's done is done, now. It's in the hands of the universe. But...I wish I had sung better--"

"Control freak. Perfectionists are not happy people, you know." Allison punched him in the leg. "You did great. Even Simon the sourpuss said you were in a whole 'nother league. Plus, didn't you hear the audience? They loved you!"

"I know." Adam's smile spread across his face. "I couldn't believe it."

"Believe it, Lambert!" Kris ordered, able to hear Adam's voice over everyone else's in the room even though it had been pitched lower. He could, for some reason he didn't understand, just find Adam anywhere. He pointed a guitar pick in Adam's direction, even though Adam's eyes were shut. "You were on fire tonight."

"Speaking of which, we're ready!" Danny announced, rubbing his hands together.

"You're going first. It was your idea," Anoop demanded.

Danny strutted over to the piano, hiking up his jeans along the way. He turned and pointed at Neil. "I want the Morrison version, I decided. You ready for this?"

"Oh, I've been ready for this all week." Neil grinned and nodded at Kris and they began to play.

Danny began to sing and suddenly pulled his glasses off and flung them on the piano lid.

You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I was to say to you
Girl, we couldn't get much higher
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire



"Make him stooooopppppppp...." Allison whimpered into Adam's shoulder.

"Can't hear you, honey. My ears have gone deaf from the screeching," Adam whispered back, his eyes still closed. The room had long since stopped spinning and he was totally aware of everything around him and not sure if that was good or bad. "I never said that, by the way. I'll deny everything."

"Don't ask, don't tell?" Allison quipped, giggling when Adam elbowed her.

Anoop shook his head as he reluctantly stood up and walked toward the piano. He lifted his eyes to the ceiling and muttered, "How do I get sucked into these nightmares?" He rolled his shoulders and began singing.

The time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire, yeah



"Anoop!" Megan shook her finger. "You need to loosen up and you'd be hot!"


Matt bounced up to the impromptu stage. "Can we do the Feliciano version, guys?"

Kris nodded. "Good idea, you're so full of energy, singing faster is your best bet."

"Thanks, Kris!" Matt said brightly.

Kris blinked and looked in confusion at Neil, who shrugged and began playing.

The time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire, yeah


"Matt... hey, you're pretty gooood..." Lil high-fived Matt as he sat back down.


"Adam, you're up!" Allison called out, pushing Adam with her hands.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty!" Danny trilled. "You know, Lambert, if you'd rather keep on waiting for your prince to come--"

Adam's eyes snapped open. "I don't wait for my prince to come. I make sure he does. On my timetable."

As the room exploded in laughter, Adam vaulted to his feet and peeling off his jacket as he went toward the piano, tossed it on the ground. Speaking quickly, he gave a series of directions. "Okay, Neil, let's lower the key and as for the timing..."

Anoop grinned as Adam continued talking to Kris and Neil. "He wasn't asleep. Just thinking."

"I was thinking, Adam," Neil drawled. "That it's too bad you're not doing this in front of a bonfire like at Burning Man."

Adam smiled slowly. "Those tricks with the fire? That was stupidly dangerous."

Neil shrugged. "Danger, risk. Aren't you the one who thinks life isn't worth living without risk?"

"That would indeed be me. Let's go." Adam rolled on his feet twice, then nodded at Neil and Kris, he took a step forward. Feeling himself flow into the song, he moved his body fluidly forward.

Moving his hips slowly, he sang in a low husky growl, gradually increasing the tempo and going higher with each stanza, then falling back into the deeper tone with each refrain, until he paused before beginning the final verse, his half-closed eyes scanning the room and settling on Kris. He licked his lips and opened his mouth and an unearthly ethereal soft wail echoed around the room, the high tones somehow being both seductive and demanding all at once.

"Madre de dios!" Allison squeaked.

"Hot shit!" Megan whispered. "That's all I've got... hot shit!"

"Um... yeah..." Lil agreed. "I think we have a winner."


As Adam's voice soared higher and higher, Kris rose to his feet, keeping his eye on Adam, his fingers keeping up with Adam's voice.

Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire

As Adam sang the last line, his voice went up octave after octave until the last note seemed to spin into the air and disappear like smoke.

Thwang

Kris dropped his guitar on the floor. "Shit!" He looked down in disbelief.

"Oh, no, Kris..." Adam dropped his performance mode instantly. He darted forward and grabbed the guitar as it tilted precariously in a free fall face first toward the floor. He handed it to Kris, while turning it over. "It looks okay. Hope it's not damaged." He stroked the smooth wood of the bottom curve of the guitar.

"I..." Kris looked at Adam's hands stroking wood and swallowed hard.

"What happened?" Adam asked as he flipped the guitar over and examined the other side, looking down at Kris from under the dark fringes of his hair and lashes.

"I think his hands got sweaty," Neil answered when Kris stayed mute.

"I know mine did," Lil whispered under her breath to Megan.

"Kris?" Adam prompted, his eyes traveling down Kris' flushed face to his neck, where Kris swallowed visibly, then down his body until... Oh. That was... more than he expected.

"I'll take my guitar!" Kris blurted out, jumping forward to grab the instrument away from Adam and holding it in front of him.

"Sure..." Adam agreed. "Maybe... you'd prefer to put your instrument away in your room. Make sure it's safe. By yourself." He smiled cherubically.

"I.. yeah!" Kris ran one hand through his hair and nodded like a bobblehead doll before darting out of the room.

"I should go," Neil announced and stood up and walked toward the nearby foyer with Adam at his side.

"What the hell was that?" Adam asked softly as he nodded in the direction of the music room.

"Just being a good bro," Neil answered with a grin. "And wingman."

Adam snorted, then shook his head. The timing.. then again, maybe it was all coming together, his whole life was finally all at once reaching a fortunate destination. The brothers stopped as they entered the foyer and looked upward.

"What are you thinking?" Neil asked as they both watched Kris run up the stairs.

Adam smiled slowly. "Two words. Zipper pants."

Chapter 4: It is possible to light a fire with a zipper. I'm sure it's in the Boy Scout handbook somewhere.


"Are my pants too tight for a family show? What do you think?" Adam asked, twirling around in the dressing room, keeping his eyes on Kris in the mirror.

Kris opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. How was he supposed to answer that question when he was not capable of thinking? Worse yet, he didn't even know why his brain was set to... sizzle or something whenever Adam pulled one of these stunts. All he did know was that he could never look away. It was like... he'd been cold and Adam was a warm fire. Or something.

"Damn, Lambert!" Allison hooted in laughter. "Guess we know--

"You're Jewish," Anoop finished as he shook his head. Never a dull moment when Adam was around.

Adam stopped spinning to laugh. "Too tight?"

"I wouldn't say that. I'm enjoying the view. And speaking for women everywhere, I thank you for being so... scenic." Megan grinned at Lil, then turned back to point her index finger in a circle at Adam. "Although I'd love to know what you're wearing... or not, underneath."

"It's a secret." Adam smiled at Megan, keeping his eye on Kris, whose eyes seemed to be glued to his ass. "The secret that keeps people guessing and intrigued. Which is all part of my diabolical plan to further the gay agenda--"

"I'm betting you have on some sort of underwear," Anoop interrupted. Adam didn't have any diabolical plan; the guy was totally transparent. As was Kris. As were those pants. Well, nearly. The pants, that is. Kris truly was transparent in his shock or whatever you wanted to call that look on his face. Which would be... hunger, Anoop decided. And not for a hot dog from Pinks either. He grinned and turned back toward Adam, who was watching Kris, who was watching Adam. "Yeah, I'd bet on underwear."

"Why? I could take that bet. Ten bucks?" Lil agreed.

"Yeah, I'd take some action on that bet!" Megan called out. "But why do you say he's wearing underwear?" She smiled at poor Kris who was his twisting his mouth as if words were trying to come out, but failing.

Anoop shook his head. "Because... Otherwise... well, it could be an ouch! moment."

"Maybe I'm really skilled at... handling those situations." Adam smiled slowly and began to play with the leather strands of his cat o' nine tails hanging from his belt. "So, do you all want to make a betting pool or --"

"I can't believe you're debating about whether or not he's wearing underwear!" Kris finally expostulated, then reached out and smacked Adam's side. "And I can't believe you're encouraging them!"

"Oh, you can believe it of me," Adam laughed, grabbing Kris' hand and pushing it away. These pants might be just a little too tight.

"Yeah. But the rest of you..." Kris shook his head. Why had Adam pushed him away? He always seemed happy enough with Kris' admitted tendency to touch the people he cared about and--

"Why shouldn't we bet?" Allison asked, then pointed her finger at Kris. "You're just mad you can't be in on the bet. You know if he's wearing underwear!"

"No, I d d don't..." Kris stuttered. "Why would I know that? I don't watch him get dressed. I don't and--"

"Okaaaaaaaaaaaay. Chill out, man!" Allison held up her hands in surrender. "You're roommates and all. Girls get dressed in front of each other. Don't boys have that whole locker room manly man 'tude?"

"His jacket is... glittery!" Kris said, then clamped his mouth shut. What the hell did the jacket have to do with anything? Oh god, if Gokey heard that comment he'd use it against Adam, which would be horrible. "Wait, I didn't mean that because your jacket is shiny that you're not a man, Adam. Because, obviously..." Kris gestured toward Adam's pants. "You are. A man. Obviously." The minute the words left Kris' mouth, he groaned.

"Obviously," everyone chorused in unison.

"Kill me now..." Kris muttered under his breath. Oh god, if he'd hurt Adam's feelings, he'd kill himself. "Adam..." he whispered, his eyes open wide as he looked up into Adam's thankfully-amused bright blue gaze.

Adam caught his breath as he saw the concern in Kris' eyes. "It's okay, Kris. I know what you meant. I know you'd never say anything derogatory about me."

"Thank god..." Kris sighed in relief. He should make amends, though. He should... talk about clothes. Adam loved to talk about clothes. "Where did you find those pants, anyway?"

Megan nodded. "Yeah. We went shopping together, but I didn't see those pants, Adam. Or that shirt. Did you buy them this week?"

"No. I had the shirt and the pants in my closet. The shirt is Versace, it was a great investment piece I found. And the pants, I've had them for a while. They are favorites of mine..." Adam smiled as he bent slightly and ran his palms down the front of his thighs, watching Kris' eyes follow his movements.

"Why?" Kris blurted out. "Why would you have pants like that..." He gestured with his right hand in Adam's direction, then flapped his hand in the direction of Adam's hips. "They're so....obvious."

"Because there is no such thing as too obvious when you're trying to get laid in a gay bar." Adam grinned. "Believe me, they've proven that point over and over."

"Ah. So these are, indeed, your lucky pants." Anoop grinned back at Adam. He could relate. A score was a score was a score.

Kris' mouth popped open in shock, then he felt a wave of anger... yes, that was it... anger, that Adam had given himself away so cheaply, roll over him as he imagined Adam... "You... just... go into a bar to..."

"Find someone to have sex with? Yeah, Kris. People do that. Not just gay people, either." Adam leaned his butt against the counter, fully aware that the movement jutted his hips forward. And if he hadn't been aware, the way Kris' eyes were scanning his zipper area would have told the tale.

"I know that!" Kris protested. "I'm not some naive rube."

"I never said you were. Just teasing..." Adam said softly. He held out his hand and waited until Kris took it. Adam pulled him close to his side. "Sorry. I enjoy teasing you. You get ruffled."

"Like a chicken," Kris grumbled, then surrendered to the inevitable and began to chuckle. He'd already learned that he could never stay aggravated at Adam for more than a few seconds and he only got aggravated at Adam when Adam was deliberately trying to push his buttons.

"Do chickens get ruffled? I wouldn't know." Adam paused, then held up a finger. "However, I have worn feathers."

Kris cracked up. "And I bet you looked awesome."

"I bet I did too. I have a feather ruff. You should wear it some time."

"I cannot imagine an occasion that would require a feather ruff on my part."

"Oh, I could. But really, we need to talk accessories, Kris. Accessories are crucial to the overall success of an outfit. Especially when you're performing. They help elicit a response from the audience." Adam flicked his cat o' nine tails and watched the ends slide against his thigh, then flicked his fingers once again.

"I feel a dissertation coming on..." Kris groaned, even as he smiled up at Adam. He loved listening to Adam talk about... anything. "Ouch!" He hissed as something sharp smacked his hand. "What the hell is that, anyway?"

"It's a... fun little sex toy." Adam ran the strands through his fingers. "Or disciplinary device. Which can also be fun."

"You are shitting me. And... You are not wearing that on the show!" Kris stared at Adam's hand in shock.

"Of course I am. It moves nicely when I roll my hips." Adam smiled. "Want me to show you?"

Kris bit his lip, then finally moved his eyes away from Adam's hand fondling the leather strands up to Adam's beaming face. Oh, Adam was enjoying this. "You love pushing..."

"I excel at pushing." Adam flicked the leather strands at Kris' leg.

"You.. wait. Isn't that your key chain?" Kris asked as realization dawned with the slight snap of the leather ends against his leg. "You wear a sex toy for your key chain?"

"That would be correct. It keeps it handy. Convenient." Adam languidly slapped the whip against his hip and kept his eyes on Kris' and watched the pupils dilate. "You never know when someone might need some discipline."

"You don't really... Although you do look like you know how to handle it." Kris focused on the whip as Adam continued playing with it. Adam wore a whip around town. In public. Then what the hell did he do in private? And... Kris felt redness rise up from his chest, sluice up his neck, and brand his face. "Sorry. That's none of my business. I...was just curious."

"So tell me. Are you curious?" Adam asked, dropping his voice. When Kris seemed to shiver, Adam made a mental note.

"Curious? About what else?" Kris asked.

"Whether or not I'm wearing anything under my pants."

"You... you... you..." Kris spluttered. "You wouldn't go commando on a family show!"

Adam arched an eyebrow. "Wouldn't I?"

Kris gulped.

Chapter 5: Fire can burn and fire can protect


"I'd really like to punch Randy Travis in the fucking nose," Kris growled under his breath.

Adam looked down in surprise. He patted Kris on the shoulder. "It's okay."

