This Year's Model of Humanity

Title: Here There Be Dragons
Summary: On a crazy night, four people try to figure out where they belong.
Pairings: Kris/Adam/Katy/Drake (in various combinations)
Rating: NC-17
Notes: This is entirely Adam Lambert's fault for sending out this particular tweet in his most recent Twitter party: “Does the Kradam thing bother Katy and Drake? Naw. They've hung out before too! Kradam calls them KAKE.” Dedicated to jennilee. Word count ~11,000.

Here There Be Dragons

“I've decided that more celebrating is in order,” Katy announced. Her hair had half-fallen out of its twist, tangling around the curve of her neck. Her green dress slid up over her knees as she lounged sideways on the loveseat. “Which means that you guys can't leave yet anyway.”

They'd finally officially moved into their new place in L.A. and it was just the four of them left now – Katy curled up on the loveseat where she'd collapsed after hugging some of her new best friends good-bye, while Drake and Kris were on either side of Adam on the couch. Kris had been the first to sit down, leaning against the side of the couch, defiantly putting his shoes on the fabric, and when Adam had been about ready to say goodbye, Kris had refused to get up, tugging Adam down and draping his legs over him to trap him.

Of course, Adam could have easily escaped if he really wanted to, which was why Kris didn't feel bad about doing it. A minute or so later, Drake had plastered himself to Adam's side, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

“What did you have in mind?” Adam asked, and his hand resting on Kris's ankle was heavy and warm, fingers tucked in under the bottom of his pants, touching skin. It was just on the right side of not being too intimate, the sort of tiny connection that he and Adam had decided was okay.

“Stupid 'getting to know you' games,” Katy said. And Kris was pretty sure that Adam's face was reflecting his own... uncertainty about that. Katy shrugged, stretched out a little more on the loveseat. “Drake and I don't know each other that well! And... I've always liked them.”

“That's a good point,” Drake said, and Kris could see his fingers curling more tightly around Adam's shoulder. “I don't know Kris as well as I'd like to, either.”

Honestly, Kris knew Drake exactly as much as he wanted to – if not slightly more – but saying that would be unforgivably mean, so he kept his mouth shut.

“Any game in particular?” Adam asked.

“We could play 'I Never',” Katy suggested. “I know we've got something around here to use for drinks.”

“I can't play that game; y'all have done too much,” Kris said, lazy and slow. “I'd die.”

“The boy with liver problems is excused from any heavy drinking,” Katy said lightly, waving her hand dismissively at Kris. He grinned at her and she smiled back, soft and intimate.

“What's wrong with Kris's liver?” Drake asked. Kris could feel Adam flinch slightly which – he took that whole thing way too seriously. Kris had been sick, yeah, but he was fine now, except for a couple of things that he couldn't do, so no one needed to make a big deal out of it.

“You've never heard the story?” Katy paused for a second, her gaze darting down to Kris's feet in Adam's lap before bouncing right back to Drake. “Adam, you should tell him about it.” Katy leaned forward, her voice lowering a little. “Adam knows all of Kris's stories. Kris tells him... everything. Every time I ever make a reference to anything in our past – Adam always gets it. Isn't that sweet?”

“We had a lot of time to talk,” Adam said, and most of the time, Adam and Katy got along really well, but sometimes... sometimes there was the tiniest edge in their interactions that made Kris nervous. “Anyway, I'm not going to play any game that Kris can't play.”

“How about Truth or Dare?” Drake suggested. “No mandatory drinking involved, just... silly fun.”

That seemed like a satisfactory solution for everyone, and it started off pretty innocently. Right up until Katy said to Adam, “So, tell us about your first time.”

They'd all migrated from the furniture to the carpeted floor, around when a bottle of vodka got broken out. They didn't bother with glasses, since there wasn't exactly anyone around to impress, just passed the bottle around the circle to indicate who was the person in charge of asking.

“Well,” Adam said, leaning back against the coffee table, smirking slightly. Kris laughed, bringing up his fist to cover his mouth. “I was a bit of a late bloomer-”

“-and it was my birthday,” Kris added, attempting to mimic the same low, confiding tone that Adam was using. Adam glanced over at him, and then he was laughing too, reaching out to lightly smack Kris's arm. Kris wrinkled his nose at Adam, and kept going, “I'd fooled around a bit, with guys and girls, but I knew what I really wanted.”

“So, I'm guessing that you've heard this story,” Drake said. He was sitting across from Kris, leaning back on his hands, with his legs spread out in front of him. “You guys weren't kidding about how much you talk.”

“That was, like, the third story that Adam ever told me,” Kris said, and he'd probably had more to drink than he should have, so he looked over at Adam to see- Well, to see if this was okay. Adam still just seemed amused, though, which was good. “Just the basics, though. I mean, it took him a while to spill the details.”

“I was waiting for you to freak out,” Adam said. “But you never did.”

“It was never a big deal,” Kris said because he kinda hated that, for Adam, it was considered a big deal to just... be himself.

“I'm still curious about it,” Katy said, and Kris blinked and turned to look at her. She had her legs tucked up under herself, one hand bracing the bottle resting near her knees. Adam started talking again and Kris just let him tell the story this time, the words flowing over and through him. Katy had a thoughtful cast to her face and Kris wasn't really sure what it was about so, when it was his turn, he grinned at Katy.

“Truth or dare?” he asked, rolling the vodka bottle between his hands.

“I'm pretty sure that you know-”

“Truth or dare?”

She bit down on her lip, and he winked at her. She slowly glanced around the circle, rubbing a hand against her knee – she was nervous about something. Did she have a truth that she didn't want him to ask about? It would have to be something that she would think that he'd guessed or she wouldn't be worried. And, sure enough, she said, “Dare.”

“Okay,” Kris said. “Katy, I dare you to kiss Drake.”

“What?” And that was Drake's voice. Kris glanced over at him and grinned.

“C'mon, you've kissed girls before,” Kris said, cheerfully. “You think they taste sweet.”

He should probably feel guilty about the look that Drake shot Adam's way, because that had apparently not been information that Drake had been expecting Adam to share. Katy, on the other hand, just seemed amused, crawling over to Drake and planting a light smacking buss on his lips.

“A real kiss,” Kris said and Katy looked over at him, curious, and he didn't know what she was seeing on his face, but it convinced her to go for it. She sat herself in Drake's lap and tried again, and, this time, Kris could see them opening their mouths. “Keep going,” he said, encouragingly, then he shifted toward Adam, lowering his voice so that it wouldn't carry past the two of them. “So, Katy tried that thing last night.”

