Fic: Choices 8/?
Title: Choices
Rating: NC-17
Summary: The first time they met Kris knew Adam was different to everyone else, he just never realised how different.
Genre: AU
Disclaimer: I know none of these people, nor do I own them, they own themselves. This story is completely fictional.
Notes: Sorry for taking so long and just to let you know the next part, at worst, might take around ten days or so.
Previous Parts
Part 8
Matt sat in his bedroom, in self imposed isolation, his injuries from the previous night still smarting. The agonising bite had been healed by the vampire he now knew to be Simon who coldly explained that if ever tried to hurt Adam again, the clan would hunt him down and kill him. Matt knew the clan would follow through on their threat.
As much as he despised how Adam had manipulated everyone, Matt truly wanted to be turned and to do so, he had to pass the tests. Killing Adam was one test he would never be able to accomplish now. He’d be lucky to get within fifteen feet of the vampire without everyone watching him ready to attack. The biggest danger for him was Adam himself because the vampire would kill him if cornered or angered so he would have to play nice with the vampire. He had no idea how to explain to Adam that he generally liked him, it was just Adam’s species and manipulations he hated.
One thing Matt would do, despite the danger to his life was save Kris. He knew the man was being coerced or had somehow fallen into Adam’s thrall because there was no way the man could change so much without an outside force. Kris was disturbingly attached to Adam; it seemed as if the man truly couldn’t focus without the vampire. Matt had realised how much influence Adam exerted over Kris when the man had sat there calm and quiet as he was tortured. He knew it would take time to get Kris alone but he would definitely do it eventually.
*******
Adam was sitting in the lounge waiting for Kris to get ready, he had been amused when the rest of the housemates gathered in the lounge, pointedly avoiding looking him in the eye. Eventually he heard footsteps coming up the stairs and grinned, Kris had taken even longer than him to get ready, which was saying something. As Kris walked into the room, Adam’s mouth fell open in shock. What on earth had happened to his plaid loving Kris? Kris was wearing form fitting black jeans, a tight red t-shirt, with a black blazer and black cowboy boots.
“You look amazing.” Adam said sincerely.
“You too. Are you ready to go?”
Adam nodded, smiling when Kris grabbed his hand as they walked down out of the mansion. Once outside, Kris reluctantly let go of Adam’s hand knowing neither of them wanted the media storm that would descend once people found out about their relationship until after the show had finished.
Twenty minutes later, their taxi pulled up outside their restaurant and Kris paid before the pair got out. Not wanting to tempt fate, Adam had suggested they use a taxi instead of risking another driver being on Morgan’s payroll.
“This place looks great. How did you find it?” Adam said looking at the building.
Kris blushed, “I searched online and went by the reviews. So if you don’t like it, I'm sorry.”
“I'm sure I'll love it,” Adam reassured as they walked inside.
Once their orders had been taken, the pair relaxed and for a second just stared at each other, amazed that they were finally having the date each one had been dreaming about for months. Adam had to admit Kris had picked the perfect place for their first date, it was cheesy in a good way, had low lighting and the tables were situated to give everyone privacy.
“So tell me about your family,” Kris said motivated by his curiosity and knowing that Adam hadn’t been able to talk about them a lot.
Thinking of his family Adam said affectionately, “They’re great. We tend to be loud when we’re all together, it doesn’t happen that often though, around three times a year. We’ve all got our own careers and lives, we would go insane if we had to stay together forever. Anyway, my family are pretty easy going and I'm sure they’ll like you.”
Thinking of his own family Kris said, “It’s a shame you don’t get to see them a lot. You must miss them, I miss my family already.”
“I do but I’ve been living away from the clan for a long time. We tend to have flying visits to each other even if we don’t meet up with everyone. Mom and Dad fly to see each of us at least twice a year, they want to give us all a chance to have some alone time with them.”
Nodding in understanding at Adam’s words Kris asked, “That’s nice. Why do you have to a hundred before you are an adult?”
Adam was stuck for words as he had never before explained to his partners about vampire culture and society. He hadn’t seen the need to since his clan were rarely involved in the often petty politics of the court.