"No. It. Is. Not. Okay." Kris said, glaring at Randy as he stood talking to Kara after the show.

"Kris?" Allison asked, her eyes wide. Kris was so laid back, it was almost shocking to see the fire in his eyes and damn, the boy's hands were clenched. "Randy Travis was a jerk, but Adam is a big boy--"

"It is not okay to treat someone, anyone, but especially Adam, like he's some... freak."

"Well, I am kinda out there..." Adam said, trying to placate Kris while, he admitted it, feeling lit inside by Kris' concern. He was usually the one protecting others, so it was...different and... heart-warming to have someone be defensive on his behalf.

"Why? Because you wear nail polish? C'mon." Kris tapped Adam's hand, then without conscious thought curled his hand around Adam's and squeezed tightly.

Adam squeezed back, then released Kris' hand, slowly running his thumb across Kris' palm. When Kris stared down at his hand in bemusement, Adam told him, with a smile, "I don't mind saying that I fly the freak flag--"

"That's different. You're saying that as a positive. He acted like you're...scary. Which is so ridiculous!"

"Maybe he is sc--" Adam began, then stopped when Kris continued arguing. Adam looked at Allison and raised his eyebrows while Allison's eyes grew even wider.

"He acted like you were some... scary, exotic predator that might take a bite out of him." Kris shook his head.

Allison looked at Randy Travis and grinned. "Maybe that's what he wanted."

Kris' eyes bulged out. "What? Wow. I never thought of that."

"That's because you operate from a core of quiet self-confidence and acceptance, Kris. You don't operate, on any level, out of fear," Adam said softly.

Kris smiled at the compliment, then shook his head. "No. But are you saying he's afraid because of what he wants but chooses not to have..."

Adam smiled slowly. "Well... perhaps. There are rumors about him, you know. Lots of rumors. Maybe I represent everything he is afraid of personally, having made a choice to hide--"

"Behind that drag queen of a wife?" Allison nodded. "I mean, c'mon."

"I'd still like to punch him in the nose," Kris insisted. "I don't care what his hang ups are or his issues or his comfort zone. You don't treat people like that. Especially people like..." Kris looked up at Adam. How could anyone look into Adam's eyes and not see the beautiful soul inside? "You. I'm serious. I really could pop him one."

Adam made a show of looking around, then lifted his empty hands. "Sorry, I don't have a step stool handy."

"Step stool?"

"Yeah. He's tall, Kris. You'd need a step stool to reach his nose."

Kris blinked, then felt his face relax into a broad smile. He smacked Adam in the side, relieved when Adam did not push him away this time. He slid his arms around Adam's waist and hugged him tightly. Adam might seem totally calm, but still, that kind of crap had to hurt. "I'm still mad at him. And the judges. They didn't get it, but seriously? Your vocals were amazing."

"They were, weren't they?" Adam hugged Kris back for a moment, then stepped back. Indeed, the zipper pants were too tight. And it was about to become too obvious that he liked Kris.

"No false modesty." Kris grinned. He liked Adam's confidence. Like his optimism, it was infectious. The more time he spent with Adam, the more self-assured he felt in his own music.

Adam shook his head. "No. Believe me, in this business, there is no place for false modesty because there's always some jealous misanthrope who wants what you've got and he'd be happy to steal it from you, by degrading your mojo with negativity." He paused as he looked over Kris' head. "Hey, Danny."

"If you girls are done hugging it out..." Danny said with a smirk as he came up with some of the other contestants. "We're supposed to head back to the mansion."

Adam ignored Danny and said to Kris, "I need to go talk to the stage manager. She promised me a dvd of the performances tonight."

"I thought we couldn't get them until tomorrow. You are such a con artist!" Allison laughed.

"No. I merely asked -- nicely. Most people respond when they are treated decently and with respect. Life lesson, little girl." Adam pointed at Allison, then bit his lip when she looked over at Danny with a small smile. "She's right over there. I'll be back in a minute." He walked off.

Kris turned around to watch Adam stride away, his long legs covering the floor quickly. Adam was right about that cat o' nine tails... it did sway when he moved and... those pants were amazingly tight. He really wasn't commando under them was he? Whoa, Kristopher. Maybe you shouldn't be looking at his ass? Then again, there was that bet. Right? Did he have underwear on? Tilting his head, Kris licked his lower lip and then frowned when Adam disappeared into the people milling around backstage, although he could see his black hair above the crowd. "I've gotta get my guitar," Kris mumbled and began to walk away, brought to an abrupt halt when Danny grabbed his arm.

Leaning close, Danny hissed urgently, "I can't believe you full-body hugged the gay guy wearing those zipper pants. Getting a little too close for comfort, in my opinion."

"Maybe he was just trying to figure out what bet to place," Matt suggested, as Kris gave Danny a look of death before pulling his arm free to stalk off to a nearby table, his entire body stiff.

"Is Adam really going to tell us who won the bet or is he just going to--" Anoop asked as he came up with Lil.

"Bet? What bet? Why don't I know stuff?" Danny complained.

Megan whispered to Lil, "A question we ask all the time."

"What question?" Adam interjected as he came up, Kris next to him carrying his guitar. "Why Simon's hair looks like it was cut by a weed whacker?"

"Why he has an irrational fear of colors?" Kris added. "I bet he doesn't have one single color in his entire closet. He probably has night terrors about plaids."

"I bet he wears tightie whities," Adam chuckled. "Not even colors, but plain white."
"As long as it's not a thong!" Kris shuddered. He stopped suddenly and turned to Adam. "Tell me you're not wearing a thong..."

"Speaking of underwear..." Megan raised an eyebrow. "Lambert, it's about time you fessed up--"

"I was just saying to Kris that--" Danny began, ignoring the looks of censure sent his way.

Allison interrupted quickly. "Danny's just jealous because he didn't get an Adam hug," she teased with a slightly-hard edge to her voice, then walked off, leading the way outside.

Adam bent his head and whispered to Kris, "You know that catchphrase about, 'More hugs, less drugs'? I think Danny needs more drugs."

"Because who wants to hug him?" Kris whispered back, grinning up into Adam's amused face. He could tell Adam was on a roll and he didn't want to miss a thing. Heck, he wanted to roll with him. He shifted his guitar case to his other hand and grabbed Adam's to pull him along toward the exit. He sighed with disappointment when Adam pulled his hand away.

"Exactly. And you know, I have connections from my misbegotten youth." Adam waggled his eyebrows until Kris began to chuckle. "I could get some interesting pharmaceutical enhancements--"

"Like what?" Kris held up in his index finger as they continued to whisper to each other, trailing behind the group walking toward the car. "Oh, wait. You could get him some enhanced Viagra and he could have an erection for five hours--"

"Which would be perfect since he's such a dick head, but--"

"But he'd probably like it. He'd probably..." Kris opened his mouth wide in faux shock and gasped loudly. "He'd probably want to show us--"

"And ruin my sex life foreva!" Adam grinned.

"Nah. Just for an hour," Kris said deadpan. He looked up at Adam, his eyes crinkling and they both stopped walking to collapse with laughter.

"Hmm. Good point. And we'll probably be home in an hour..." Adam drawled. "I believe I'll call dibs on the shower."

Kris blushed bright red. Oh my god. Adam's lube stash...

"What are you thinking about, Kris?" Adam asked casually as they reached the car, belatedly, well behind everyone else.

"Uh... So are you going to tell everyone what kind of underwear you're wearing?" Kris asked quickly. "I would bet it's not a thong."

"Maybe it is a thong."

"No freaking way."

"Well, they do have the advantage of no visible lines..." Adam smiled down at Kris as they walked around to the trunk of the limo to stash Kris' guitar. "Do you see any lines on my ass?"

"No," Kris said immediately.

"Well, that's fascinating."

"What is?" Kris slammed the trunk lid down.

"That you knew the answer to that question without looking. Just how much time have you spent staring at my ass tonight?"

"I..." Kris spluttered, once again blushing. He pulled his shirt away from his chest as the heat flowed up through his body. Although why he should blush, he didn't know. Nothing embarrassed Adam, so why should he be embarrassed? He reached for the car door.

"You know..." Adam said softly, placing his hand on Kris' arm and holding him in place as he once again leaned down to whisper in Kris' ear. "We're roommates. And you defended me tonight. So if you feel the need to... dip into my lube stash, go right ahead."

Chapter 6: Fire of frustration

Kris frowned as Adam walked silently through the darkened room with his tshirt and sleep pants in hand, went into the bathroom, and closed the bathroom door. He got out of bed, then hesitated. Squaring his bare shoulders, he walked to the door and knocked on it. "Adam?"

"Eve?"

"Why are you changing in the bathroom?" Kris blurted out. He could kill Matt for having told Adam what Danny had said about their hug. "It's not because of what Alli said or what I said or god forbid, what Gokey said--"

"No." Adam smiled at himself in the mirror as he peeled off his zipper pants, then pulled his shirt over his head. It's because human nature is such that people want most what they cannot have.

"Well, what are you doing in there?"

"What do you think I"m doing? I'm changing."

"Since when do you change in the bathroom?"

Hearing the note of concern in Kris' voice, Adam reached out and touched the door, knowing Kris was on the other side. "Kris, I'm okay. I won't let any derogatory commentary affect our relationship that way. That would mean the bigots would win, right?"

"Good!" Kris smiled in relief. "But why did you go into the bathroom to change?"

"I thought you were asleep, so I came in here to change--"

"I'm not asleep."

"Okaaay. You're like a dog with a bone." Adam paused, wondering if he should make the comment tingling on his tongue--

"Aren't you going to make a joke about a boner?" Kris asked. "I mean, seriously. You're passing up a chance to make a sex joke? Are you sick?"

Adam began to laugh. "Anyway, I'm changing. Then I'm undoing my face."

"You usually sleep in your makeup."

"Aww. You noticed." Adam tugged his soft lounge pants on and quickly stuck his arms and head into a t-shirt.

"I notice everything about you," Kris admitted, then ran his hands through his hair. What the hell was it about Adam that drew him that way? That made him notice every detail? Like that damn zipper on those damn pants. Those damn obvious pants. That would be too much on anyone else, but on Adam were... just right. He cocked his head as he heard the water running. Adam must be washing his face. Not taking a shower, which was... But Adam'd also had makeup on his chest -- was he shirtless? And why, Kris groaned silently, was he wondering about that?

Adam pulled the washcloth away from his face. "Then you may have noticed that in makeup they put a wee--"

"Wee? What, are you a leprechaun now?"

"Not me, little man. Have you ever thought that green might be your color? Or that you'd be truly excellent at hosting a kids' program given that you're so small the kids would find you non-threatening? Just think of all the cute costumes you could wear. Like say a leprechaun. Or--"

"I walked into that one," Kris admitted as he smiled. He loved when Adam carried on. "And green wouldn't be your color -- you'd look like the Jolly Green Giant. But what were you saying about your makeup tonight?"

"They put a wee bit too much bronzer on me. It has to come off or I'll stain the sheets and--"

"And if you're gonna stain the sheets, it wouldn't be with bronzer. It would be with flavored lube and bodily fluids."

Adam's head snapped toward the door. "Whoa! Score for Allen."

"Told you I'm not a naive hick." Kris smiled triumphantly at the closed door. He wished he could have seen Adam's face. He rattled the knob, but it was locked. What the hell was Adam really doing in there that he had to lock the door? Adam hadn't taken that shower when they returned to the mansion, having gotten caught up in talking to the other contestants until Kris gave up and went to their bedroom. But he wouldn't really... use his lube stash while Kris was standing outside the door. Would he? And if he did---

"For the record, I never once said that." Adam pulled out his makeup cleanser and began removing the traces of makeup remaining after scrubbing his face. "If you were any sort of hick, we wouldn't have much in common and yet--"

"And yet..." Kris interrupted, then paused to rest his forehead and lift his hand to press against the door, the coolness of the wood a welcome antidote to the heat of his skin. "In just a few weeks, I feel closer to you than people I've known all my life. Do you get that?"

"Yes..." Adam answered softly. He thanked Ra that his theater-trained voice carried and stayed firm even though his hand was shaking with the frustrated need to reach out, unlock the door and... He stared at the door, gritted his teeth, then turned back to the sink to run the water, hard and fast. He cupped his hands in the stream and splashed it on his face. If he let Kris in now, he'd push the guy against the wall and... shock the hell out of him, possibly ruining their chances. Adam knew he wasn't accustomed to waiting, knew he wasn't as patient as he should be and... he also knew that he could find the patience and endure the wait if that flicker of truth he felt, deep inside, was that the universe had brought him here, to this place in life, to this very room to create the light he needed in his life, all of his life.

"Let me in," Kris ordered. When Adam didn't answer, he repeated, "Let. Me. In."

"Or you'll huff and you'll puff and blow my house down? Because, I have to tell you, if blowing is involved, it's not my house that I'd want you to--"

"Adam! Eeep!" Kris squawked, then squeaked when Adam pulled the door open with a flourish and stood in front of him.

"Just what did you think I was doing in there that I needed your help right outside the door?" Adam asked, taking in the sight of Kris wearing a pair of blue and green plaid-- of course -- soft flannel sleep pants and...give him strength... nothing else. Turning off the bathroom light, Adam brushed against Kris as he passed through the door and walked over to the closet.

"Nothing." Kris began, then stopped to watch Adam flip on the closet light, hang up his pants and put his shirt in a separate laundry. He already knew that there was no way that Versace shirt was going to the Idol housekeepers for cleaning. He sat down on his bed, waiting for Adam to do the same for their nightly ritual. The best part of the day. "I just wanted to talk to you. I like talking to you every night."

"Me too." Adam smiled, an open smile that lit up his eyes. He flung himself down on the bed and lay on his side facing Kris' bed. "So where were we? Oh, I know, talking about blow jobs."

"We were not..." Kris began, even as he felt a smile warming him as it flowed upward from his heart. He slid backward on the bed until his back was resting against the headboard. "And it would be a short converseation -- and no more short jokes!"