“She tried-” At first Adam sounded slightly confused, but then he laughed, though he immediately covered his mouth to keep from being too loud. “Really? How many fingers did she manage?”

“Just the one,” Kris said, nose wrinkling up. “It didn't go all that well. It wasn't anything like you said it should be.”

“Did you seriously just have your wife make out with another guy so that you could talk to me about anal sex?” Adam asked. Kris had to chuckle at that because he hadn't even planned on bringing it up at all; it was just convenient timing. “Because you could have just sent an email.”

“Are you kidding?” Kris shook his head. “That's- it's... email is not all that secure, which you know. It can be hacked.”

“Or just waited until-”

“When are we ever really alone anymore?” Kris asked. “We never have time to be, between meetings and recording sessions and interviews and... everything else. And on our few days off-”

“Our respective significant others do expect some attention to be paid to them,” Adam finished. “Yeah, I see your point. So, what went wrong?”

“Nothing really went wrong,” Kris said. “It just felt... pointless. I wasn't getting anything out of it.”

“I think you should try again,” Adam said, after a moment. Then he waved a hand over in Katy and Drake's general direction. “You aren't jealous at all? They've been kissing for a while now.”

Kris glanced over – they actually did both really seem into it. One of Drake's hands was cupping Katy's ass and the other was buried in her hair. Both of Katy's hands looked like they were on Drake's shoulders, maybe steadying herself as she balanced in his lap. And now that he was paying attention, he could hear their small, wet noises.

“At the end of the day, I figure he's more interested in you,” Kris said, shrugging a shoulder. “I'm not all that worried about them running off together.” A memory from tour tickled at him. “Besides, you're the one that gave them a name. What was it again?”

“Kake,” Adam said. “I said that we called them Kake.”

While they were watching, Katy and Drake pulled away from each other, both of them looking slightly surprised. Katy, in particular, looked like she was breathing kinda hard.

“Your hand is on...” she started to say, and then the two of them just seem to fall apart from each other, each moving away until they weren't touching. Kris wasn't sure which of them looked more startled and he really couldn't help laughing. Katy glared at him a bit, but he could hear Adam laughing, too, and that made him chuckle even harder, instinctively reaching back to touch, his hand landing on Adam's knee.

“It's not my fault,” Drake said, and it looked like he was trying to avoid looking anyone in the eye. “I was just... just supporting you.” Katy puffed up a little with annoyance.

“That wasn't-”

“It's not like you objected at the time,” Drake interrupted. He crossed his arms over his chest and, in Kris's opinion, he looked a little sulky. “But maybe you forgot who you were kissing.”

Katy pursed her lips together, which was generally the sign for a little bit of an explosion, so he nudged Adam, giving him the bottle.

“Drake,” Adam said, loudly. “Truth or dare?”

Both Drake and, on Drake's turn, Katy went with truth and got asked easy questions that seemed to calm the waters a bit. But then it was Katy's turn and the way she was staring at Kris, he figured that something was going to happen. She asked him and- he had to think for a second about what she might be planning to ask if he said 'truth'. And maybe it made him a coward, but he decided to go with 'dare'.

“Well, turn-about is fair play,” she said, cocking her head. “That makes it your turn to kiss Drake.”

He really should have been expecting something like that. He looked back at Adam and he wasn't sure what he was looking for, but Adam's smile was reassuring and so was his hand on Kris's shoulder, warm and always strong. It was enough. He and Drake met halfway across the circle, and Kris sat back on his heels. Drake looked even more nervous now than he did after kissing Katy and Kris wondered what that was about. He couldn't possibly think that Adam would get annoyed or jealous, not over a game.

“I'm guessing that Katy wants this to be a real kiss,” Kris said, reaching out to cup Drake's face. Then he rose up and leaned forward, angling Drake's face slightly and... first, he brushed his lips against Drake's lightly. Like he remembered, it wasn't so different from kissing a girl, though he could feel Drake's stubble against his fingertips. He put his other hand on Drake's shoulder and he could feel Drake's hands hesitantly landing on either side of his waist. Kris closed his eyes and pressed another tiny nothing of a kiss against Drake's mouth.

He never let himself think too much about kissing guys, especially recently, when the only guy he wanted-

He refocused himself on Drake, who was incredibly tense under Kris's hands and he had to wonder – what did Adam say about him to Drake? What exactly did Drake know about Kris? Enough for him to know that Kris and Adam hadn't ever done this together or only enough to make him unsure about whether or not they had?

Kris leaned forward for another small, breathless kiss, and this time, he parted his lips a little, sucked at Drake's lower lip for a second before pulling back again. And Drake chuckled, the sound vibrating against Kris's mouth.

“He's so right about you,” Drake said, and Kris opened his eyes, curious. Drake was grinning like they were best buddies. He put one of his hands on the back of Kris's neck. “You are such a fucking cocktease.” And he yanked Kris forward, hard, throwing him off-balance, their mouths crashing into each other painfully. Drake took immediate advantage of how Kris gasped at the contact, his tongue slipping into Kris's mouth.

He wasn't in control of this anymore – that was Kris's overriding thought. Now that Drake had committed, he had no qualms about pushing Kris around and Kris... he was too busy panting at the way his body jumped in reaction when Drake rubbed his palm over Kris's chest to do anything useful.

Kris has always ridden the line of being too close to his friends – he knew that. It wasn't until Adam that it really mattered, though, because... because the first night they'd been roommates, Adam's very first confession to him – I think you're cute. Don't worry about it, though! I know that you're married and I'm not going to try anything. I just thought you deserved to know. Just in case- I don't know. In case you wanted a different roommate. – with Adam, messing around wouldn't have just been practice for marriage or a way of blowing off steam. It would have been real.

Despite all the ways that Drake wasn't Adam, this was real, too, in ways that were making Kris shiver. Drake nipped at Kris's lower lip, dragging it out, and then his tongue pressed forward again, deep into Kris's mouth and... one of his hands slipped from Kris's waist to his ass, fingers curling in, and Kris broke off the kiss with an unintentional moan, his hips moving back into Drake's touch.

“Okay, that's fine,” Katy said. Her voice was shaking. “That's good.”

Kris knew that he had to be flushed red, but he met Drake's eyes without flinching. He wasn't sure what the look on Drake's face meant, though his eyes seemed sad, but Kris's fingers tightened on Drake's shoulders after Drake leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against Kris's cheek.

“You should stop fighting yourself,” Drake whispered against Kris's skin, too softly for anyone else to hear it. “It's really not worth it.”