Adam said carefully, “Being an adult means you are ready to become branch out by yourself, to perhaps even form your own clan. It is forbidden for a vampire under the age of a hundred to turn a human, with the proviso that you can turn your spouse. All vampire courts follow the same traditions, each vampire spends at least their first thirty years with their Sire. After that, most of us go off in smaller groups to experience the world; I went with Simon and Elijah when I was thirty five. By a hundred, most of us have sated our wanderlust, have matured, and have made connections in the world that will help us and our clan.”
Kris nodded slowly, “Complicated but it kinda makes sense. It would be bad for vampires to go run around turning anyone they felt like it. So how old were you when Paul turned you?”
“Twenty four. I lived in England, I was born into a wealthy family and was able to get a great education. While at Oxford, I met a lot of great people who were gay or lesbian, I would have gone insane without them. Oscar Wilde had been imprisoned for homosexuality and we all knew that it only by staying close to each other, closing ranks as it were, we could stay safe.“
“It’s great that you had people to support you. Adam...how did you meet Paul?” Kris asked, not wanting to directly ask how Adam had died.
Thinking back to the most terrible yet wonderful day of his life Adam said, “My brother found out I was dating Spencer. I was on my way back from one of the many underground gay dives when my brother appeared and attacked me. I was left for dead when Paul appeared out of the ether. He asked me if I wanted to become part of his family. I said yes, I knew what I was letting myself in for, Paul let me see his true face and told me he was a vampire.”
“Oh Adam.” Kris said gently, not knowing what he could do to comfort his love, what could he say about Adam being murdered by his own flesh and blood.
“It’s okay, Kris. I’ve dealt with it,” Adam said steadily, flashing a reassuring smile at Kris.
Adam was touched by how upset Kris was on his behalf, true it had hurt for around twenty years that his brother had killed him, but the pain was eased by the fact that Paul had chosen to turn him, giving him a loving family and the chance to live forever. The downside to a long life was watching those he loved die but so long as he remembered, they would never completely fade away. True, remembering those he had lost hurt but each one had affected his life, had made him who he was today and consigning them to the past would dishonour them and him.
Taking Kris’s hand Adam asked gently, “Kris, is everything okay with you? I noticed before the accident that you don’t seem happy sometimes. Whatever you need, I'm here for you. I'll be anything you need, Kris.”
Kris said sadly, “Oh, Adam, you don’t need to be anything, anyone other than yourself. I have dreamt of this for so long but...I just...I didn’t realise it would be like this. Sometimes I feel trapped and when we go out people keep staring at me. Don’t get me wrong, I want this, I want people to listen to my music, I want my music to reach people deep inside. I just...I get claustrophobic sometimes and I know my family won’t understand and that makes me feel terrible. I feel like a chasm has developed between my family and me since being in the competition, meeting people...okay meet you, has changed me. I’ve evolved and I'm worried that they won’t understand.”
“I understand, Kris. Yeah, you’ve changed but that’s part of life and I'm sure once the family get used to the new you, it’ll be okay. Kris, I'm always going to be here and that has nothing is going to change that. It has nothing to do with you being my donor, it’s because I...lo...care about you...you might not believe it but nothing is going to make me leave.”
Adam could have cursed that he had as good as admitted he was in love with Kris, it was far too early for him to be making proclamations of love. His past had taught him it was best to see if a lover could deal with him being a vampire before declaring his love. Most couldn’t, hence the reason he had only had three important relationships. Kris had the power to bring him to his knees with a look or glance even if the man hadn’t realised it. Adam could feel Kris was going to be the great love his life; if the man could cope with having a relationship with a vampire. It wasn’t that he thought Kris didn’t love him, he knew the man did but he knew mortals found it difficult to be with a vampire; who would never age, who would probably out live them. Some of his previous relationships had been ruined when his partner aged and suddenly started to hate him or automatically assumed he was cheating.
Kris smiled widely, hearing Adam's stumble that revealed the vampire truly loved him. He was giddy he could hardly contain it, Adam loved him, truly loved him. Kris just had to convince the vampire that they could be together, that his feelings were never going to change.
