That Kid
They’re playing hide and seek, which sounds childish, but it’s actually pretty fun because they’re in a mansion. Matt puts his head down and starts counting, and they all start scrambling, except for Lil, who is content to sit on the couch and read her magazine and pretend that she’s not amused by the game around her.
Kris is padding down the hall, a few steps behind Anoop. Anoop glances over his shoulder with a smile before climbing into the dumbwaiter. Kris is caught between being annoyed, because he had had the same idea, and being impressed, because he didn’t think that Anoop could squeeze into the relatively small space. He can hear Matt counting and pushes the thought aside, heading up the stairs in search of a new spot.
A hand grabs him by the shoulder and jerks him to the side, pulling him into one of the linen closets. Adam is giggling at the shocked look on his friend’s face.
“Sorry. You looked like you needed help, and Matt’s almost done counting,” he whispers, just as Matt shouts “READY OR NOT!” from downstairs. Kris nods.
“Thanks. Now stop giggling,” he hisses under his breath. Games always bring out the more competitive side in the shorter man, and he doesn’t want to get caught just because Adam can’t stop laughing.
“I can’t help it,” Adam manages between giggles. Kris rolls his eyes.
“Oh no,” he moans quietly. “You’re that kid.” Adam raises an eyebrow, grin still dancing across his features.
“What do you mean by that?” he asks, honest-to-blog curious. Kris gestures with his arm, as if what he just said was perfectly obvious.
“You’re that kid,” he repeats. “You know! That kid that always laughs for no reason and gets caught every time. That kid.” This inspires an entirely new fit of giggles from Adam.
“Kris, it’s a game. A game typically played by small children,” he points out, taking a shot at serious before losing it again. Kris shushes him, which only makes things worse, and he swears up and down that he can hear Matt coming up the stairs. He very nearly pouts up at Adam, who decides that he’s amused by how seriously Kris is taking this game. “Don’t get me wrong, though. I think your dedication is adorable.”
“Come on, Adam! Be quiet!” Kris pleads.
“Make me,” Adam challenges, still giggling. Kris clamps a hand over his mouth, which Adam promptly licks. Kris reflexively pulls away. Adam lets out a fresh wave of laughter. “You’re gonna have to try harder than that, Kristoph---“
And suddenly, Kris rises to the challenge, gets up on his tiptoes, and kisses him full on the mouth. Adam’s heart flutters in his chest, and blood pounds in his ears, and he’s not giggling any more. Matt trots noisily down the hallway, passing the linen closet, and Kris pulls away when he’s sure the piano player hasn’t found them. Adam’s world is still spinning a little bit when Kris takes his hand in his own and peeks out of the closet.
“Alright. On the count of three, we head for home base. The stair case is most direct, but Matt’ll probably see us. So we’re going to have to run okay?” Adam nods the whole time, but he doesn’t hear a word because all he can think is, “You’re that kid, Kris. The one that is oblivious to how hard the little girls on the playground are crushing on you. That kid.” Adam is pulled from his next thought (“Since when do you compare yourself to a little girl on a playground, Lambert?”) when Kris counts to three and starts running.
They slide into home base, where Kris immediately goes into a awkward-but-cute victory dance, and Adam starts laughing again. Lil peeks over her magazine and smiles.
“You guys are worse than my kids,” she comments affectionately. “Adam, I’d never have pegged you as the giggler.”
“Yeah,” Adam grins in reply. “Apparently, I’m that kid.” But then he remembers the kiss, and he doesn’t mind being “that kid” at all.
Kris is padding down the hall, a few steps behind Anoop. Anoop glances over his shoulder with a smile before climbing into the dumbwaiter. Kris is caught between being annoyed, because he had had the same idea, and being impressed, because he didn’t think that Anoop could squeeze into the relatively small space. He can hear Matt counting and pushes the thought aside, heading up the stairs in search of a new spot.
A hand grabs him by the shoulder and jerks him to the side, pulling him into one of the linen closets. Adam is giggling at the shocked look on his friend’s face.
“Sorry. You looked like you needed help, and Matt’s almost done counting,” he whispers, just as Matt shouts “READY OR NOT!” from downstairs. Kris nods.
“Thanks. Now stop giggling,” he hisses under his breath. Games always bring out the more competitive side in the shorter man, and he doesn’t want to get caught just because Adam can’t stop laughing.
“I can’t help it,” Adam manages between giggles. Kris rolls his eyes.
“Oh no,” he moans quietly. “You’re that kid.” Adam raises an eyebrow, grin still dancing across his features.
“What do you mean by that?” he asks, honest-to-blog curious. Kris gestures with his arm, as if what he just said was perfectly obvious.
“You’re that kid,” he repeats. “You know! That kid that always laughs for no reason and gets caught every time. That kid.” This inspires an entirely new fit of giggles from Adam.
“Kris, it’s a game. A game typically played by small children,” he points out, taking a shot at serious before losing it again. Kris shushes him, which only makes things worse, and he swears up and down that he can hear Matt coming up the stairs. He very nearly pouts up at Adam, who decides that he’s amused by how seriously Kris is taking this game. “Don’t get me wrong, though. I think your dedication is adorable.”
“Come on, Adam! Be quiet!” Kris pleads.
“Make me,” Adam challenges, still giggling. Kris clamps a hand over his mouth, which Adam promptly licks. Kris reflexively pulls away. Adam lets out a fresh wave of laughter. “You’re gonna have to try harder than that, Kristoph---“
And suddenly, Kris rises to the challenge, gets up on his tiptoes, and kisses him full on the mouth. Adam’s heart flutters in his chest, and blood pounds in his ears, and he’s not giggling any more. Matt trots noisily down the hallway, passing the linen closet, and Kris pulls away when he’s sure the piano player hasn’t found them. Adam’s world is still spinning a little bit when Kris takes his hand in his own and peeks out of the closet.
“Alright. On the count of three, we head for home base. The stair case is most direct, but Matt’ll probably see us. So we’re going to have to run okay?” Adam nods the whole time, but he doesn’t hear a word because all he can think is, “You’re that kid, Kris. The one that is oblivious to how hard the little girls on the playground are crushing on you. That kid.” Adam is pulled from his next thought (“Since when do you compare yourself to a little girl on a playground, Lambert?”) when Kris counts to three and starts running.
They slide into home base, where Kris immediately goes into a awkward-but-cute victory dance, and Adam starts laughing again. Lil peeks over her magazine and smiles.
“You guys are worse than my kids,” she comments affectionately. “Adam, I’d never have pegged you as the giggler.”
“Yeah,” Adam grins in reply. “Apparently, I’m that kid.” But then he remembers the kiss, and he doesn’t mind being “that kid” at all.