"Well, if you're going to suck the fun out of that conversation..." Adam quipped, then waited while Kris groaned on cue. "We could talk about your surprising familiarity with flavored lubes and bodily fluids."

Kris rolled his eyes. "Hardly. Anything I know, I've learned up from you."

Adam grabbed the pillow, squeezing it tightly with his fingers. He'd love to teach Kris the practical application of a flavored lube. First he'd push Kris' legs apart, gently, he'd do it gently the first time and... Redirect yourself, Lambert. Think about... blow jobs? Had Kris ever tried it with --

"Adam? Adam, are you too tired to talk? Did you hear me? I asked how you did that with your voice tonight," Kris asked, his voice low, not wanting to keep Adam awake if he was actually able to fall asleep quickly for once.

"Excuse me? I thought we were talking about blow jobs?" Adam asked, grinning over at Kris. "Way more interesting late at night than vocal technique."

Kris shook his head as he saw the gleam of Adam's teeth in the gray gloaming of the room, lit only by the closet light Adam had raged about as inadequate for the subtleties of color selection. "You just got yourself worked up tonight..." Kris stopped abruptly. That wasn't true. Adam had done his... thing, then stopped and smiled and once again, he was back to Adam.

"No, I didn't. Did you see me sporting a hard on?"

"No," Kris admitted, then groaned. "Not that I was looking."

"Of course not," Adam drawled slowly. "I may have to retire the zipper pants then."

"Oh, I dunno. Kara was happy about them."

"She was confused." Adam laughed softly.

"Nah, that was Simon. When he asked, 'What the hell was that?' I turned to Matt and said, 'That was Simon getting his first hard on from a guy.'"

Adam cracked up and rolled onto his back. "You did not!"

Kris laughed as he watched Adam's long body roll on the bed. "I did. Then Matt was confused. I don't know what was so perplexing. You were like... sex on fire."

"Thanks. That's one of my favorite Kings of Leon songs." Adam glanced at Kris' face as the other man nodded. He looked relaxed until you saw the muscles bunching in his arms. Bare arms. Very nice bare arms. Very nice bare arms that he'd like to push over Kris' head and then... Control. He cleared his throat and turned back to face Kris. "But really it was all smoke and mirrors. I really wasn't moving very much."

"Except for the hand you used to pull up your shirt." Kris shook his head.

"I didn't pull up my shirt," Adam scoffed. He wouldn't have done that on national televsion.

"Yes, you did." Kris looked at Adam's left hip, currently covered by his sleeping pants and.. was there underwear over his skin too? That hip, he had seen it -- along with a few million people -- earlier tonight and it was amazing how that small slice of skin was so---

"That's ridiculous. Anyway, it -- the sex -- was all an illusion. The way I was actually moving my body? There was no thrusting, no real rolling of the hips... it was setting a stage and letting the viewer's imagination fill in the rest." When Kris looked skeptical, Adam continued. "It looked like more than it really was. You'll see when we watch the dvd--"

"You'll see." Kris pointed at Adam. Adam honestly thought that performance was subtle, didn't he? "When we watch that dvd. Humph. The dvd you got a day early when you asked nicely -- which is code for you looked at her with those gorgeous eyes and--"

"You think I have gorgeous eyes?" Adam asked immediately, his voice so soft that only someone focusing for the sound of his voice could have heard.

Kris shook his head. "Anyone with eyes of their own knows you have gorgeous eyes. Stop fishing."

"Not when I'm catching compliments."

Kris frowned as he heard the unspoken old, but real, pain behind Adam's casual words. Or... did he hear it or did he just know? Adam had told him of his insecurities born of the past. Whoever ended up loving Adam was going to have to provide a lot of strokes, Kris thought absently, as he softly but fervently said, "You need to get over your insecurities when you're offstage. They're old news. Today, offstage -- look in the damn mirror. You're... beautiful. In a man way."

Adam swallowed hard, then said equally sincerely, "And you're a better musician than you think you are. Be confident. Take some risks," Adam urged. "Now that today's meeting of the mutual admiration society is over... Let's talk about sex."

"Huh?" Kris blinked. "How did we go from..." He looked at the bathroom door to Adam and then in the direction of the zipper pants hanging up in the closet. "Oh. Did you get yourself in a mood and -- wait a minit -- you had to have some kind of underwear on..." Kris gestured toward Adam's groin, then blushed and shoved his hand between his own legs, then blushed again and put it on the top of the blankets under him. "You had to be wearing underwear of some kind in order to...uh..."

Adam smirked. "To keep the cobra in the basket."

"To keep Old Faithful from erupting. Wooosh!" Kris' hands and fingers wiggled as he extended his arms upward.

"To keep the rocket from leaving the launchpad." Adam's arm shot straight up towards the ceiling.

"To keep the plow in the ground."

"To keep Jack in the box."

"To keep the boy down on the farm." Kris winked, even as the rest of his face started to crinkle up as he tried vainly not to burst into laughter.

"To keep the crow from flying."

"To keep the crow from flying?" Kris choked out as he doubled over with laughter. He looked over at Adam, glad to see his friend clutching his own stomach as he chortled.

"Kris..." Adam gasped, still laughing.

"I mean, I know you weren't... what was that word? Tucking, right? I know you weren't tucking."

"How did you know that?"

"Let's get real. The zipper... wasn't flat." Kris bit his lip as Adam grinned, then said more seriously, "You know, Adam, it didn't matter what you did with your body or your zipper pants--"

"Again, dissing my lucky pants. I may need to retire them if they're not going to get any respect."

"It's all in your voice. You could have sat on a stool, wearing baggy clothes and your voice would have been... Your voice. It was... the... most..."

"Most what?" When Kris said nothing, Adam suggested, "I was going for sensual."

"I think you, uh, nailed it." Kris wiggled around on the bed and finally settled for shifting lower against the headboard, then pushing his pillow behind his shoulders.

"Are you done?" Adam asked, holding back a sigh. Watching Kris wiggle around on his back was not helping.. He rolled onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. The view he'd like Kris to have and... Control, man, control.

"Yeah, sure." Kris shrugged and relaxed into the pillow, watching Adam breathe deeply. "You're not falling asleep, are you? Because I wanted to ask... How do you do that? With your voice, how do you figure out how to do that?"

"Part of it is technical. Part of it is emotional or... the exchange of energy with the audience which was..."

"Weird tonight." Kris began to chuckle softly, then yawned as tiredness crept up on him, that last burst of laughter had done him in. "They didn't know what to make of it."

"Yeah, so I had to use my own energy, which tonight, was about finding the zone and using technique."

"How did you find the zone?" Kris asked, blinking his eyes.

"Part of it is experience with eliciting a reaction from an audience. Part of it is having enough comfort with your own body so that you can use it to enhance the response. Part of it is having enough of the technique and experience so that when you are in the zone in the performance, you can let go and... have this real moment, when you merge with your instrument, so that you are the song. And then..."

Kris closed his eyes and slid down in the bed, listening to Adam's voice talking about something technical he had done that night with something... passs... something Italian. If he were more awake, he'd probably care more. No, not probably, absolutely. Adam was always interesting, his passion for music was contagious, but right now, Kris was content to just listen to Adam's voice. Who the hell was he kidding, he was always happy to listen to Adam's voice; it was one reason why he loved getting Adam going, just to listen to his voice carrying on, endlessly on some topic.

"And then I stood on my head and sang in Chinese while tossing anal beads into the audience. Kris?" Adam asked softly, sitting up. Peering through the darkness, he saw Kris slumped, awkwardly, in his bed. He was going to wake up with a crick in his neck.

Jumping to his feet, he padded softly over to Kris' bed and leaned over. Hesitating for a moment, he finally shrugged and slid his right hand over Kris' bare shoulder and gently pushed down. When Kris merely shook his head, but did not move, Adam sighed and placed his left hand on Kris' waist and gently tugged Kris down into the bed. Concentrating on ignoring the feel of Kris' smooth skin under his hands, Adam did not see Kris' eyes flutter open.

"Adam..." Kris whispered, his lips curving upward as he saw Adam's face close to his own.

"Sorry." Adam smiled down at Kris. "I was afraid you were going to get a crick in your neck."

"Thanks..." Kris smiled sleepily up at Adam. "Your voice is the best lullaby in the world. When it's all soft and quiet like that. Other times..." He shivered. "It's...I want..."

"Go back to sleep." Adam urged quietly as he reached for the blanket and tossed it over Kris.

"You've tucked me in. Are you going to kiss my forehead now?" Kris closed his eyes and snuggled into the blankets.

Adam's lips parted. "Baby..." He paused, then added, "You're such a baby, Kris Allen." He touched Kris' cheek, then bent his head and softly kissed Kris' forehead, allowing his lips to linger a fraction of a second too long.

Kris exhaled and opened his eyes a slit as he watched Adam walk away. He touched the damp skin on his forehead, then brought his fingers to his lips and smiled as Adam turned off the dim closet light and sauntered toward his bed. Sometimes the pants Adam wore to bed slid down a little and not that he was looking at Adam's ass or anything, he just wanted to know about the underwear issue from tonight and.. He sighed when Adam's pants stayed in place, even as he slid into his bed. Maybe tomorrow... Kris decided as he fell asleep.

A short while later, Kris sat bolt upright in bed, his dreams having woken him. He slapped the bed with his hand in frustration. "Damn," he whispered into the dark night. "I still don't know if he was wearing anything under those zipper pants. Shit, shit, shit. This is going to drive me crazy."

Adam buried his smile in his pillow. Mission accomplished.

Chapter 7: Strike that match


Note on this chapter: I'm sure most of you know, but just in case: Danielle is Adam's BFF from childhood on.

Oh baby, baby
Oh baby, baby
Oh baby, baby


Adam froze, then began to laugh. He could recognize that melody line -- and dance to it -- in his freaking sleep. Even over the sound of the shower.

How was I supposed to know
That something wasn't right here,


He clamped his hand over his mouth and tiptoed over to the bathroom door.


Oh baby baby
I shouldn't have let you go

He pressed the record button on his phone.


And now you're out of sight, yeah
Show me, how you want it to be
Tell me baby
'Cause I need to know now what we've got


My loneliness is killing me
I must confess, I still believe
When I'm not with you I lose my mind
Give me a sign
Hit me baby one more time



"How long are you going to be?" Adam called through the door after Kris had sung the song through not once, but twice. What was he doing in there? Maybe he was... Oh, get a grip, Lambert. Or... He looked down at his jeans. Maybe, not a grip. Maybe, redirect. No way was Kris in there using his lube stash.

Kris froze and pulled his hand away from his cock. "I...uh... Would it be okay with you if I played with some of your products?"

"I highly recommend the Astroglide for a beginner..." Adam advised in a deep tone, masking the amusement he was feeling at discomfitting Kris if his shaky voice was any indication. Kris was so easy to fluster sometimes. "I don't think you need the flavored lube when you're doing a solo... tour, but then again, far be it from me to discourage experimentation with slippery substances."

"Not the lube!" Kris squeaked. Damn that low voice of Adam's. He groaned as his high-pitched tone seemed to echo off the tile walls surrounding him.

"Hey, it's okay. I told you that my lube stash was available for your use. Take your time. Take your time. I'll just--"

"It's not that lube!" Kris said, desperately while carefully putting the tube down. He grabbed for some...bottle and held it up toward the door as if Adam could see it. "It's a hair product!"

"Okay. Sure. But be careful, because one of those innocuous looking bottles is my Paul Mitchell Ink dye and I'd hate if you ended up with blue hair. Or... blue anything else."

"Adam--" Kris froze. Did Adam dye his... other... hair? And if so, what color? BLUE? Oh my god, oh my god. He sat down hard on the built-in seat in the shower and concentrated on not hyperventilating.

"Kris, are you okay? You're breathing quite hard in there... Ooops! Sorry, I got distracted by hair dye -- you know me -- and forgot your priorities were different. I didn't mean to interrupt--"

"You did not interrupt and--"

"Not, of course, that you were using my lube. Which is, of course, your lube as well. Mi casa es su casa. Mi lube es su lube y --"

"GO AWAY!"

Adam grinned as he raced out the door toward his computer room. He had enough time. Kris would be sufficiently embarrassed that it would take him quite a while to poke his head out of the door.


Kris cautiously poked his head out of the door. It had been ninety minutes. Had it been long enough that Adam might have-- please, God -- gotten over his amusement and forgotten all about the... Kris looked back at the bathroom and grimaced... lube incident? Of course it had. Adam moved on from one idea to the other so quickly, he was probably on some whole new idea by now. Yes, he had moved on. Absolutely. But just to make sure, maybe he'd walk slowly. He stuck one foot out of the room.



"Harder, babe, harder!" Adam urged. "Plant it."


Kris looked down the hall. No one. Okay, good. He listened intently. No sounds? How odd? They had the morning off and there was no sign of life? What the... Oh no. Oh no. Adam... He had a feeling in his body, somewhere... Adam's voice had had the teensiest little bit of mischeviousness in it when he'd said for Kris to take his time and if Kris hadn't been so preoccupied with being caught in the act, he would have realized it and... Adam being mischevious? Oh no, what was he telling people? Uh-oh. He needed to find Adam.


Oh baby, baby
The reason I breathe is you
Boy you got me blinded
Oh baby, baby
There's nothing that I wouldn't do


"Hey, guys..." Kris said, his sneakers squeaking to a halt as he flew into the kitchen.

"Lost again, Kris?" Scott asked, turning his head from eating a brownie.

"No, of course not." Kris shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Okay. It's easier if you count steps. But hey, want a brownie?" Scott pointed in the direction of the plate.

"No thanks..." Kris peered through the open doorway into the sitting room. No Adam there. Where was he?

"Let me guess. You looking for Adam?" Danny raised an eyebrow. Scott began to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Kris demanded suspiciously.

"Well, nothing I find particularly funny..." Danny griped. "Which is why I'm sitting here with the Scottster eating brownies."