Kris carefully extracted himself from the too-close embrace they'd ended up in, slinking back over to his side of the circle. He couldn't- he couldn't look at Adam or Katy yet, so he carefully studied his fingernails. They got manicured these days, no matter how silly that felt, but they were dirty under the edges from moving shit around all day. He rubbed a finger over the clear nail of his thumb and vaguely wished that there was color there.

A warm arm wrapped around his back and he leaned into it instinctively, his hand flailing out and connecting with Adam's shirt. He turned his face into Adam's chest and just... breathed and he didn't care how it looked to Katy and Drake.

“It's okay,” Adam said, and Kris felt Adam's fingers in his hair, gently sifting through the strands, while his other hand rubbed Kris's back in tiny circles. “It's all okay. We've just had too much to drink. It's not going to count in the morning.” Adam pressed a soft kiss against Kris's forehead and it was... it helped. It always had, from the very beginning.

Kris relaxed his hand, petting at Adam's shoulder a little as he pulled away. Adam was... he'd always been such a safe place. Kris's eyes met Adam's and his smile was small, but genuine. Ever so briefly, Kris's gaze dipped down to Adam's lips, but that was a familiar ache by now and it was easy to look up again. He mouthed the words 'thank you' and Adam's eyes warmed, and Kris was ready to face the rest of the world again.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting when he looked over at Katy, but it kinda broke his heart when he did, because she had the same look on her face that she'd had when she'd told him that she didn't think she wanted a college boyfriend and she'd kissed him and told him that they couldn't be together any more. He'd seen it a few times since then and he'd eventually classified it as her 'tough news' face, when she was about to suggest something that at least one of them wouldn't like, but that she thought was for the best. But then she wasn't looking at him anymore, but at Adam.

“Would it help?” she asked, and her voice was tight and high. “Or would it just break everything apart?” And Kris wasn't exactly sure what she was talking about, but Adam seemed to be.

“I'm not unbiased, honey,” he said and Katy nodded, thoughtful.

“Kris and I-” she looked at him, and he could see a major conflict going on under her relatively calm surface. He should- he should go over to her and help her through whatever the problem was, but... how could he do that when he was the problem? Katy looked back at Adam and she seemed a little more certain. “There was something that Kris wanted to try. Maybe if I... maybe if I could give him that, he wouldn't want anything else.”

And that- that Kris understood, in a flash of knowledge that sent a wave of heat across his cheeks. She'd screwed up her face last night, totally at a loss, when he'd asked her to try touching him there, and both of them had been so frustrated when it had ended up a complete bust. Kris licked his lips, not looking at Katy or Adam, wishing that he didn't feel so stupidly helpless.

“I could give you a hands-on demonstration,” Adam said, in a throaty, purring voice that Kris hadn't ever heard him use while Katy was around – he peeked up to see her reaction and... yeah, her breathing was a little faster and she was staring at Adam like he was a surprise. “Show you the ropes, so to speak. Teach you how to scratch that little itch of his.”

“Okay,” Katy said, her chin lifting up like she was accepting a challenge. “Okay. If Kris is all right with it.”

“Should I-” Drake frowned a little when everyone looked at him. “Should I leave?”

“No,” Adam said. His tone made it clear that it wasn't a point to be argued and Kris wasn't surprised when Drake just nodded. Adam's hand was touching Kris's shoulder again but this time it wasn't particularly calming, though his voice, when it came, was soothing. “Kris, how do you feel about lying down on the coffee table? I know it's uncomfortable, but it'll give the best view and have the easiest access.”

Kris stared down at the carpet, shivering under Adam's hand, not quite able to believe that this was happening. He swallowed hard and rose to his knees, reaching clumsily for the button of his jeans, almost expecting someone to start laughing, say that it was just one big joke. He couldn't really hear anything though, not over his own breathing and the rush of blood in his ears. He wanted to ask Drake to get out, but he- Adam was right. Drake being here made this honest. They weren't hiding anything.

When Adam touched him, it wouldn't be in a dark, dirty motel room that charged by the hour. It would be in Kris's own brightly-lit living room, where he would be spending days, months, potentially years of his life. It wouldn't be just the two of them, fumbling through an affair. It would be Katy learning a new way to be with her husband.

Kris fought the urge to vomit, so glad that Adam wasn't looking at his face.

He had to- he had to change perspective. Adam's hand was a comforting weight – Kris let himself sway into it as he drew down his zipper. Adam would make it good; Kris didn't doubt that. As long as he let himself relax, Adam would take care of him. He'd heard so many stories about Adam's boys.

Kris unbuckled his belt and loosened it, slipping his jeans over his hips. He stood up, and he could feel Adam rising with him. He toed off his shoes and socks and pushed his pants the rest of the way down; briefs with them. He made a quick, abortive gesture toward his shirt. Adam's hand slid down, a firm stroke along the line of his back. Kris bit back a whimper when Adam reached skin. It was a pretty clear sign of what Adam wanted, so Kris reached down for the hem of his shirt and pulled it up and over his head, dropping it on the floor.

Adam's hand was resting in the curve of Kris's back, just above his ass.

I think about you, sometimes, he'd said to Adam, the first time that they'd talked about this thing between them, and he hadn't been able to look at Adam then, either. I think about you in ways that I shouldn't.

Because I'm a guy? Adam had asked, but he hadn't been tense; he'd already known the answer. Or because you're married?

Yeah, Kris had breathed out, and he hadn't needed to say which. And Adam had tipped Kris's head up, looked into his eyes, thumb brushing over Kris's mouth. He could remember trembling, remember thinking that, despite his vows, if Adam pushed him, he would break.

Adam hadn't pushed. He'd gone to the bathroom and picked out a couple of bottles of nailpolish. He'd carefully painted Kris's thumb, a full job, complete with base and top coat, and he'd said, so softly, This'll give you that rocker edge, don't you think? A little something extra for luck.

And Kris had smiled, though it'd felt shaky, and he'd whispered thank you and he'd meant it for so many things.

Now, Kris was trembling again. Katy'd pushed – he didn't know why Katy had pushed – and the delicate balance they'd been managing was falling apart and Adam was the only thing holding it together. Adam's hand slipped around to Kris's side, gently tugging and guiding him over to the table.

“On your back,” Adam said, turning Kris to face him. He could see Adam's boots, the bottom of his pants and there was an edge of hysteria to Kris's realization that he was the only person without clothes. But he couldn't ask Adam to take his off, because... because that would make this about them, not about-

“Wouldn't kneeling be easier?” Kris managed to ask, trying to drown out the noise in his head. “For- for what you're doing? For Katy to see?”