Adam had never enjoyed a first date so much but then it was an unusual first date since he wasn’t normally sharing a room with a man he was dating. Rooming together meant that there were no surprises in regard to their personalities and moods. He had seen Kris in such a black mood that had everyone else in the house avoiding him and looking at Adam as though he were either incredibly brave or incredibly foolish for actually talking to Kris.
Adam knew that Kris probably wouldn’t like what he had to say but there were a few issues he wanted, needed to address before they started seriously dating because if they didn’t it would tear their relationship apart. He loved Kris but the man’s hyper overprotection while cute was going to become a problem. Adam couldn’t stand being protected by anyone, he found it stifling especially given his age. He had been coping with his own problems and dangers since he had decided to go out to explore the world alone at the age of fifty five.
He had spent twenty years wandering around with his brothers, after that he had mainly gone it alone. Admittedly, he had got into a small amount of trouble when he had spurned Donald’s advances at the only high society ball he had ever attended and probably would ever attend. It had been foolish to refuse the vampire in such a public setting but he had become annoyed at Donald’s insist attempts at pawing at him and weird declarations of devotion. It was the only time that he had used his age to get out of a difficult situation, letting Paul excuse his actions as a mistake due to Adam age and inexperience with the higher levels of vampire society.
Steeling himself Adam said gently, “Kris, I don’t want to hurt you but you’ve got to stop this overprotective thing or our relationship is dead before it begins. I can take care of myself and I don’t need another mother hen, I have enough of them in my life. Kris, I want a partner, not a nursemaid.”
Kris stared at Adam, ignoring the brief stab of pain. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust in Adam’s ability to protect himself it was just that the thought of losing Adam, tore his heart into shreds. He would not let his admittedly zealous need to protect Adam ruin their chances though, he would somehow tame his instincts
Squeezing Adam’s hand Kris explained, “I...I just don’t want to lose you. Adam, I don’t know what I would do if I did. I'll try to stop it and if I start suffocating you, just tell me.”
“Thank you,” Adam said seriously, knowing that Kris meant every word.
One hour later the pair walked out of the restaurant sharing a soft smile as they hailed another taxi and held hands, taking care that the driver couldn’t see. Adam felt desire burning through his veins as he looked at Kris, the knowledge that Kris was his to touch, to kiss was enough to make him feel weak. He watched in fascination as Kris bit his lip and then licked the cut, the scent of the man’s delicious blood filling the air. Try as he might, Adam couldn’t control his growl when Kris turned to look at him, mischief and lust burning bright in those beautiful eyes. Adam closed his eyes trying to stop his natural urge to pounce and kiss Kris, only breaking apart when the man needed to breathe.
The car pulled up outside the mansion and Adam threw money at the driver, knowing he was paying too much but just needing to get out of the car and into the house where he could kiss his love.
As soon as they stepped inside, Adam growled and pushed Kris back against the wall, capturing the man’s lips in a hard, desperate, hungry passionate kiss. He moaned when Kris gently nipped his lip, loving that Kris was so free with him, quickly Adam returned the gesture and bit into Kris’s lips, the taste, and the scent of Kris’s blood was a heady mixture.
As they kissed, Adam’s hands were on Kris’s waist, whilst the man’s hands were underneath his shirt, exploring and teasing, pulling their bodies closer together. Adam growled in lust as he felt Kris’s hands between their bodies, undoing the buttons on his shirt. Hearing a sound nearby, Kris growled and ground his body against Adam, loving the vampire’s resulting shiver.
“Guys! Guys!” Danny said desperately, not wanting the pair to get even more amorous in front of him but more importantly Allison and Lil.
“What!” Kris snarled at the interruption.
“Take this to your room, there’s a young girl here!”
“So what? They’re hot together,” Alison said with a smirk.
Reluctantly moving away from Kris, Adam grabbed the man’s hand and pulled him towards the stairs, ignoring Lil and Alison’s whoops, Anoop’s comment about putting his headphones on and Danny’s rant about them flaunting themselves.
End Part 8