"What don't you find funny?" Kris asked, hearing his voice deepen as his heart began to pound. He already knew the answer. He had never in his life felt the urge to punch people before coming here and now... it was as though he was actually feeling injustice for the first time and it enraged him. He knew it existed, he had gone on mission trips to help fight injustice, but he'd never felt it. He wasn't sure if he'd ever felt anything this deeply before, come to think of it. And now, thanks to Adam, he... felt ... stuff. Stuff that made him want to hit...things. Where was Adam, anyway?

"Oh, Adam..." Danny stopped and screwed up his face. "He's a great guy. He is! It's just too bad that he's going to--"

"Don't even say it," Kris warned. "Don't even."

Danny pointed his finger at Kris and argued, "You know, of all people, Kris Allen, I would have thought you would have my back on this. The Bible says--"

"'If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.'" Kris glared at Danny. "You, sir, are a clanging cymbal."

"Oh, snap..." Scott whispered under his breath. Clearing his throat, he said quickly, "Kris, the gang is in the ballroom. You go out the door by the refrigerator, take a right and walk thirty-five steps down the hall, then take a right. Walk another twenty-two steps, then take a left and... then you should be able to hear them."

"Thanks, Scott." Kris walked out and then frowned part way down the first hall way. "Hear them... doing what?"


That's not the way I planned it
Show me, how you want it to be
Tell me baby
'Cause I need to know now what we've got



Kris walked faster and faster as he heard music coming from the ballroom, along with laughter and Adam's voice, urging people to... WHAT?

"Snap and lock, snap and lock!"

"Snap and lock... isn't that like some dance move?" Kris muttered as he turned left and the sounds became louder.

"I think we need basketballs," Lil suggested.

"It's not High School Musical," Anoop reminded her.

Allison yelled, "There are basketballs in it, I think HSM stole the idea from--"

"Can we concentrate on the dancing?" Adam complained.

"Why are you in charge?" Matt whined with a smile in his voice.

"Do you know the routine?" Adam challenged. "If not, get back on your mark and let's go. Four, five, six and--"

Kris grinned at Adam's impatience. When Adam was on a mission, nothing could or would stand in his way and... was that music?

Wait. A. MINUTE!!!!!

Was that... Britney?

But...not?

Was that his voice over the Britney track and... Kris nearly ran the last few steps and stopped so short in the doorway that he almost fell over because...

How, who... Adam. Adam dancing. Adam dancing and oh shit, oh shit, what guy moved their hips like that? Okay, obviously Adam and maybe it should be illegal and and and speaking of hips moving, one of his own muscles was moving and... he looked up and took a step forward and met Adam's eyes and nearly stumbled as he watched Adam's eyes glide down his body and stop, watched Adam's eyebrow rise and a small smile tip his lips, and then his eyes -- damn those eyes -- move back up to Kris' face and... they both froze. Kris felt his stomach do... something, he wasn't sure what and then Adam transformed in a moment so fast that if Kris blinked he would have missed it, but he never blinked when he was watching Adam, because he didn't want to miss a thing and what the hell was going on, anyway? Because he'd just now registered the fact that everyone had been dancing, not just Adam. How had he missed that?

"Kris! C'mon on, baby!" Adam grinned while everyone else chorused, "Hit me, BABY! One more time!"

"Adam! WHAT... WHO?" Kris croaked, hitting the wall as he walked backwards.

"We are the Kris Allen Dancing Crew!" Allison yelled. "That's who we are! Take your mark and sing it, sister! Or mister!"

"Oh my GOD!" Kris exclaimed. He felt his face turn bright red and he spun around, his sneakers squeaking.

"Oh no, you don't!" Allison shrieked, running toward him and grabbing his arm.

"Oh yes, I do!" Kris laughed as Allison twisted around and he met Adam's amused eyes. He did not resist when Allison dragged him back into the room. "Okay, okay, Lambert, what tortures have you devised?"

"Welllll...." Adam spun the word out until Allison pulled Kris to a stop in front of him. Reaching out his arm, he tugged Kris forward with one hard jerk and Kris gasped when he landed with his face on Adam's chest. Adam held his own breath when he saw Kris' eyes flutter close as he took a deep breath. Stepping back quickly, Adam put his hands on Kris' shoulders. "Your dance crew awaits. Step out in front."

"I am not..." Kris shook his head as he heard the music recycle and start over. "I cannot believe you recorded me--"


Oh baby, baby
Oh baby, baby
Ah, yeah, yeah
Oh baby, baby
How was I supposed to know



"Yes, you can." Adam grinned. It was either record Kris or walk into that bathroom and Kris wasn't ready for that. Yet.

"Okay, I can. But..." Kris knew he was turning fifteen shades of pink. "But you know what I was... while I was singing..." He looked longingly at Adam's shoulder, wishing he could bury his face in it, but given the fact that he could breathe in the scent of Adam's cologne from a foot and that was almost too much to take, burying his face in Adam's shoulder was not a great idea and-- He blurted out in an undertone, "You knew what I was doing--"

"Not until this minute, I didn't know," Adam whispered back. "But thanks for the information. I'll file it away in my folder labeled, 'Imagery to have in my head when I--'"

Kris gasped soundlessly and grabbed Adam's forearm. "Oh, that's a lie. You knew--"

"Oh, that doesn't work for you? Well, how about my folder labeled, 'Signs that Kris Allen is--"

"You knew."

"I knew nothing."

"You know everything, Adam Lambert," Kris said with certainty, looking up at Adam.

"I do not possess an all-seeing eye, because if I did..." Adam sighed.

"Shouldn't Adam be the one singing Britney?" Danny smirked from the doorway.

Lil gritted out, "Can we hit him, one more time? Twice more?" She had not forgotten the look on Adam's face when Danny brought that picture of Adam in green makeup that night at dinner.

Adam smiled at Lil, as he shrugged. "I'm not the one singing Britney in the shower."

"Aw, geez... Aaaadaaaaaaaaaaammmmm..." Kris whined. "Besides, Gokey is right about one thing -- you do have a better falsetto than me."

"Heck, he has a better falsetto than me!" Allison laughed.

Adam sniffed. "We all have our gifts. And... Kris Allen, your gift is singing Hit Me Baby."

"But...." Anoop laughed. "How deep is his repertoire? Can he also sing, Oops, I Did It Again?" Which judging by the way Kris had been staring at Adam's chest like he wanted to snuggle up to it--

Kris shook his head, even as he knew resistance to one of Adam's plans was futile. "I am not singing Britney as part of a routine. Plus, I cannot dance --"

"Oh yes, you can!" Adam shook his head and moved three steps to the right. "Do not argue with me, Allen. Just do it." He pointd to a spot in the center of the floor and Kris sighed and walked over to it. "You know you're going to love it."

"You should be in front!" Kris complained, shaking his head as Lil and Allison went over to the Ipod dock to find the right spot in hell to begin again. "You're the dancer, not me. You should be in front."

Adam grinned and spun Kris around so that his back was to Adam. "No, sir. I'm too tall to be in front. I'm a... back end man."

Anoop clapped his hands together and burst out laughing. Matt scowled. Danny walked away.

"Mission accomplished," Adam said under his breath. "Now, places, people!"


Oh pretty baby
I shouldn't have let you go
I must confess, that my loneliness
Is killing me now
Don't you know I still believe
That you will be here
And give me a sign
Hit me baby one more time



Kris did a spin then took a jump back and grabbed Adam's arm. "Enough! Break time!"

"Thank god!" Matt groaned and flopped on the floor. "Man, Adam, where do you get your energy?"

"C'mon!" Adam tapped his foot impatiently. "Let's keep going. We have it almost all down." When everyone else just moaned, he sighed and took a few steps and reached for his water bottle. Taking a long draught, he blinked when he saw Kris watching his throat. Hmm. "Want some water?" he asked and held out the bottle.

"Thanks..." Kris said in a low tone, his eyes on the water droplets on Adam's lips. Which, really... He licked his own lips, then seeing Anoop's amused gaze on him, took a long drink of water while looking away. He turned back almost immediately to ask Adam, "Do you honestly know the entire routine by heart this many years later?"

"I was a gay boy in the nineties. What the hell do you think I did at parties with Danielle and the girls?" Adam laughed.

"Did you tape yourselves? Because... wow!" Allison laughed. "Now, there's footage I would pay to see."

Adam's head snapped in her direction. "Danielle would never--"

"Wait. There is footage?" Kris grinned. "Oh boy. When is Danielle coming to visit again?"

"Never." Adam frowned. He did not like seeing those old tapes.

"I bet you were cuuuuute," Kris teased, then frowned, hoping Adam would not make a derogatory comment about himself.

"I was blonde. And fat."

"For the love of god!" Kris exploded, throwing the water bottle at Adam in exasperation. He waited while Adam reached out and caught the bottle, before continuing in a low, but passionate tone, "You were not fat. You were just husky!" Kris exclaimed, slapping his own thigh in frustration. "For all your talk about being positive, how about you be positive about your younger self? Maybe if you spoke about your younger self positively, you might have a better--"

"Thank you, Dr. Kris." Adam held the bottle up in a salute.

Kris grabbed the bottle from Adam's hand and pointed it at Adam as he spoke. "I am totally serious, Adam Lambert."

"Are you going to hit me with that bottle?" Adam asked, eyeing the way Kris was gesturing aggressively with it.

"I swear I have never wanted to slap anyone until I came on this show," Kris growled. "And now... I'd like to hold you down and... Why, why do I feel like..."

"It's sublimation," Adam said immediately, pitching his voice low.

Kris' eyes opened wide and he looked at Adam's mouth. Damn, that low tone of his... Kris felt his heart begin to race again. "I'm not like that in..." He spread his hands wide in confusion. What the hell was going on? He never felt like this...

"No? Maybe you're doing it wrong. Or with the wrong... person."

"You don't know--" Kris began to defend himself, then clamped his lips shut. He had already given Adam ammunition and giving Adam ammunition was--

"Didn't you just tell me I know everything?" Adam asked with a smug look on his face.

"Arrrgh!" Kris slapped Adam's arm. "You frustrate me."

"Back at ya." Adam grabbed Kris' hand and squeezed it hard before releasing it.

Matt spoke up. "So, Adam, you were blonde? You actually are blonde?"

"More of a redhead, a ginger these days."

"Hmm. It begs the question..." Anoop trailed off.

"What question?" Lil asked, still catching her breath.

Matt looked up. "Yeah, gotta ask. Do you dye your pubes to match?"

Adam burst out laughing as he watched Kris' face go from shock to intrique to shock -- no doubt at his own interest -- again. "To match the black or the blue?"

"Another bet!" Matt called out.

"I'm in!" Lil agreed.

"Hold on!" Kris interrupted the joking erupting around him. "I never found out the outcome to the last bet."

"You didn't take the risk to bet, so you don't get the reward, Allen," Allison noted with glee in her voice seeing the frustration in Kris' face. "It's all about risk and reward, my friend."

"But..." Kris complained, looking from one smug face to the next and concluding by staring at Adam imploringly.

"Yeah. What was... or wasn't on my butt?" Adam teased. "You'll never know now. Let's get back to the routine!"


I must confess that my loneliness
Is killing me now
Don't you know I still believe
That you will be here
And give me a sign
Hit me baby one more time



"Oh shit!" Kris swore as he nearly stumbled again, prevented from falling by Adam reaching out to hold him upright. Well, Adam should save him. It was Adam's damn fault that he was distracted, what with watching Adam behind him in that mirror. He had never thought about mirrors as anything other than a way to check and make sure collard greens weren't stuck between your teeth, but watching Adam dance behind him... What was going on? Why was everyone staring at him?

"Adam, I think Kris needs your help with the dance moves! He looks dazed and confused without the benefit of drugs." Anoop called out a few minutes later, grinning from ear to ear. "It must be... hard dancing and singing at the same time." And watching Adam in the mirror behind you.

"C'mon, Kris, you can do it," Adam urged. "I know you have rhythm in those hips."

Kris blinked, his eyes growing wide. Adam had said he didn't know and Adam didn't lie, but had he been teasing? Had Adam peeked in the door and seen what he was doing?

"Well, that's a very interesting facial expression..." Adam said in a low voice. "Care to share your thoughts with the class?"

"You are going to pay, Lambert."

"Oh? You're going to punish me? How?"

"I..I..." Kris felt the heat rise up from his sweaty chest and neck to his face. He had ideas, but where had they come from and... why was it that being with Adam opened his mind and made him see things differently? Like... in more color?

Adam bent his head. "If you need help devising a plan, I could loan you my handcuffs. I don't normally loan them out, but-- "

"You have handcuffs. Here." Kris shook his head. No way. Not even Adam -- oh what the hell was he saying? Of course, Adam would.

"Of course. And my leather straps." Adam scoffed.

"You brought handcuffs and straps with you to American Idol?" Kris felt the smile bloom on his face.

"Why wouldn't I bring them along?" Adam's eyes traveled down Kris' body. "You never know when an occasion might arise."

Kris swallowed hard. "You wouldn't loan them to me. You'd never allow anyone to... restrain you. Hold you down. Tie your wrists to the bed or your legs or..."

Adam lowered his voice to a deeper octave. "That's quite a list. I'm impressed with your imagination thus far. But for the record, although it's not my regular modus operandi, I can top from the bottom, so I'm still in control."

"Top from the bottom?" Kris felt a wet heat in his... Focus, Allen. Even if Adam did allow someone to tie him down, he'd still be calling the shots, no way would he and he didn't want Adam too, he wanted Adam too.. He rubbed the back of his neck again. "I don't even know what that means."

"Google it."

"I don't have a laptop here."

"Borrow Gokey's. And do some really fascinating searches and--"

Kris began to chuckle. "And leave the browsing history..."

"The dancing, guys!" Allison yelled. "Can we stop with the inside jokes and get back to the dancing?"

"Of course." Adam pulled Kris back into place and pointed toward the mirrored wall. "Now, Kris. Watch my hips."

Kris watched, Kris licked his lips. Kris tugged his shirt down. Kris swore under his breath.

My loneliness is killing me
I must confess I still believe
When I'm not with you I lose my mind
Give me a sign
Hit me baby one more time


Adam slapped Kris on the ass as the group finally finished the routine perfectly. While everyone was cheering and laughing, Kris elbowed Adam.