Adam's fingers traced over Kris's lips and Kris closed his eyes, leaning into the touch.

“On your back,” Adam said again, more roughly, and Kris didn't question him this time. The wood of the coffee table was a startling, welcome coolness against his overheated skin and he let Adam push and pull him around until he was near to falling off the edge, which seemed to be what Adam wanted. Adam lifted up Kris's legs, pushing them up and back until Kris's heels were resting on top of the table. There was a stretch in his muscles, but nothing that would hurt him. Kris bit down on his lip, thinking about Adam watching him doing his stretches, noticing how flexible Kris could be. “Katy, you'll want a better view.” Adam's voice had smoothed out again; his performance voice. “Drake, you should come closer, too. Just in case I need you for something.”

Kris squeezed his eyes shut more tightly and didn't think about why Adam might need Drake for this. Adam's hand left him and he tried not to panic, but he couldn't breathe again until Adam came back, hands gently sliding up the insides of his thighs. Adam didn't touch his cock, only barely brushed his balls, pressing underneath. Like Katy's had been, Adam's fingers were wet with some kind of lubricant. Unlike Katy, there was no hesitation in Adam's touch, though he wasn't hurrying. He stroked at Kris's hole and around it, not pressing inside yet.

“You have to be gentle,” Adam said, talking over Kris's head and he knew where Katy was now. “You have to make him want it, first, before you push in. You see how he's relaxing?”

And he was, in spite of everything. Adam's other hand was stroking Kris's thigh slowly and Adam was right there next to him – protecting him, whispered a tiny part of Kris's mind – and his fingers on Kris's ass didn't feel so strange anymore. And Adam just kept at what he was doing, fingers going everywhere near but not inside.

“What you need to do is wait until he gives you a sign,” Adam said. “However long that takes. Because, I promise you, the wait is worth it.”

Adam was so, so patient, as Kris's legs quivered and he breathed through his mouth, trying to catch enough air. Finally, when Adam was brushing right over Kris's hole, Kris' hips jerked up and Adam let out a satisfied sigh. Adam's fingers went away and Kris bit down on his mouth, because anything he said right now would be too much. When Adam's fingers came back, they were cooler and wetter, pressing right against Kris, a slight pressure.

“Always use more lube than you think you need.” Adam pushed a little bit harder with one of his fingers and it slid just barely inside. Only the tip, but Kris felt it so much more than he had last night, not just in his ass, but in his entire body, humming through him.

“Oh fuck,” Kris said, his back arching. “Oh.”

Kris reached down blindly, his hand wrapping around his cock. He needed, oh, he-

“Drake, hold Kris's hands down,” Adam said, and Kris's hand was being pulled away by the wrist, both of them held down flat against the surface of the table. He tried to tug and wriggle his hands free, but Drake had a strong grip on his wrists, pressing them down so hard that they ached. “We're showing Katy how to satisfy you, remember? Don't want you jumping the gun.”

“He- it's already different than before,” Katy said and – sweet God – she was over by Adam now, between Kris's legs. “He didn't react that way with me. He just... he said it felt weird.”

“He wasn't burning for it yet,” Adam said and- and that was exactly right. If Adam knew, if Adam knew how much Kris needed it, why wasn't he doing anything about it? “You thought he was ready – maybe he did, too – but he needed you to play with him more first.”

“Like you did,” Katy said.

“Exactly.”

Katy's fingers brushed Kris's knee and he flinched, unprepared. Her hand fell away and he should open his eyes or apologize, but it was all he could do to breathe without begging Adam to please give him more. He tried to lift his hips into Adam's hand, but Adam moved with Kris, not getting even a little deeper.

“Don't take it personally, Katy,” Adam said, sounding very far away, though Kris knew all-too-well how close he was. “Add in the alcohol, he probably doesn't have a handle on anything he's feeling right now. You guys never did this the other way around?”

“No,” she said and she was off to the side now, further away. “We- he asked once, a year or so before we married, and I thought it sounded disgusting, so we never tried it.”

“You should give it a try,” Adam said. “It's not going to be the same for a woman, but I hear that it can still be pretty nice.”

“Maybe we will,” she said. “You think he'd like that?”

“Yeah,” Adam said, his finger sliding in a little deeper – Kris's muscles tensed up and his mouth opened in a wordless gasp. Adam pulled back, but then he was pushing in again, deeper this time. “I think he'd like it a lot.”

Kris's hips twitched up and Adam was... was setting up a rhythm. Was... was fucking Kris with his finger, going further and further with each stroke. He could feel so much. Too much, but he didn't want it to ever stop. Then there was... Adam bumped something inside him and Kris felt like he was... was hooked up to an electrical wire or being rattled to pieces by a gale-force wind. One of his heels slipped off the table, leg banging against the wood, skin scraping on the way down.

“Oh, God, Adam, please,” Kris moaned, his head thumping back against the table as he tried to get himself closer, yanking uselessly against the warm, firm restraints on his wrists. Adam's fingers went away and Kris whimpered, tugging and tugging, but then he was back and it was more and Adam was saying something.

“Did you see that?” Adam's voice was easy to focus in on, the only sound Kris could hear over the pounding of his own heart. “That's the sweet spot. That's what you need to find.”

There was another voice, a higher one, but Kris couldn't quite make out the words.

“You want to give it a try?” Adam asked, and no, that was bad, because Adam was pulling away, really and truly leaving and Kris couldn't help himself, couldn't even remember why he'd been trying to hold back, breaking into a whining babble filled with Adam and please, baby, please, his voice getting higher and more desperate as Adam left him completely.

Adam's fingers slid back inside and Kris let out a shuddering, grateful breath.

“Thank you,” he whispered, and he'd maybe never meant anything more in his life. He tilted his hips toward Adam. “Adam, thank you, please more?” Someone else was talking, and she didn't sound happy, but Adam was right there, so it was hard for Kris to get too worked up about anything else. “Adam, please?”

“Fuck,” Adam said, and Kris almost opened his eyes to see why Adam was so upset, but Kris knew he'd wanted them closed earlier for some reason and, anyway, Adam would tell him what was wrong. Adam always told him what he needed to know. He just whimpered and said Adam's name again, pushing against Adam's hand for more friction, more movement. “Drake, shut Kris up, okay?”

Kris's brow furrowed and- and there was a mouth on his, upside-down like in the Spider-Man movie. That was awkward but... necessary? Because Kris needed to not talk. Needed not to say Adam's name? Adam was thrusting his fingers in and out again, nice and easy, so Kris sighed into that mouth, trusting that any noises he made would be muffled.