"Were you...uh..." Kris ran his hand around the back of his neck. He thought he'd seen Adam in the mirror... "Looking at my ass?"

Adam grinned. "I was making a valiant effort. But your jeans are too baggy. We need to go shopping." He paused and said quickly, "I should ask if that makes you uncomfortable and offer to stop."

Kris rolled his eyes. "Adam, you make me feel a lot... of things, but uncomfortable? Never."

"Liar." Adam grinned and leaned in even closer. "You weren't uncomfortable while I was making lube recommendations through the door while you were in the shower?"

Kris grinned and shook his head. "I'll never tell."

"Oh yes, you will. I have my ways."

"I bet you do..." Kris blinked at the heat he saw in Adam's eyes. "You amaze me. You're so... open. But I bet if I walked in on you, you'd get embarrassed about that."

"No, I wouldn't. Sounds like..." Adam allowed his voice to trail off. No need to push too hard yet. The pushing... Focus, Lambert. "It's a natural--"

"Yes, you would."

"No. Actually..." Adam paused, then slowly looked Kris up and down. "Do you want to watch?"

Chapter 8: Rages, then smoulders


Do you want to watch?
Do you want to watch?
Do you want to watch?

Squeak
Squeak
Squeak

Do you want to watch?
Do you want to watch?
Do you want to watch?

Kris looked down at his sneakers as they left the ballroom. Why was the memory of Adam's voice louder than the sound of his sneakers?

Do you want to watch?
Do you want to watch?
Do you want to watch?

He would not, he would not, look in the general direction of Adam's...legs. No, he would not. Oh yeah...he would.

Do you want to watch?
Do you want to watch?
Do you want to watch?

Would Adam draw down his zipper slowly or would he rush through it? Was he wearing underwear today? Or --

"Kris? Earth to Kris?" Adam repeated, lightly touching Kris on his shoulder.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Were you talking to me?" Kris asked, hiding his chagrin in defensiveness.

"Okay, no need to get all DeNiro on me," Adam laughed. He looked down at Kris and kept smiling as he saw the slight blush on Kris' cheekbones and the slight bulge in his jeans. Slight? Well, that was a challenge. "What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing. Nothing. Not about sex." As the words left his mouth, Kris groaned silently. Adam was gonna pick up on that mistake. He surrendered and looked over at Adam and had to smile at the look of, well, happiness on Adam's face and the warmth he felt inside at seeing it and knowing he was the cause. He didn't know that he'd ever made anyone happy before, just by being around. And he was sure he'd never felt happiness just by walking and talking with someone or even more... sappy, he decided, anticipating talking with someone. Lookit that night when he'd hung around outside the bathroom door, needing his nightly fix of Adam before he could sleep. He ran his hand through his hair, feeling a little overwhelmed before Adam started talking again and then he felt something, as usual, as always, both calm and needy stir deep within him just at the sound of Adam's voice.

"I wasn't talking about sex. So...Surrrrrre, neither were you." Adam elbowed Kris, who had ben looking a little overwhelmed before he began smiling again. "And hey, who cares? C'mon, we're guys. What is it the studies say? We think about sex every thirty seconds?"

"What were you talking about?" Kris countered. He might change the topic of the conversation, which would be good or Adam would just keep right on plowing ahead, which was... even better. Adam was so focused. What would it be like to have that focus on you in, say, the shower or...

Adam watched the tell-tale flush crawl up Kris' neck. It was so about sex. "So. Are you going to accept my offer of watching me jerk off?" Adam teased.

"Maybe." Kris kept looking down at his sneakers, knowing Adam would steer him in the right direction if he veered off course. "Yeah, maybe I will."

"Yeah, right." Adam scoffed, knowing it would incite Kris to protest. "You nearly choked on your own tonsils when I suggested it."

"There were people around!" Kris protested, hiding his smile by turning his head away.

"No one heard."

"Your voice carries, Lambert. All that thee-a-taa training." Kris looked back at Adam, hoping he had succeeded in hiding his grin.

"Which also taught me how to pitch my voice for the audience. And that audience heard nothing." Adam shook his head at Kris' vain effort at masking his amusement. "I was whispering. If my voice seemed loud, it was only because my suggestion was reverberating around in your head."

"Yeah, like a good idea in the echo chamber of Gokey's brain," Kris agreed, looking up at Adam with a grin, knowing Adam would never allow the redirect and waiting to see what Adam would try next.

Adam rolled his eyes. "Nice try, Allen. But the reality is..." He slid his hand around Kris' bicep and pulled him to a halt. Bending down, he whispered, "My voice is going to echo in your ears for a while. Do you want to watch? Do you want to watch?" Adam's voice dropped with each repetition, until he saw Kris involuntarily shiver, then he dropped it even lower, "Do you want to watch?"

"Sheesh!" Kris finally exploded in frustration, giving Adam a shove. Instantly, he reached out and grabbed Adam's arm.

"I'm fine, Kris. I'm not made of porcelain. You didn't need to save me like I'm a klutz." Adam raised his eyebrows. Well, well. Kris was getting frustrated enough to get physically aggressive. Well, life was good.

"Sorry. It was automatic. I know you're not a klutz. Damn, anyone who can dance like that..." Kris waved with one hand in the direction of Adam's hips while keeping his other on Adam's forearm as they continued walking.

"But if you want an excuse to keep holding on to me..." Adam sighed melodramatically. "I won't resist. I'll have something sweet to write in my diary. Dear Diary: Today the cutest boy made the lamest excuse to hold on to me. Does he like me? Does he really really like me? Or like me like me? Should I ask Allison in study hall if she can pass him a note or--"

"Okay, prom queen." Kris grinned when Adam burst out laughing. Then dropping his own voice, he said softly, "You know, maybe I will take you up on that offer."

Adam felt his heart stutter for a second. He took in a deep breath and looked down and caught his breath again at the heat in Kris' eyes. "Well, keep in mind that you'd have to do it too."

"I didn't make that offer!"

"Oh, I think that offer was implied when you borrowed from my lube stash." Adam kept his voice low. "So, I think we should watch each other. After all, I need... inspiration and I'm sure you'd provide plenty..." He dropped his gaze down Kris' body. Yessss, the bulge wasn't so slight any more. "Of incentive."

Kris knew there was probably a witty comeback. Somewhere. But not in his brain. Not now. With Adam looking down at him with a small smile on his lips and oh day-um, that look in his eyes that always... always ignited a slow burn deep inside.

Kris gulped, then licked his lip. Why oh why was Adam always able to surprise him? Well. he could turn it around too. "You know, the only reason I'd be at all interested in watching you would be to win the bet."

"What bet?" Adam asked absently, as he watched Kris lick his lower lip.

"I wanna see if your pubes are really blue."

Adam blinked, then began to laugh. "Maybe you're the one who should be the subject of that bet, what with you playing with my products in the shower."

Kris began to laugh. Again, he thought. Or rather, as always. How Adam could take the most embarrassing moment and just make it a shared amusing memory never ceased to amaze him. He nodded. "Hey, I've got it figured out though. You wouldn't dye your pubes blue. Because--"

"That might make the other guy laugh and who--"

"Wants to have their genitals laughed at?" Kris finished.

They looked at each other and grinned. Adam held up one finger. "However, all bets are off on Halloween."

They stopped as they turned a corner and two of the show's handlers stood, as if waiting for them.

"Hi, Kris. Adam. What are you two talking about?" The handler named Maggie asked.

"Halloween," they answered in unison.

"It's a little early for that..." The other handler, Doug, argued.

Adam shrugged. "Never too early. It's my favorite holiday. Major costume and make up opportunity, so it's never too early to start planning."

"I see." Maggie nodded. "Adam, I believe Ricky Minor wants you to call him and Kris? We need to talk to you about a small issue."

"Issue?" Kris echoed, looking up at Adam in confusion.

Adam took a step forward. "Is there some problem? Can I help?"

"No." Maggie shook her head.

"Kris, do you want me to come with you?" Adam offered.

"I'm fine." Kris touched Adam's arm and shook his head "But, thanks."


"What was that about?" Maggie asked as she led the way to another wing.

Kris crossed his arms over his chest. "Adam is protective--"

"You're a grown man. Is that necessary?" Doug scoffed.

"He knows that and--"

"Doesn't that bug you?" Doug pressed.

"No, of course not. I'm protective too, so I--" Kris broke off as they entered one of the forty gazillion rooms that seemed to have no purpose in the mansion. "Get it. I get him. He gets me."

"You two have something in common then." Maggie pointed to one of the plush chairs.

"We have tons in common," Kris corrected as he sat down. "We have the same sense of humor, the same values, the same love of music. We have lots in common. I know that seems odd to certain people, but it is what it is. Is there some problem getting permission for the song I chose this week?"

"No." Maggie looked at her hands, then over at Doug sitting next to her. "It has come to our attention that there might be an... issue in your rooming with Adam."

"An...issue. Like what? He takes up more than his share of the bathroom vanity with all his hair crap?" Kris forced a smile to his lips, then gave up. He was no good at pretending. He wasn't even mildly amused; he didn't want to be pleasant. He had an idea that in a minute he was going to be feeling that new urge to throw something. He swore that frustration had become his middle name since starting this show.

"It's not about his hair products," Maggie prevaricated, looking uncomfortable.

"Oooookay, since that's the only issue I can imagine anyone having with Adam and since I don't care how much space his hair stuff takes up, you tell me what the issue is?" Kris looked from Maggie to Doug.

"As you know from your contracts," Doug pointed out. "There are clauses regarding appropriate behavior."

"I know." Kris crossed his arms again. Adam had never done anything inapprorpriate and well, if he had, it was with my consent, he thought, briefly feeling amusement. So what could this be about?

"And there has been a complaint that your and Adam's relationship is inappropriate."

"Whaaaaaaaaaaat?" Kris gasped as his stomach turned over. He felt like the time he had visited the sulfur springs. Like he was smelling something really bad. Like he wanted to vomit. Take shallow breaths, he told himself. "In what way?"

"Are you going to make me spell it out?" Maggie asked, sighing.

"Hell, yeah." Kris paused, then added slowly. "Ma'am."

Maggie sighed again. "Basically, there are rumors that you and Adam are engaging in homosexual behavior on the premises--"

"And since there has been a complaint made..." Doug spread his hands open as if expecting Kris to fill in the blanks. "Asserting that you might have been led... We wanted to talk to you first."

Kris swallowed hard, fighting down the bile rising from his stomach. Oh god, if they took aim at Adam... portrayed him as some predator? Had Adam thought about that possibility, was that why he was usually so careful to pitch his voice low and to make his teasing comments only around people he trusted and... Who the hell could live like that? Who the hell should live like that?

"Kris," Maggie prompted. "What do you have to say?"

Feeling a wave of anger push him to his feet, Kris snapped, "My mama would slap me hard if I said what I was really thinking in front of a lady. But then again, a lady would have never brought up a stranger's sex life, let alone criticized it."

"Whoa..." Maggie hissed in surprise.

"You know what really torques me off? There is no... sex.. We aren't really, Adam and I don't..." Kris clamped his mouth shut, cursing himself for being so angry that he blurted out intimate details. He glared at Doug. He refused to say one more word about something so intensely private.

"You're not having sex?" Doug asked, arching an eyebrow in disbelief.

"You know what else?" Kris heard his voice grow quieter as his anger grew. "This is bullshit. Did you ask Megan and Anoop if they were getting it on in the music room on the piano? Or the kitchen on the counter?"

"This isn't a game of Clue, Kris," Maggie placated and put a hand on Kris' arm and urged him to sit back down.

"No? It sure feels that way to me! As if you're looking for a culprit and let me guess the culprit would be Adam, leading the good Christian small town boy astray!"

"We do not want Billy Bush leading with that story on Access Hollywood one night," Doug snapped.

"Complete with, let me guess, head-shaking anecdotes from my fellow Christian contestants." Kris squeezed his hands around his knees so hard he knew he'd probably have bruises tomorrow. Only the certainty that Adam would notice and the equal certainty that he would never ever tell Adam about this conversation made him loosen his grip. "But wait -- wouldn't that story fit into the disgusting storyline you're already trying to sell, painting Adam as the sinner and Danny as the saint?"

"That only works if Adam can get to the end of the show," Maggie pointed out. "Okay, let me talk to you on a business basis. First off, let's focus on you. We don't want you distracted."

"And you think Adam is going to distract me? Get real. Adam has done so much for me. He's encouraged me, helped me find more confidence, he's the only one as interested in music as I am--"

"Your sound is radio friendly. You're an attractive, unattached guy whose sexuality is not, at least not yet, seen as threatening." Doug paused. "You have potential we don't want wasted, for lack of a better term."

"And you think that if the world and what is it these days? Is Tiger Beat magazine still in business?" Kris made an expansive gesture with his hand, "If they believed that there was something more than friendship between Adam and I..."

"Exactly." Doug nodded.

Kris shook his head stubbornly. He was an easy-going guy, he knew, until the right buttons were pushed and damn it all to hell, his buttons were pushed so far they were all the way to China. "I don't care and--"

Maggie shook her head. "Well, care about this. Adam. Remember him? We all like Adam. We do. And we care about Adam's potential. Adam is an extremely valuable player to us. We don't want anything to happen -- anything -- that could distract him from the game."

Kris leaned back. He could see their manipulation and was unimpressed. "And you think I'm going to distract him."

"If... it doesn't... work out between you two and especially if you two are roommates, then yes, it would be a distraction. And even if it does, this isn't a dating show, it's a singing competition and we don't want Adam to feel pulled in two--"

"You have greatly underestimated Adam's ability to focus. Especially to focus on music. You've also greatly underestimated my patience with bullshit. I'm done with this discussion except for the fact that..." Kris stood up. "I demand to know who complained to you about my relationship with Adam."




Kris stalked down the hallways looking for Adam. He was going to find Adam and take him up on that offer and on his challenge to do it too, hell, he was going to just jump on him and... Where the HELL was he? Kris wondered, fuming as he walked faster and faster until he finally -- after what seemed like an endless trek -- reached the huge foyer.

"There you are!" Allison called out as the contestants milled around. "We've been waiting. Did you get lost again? Or forget that it's time to go clothes shopping?"

Kris stopped when he saw Danny. Danny. Standing there, with that little smug expression on his face. Clenching his fists, he started forward. Someone needed a punch and he was in the mood--

"Hey, Kris!" Allison called out and bopped over to his side. "Is everything okay? You look... red."

"Where is Adam?" Kris asked through stiff lips.

"He's on the phone with Ricky Minor talking about an arrangement."

"Where?"

"In the music room..." Allison peered at Kris' face. "Are you okay? Do you want me to get Adam for you?"

"No. You know he can't stand to be interrupted while he's talking about his music." And now that I think about it, I don't want Adam brought into this mess, Kris decided, by some overt aggression. Because somehow Adam would get blamed. Although, day-um, it would feel good to break Danny's nose.

"Yeah, but--"

Kris turned around and looked for Danny. Bent over tying his sneaker, but as usual so busy talking he wasn't completing the task. "Listen. I'm going to go stand by Danny and I want you to push me. Hard."

Allison took one look into Kris's implacable face and nodded. "Okay. Let's do it. Just pretend you're saying something to me..." she instructed as they walked quickly over to Danny. As Kris muttered a string of curse words under his breath, Allison cried out loudly, "Get out of TOWN, Kris Allen!" and shoved him hard.

"HEY!" Danny yelled as Kris landed on top of him and pushed him to the ground face first. "Ow!!"

Kris rolled around, still on top of Danny, grabbing his shirt in his fists. Leaning in close, he hissed, "I'll give you inappropriate, given that you're writhing around underneath me and--" He froze as a hands grabbed his forearms and tugged him upward. "Don't--" Kris began, then took a breath and... Adam. Adam's scent.

"Kris, did you hit your head? Let's go check it out," Adam said softly but in a carrying voice to the room, as he gently pulled Kris into the music room and around the corner, out of sight. "I don't think everyone figured out that you were ready to pound Danny's face, but I did. So tell me now. What was that about, Kris?"

"Adam..." Kris growled as he launched himself at Adam's chest, his anger and frustration transforming into sexual need. "I want--" Kris wrapped his shaking hands around the back of Adam's neck and tried to pull him down.

"Whoa..." Adam held Kris at arm's length. Kris was tempting enough on any day, but throwing himself at Adam like this? Adam knew he had to resist, it was the right thing to do, but day-um he would be entitled to a year of good karma for resisting this temptation. Hot, aggressive Kris? Years of good karma. "No. I'd love to, but not like this."

"But I wanna--" Kris complained, then shook his head. What the hell had come over him? Feeling the urge to punch Danny and then throwing himself at Adam? Well, the throwing himself at Adam had been a good idea, bad execution though. He shook his head again, then looked up shyly from under his lashes. "Aw, hell... I've never acted like that in my whole life. I just..."

"Kris. I... really want to kiss you too. But..." Adam looked off to the side, then back again with a slightly-sheepish smile. "But call me old-fashioned or romantic, the first time I kiss someone special, I'd like it to be special."

"Me too... Thank you..." Kris felt his heart thump hard against his chest, once, twice, three times, at Adam's words and the soft look in his eyes. He reached up, slowly, and touched Adam's chest, felt his heart thudding too. At the warmth under his hands and meeting his eyes, Kris felt a responding heat flood his body with need. How, he wondered, did Adam's sweetness fill him with as much heat and desire as his teasing sexuality? How was watching the gentleness in his eyes as enticing as watching Adam being the fiercest man on the planet? How, why? He knew the answer. It was... "Adam..." Kris whispered back and slid his arms around Adam and held on tightly.

Chapter 9: While Atlanta Burns


"Get in the car, loser. We're going shopping!" Adam announced to Danny as he stood there, looking between Adam and Kris while everyone milled around the van with the stylist.

"Mean Girls reference, Adam? Tsk, tsk..." Allison shook her head as she whispered in Adam's ear. "I wonder what you've got up your sleeve. Diet bars?"

"Just way too many freckles." Adam smiled innocently.

"Yeah, right..." Allison said under her breath as she brushed by Adam on her way into the van, followed by Lil. She looked back at Adam as he and the stylist conferred briefly about something -- probably some detail on a jacket, knowing Adam -- and then both looked at their watches.

"C'mon, Gokey. He's talkin' to you," Kris snapped, glaring at Danny until Danny moved inside. He sighed and took the step into the van and moved toward the back seat, behind Allison and Lil.

"What is it with these DeNiro references?" Adam asked as he climbed into the van after Kris and sat down next to him. "Are you feeling as though you're a seething cauldrom of anger ready to erupt, because if so may I suggest a redirection of your gun--"

"You don't like DeNiro?" Kris ssked, relaxing as he turned in his seat to face Adam. Good question, though. Why DeNiro? Why Taxi Driver? Did he have that much pent up anger in him? Or... just feelings inside him?

Adam shrugged. "Not my type."

Kris leaned over to Adam and whispered, "So what is your type?"

"Short."

Kris grinned. "Ah. Danny DeVito."

"No!" Adam smiled down at Kris. Good, Kris was regaining his normal composure, although he could see the tension still simmering under the surface. If they ever had a moment alone, he might find a way to... He pulled out his phone and began typing a text message.

"Joe Pesci?" Kris asked, craning his neck to try and read Adam's rapid texting.

"Since when does short man equal gargoyle?" Adam asked, putting away his phone and quickly touching Kris' chin.

"Since when is short your only requirement?" Kris shot back in a soft voice.

"Touche. Score for Allen."

Kris slanted Adam a look. "Not today, apparently."

Adam blinked in surprise at Kris' flirting, then smiled slowly. "God, you..."

"What are you two talking about?" Matt asked, turning around. "Danny DeVito and Joe Pesci? What's up with that?"

"Kris here was trying to guess what actors I think are hot," Adam responded immediately, noting the grimace on Danny's face. Well, reason enough to have this conversation. "He is sadly mistaken."

Allison whipped around, her eyes darting from Danny to Kris to Adam. "Oh, I can play too. I think Jake Gyllenhaal is super hot."

"Denzel will always be my number one, but damn, that Jake boy is fine..." Lil groaned, mock-fanning herself as she picked up on the undercurrents. Adam and Allison were out to annoy Danny. She was so in. "Did you see his ass in Jar Heads?"

"Indeed I did...Quite a few times. Pause button, play button, rewind button, play button, pause button..." Adam leered. He smiled to himself when Danny swallowed hard, then opened his mouth.

Allison added, before Danny could say a word, "Well, who didn't? I think I might have had a screencap of it as my screensaver until my mom found out. I liked Heath Ledger, too."

Matt asked, "Hey, Adam, is that your natural coloring -- like Heath Ledger?"

"And did Heath Ledger ever dye his hair and if so, did he also dye..." Anoop asked, waggling his eyebrows.

The van burst into laughter. Except for Danny, who looked annoyed and confused. All was normal.

"I wouldn't know that about Heath..." Kris said, louder than normal.

"Ooooh!" Anoop crowed in triumph. "You do know something, Allen! That means you cannot take part in this bet."

"What bet?" Danny asked impatiently.

"You don't wanna know." Kris shrugged and turned back to Adam. "So you were talking about Heath's acting in Batman the other night--"

"What bet?" Danny repeated.

Adam said in the patient voice Allison called his schoolteacher tone, "The bet about whether I dye to make my collars and cuffs match. Which is truly not fascinating--"

"Speak for yourself." Kris grinned up at Adam. If Danny was going to rat them out to the handlers, he'd give the rat some cheese to chew on. Adam nodded back as the van once again filled with laughter. They both glanced at Danny, whose face was as red as his glasses.

Allison coughed, then asked, "But seriously. Wouldn't that sting, to dye...down there?"

"Not if you weren't bleaching your hair first, like you have to do with yours..." Adam reached out and affectionately touched a long lock of Allison's red hair.

Covering Adam's hand with her own, Allison squeezed tightly. "But you still have to do a skin test, right, because the skin down there is probably more sensitive--"

"Beauty requires sacrifice," Lil noted. "You should've seen the tears when I had a weave."

"Ouch." Adam shuddered. "I've seen women having weaves put in and that's just too much pain for me. But they do make special dye for the pubic area."

"They do?" Kris asked, his eyes sliding down to Adam's crotch. "They do not."

"That's for me to know and you to find out..." Adam said softly, then raised his voice. "Now, back to our regularly-scheduled program. Talking about hotness. Who else, Alli?"

"You never told us if Heath was your type, Adam," Scott interjected.

"Too tortured, too dark. Great actor, but..." Adam looked down at his tattoo. "I doubt I could ever play anything as dark as he did in Batman or Brokeback. I just don't have that darkness in me. Nor..." He shrugged. "Am I anything close to the actor he was. I'll live with the tradeoff, to be honest."

"Well, if playing those types of roles means having that darkness inside, I'd rather stick to sit coms as an actor," Matt agreed. "But do you have to have the feelings inside to play the feelings?"

Adam shook his head. "No, not at all. Some people consider that a cheap shortcut, to be honest. Especially in the theater, where when you have to put on the same mask eight times a week, well, it is a mask. Because it would kill you to be as tortured as a character for your full-time job. And honestly, there are some horrible and negative people who play sweetness and light on stage. For me, it would be about learning and understanding the character -- I'm not sure I want to understand some of the darkness in the human soul, truly deeply understand it. It's almost like..." He trailed off.

Kris picked up his thought. "Like letting evil inside."

Adam closed his eyes briefly. Kris was... He shook his head and nodded. "Yes, exactly. But acting is really more technical, donning that mask, figuring out how you make your face and body portray the emotions even if you're not feeling the emotions."

Kris nodded. He was always fascinated when Adam talked about acting, because Adam was so damn real and honest all of the time. He had begged Adam to act out a scene for him, but Adam kept refusing. In frustration, he had even looked up Adam's Wicked performance on YouTube and... He smiled. "You mean, how when you were Fiyero you looked like you wanted to nail that green girl?"

Danny's head snapped around. "Did you know Adam before Idol?"

"No, of course not. There's this wonderful site, maybe you've heard of it, called YouTube?" Kris shrugged. "Adam has all sorts of interesting clips up there."

"I don't think I want to imagine given those photos that were leaked. When did you... You borrowed my computer before." Danny narrowed his eyes. "Did you actually use my computer to do research on your--"

"Roommate? Best friend?" Kris nodded, then spoke rapidly as he once again felt a surge of adrenaline rush through his body. "You betcha I looked Adam up, just like I looked everybody up."

"Yeah, me too," Anoop agreed, wondering why Kris looked like he wanted to pop somebody. Okay, that comment about the photos of Adam and his ex-boyfriend was really unnecessary on Danny's part and.. Yeah. Who had raised Danny, anyway?

Kris leaned forward in Danny's direction. "I wasn't hiding anything. If you look at the browsing history, you'd see it all. And then maybe you could report that for violating the appropriate behavior clause in our contracts."

Adam blinked in surprise and put his hand on Kris' arm. Damn, his muscles were bunched up again. He began stroking the forearm under his hand, knowing only Allison could see it.

"Report it?" Scott echoed. "Who'd do that? Who'd snitch?"

"Yeah. That would be... low." Anoop shook his head. Danny had done something and this entire conversation was about making him pay. "But anyway... Adam speaking about the technical aspects of acting and you acting opposite a woman, well, gay actors have done that forever. What is interesting to me is when a straight actor has to play gay, that's riskier given our society. But back in college in a drama class I took, we had to read this interview with the actor who plays Bree's son on Desperate Housewives, which is a gay character and he's straight and he talked about how he had trouble at first, then just got over it because he was acting."

"Exactly," Adam agreed, still stroking Kris' arm and feeling his muscles slowly relax. He grabbed for his phone with his free hand and pressing a button, swiftly read a text.

"Oh, I remember that boy. He was cute!" The stylist noted, wondering about the undercurrents in the van today.

"Yeah," Adam agreed. "Almost my type, actually."

Kris blinked up at Adam as his blood stopped pounding and then grinned. "Ah, there is a short guy who's not a gargoyle."

Adam winked. "And the boy who portrayed his boyfriend?"

"Oh, I remember. He was even cuter. I like the boys on Gossip Girl too," Allison noted, deciding it was time to torture Danny some more.

"Cute boys, hot clothes. Your classic gay porn. Right on basic cable." Adam grinned, watching Danny turn red.

Kris bit his lip. Adam had his own way of torturing Danny. Now it was time to confuse the asshole. "The girls are pretty hot, too."

"Totally," Adam agreed. He had a thought and got out his phone once more and sent another text.

"Wh..Whaaa...." Danny stuttered.

"No kidding!" Anoop agreed. "The blonde one, that was in the movie about the magic jeans, what's her name?"

Adam nodded. "Blake Lively. Gawd, I love her clothes."

Matt shook his head. "Seriously, Adam. Is she hot or are her clothes hot?"

"Can't it be both?" Lil asked.

The stylist interjected, "Heterosexual men see only the body, not the clothes, Lil."

"Speaking of bodies, how about Angelina Jolie?" Anoop asked. "She's like the hottest thing on the planet."

"Her voice is really sexy," Scott noted.

"She's scary," Kris shuddered. "That whole blood thing..."

"She's hot, molten hot," Adam disagreed.

Danny turned to look at Adam with surprise on his face. "You think she's hot?"

"Of course. How about--"

Danny pounced. "So you could be straight--"

Adam burst out laughing. "No. I can see that a woman is beautiful and hot. I just don't want to do anything with it."

"But that makes no sense!" Danny argued. "How can you see or feel that a woman is hot but not want to do anything about it? I mean, you'd have to work at not wanting it, so why do that and--"

"Calm down, cowboy," Anoop said under his breath.

"No, I'm gonna say it. I think that if you worked on it, you wouldn't be gay, Adam. You must know you should change, it's just easier for you--"

Adam held up his hand. "You know, in my experience -- which is, let us say, vast -- the people who are the most homophobic are always the ones hiding their true nature." As Danny began to splutter, Adam added, "It's really quite sad. I always feel as if I should say, oh, I don't know, a prayer for them or something."