Kris relaxed, kissing messy and wet, his hips moving smoothly into Adam's touch. He could hear the familiar tones of Adam's voice, lilting and almost like song even now, but he couldn't make out specific words. Adam slowed down and then... then there was an additional push, more inside him, more fingers but they were smaller than Adam's, pressed right alongside Adam's. And Adam kept talking, stroking over the place inside Kris that made him jerk and moan.

It was good that Adam couldn't hear him, Kris decided. It would probably embarrass him. He'd done this to- to lots of other guys and so he-

Kris tried to yank free again and his hands actually got loose for a second before they were tethered down again. He sighed unhappily and licked up at the mouth pressed up against his. He could feel his cock, aching hard and wet against his stomach, leaving sticky smears. He'd only wanted to tug on it a little, give himself some relief. Adam would want that for Kris, wouldn't he?

He tried using that argument – “Adam would say it's okay, he would” – but it got lost somewhere and all he could was rock onto Adam's fingers and hope that Adam would realize that Kris needed it. Adam pulled back, almost all the way out, and Kris muttered softly, frustrated.

There was another startling dash of cool wetness and Adam pushed in again – Kris bit down hard in surprise, flexing up and toward Adam – more, another finger, long and thick, and Adam was pushing against the leg Kris still had up on the table, opening Kris up wider. With a long, shivery moan, all of Kris's tension broke free and he came without a hand on his cock, shooting up hard enough that a hot, sloppy strand landed on his chin and neck.

“Oh, oh, God,” Kris said, the fingers sliding out of his body feeling thicker and heavier now that he'd come. He wiped at the mess on his face and then blinked, pulling his hand away to look at it. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked down the length of the table.

Adam.

Adam was sitting back on his heels, his hands pressed to his thighs, eyes cast downward. Kris pulled himself off the table, wincing at the sweat and stickiness, and he settled down in front of Adam. He brushed his knuckles over Adam's cheek, tried to kneel in a way that didn't make him feel the ache in his ass. “What's wrong?” he asked, trying to get Adam to look at him. A hand touched his shoulder and he brushed it off without looking. “Hey, hey, baby, what's wrong?”

When Adam looked up, his eyes were wet and big and so lost. Kris shook his head, pressed closer to Adam, kissed his cheek – can't do that; need to – brushed another kiss against the corner of Adam's mouth.

“Kris, you gotta start thinking again, right now,” Adam said, and Kris would but Adam sounded so sad. Kris licked at the seam of Adam's mouth, wanting it, because it was so very wrong that he'd never had it.

And a startled voice said, “Kris,” and it was Katy but he-

No.

He pushed away the voice and the name and the memory, sucked on Adam's lower lip, tugging on it with his teeth. “I could make you happy,” he whispered into Adam's mouth, and he was quoting something that he couldn't quite remember. “Make... make all your dreams come true.”

And Adam laughed into his mouth and, yes, finally, please, Adam was kissing him back.

A year. Oh, dear God, Kris had been wanting this for at least a year. And- he did remember, he remembered everything and all the reasons why he tried so hard to fight this and he poured every tiny bit of that into the kiss.

The first time he ever saw Adam and his stomach clenched and he'd thought to himself, please, don't test me, Lord. Not like this. The way Adam's face had fallen, ever so slightly, when he'd found out that Kris was married. All the late nights, they'd talked for hours, until Kris fell asleep. Kris had told Adam everything on those nights – about his mission trips, about Katy, about the boys he'd kissed and jerked off and sucked, about learning guitar, about Morocco and Thailand, about the way he felt when he looked at Adam and how he still loved Katy so much that it killed him to think about hurting her.

Every time he'd ever glanced over on stage during tour and wanted. Wanted Adam to reach out and kiss him, wrap him up in strong arms and keep him safe. Every time he'd looked at Adam after the finale and wished that Adam had won, because... because he wanted America to love Adam as much as he did, and so Kris's heart had swelled every time that Adam's cheers had been louder than his own. Katy had asked him once, late at night, sworn to secrecy, if he was ever jealous of the media attention that Adam got. He'd told her that he loved it, that Adam deserved every scream and every magazine cover, and he put that into the kiss, too.

Everything that he'd ever wanted Adam to know, because hearing something said and feeling it inside were such different things; Adam had proven that tonight. It wasn't enough for Kris to tell Adam that he loved him. Adam needed to feel it.

Even if it destroyed everything, he deserved to know.

They were both lying on the floor after the kiss was done, Kris sprawled on top of Adam, who stared up at him, lips parted. Kris touched Adam's mouth, swollen and red from just that one kiss. He leaned down to slide their mouths together, one more time, and then he pushed himself upright, wincing. He looked down at himself and cringed a bit. There was come streaked up his stomach, though it looked like a fair share had transferred to Adam's clothes. His ass ached like hell, and he'd scraped the back of his calf so hard on that damn table that it was beading up with blood in places.

Now... now it was time to see what other damage he'd caused. He looked up, cautiously. Katy was leaning against the wall, looking like she wanted to throw up – he sympathized with her. Drake was nowhere to be seen until Kris craned his head around and... ouch. Drake was holding a kitchen rag to his mouth, and Kris could make out some blood around the edges. Kris vaguely remembered biting down hard on something in the middle of all that – the something must have been Drake's mouth.

So, he'd bitten through someone's lip, completely ignored his wife for another man, and ruined Adam's outfit. Great day, really. Spectacular. He should get a medal.

And he was still the only one naked.

He braced himself on the coffee table and lurched to his feet. He looked over at Adam, but Adam was already picking himself up off the floor. Kris rolled his shoulders to get out the ache of being held down to a table for however long that had been and stumbled over to the abandoned bottle of vodka. He took a quick swig and looked over at Katy.

“If you want to get smashed and sleep with another guy, it's totally a freebie,” he said, holding out the bottle. Her gaze traveled him up and down, finally settling on the bottle, and then she covered her mouth with her hand and burst into high-pitched, hysterical giggles, sliding down the wall to land with a huff on the floor, which Kris had thought only happened in cheesy rom-coms.

He turned around to look at Drake and offered him the bottle, too, which Drake refused wordlessly. “It might make your mouth feel better," Kris told him. "I'd apologize for sleeping with your boyfriend, but I already know that you're both allowed to see other people, so I probably won't bother. Sorry about the lip, though.”

“Seems like you're on more than booze tonight,” Drake mumbled and Kris shrugged. There was, he had to admit, a certain freedom in fucking up so completely. Plus, he'd just experienced what had to have been the best orgasm of his life. That probably had to factor in.

“You were drunk,” Adam said, but when Kris turned to look at him, his smile was real. “Doesn't count, remember? Plus, I'm not sure it counts as cheating when your wife is involved.”

Kris squinted for a second, thinking back and... oh. “Katy's fingers were just up my ass.”

“I remember,” Katy said, from her position on the floor. She lifted her face up, glanced between Kris and Adam, and then looked back down at the floor. “I think I want to wash my hands.”

“Oh, don't be a baby,” Drake muttered through the rag. “You're a woman; you deal with worse every month.”

“Excuse me?” Katy said, and Kris had a flash of insight. Drunken 'just had sex' insight, but insight nonetheless.

“You should have sex,” he said, pointing a finger at each of them. They glared at each other, and then at him. He waved his hands. “Not, not with each other. I mean. Not unless you want to.” He turned aside to Katy for a second. “I meant that thing about a freebie, honey. Seriously, any guy you want.” Then he motioned back to the group as a whole. “All of us are kinda drunk. Only one of us has had an orgasm. If we fix that, y'all won't be so mad at each other.”

“Or you?” Drake suggested.

“The thought did occur to me,” Kris said.

“I'm not in the mood for sex,” Katy said, folding her arms across her chest. “But I'm holding you to that promise, Kristopher.”

“We could just go home and have sex,” Drake said, waving over at Adam. “I mean, we'd need to call a car.”

“Or, we could use you to teach Kris how to give a blowjob,” Adam said brightly, an extra twinkle in his eye when he looked at Kris, who opened his mouth to mention his previous blowjob experience, then shut it quickly when he remembered that only one person in the room actually knew about that and it wasn't his wife. Adam's smile widened. “Katy can watch! I mean, we all know she gets off on gay porn sometimes.” Katy breathed in sharp. “Or, I guess, we all know that now.”

Everyone was staring at Kris again. And he was still naked. And Katy looked mad, probably because he wasn't even supposed to have known that, let alone told Adam. Katy hadn't ever been good at clearing out her browser history.

“Up to Katy,” he said, faintly. Then he kinda wished he hadn't, because Drake actually looked interested. “Um. Does anyone mind if I put some clothes on?”

“Yes,” three voices said, almost at the same time. Kris blinked, then shuffled over to the couch and sat down, still without clothes.

Adam strode past everyone else and plopped next to Kris on the couch, snagging the vodka from him and drinking down a healthy amount. Kris leaned sideways into him, just letting his weight rest on Adam. “Hell of a night so far,” Adam said, and his right hand was warm on Kris's bare hip. “Personally, I vote for everyone to have sex and no one be pissed off in the morning.”

“You would,” Katy said, but there was less bitterness in her words than Kris had been expecting. Finally, she nodded. “Okay. Any particular reason you volunteered your boyfriend and not yourself for the blowjob?”

“Drake's got a smaller cock-”

“Hey!”

“-oh, come on, like they wouldn't notice? Anyway, it'll be easier on Kris if he starts smaller.”

“Plus, you like giving orders,” Kris added, tangling his hand in the neck of Adam's shirt. He suspected that was the entire reason behind Adam's suggestion. And he probably wanted to... critique and improve Kris's technique. Kris snorted. He probably did the blowjob equivalent of side-mouth singing. Clearly an amateur, look at that poor technique, but he has such potential, he imagined Adam telling him, and he couldn't stop his fit of laughter.

“I do,” Adam agreed, and his fingers were stroking at Kris's hip now and Kris noticed that they were slippery against his skin. Well. Huh. Wow. Guess he knew which hand Adam had used. “And you, baby, enjoy taking them.” And Adam used his left hand to tip up Kris's head and- oh, they were kissing now, apparently. Kris wondered if this was one-night drunken orgy sort of kissing or if... if Adam would keep-

Kris let himself get lost in Adam's kiss for a while and, when Adam broke it off, he didn't have much energy left except to lay his head back down on Adam's chest.

“Anything like the stuff you enjoy?” Adam asked. Kris glanced up from under his eyelashes at Katy, who started, her face flushing. She nodded, softly, her tongue darting out to touch her lower lip and then lingering. “You watch blowjobs?” She nodded again, and her eyes settled on Kris's mouth. Not an entirely unfamiliar thing, except this was the first time that he knew she wasn't thinking about kissing him or about his mouth on her body, but about his lips wrapped around some other guy's cock.

Adam took Kris's face in his hand, turning him to face Katy head-on, pinching his mouth open. Kris swayed forward and let his body do whatever Adam wanted. Adam's thumb rubbed heavy on Kris's lower lip, so he dropped it down as far as he could. Katy was staring, her breathing catching in her throat. Kris wondered which part she was getting off on the most – his mouth, the way Adam was touching him, or maybe the anticipation. Maybe something that he didn't have a clue about.

“How do you want him?” Adam asked, directing his question to the other side of the room. “On his knees in front of you?”

Through everything else he was saying, Adam kept rubbing gentle circles against Kris's hip, soothing and reassuring, and Kris thought that he could handle pretty much anything Adam wanted him to do if he still had that connection. Blow eighty guys, bend over for a whole football team, and it would all be okay as long as Adam didn't stop touching him.

“I'm sitting the fuck down,” Drake said, proving himself to be as good as his word when he collapsed next to Adam. He pulled the cloth away from his mouth and it looked like he'd stopped bleeding. He touched the wound gingerly. “Maybe you should have Kris do you after, honey, because I'm not going to be up to it for a while.”

“We'll see what happens,” Adam said. Then he urged Kris up off the couch and onto the floor, putting him between Drake's legs. Kris put his hands on Drake's calves and tried to breathe evenly. It'd been- it'd been a while since he'd blown a guy, not since before he'd gotten back together with Katy. And if he'd tried guessing that he would be giving anyone a blowjob, he wouldn't have guessed Drake.

Adam's hand was low on his back now, and Kris looked up from where he was kneeling. Drake still had all his clothes on, so it was probably Kris's job to do something about that. He looked like he was hard though, and he was looking at Kris, not over at Adam.

“Got a good view, Katy?” Adam asked, and she scrambled onto the couch next to Drake, legs curling up underneath her. She huffed out an annoyed breath and reached down to undo her sandals, flipping them across the room once she had them loosened. When she finally settled, she was pressed up tight against Drake, almost sharing the same perspective. Adam's hand slid up Kris's back, settling between his shoulder blades. “Kiss him through the jeans first, baby.”