"I agree. I think it's prayer circle time!" Kris spoke loudly. He had a few requests to make to God. "Let's all join hands, you too, Cymbal..."

The stylist shook her head. "Let's all get ready. We're at the store."

As they piled out of the van, Matt said to Adam, "So Angelina would be your type if you swung that way?"

Adam shrugged. "It's hard for me to say. I'd love to get into her closet,for sure, though. That leather Versace she wore to this one red carpet--"

"What was hotter, Adam? Her or the leather?" The stylist asked.

"Hmmm..." Adam pretended to ponder, then grinned. "The leather."



"I think you should go with the blue, Adam," the stylist urged him. "The color would be eye-catching and--"

"I'd go with the blue." Kris touched the bright blue sweater. It would go great with Adam's eyes.

Adam and the stylist swung around to look at Kris with surprise. "You have an opinion?" the stylist asked in surprise. "About clothes?"

"Yeah, I know, the world as we know it has come to an end..." Kris held up his hands. "But I'd like this shopping excursion to end and I know Adam can debate between two shirts for an hour. Believe me, I've seen him do it."

"You've watched Adam debate between two shirts for an hour?" The stylist asked, raising an eyebrow. "That couldn't have been too interesting."

"Seriously, Kris, didn't you have something better to do..." Adam trailed off, then leaned down to the stylist. "Oh, I get it."

"Get what?" Kris asked, frowning and stepping closer to Adam. He knew Adam and the stylist had grown close and in his experience, that could mean trouble. He wanted every part of Adam's sort of trouble.

Adam turned to the stylist and whispered in what he knew was the proverbial stage whisper, "If I'm standing in front of my closet, that means if he's sitting on the bed. If he's sitting on the bed watching me, he's looking at my ass. Which, if he spent an hour watching it, not to put any point on it whatsoever, means it's worth looking at. For an hour. Wow. Thanks, Kris, for stroking my ego. If nothing else today."

Kris gaped at Adam until the stylist giggled and reached out to tap his jaw upward.

"Can't blame you, Kris," the stylist grinned. "I may have taken a bit longer than professionally necessary to weigh in on the debate Adam was having over whether or not to wear underwear with the zipper pants."

"Hold the phone!" Kris held up one hand. "You know what he was wearing or not under the zipper pants?"

The stylist shook her head and smiled. "Indeed I do, but I made a deal to give no secrets away."

"A deal?" Kris looked from the stylist to Adam.

"Yes. Adam promised me he'd get you into better-fitting jeans and voila!" The stylist pointed at the bag in Kris' hand. "And since you shopped for yourself and Kris so fast, Adam, I did make arrangements for you two to cut out early. The music director said you two have your arrangements down, so you don't need to rush back the way the others do. So have fun." She waved and walked away.

"Thanks so much," Adam said sincerely, grabbing the blue sweater and adding it to his pile.

"Are you going to tell me how you managed to talk people into..." Kris shook his head. "Why do I ask?"

"Why do you? Just lie back and enjoy."

"Lie back?" Kris gaped.

"Are you going to tell me why you were so angry?"

"Nope."

"C'mon..." Adam wheedled in a soft voice, while placing his hand on Kris' arm and rubbing his thumb back and forth against the skin. "You know you want to tell me..."

"Do not try that with me, Adam Lambert!" Kris hissed, looking down to hide his smile and to avoid looking into Adam's eyes. He knew if he kept looking into those eyes, he'd surrender. "Are you going to tell me who you were texting in the van?"

"Oh, sure. My friend, Cassidy. I knew we'd get done early today--"

"Even though you made me buy new jeans." Kris rolled his eyes and held up the bag.

"You said you needed new underwear, might as well buy new jeans."

"I don't even get that connection..." Kris shook his head. How Adam had talked him into a pair of new jeans. Tighter jeans... Okay, he knew how Adam talked him into the jeans. He just kept talking and talking and talking and pointing and suggesting and sounding so damn reasonable, then he complimented and his eyes got all.. soft and then... he just told Kris what to buy and Kris was holding a bag with new jeans.

"You don't have to understand, just obey..." Adam said in a low tone. Then he grinned, watching Kris' eyes go from dark and dilated to blinking in surprise as he added, "I've changed my mind, but I was going to take you over to Skingraft to meet him and fondle leather for a while..."

Kris grinned and reached out to flick the cat o'nine tails on Adam's hip. "You and leather."

Adam bent forward. "Are you seriously playing with my tail in public?"

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Matt asked as he and Allison came up behind them.

"Now, there's a question..." Adam murmured, his eyes drifting downwards.

Kris hid a smile and sidestepped. Adam apparently liked having his tail stroked. "We're done."

"You're done?" Matt asked in surprise, looking at Adam. "But you always take so long--"

Adam held up his hands, then stuck them in his pockets as Danny walked up. There was temptation -- Kris's ass and then there was temptation -- Danny's face. "I knew what I wanted and I knew what store we were visiting today--"

"How did you know that?" Danny grimaced. "Did the stylist tell you--"

Kris shook his head and whispered to Allison, "Are you taking physics this year? Because if so your final term project can be figuring out how much energy it takes to be an asshole."

"Because I fucking asked her. My gosh, it's not a state secret. So I called here and found out that this store has a personal shopper service. I had them pull my sizes--"

"Does it totally crack you up how Adam can go from fucking fierce to saying, 'My gosh' in ten seconds?" Allison giggled against Kris.

"I don't think that's fair," Danny complained.

"There is so much in life that is inequitable," Adam agreed blandly. "That I find it problematic and ineffective to get my knickers in a twist over the fact that you didn't think to inquire if the store had a personal shopper."

"Presuming you're wearing knickers," Kris interjected. "So, about those zipper pants..."

Danny groaned and stomped off. Matt shrugged and sighed, "I need a new pair of pants myself."

"So. Are you going to tell me what really happened earlier?" Adam asked softly. He flicked a glance at Allison, who moved in closer, blocking the two men from the others.

"No." Kris blindly unfolded, then refolded jeans on a display in front of him.

"Let me. I have experience..." Adam said with a small smile. "I could do this in my sleep. Why won't you tell me?"

"Not gonna." Kris grabbed Adam's arm and led him over to the register.

Adam looked at Kris' face, then over at Danny. Danny had been looking alternately smug and anxious. "Okay. Let me parse this out. You were extremely angry. It wasn't over a song choice. It was over something personal. Something Danny did." Adam nodded as he handed over his clothes to the clerk, who placed them aside for the stylist.

"Uh-oh..." Allison groaned under her breath.

"Something..." Adam dipped his head and looked into Kris' eyes until Kris' gaze skittered away. "Something about me. Wasn't it? Something about the gay."

"I'm not talking about it, Adam."

"You don't have to." Adam closed his eyes briefly and missed Kris' hand reaching out to him, then dropping to his side. He took a deep breath and smiled, then nodded in the direction of the door. "He's been trying to lead you down the path of righteousness and--"

"I called him a clanging cymbal," Kris blurted out.

"I...see. Not." Adam paused on the way to the door. "Wait, that reading they always do at weddings."

"Good catch, Lambert." Allison high-fived him.

"Very good," Kris agreed, feeling Adam's eyes on him.

Adam nodded abruptly. "You wanted to punch him in the nose because you thought he was trying to hurt me."

"How did you parse that out?" Allison asked, waving good bye as the two men reached the door.

"I know Kris." Adam smiled and opened the door for Kris. "We have freedom for two and one half whole hours. Let's not waste it."

Adam gestured toward the right and they began walking. When Kris said nothing, but some weird, nervous energy poured off him in waves, Adam looked down. Kris was somehow being fidgety while walking. "What is it?" Adam asked, looking down at Kris' face.

"I..." Kris licked his lips. "Oh, this is ridiculous. I'm not twelve."

"Even if you're the size of a--"

Kris grinned. "You can be such a dork."

"You can put eyeliner on a dork but you can't..." Adam shook his head. "Okay, that was a total fail."

"Yeah, what's up with that?"

"You distracted me by licking your lips."

Kris' breath hitched. He could distract Adam. In a good way, only a good way. He reached out and once again flicked Adam's tail."Well, I do that sometimes when I'm nervous."

"Or aroused." Adam smiled. "You are playing with fire to keep playing with my tail, you know."

Kris began to laugh, then flicked it again, letting his hand brush against Adam's. He took a deep breath and looked up at Adam. "The truth is.. I...well, this is probably going to sound dorky to you, I mean, what with all your experience and all..."

"Kris Allen, you are the coolest guy I know," Adam said softly.

"Oh." Kris took a deep breath and looked up at Adam. "I, well, I really would like to hold your hand. I never really thought twice about it before, you're with a girl and you wanna hold her hand and you just do it and now..." Kris gestured around them. "I feel like I can't and I really wanna..."

"Oh." Adam touched his heart, feeling it beating hard.

"I know, that sounds really dorky and high school and..."

"I think it sounds sweet. And... romantic." Adam reached out and gave Kris a quick sideways hug as they neared the movie theater.

"It does?" Kris felt warmth spread from his center. "Wait. Does that mean this is a special moment and I'll get a kiss?"

Adam smiled down at Kris. "I'm pretty sure there is a pap on our collective tails, so, no."

"But if there weren't? I mean, seriously, Adam, you don't have to be nice. You can tell me. I mean, aren't you a little too... experienced, really, to want to hold hands?"

"Well, I think we've previously established that I am, underneath all the fierceness, a dork, Kris, so..." Adam paused and looked down at his boots.

"Adam? Tell me," Kris urged, sensing one of those stories that Adam told quietly.

"As for the high school aspect, you know, one thing about being gay is that you usually don't get to have the whole teenage experience."

Kris looked sharply at Adam, remembering Adam joking about passing notes in study hall about a cute boy. Adam had never had the fun, as it were, of high school romance drama. And comedy. "It's overrated, believe me," he asserted. "But, so...you never got that..." Oh. Kris nodded. Adam had gone from nothing to a katrillion miles an hour, Kris realized, based on hints Adam had dropped a few times. Oh. That was why Adam was enjoying the slow course of their relationship. "This is new to you."

"Yeah." Adam cleared his throat and pointed toward a multiplex theater. "It occurs to me that I've never asked you..."

"Yes?" Kris leaned closer.

"If you want to go to the movies with me sometime."

"Sometime being now." Kris looked at the marquee listing and sighed. "I thought we were going somewhere to... lay down."

"You seem disappointed." Adam smirked.

Kris stared. Why was it when Danny smirked he wanted to punch him in the mouth and when Adam smirked, he wanted to trace Adam's lips with his fingertips or even better, the tip of his tongue? Well, duh. It was Adam. "You'll make it up to me."

Adam grinned as he stepped forward and said, "Hey, Mark."

"Hey, Adam!" The youngish man behind the counter grinned. "You're right, I do owe you for that gig because it led to some steady work. So I set you up in theater ten."

Kris stared at Adam in bemusement. "Do you know everyone in LA? And you didn't give up a paying gig for this--"

"Of course not." Adam shrugged as he paid for their tickets and said goodbye. "I recommended him for some sesion work a while back and he owed me. No big deal. It's not some Pretty Woman scenario where I'm going to present you with jewelry next."

Kris laughed. "But hey you did get me new clothes. Julie Roberts' ballgown has nothing on my new jeans."

"See? You're already relaxing. You were just...tense. You need some R and R and I thought this would be... nice. No worries, just relax, us two. Okay?"

Kris nodded eagerly. "Okay."

As they walked through into the lobby, Kris was startled when Adam took his hand and held it all the way into the theater. He hoped his hand wasn't sweating too much.

"This is... good." Kris sighed as he sat down next to Adam in the empty theater. He looked down, Adam having insisted that they sit towards the back.

"Good. Relax." Adam turned to Kris. "Now that we're relaxed, why don't you --"

Kris bubbled up with laughter. "I'm not going to tell you, Adam."

"You are stubborn." Adam stared at Kris speculatively. He could make him talk.

"Yup," Kris taunted, wondering what Adam would do next.

"That's it?"

"That's it." Kris sighed. "So we're on a... date. Is this special enough?" Kris whispered.

"No." Adam smiled.

Kris groaned impatiently. "Are you going to give me a handbook so I can study up on the definition of special and be ready, because--" He broke off speaking abruptly when Adam touched the back of his right hand with his fingertips and gently stroked from knuckles to wrist. "What are you doing?"

"Holding your hand, just like you wanted."

"This is a little more..." Kris closed his eyes to savor the sensation Adam's fingers intertwining through his. He was a grown man and yet just the touch of Adam's hand against his was making him want more. More. Like always, Adam exceeded his expectations, he thought and turned his hand palm side up and closed his eyes as Adam slowly stroked his skin. He slid down in his seat and smiled when Adam reached over and gently pulled his head onto Adam's shoulder. "Nicccccee..." he whispered.

Adam looked down at Kris' open hand and bit his lip to keep from bringing Kris' hand to his mouth and sucking his fingers. Because... Distract yourself, Lambert.

"What are you humming?" Kris asked in irritation a few minutes later. He liked reading the stupid trivia questions. They kept him from just jumping on top of Adam and grinding into him.

"You oughta know." Adam rubbed his fingers alongside Kris' shorter ones, slowly, enjoying the feel of the callises on Kris' fingertips.

"I don't know, so why--"

Adam burst out laughing, then muffled his voice. "No, seriously. You oughta know."

"Know what? The song, because--" Kris broke off as he realized the best way to egg Adam on was to ignore him. "Hey, do you know the answer to that trivia question on the preview screen?"

"No and I don't care. Who cares about the damn trivia questions?"

"I do--"

"Well, here's a trivia question that's relevant to our interests. What song am I humming?"

"I. Don't. Freaking. Know!" Kris bit out. Adam had stopped stroking his hand, damn it and damn it, his erection hadn't subsided in the slightest because his cock knew damn well Adam was going to start teasing him again any minute. "I don't care and I don't believe it's relevant, I think you're just tryin' to drive me nuts and--"

"Tell me if you've ever made out in a theater or had sex in a theater?"