Kris nodded, shaky and nervous. Slowly, he rose up onto his knees, his hands gliding up over Drake's legs. He leaned forward, trying to remember to bend to the side so that Katy could still see, and pressed his mouth against the bulge in Drake's jeans. Adam's hand was heavy and still. Kris opened his mouth, trying his best to wrap around Drake's cock, the thick, unpleasant taste of the jeans drying out his tongue. He closed his eyes and pushed harder, licking against the fabric, making it wet.

Finally, Adam's hand moved, stroking him lightly. Kris breathed out in relief, though he kept his mouth where it was. “That was really good,” Adam said, and Kris shivered. “You can unbuckle his belt now. You're allowed to use your hands.”

His hands were shaking when he lifted them up, so Kris clenched them together tightly, feeling the hard curves of his fingernails against his palms. Then he relaxed and reached forward, undoing Drake's belt. He was just about to loosen it, too, when he remembered that Adam hadn't said anything about that. He stopped with his fingers stroking along the leather of the belt.

“Oh, you are paying attention,” Adam said, and Adam's approval had always made him warm all over, even when it had been about singing, so the feeling sweeping over him wasn't a new one. “Lift up his shirt and kiss his stomach.”

Kris slid his hands up under Drake's shirt, exposing a couple of inches of skin. He licked at the line of hair and then pressed his lips against Drake's skin, which was skin-sweat-salty and so much better than the jeans. As he sucked on a patch of skin, he felt a gentle hand petting over his hair, before settling down to rest lightly on the back of his head. Not Adam or Katy, so it had to be Drake's hand. He was being polite, Kris noticed, or maybe just letting Adam be in control.

“Try to undo his jeans with your teeth,” Adam said and... that wasn't something that Kris had ever done. He lowered his mouth, catching the button in between his teeth and trying to ease it out of the hole. The metallic taste of the button kept making him want to spit it out, but Adam's hand was right there and Adam thought he could do this. When it finally slipped out, the sense of accomplishment that he felt was ridiculously disproportionate to what he'd actually done, but it came with Adam's voice in his ear, telling him that he'd done good, to go ahead and do the zipper now, it was so much easier.

And it was. Kris let himself relax a little, and he took a couple of deep breaths. He bit back on a moan when he realized he could smell Drake's precome through his- his boxers, that there was a tiny wet spot already forming.

“Yeah, you want to kiss it some more, don't you?” Adam asked, but it wasn't really a question. Kris pressed his mouth over that wet spot and licked it, shivering at Drake's taste mixed with the sharp taste of fabric softener or a soap. “So, Katy, is it better than online porn yet?”

And Kris had to shut his eyes for a few seconds, his mouth going slack, as he breathlessly waited for Katy to say something back.

Her fingers, light as a bird's wing, brushed against his cheek for a moment and then disappeared. “Yeah,” she said, and it was the voice she'd used on their wedding night. “It's better.”

Kris breathed out hard, feeling Drake's cock twitch against his mouth. Then, before Adam could remind him, he pressed his mouth around Drake's dick, outlining it through the boxers.

“You can pull it out now,” Adam said, and Kris shifted slightly over to the flap and then froze, trying to decide if Adam meant for him to use his hands or just his mouth. “Don't make me ask you twice.” Adam's voice was as soft and calm as before, but Kris flinched slightly, then pushed forward, hands-free. “There's a good boy.” And Adam's voice was lazier now, relaxed, so Kris had made the right call.

It took a little bit of maneuvering, because Drake wasn't helping at all, but then Kris's mouth was on skin again. Kris moaned a little, because... because he'd missed this. He loved Katy so much, but he'd missed this. Once he had Drake out, he backed off; he waited.

“He likes it,” Katy said, and she sounded so surprised. Kris wondered how things might have worked out if they'd shared their secrets with each other sooner. If maybe he could have had Adam from the start.

“When we're done, he's going to love it,” Adam said, his hand lightly massaging Kris's shoulder. “All right, lick the head – suck it hard, keep playing with it until I tell you to stop.”

Kris licked delicately at Drake's cockhead, cleaning off the precome. As he sucked it in, he tilted his head to the side, and kept it angled as he sucked. Katy's fingers brushed against his cheek and he pressed down a little, Drake's cock making that cheek bulge out. Katy pressed down harder, and Kris stayed in place while she explored the impression Drake's cock created. Finally, she hummed thoughtfully, her hand dropping away. Kris straightened his angle up, got a better seal around Drake's cock and started sucking in earnest, licking around the tip at the same time.

“You little bitch,” Drake said, with a sharp laugh, stroking through Kris's hair. Kris closed his eyes and opened his mouth up a bit, his tongue swirling around the head, saliva beginning to slip down along Drake's cock. Drake- Drake could tell it wasn't his first time. “You can take more than that.”

Kris refused to panic and he stayed where he was, waiting for Adam's word. He kept up exactly what he had been doing, licking and sucking and making a mess of himself.

“Pull off for a second, let me look at you,” Adam said, and Kris slid off Drake's dick with a light pop, turning his head toward Adam. “You have such a beautiful mouth, you know that?” Adam pulled Drake's hand off of Kris's head and then pressed his own fingers against Kris's lips, tugging down a little on the lower one. “You deserve better than a guy who swears at you, don't you, baby?”

Kris smiled up at Adam, kissed his fingertips. No one had ever looked at him the way Adam did, like they knew his whole truth and accepted every bit of it, loved every bit of it.

“Aw, Adam, you know I didn't mean it,” Drake said. In Kris's opinion, he just sounded pissy and resentful, but even more than before, he knew he could trust Adam's decision in this, so he didn't say a word.

“I'm not the person you need to apologize to,” Adam said, and he didn't look away from Kris, cupping Kris's chin in his palm. Adam leaned down and kissed Kris again, long and sweet, until Drake's taste was out of his mouth. Adam rubbed his nose against Kris's and Kris swayed up to press a tiny kiss against Adam's lips. Then Adam pulled a little bit away, his thumb rubbing Kris's cheek, turning his face slightly toward Drake. “If you can't mind your manners, then you don't get rewarded. Simple as that. Our Kris is a good boy and we're keeping him that way, right, Katy?”

Katy squeaked in surprise and when Kris looked over at her, she looked startled but fascinated. “Right,” she breathed, staring at Adam.

“Did you want to kiss your boy for a while?” Adam asked, casual and in control, and Kris wondered when, exactly, Katy had ceded first place to Adam – when she'd admitted that she found the idea of Kris sucking guys hot or, even earlier than that, when she'd given Adam the chance to suggest that fingering mentor session? “I know you'll treat him right.”