"What? Uh...my past girlfriends..." Kris blinked. Like who wanted to know those kinds of details? He would rather think Adam came by his experience through... reading. Yeah. And since when was he both unrealistic and stupid and also possessive? Since when? He looked over at Adam. God, he was gorgeous. And funny and... the hottest guy on the planet and his voice was.. Oh damn, shut up, mind, Adam was talking.

"Okay, then, here's a useful trivia question." Adam reached over with his other hand and lightly stroked a path up Kris' thigh.

"For me?" Kris stared at his leg. He swore Adam's fingers had left a trail of fire in their wake. He shifted his leg, lifting it toward Adam's hand and then cursed silently when Adam removed his hand.

"I can't answer it yet."

"What is it?"

"What size cock ring do you wear?"

Kris froze and then turned, slowly, to face Adam. "What?"

"Hmm. Apparently my thee-a-taa training is failing me. Must be because I'm excited about the answer to this trivia question. So allow me to repeat it, slowly and clearly and using my best thee-a-taa diction--"

"I'm gonna shove that thee-a-taa diction up your ass--"

"Ooops, Kris. Newsflash. I'm a top. Nothing goes up my ass. Now back to the question, since you're all about triva, although really, this is hardly trivial. What size--"

"I heard you the first time!"

"Okay, no need to twist those knickers. If you'd answered my first question about your old girlfriends, because I had to know about my competition..." Adam grinned and bending so close to Kris that Kris shivered at the feel of Adam's breath against his neck, began to sing, "Is she perverted like me? Would she go down on you in a theater?"

Kris felt his mouth drop open in shock, then he began to gasp for breath before collapsing against Adam's shoulder in great hiccuping gales of laughter. "Alanis...Morisette... You Oughta Know!"

"Hey, no tears against the leather, boy," Adam scolded Kris, his hands reaching up to cup Kris' head and move his face against Adam's neck.

Kris breathed in deeply. God, he loved the way Adam smelled. He took one final breath, then gave into temptation and kissed the heated skin under his lips, brushing his mouth against Adam's throat, smiling in triumph when he felt Adam swallow.

Adam pushed Kris back. The boy didn't know how close he was to being pushed back and... Distract yourself, Lambert. "You wanted to punch Danny in the nose, didn't you?"

"Ohmigod, will you leave it alone?" Kris slapped Adam's arm. "Take off your coat."

"No. And no. You're being stubborn--"

"I'm being stubborn?" Kris laughed. "You are so damn intense--"

"Indeed. But right now, I don't have the resources at my disposal to overcome your intransigence."

"Resources?" Kris asked as the lights went down and the movie -- whatever the hell it was -- began.

"Mmm." Adam gently touched Kris' bare wrist, rubbed his fingertips along the underside, then gently encircled the wrist with his fingers. Suddenly, he tightened his grip until Kris gasped.

"What the hell..." Kris trailed off as his eyes darted from the sight of Adam's hand capturing his wrist to Adam's eyes.

"Resources. Which I don't have -- Wait. That's partly a lie." Adam rubbed the circle of his curled hand around Kris' wrist.

Kris looked down at Adam's hand, watching it rub his skin. Who knew the wrist was an erogenous zone? Not him, not until now. "A lie? You don't lie."

"True, that's why I was correcting myself." Adam pinched the skin on the top of Kris' hand. "Although I would much prefer correcting you. Which is what I'm about to do here."

"You're...correcting me? Here?" Kris heard his voice rise with each word and shut his mouth. Just in time, he thought as Adam took his hand and brought it over the arm rest. Putting Kris' hand on his thigh, Adam flicked the leather strands at Kris and listened for the gasp. "You are not correcting me here!" Kris argued, although his hand curled around Adam's thigh possessively. His. God, where had these feelings come from? If Adam weren't holding him, he'd be overwhelmed with the heat flashing along his veins and deeper inside and the need, even deeper for Adam to...

"Why not?" Adam asked, looking at Kris' hand, visible in the dark theater, against his thigh, squeezing him tightly enough to leave a bruise. The urge to push Kris' hand toward his cock was... Control. Control. Control. This is Kris' need, not yours.

"We're in public!" Kris glanced up at Adam, wondering if Adam would take the cue.

"True. But do you honestly think that would inhibit me?" Adam lifted Kris's hand in his and slowly brought it to his mouth.

"Inhibit you?" Kris had begun to sigh in relief, when Adam took the cue, then his sigh turned into a choking sound of need when Adam's lips met his palm. He swallowed hard and watched Adam's mouth, felt his lips against his palm which had never felt so senstive and damn, all Adam was doing was softly kissing his skin and he wanted to climb on top of him, screw everyone else, and just... He felt his cock throb in his jeans, grateful they were his baggy ones and swallowed again as he saw Adam watching him. Oh, his cue. "Probably not. You wear a cat o' nine tails as your key chain which..." Kris' gaze flew like a heat-seeking missile to Adam's hip where he saw the leather strands haphazardly splayed across Adam's thigh. "You wouldn't..."

"Oh, wouldn't I?" Adam said in a low voice. "You wouldn't like to touch my... tail, would you?" Adam pressed one final kiss in the center of Kris' palm and then gave a quick lick.

Kris' cock hardened so much, he nearly doubled over. It was almost too much, the way he reacted to Adam. "I--we... we're in...public..."

"Why would I stop? It seems as though you find it exciting..." Adam gestured toward Kris' crotch.

"I'm gonna kill you."

Adam once again encircled Kris' wrist and put it down hard on his thigh. Holding Kris' hand in place, he whispered in Kris' ear, "There it is again. That unexpected streak of passion, almost violent passion." Adam smiled slowly. "Which I like. In its proper place and time. You need to learn that. Which is why you need correction."

Kris felt his lips part. He wondered why he was having trouble catching his breath if his mouth was open and... Was Adam stroking his hand with a wet finger? When had he wet it? Or was it just his own perspiration? "You liked it when I almost lost it? In anger? Really?"

"Are you serious?" Adam laughed softly, his voice husky. "I just want your aggression directed in more appropriate... channels."

"I think..." Kris ducked his head. In retrospect, he was, for lack of a better word, almost frightened at the surge that had raced through his body, the urge to violence. Maybe he did need some sort of... correction. He looked back up. "You said you don't have the right resources?"

"Yes. I don't have what I really want in this situation." Adam kept stroking his fingertips along Kris' palm, then gently rubbing between each finger while waiting patiently for Kris to answer.

"Which would be?" Kris choked out as Adam rubbed the depression between his fingers so slowly that... Oh god, more...

"Handcuffs." Adam once again captured Kris' wrist in his hand and squeezed hard. "I don't have them with me and even if I did, I'm not an exhibitionist enough to cuff you to the armrest here, in the theater, where anyone could walk in at any time..."

"Anytime..." Kris whispered. He felt sweat break out on his forehead and upper lip as heat suffused his body and his pulse pounded. Hard. He was so damn hard and wet, wetter by the second and... He was going to have to change his underwear before they left this theater. Good thing, he had bought some new... Oh hell, Adam was talking again, oh thank god, Adam was talking again...

"I think I've found one of your kinks..." Adam whispered, feeling Kris' pulse race out of control under his fingers.

"I never knew I had any kinks before..." Kris whispered back, his eyes wide as he stared at Adam's hand as it slid from around his wrist so that the fingertips stroked the center of his palm. When had his palm gotten so sensitive? He wondered as he felt heat radiating from the touch of skin on skin? If this is what it's like with just a hand, what was it going to be like... Oh god, he was going to have lots of kinks with Adam because he was going to want to try everything.

"So, Danny was right. I am corrupting you. Should I feel guilty?"

"Corrupt me some more..." Kris begged, feeling a trembling in his legs. He couldn't believe how hot he was, how much his cock actually hurt from pressing against his jeans, how it was throbbing just from holding hands and Adam's voice.

"Mmm..." Adam began to draw circles on Kris' palm with his index finger. "Pay attention. We're talking about you being stubborn. So, don't forget why I'd be cuffing you."

"I've forgotten," Kris admitted as, somehow, his cock felt those circles as if Adam's fingers were touching it, circling and touching and... oh yeah... He tilted his hips upward.

Adam's lips parted in surprise. This was...quite possibly the hottest thing he'd seen in... He'd never in his life had an urge to make a sex tape, but if he could film Kris... "I'd find ways to torture you until you told me."

"How?" Kris asked eagerly, his voice nearly breathless.

Adam smiled secretively. "Wellll..." He moved his fingers to the base of Kris' middle finger and began stroking it, pulling on it, until Kris once again twitched his hips.

"Adam..." Kris groaned. He reached for the top button of his shirt and undid it.

"You like the way I'm touching your hand, don't you?"

"If I liked it any more, I'd need to change my underwear."

Adam grinned, then brought Kris' hand up to his mouth and kissed each fingertip. "It's about the asshole and why you wanted to punch him. You know, it would be a shame if you punched him in the nose."

"He deserves it."

"Oh, no doubt. But as Allison said earlier, it's all about risk and reward."

"You're the strategist." Kris gasped as Adam's hand once again circled his wrist and began to pump the skin there. Oh god, kinky and ridiculous and... his cock didn't care, his cock felt like Adam was pumping it and then, oh yeah... oh no, Adam moved his fingers in that long slow stroke up the underside of his forearm and wrist.

"Which is why you should listen to me." Adam pressed his thumb down hard in the center of Kris' palm, then felt Kris pressing his hand back up against Adam's thumb and his hips jekred upwards against nothing. He felt Kris' silent growl of frustration in his own cock and tightened his legs. "So listen to me. It would be a shame if you punched him in the nose."

"Why?" Kris clamped his other hand on Adam's thigh and rubbed the long muscle there and nearly threw himself at Adam when Adam pushed his hand away.

"Listen to me. You're not listening. Because he has a hard head. You could hurt your hand." Adam bent his head as he raised Kris' hand to his mouth. Slowly swirling his tongue around Kris' palm, he whispered, "And that would be a shame."

"It would be worth it," Kris breathed, not sure if Adam could hear his words. He was breathless. All from that little swirl of his tongue and his voice, that voice... "The reward--"

Adam withdrew his mouth and resumed tracing the lines in Kris' hands with his fingertips, watching Kris nearly jump out of his skin with each pass of his fingers. "You could hurt your hand. I wouldn't want that...I think your hands are so sexy. I love watching you play your... instrument with them."

Kris gulped. "I thought you were going to show me."

"Oh no, remember, we're doing it together. I cannot wait to see your hands on yourself, showing me what you like..." Adam pushed his voice down to its lowest tone. "But even more I can't wait to see your hands on me, to feel your hands on me...I think the calluses on your fingertips are so sexy..." Adam whispered. Keeping his gaze fixed on Kris' eyes, he slowly kissed the callus on each fingertip.

"You do?" Kris didn't know how his mouth was making intelligible sound when his pulse, no, his entire body, was beating so hard, like it was trying to escape its own confines and be free and yet... bound by Adam and... god, more, more.. "More.." he said unknowingly.

"Yesss... I think of how your hands would feel on my skin, those calluses running over my body..."

Kris was sure the entire world could hear him gasping for breath. "Adam..."

"See?"

"See what?" Kris knew the only thing he could see was Adam's eyes.

"If I had the resources, I could get you to tell me what happened today. Because all I've done so far is talk to you and touch your hand. One hand. And right now, you are so close..." Adam parted his lips and slid his tongue out to gently wet the edge of Kris' ear. He smiled when Kris' entire body jumped as if an electric current were attached to his ear. "So close, aren't you? Just from touching one hand and that little tiny lick of my tongue. You want to come so badly right now, don't you? So just imagine, if I had you cuffed to my bed, naked, just the two of us all alone, no one to hear you screaming...and I was touching you everywhere... "

"Adam..." Kris moaned, lost. He was totally lost in a fire and the only way out was...yes, yes...

"You'd tell me what happened today, wouldn't you? You'd tell me every secret you ever had."

"Fuck!" Kris bit his lip to keep from screaming aloud as... oh god, yesssssss.


"KRIS!" Adam hissed as loudly as he dared. "Wake up, man!"

"Adam..." Kris moaned and then blinked his eyes open. "Let me do you..." He whispered sleepily and then frowned as... "Ohmigod, why am I wet?"

Adam bit his lip and handed Kris the bag from the store. "You were having quite the dream."

"Kill me now. Just kill me. Strangle, smother, drown... any way you want." Kris covered his face with the bag. "I am too old for this..."

"Apparently not." Adam pressed his lips together.

"Do not laugh at me."

"How do you know--"

"I can hear it in your voice."

Adam pulled the bag away from Kris' face. "I heard quite a bit myself."

"Why didn't you wake me up before..." Kris gestured toward his crotch.

Adam shrugged. "One, I thought you could... use it. Two..." He cupped Kris' cheek in his hand and rubbed his thumb along Kris' bottom lip. "It was the hottest thing I've ever heard in my life. I want the... play by play later. Now, go change."






"Kris, you look more relaxed," Matt observed when Adam and Kris entered the music room upon returning home. "It was good to just take a break and go to the movies, I guess."

"Yeah. It was." Kris agreed, looking sharply at Adam. Adam who was grining like a damn Cheshire cat and then in flash so swift if you blinked you missed it, his smile flickered into a normal smile. Still breathtaking, Kris thought, but looked down to keep from laughing. He rubbed his damp palms along the legs of his new jeans. Which thankfully Adam had talked him into buying because... He glanced over at Adam, then shook his head and looked down again. If he looked at Adam any more...

Danny said sharply, "You look guilty, Kris. When people feel guilty, it's because they've done something wrong."

Kris' head snapped up. "I don't feel guilty. As usual, Danny, you are totally misreading facial expressions."

"I can read guilt. What did you two really do? "

"What do you think we did at the movies?" Adam asked, stepping forward.

"I don't know. You tell me. What did you do at the movies?" Danny retorted, pushing his glasses up his nose.

Adam looked over at Kris and grinned. "I gave him a hand job."