Katy nodded, shaky, and Adam was boosting Kris up onto the couch and into Katy's arms. Kissing her was as easy as it had always been and Kris settled into it with enjoyment. He rolled them over on the couch so that she was on top, getting her to straddle him nice and pretty. He pressed his mouth against the side of her neck, licked and sucked at it, and did his best to see what was going on with Adam.

Adam had hauled Drake off to the other side of the room and he was talking to him, quietly but intensely, and Drake was shaking his head – he looked pissed – maybe five minutes away from walking out the door. Kris grinned against Katy's skin, nipped at it a little. His heart skipped a beat when he heard the door open and he looked up to see Drake, all zipped up, going through alone, while Adam stayed in the room.

He concentrated his attention back on Katy, capturing her mouth again, tasting her light familiarity.

“I have always thought that you two were so adorable,” Adam said, sprawling on the couch next to them. He didn't touch, just watched, so Kris slid his hands down to Katy's waist and pulled her closer, hoping that they were putting on a good show. “Don't worry about Drake; he's an idiot sometimes. If he gets his act together, maybe he'll eventually get that blowjob. We'll see what happens. Are you going to fuck her?”

Kris jerked, biting down just a little too hard, making Katy yelp. He moved his hands to Katy's ass, fingers flexing around the curves.

“I could,” he offered, looking up at Katy, feeling shy about it for the first time since their wedding night, which had felt special even if it hadn't been their very first time. “I like it.”

“Do you use condoms?” Adam asked. Kris could see him out of the corner of his eye; he was leaning against his elbow, eyes narrowed as he watched Katy move on top of Kris.

“No,” Katy said, and she was looking over at Adam, eyes bright. “I'm on the pill. For... for a couple of years now.”

“Nice,” Adam said, with an appreciative smile. “I think you should. It'd be pretty.”

Katy looked back at Kris and he smiled at her, trying to be as reassuring for her as Adam was for him – they'd never done this for an audience. He reached behind her, pulling down the zip on her dress, helping her shimmy out of it. Her bra and panties were just as easy to tug off and toss away and she was as bare as he was, now.

“Do you- are you ready?” Kris asked, reaching down – and she was... she was completely soaked, and he grinned in relief.

“Since you were first on your knees in front of Drake,” she confessed and then she closed her eyes and shivered as he slid inside her. He loved this, he loved her so much. He'd told Adam that, night after night, a million 'if only's but they all ended in I can't lose her.

“That's gorgeous,” Adam said, but he still didn't touch. “Katy, honey, you gonna watch Kris suck me later on?”

She moaned, her body tightening around Kris's. His hands skidded up her back, damp with sweat. She leaned her forehead against his and opened her eyes just a tiny bit. “Yeah,” she whispered, then, louder. “Yes.”

She was riding him now, rising up and pressing down to meet his thrusts. He slipped a hand around, pressed against her clit, against the place that made her whimper and lose her rhythm. She was so, so ready that she was breaking apart in his arms in just a couple of minutes. He kissed her as she relaxed down onto him, and she giggled into his mouth, like she always did when she came this way.

“Mmm, if I liked girls, you'd definitely be on the top of my list,” Adam said, running his finger down the center of Katy's chest, between her breasts. “How many is she good for, Kris?”

“Sometimes, I can get four,” Kris said, and he flushed with pride at the impressed look Adam gave him. “Always at least two; usually three.”

“Very happily married, then,” Adam said, throwing a smirk Katy's way before shifting his attention back to Kris. “I think you should lick her until she comes again.”

Katy shot an uncertain look at Kris – most times, he would come, too, and then he would lick and suck on her until she came again... and sometimes again and again. Kris shook his head, slipping his hands under her ass to boost her up and off him. Her uncertainty didn't fade away until after he pressed her down into the couch and sucked her nipples tight and rosy. He slid down further, laying tender kisses in a line down her stomach, and then spread her wide, got on his knees in front of her, and started licking, pressed his nose into her soft belly. Adam's hand slid into his hair and Kris had to stop just to feel that, to feel the weight of Adam pushing on him. Adam urged him on, though, even after Katy had come to another shivering, moaning completion.

She was whimpering and squirming now, because she usually got more downtime in between, but Kris pressed her thighs wider, ducking down a little further, pushing his tongue inside her as deep as he could get it, Adam's hand a constant, steady presence on the back of his head. Her voice raised higher and her thighs quivered and she was coming again, her voice breaking as she hit her peak.

Adam's hand was lighter, petting gently at the base of his neck, so Kris pulled back and he knew that his face had to be shiny and wet. First, he met Katy's eyes and she looked wiped out, too much too fast. He leaned back further and there was Adam, studying his face.

“Do- what do you want?” Kris asked. He licked his lips, tasting Katy. “I- anything. You know that.”

“I think that I'm going to ask you a question,” Adam said, and his gaze shifted between Kris and Katy. “Now, I can have you suck me off here and... that would nice, right?” Adam's mouth curved into a smile at the way Kris leaned toward him. “And then I go home and... and it's a drunken orgy night that we all forget about in the morning. No hurt feelings; nobody being stupid.”

“That's... that's not a question,” Kris said, and his tongue felt heavy and numb.

“There's another possibility,” Adam said. Kris tilted his chin up, trying to push down the warm glow of hope in his chest. Adam looked over at Katy. “I go into your bathroom, take off my makeup, and we go to that bed of yours. And maybe it all falls apart. Maybe you start hating me because you used to have him all to yourself; maybe I hate you for having him first.” Katy's lower lip was caught between her teeth as she stared back at Adam. “Maybe I give up my freedom for Kris and resent him for it, maybe he stops looking at me the way that he does now and never forgives me for ruining his marriage and this friendship.”

“Maybe we feel some of those things and we work through it,” Katy said, voice barely above a whisper. “Maybe... maybe there was something missing for each of us.”

“I hope that I-" Adam shook his head. "I can't be someone that I'm not. Now you've seen what I'm like, when I'm like this. And you already know what I would pick.”

“What about Drake?” Kris asked, his gaze darting down, away.

“Only if we're all having fun with it,” Adam said, reaching forward and cupping Kris's chin. “I would never hurt you – you know that, right?”

Kris nodded, pressing his cheek against Adam's hand, his eyes closing for just a moment.

“What do you want to do?” Adam asked. Kris looked over at Katy and she glanced over at Adam, then she nodded, tiny but so real.

Kris grinned and rose up from his knees, meeting Adam halfway with a kiss. When they parted, Kris pressed a finger over Adam's lips, and he could see the hope in Adam's eyes, too. Kris breathed in, and everything felt like a beginning, and he knew that he was saying just the right words.

“Go take off your makeup.”

~the end~