Disenchanted 3/3
Adam wakes to someone shaking his shoulder and he blinks to see Good Adam leaning over him, “Hey, I figured I should wake you before any screaming started.” Good Adam sits up and he sees pale freckled skin in the dim light coming from the bathroom. “Our neighbors must be deaf or think we’re into some kinky shit,” other Adam muses.
Good Adam shrugs his shoulders and glances down at him. “I also thought you should be awake in case...” he doesn’t finish his sentence but Adam hears it anyway. In case it worked and this is goodbye. Of a sorts at least.
“Yeah,“ Adam says and his thoughts are still too muddled with sleep to even try getting up just yet.
It’s not too long though before Good Adam is leaning forward as if in pain. Adam feels his own wings vanish, the weight of them suddenly lifted. He also has a front row seat to see other Adam’s wings emerge and it’s remarkably seamless. They simply unfold out of his back in one giant burst that propels Good Adam forward, until his face is almost to his knees. He lets out a low groan.
If Adam hadn’t been on the receiving end of them he would have thought they would be painless from the looks of it. Adam gently trails his fingers between the wings, just letting other Adam breathe. He doesn’t know he’s going to say anything until, “The pain is the price," comes out, “For the wings.” He continues rubbing down Good Adam’s back, feeling deep breaths and brushes of soft feathers. “Something so beautiful always has a cost.”
Good Adam carefully sits back up. “Isn’t that a little excessive?” He lifts a wing to wrap in front of him and looks back at Adam. “Especially since we didn’t ask for them in the first place.”
“It’s pretty fuck up is what it is,” Adam says. “We associate beauty with pain.” Adam moves until he’d sitting on the edge of the bed, feet touching the floor. “The question is, are they worth the pain?”
Other Adam raises an eyebrow and says, “I doubt the wings are a metaphor for our life.”
Adam laughs, but there's no humor to it, “Right.”
Good Adam gives him a bleak look. “What do you want me to say?”
“I want you to get a clue. And to stop setting us up for disappointment,” Adam snaps at him.
Good Adam just looks at a loss and finally says, “I don‘t want to fight anymore.”
Adam sighs, he’s so tired of being angry and bitter about things he can‘t change. He thinks if he gives in a little, maybe Good Adam will meet him halfway. “Okay,” he whispers and rubs his face with his hands. “What do you want to do?”
Good Adam must see something on his face because he says hesitantly, “We can start small? Make some calls and see if there’s any work we’re interested in?”
Adam nods in agreement but says, “I have some conditions.”
Good Adam looks a little concerned but says, “Okay.”
“First off, no weddings. Not unless I really, really like the person.” Adam says.
Good Adam lets out a genuine laugh. “Deal.”
Adam lets himself smile for a second and then says firmly. “No lying or changing who we are to get anywhere.”
“I wouldn’t do that.” other Adam says honestly.
“And if, not when. If it all becomes too much, if it isn’t working,” Adam says steadily. “Promise me you’ll let it go before things get bad. Promise me we won’t lose a part of ourselves.”
Good Adam’s quiet for a long moment. “Okay,” he says softly. “I promise.”
***
Adam takes a long hot shower and it’s freaking heavenly. He comes out to find Good Adam on the couch and watching a muted infomercial. Adam by passes him and fixes them some tea. When it’s done Adam hands a cup to other Adam and sits beside him.
Other Adam takes a drink and says, “Thanks.”
Adam nods in reply and they watch a segment on an organizational spice rack.
“I called into work again,” Good Adam tells him.
“You trying to get us fired?” Adam asks, not that he really cares. “Oh well, someone else can serve rich assholes and pour their wine.”
Good Adam smirks. “You’re just jealous you’re the one doing the serving.”
“You know me so well.” He sees other Adam’s small smile before a big yawn overtakes him. “You can go back to bed, you know,” Adam tells him.
“I did change the sheets.“ Good Adam puts his tea on the coffee table and says, “Come with me then.”
Adam doesn’t need to be told twice.
Adam wakes up warm and with a face full of feathers. Other Adam sleeps curled inward on his side and one wing is covering Adam. He watches him sleep for a minute, knowing it’s vaguely creepy but not really caring. He looks really young like this, and with the blindingly white wings he looks angelic. Adam sits up quietly but doesn’t really plan on going anywhere.
Adam sees him snuffles in his sleep before stirring. He wakes up and looks groggily up at him and Adam grins at his spaced out look. “What time is it?” he asks.
Adam looks over at his alarm clock. “Eleven.”
Good Adam stretches and then sits up to fan out his wings before settling them back down. “Uh, what are we doing today?”
Adam eyes him, wearing only soft sleep pants and says, “I have a suggestion.”
Other Adam looks him up and down. “I just bet you do.” But he doesn’t seem too put off by the idea because he crawls over and straddles Adam’s lap. He kisses him sweetly and then says against his mouth, “This doesn’t seem to be helping our problem.”
Adam says between kisses, “Don’t care.” They make out for a while and Adam fucking loves kissing and he’s good at it. They both are really freaking good at it.
Adam doesn’t pull away until he starts rubbing off on other Adam’s ass. He asks breathlessly, “Ride me?”
Good Adam blinks at him. “My ass is amazing.”
Which Adam finds out, after a small battle to get out of their clothes and a hurried prep. Good Adam slides down him slowly and Adam almost forgets to breathe. “Fuck, you weren’t kidding.”
Other Adam grins down at him and bottoms out. Adam almost bites his tongue off as he’s engulfed in heat and incredible tightness. Good Adam lifts up and starts a halting pace and Adam’s hands grip his hips. Adam watches him move, wings fluttering out behind him with every thrust. He gets a weird thought that he’s seeing himself through someone else’s eyes, and he knows that nothing, no picture or mirror, can make you see yourself the way other people see you. In that moment he feels likes he’s truly seeing himself.
And he likes what he sees.
Adam jolts up and kisses him hard and biting. Good Adam groans into the kiss and Adam tightens his hand on other Adam’s hip and moves his other hand to his ass. He takes control and shoves other Adam forward onto his cock, fucking into him fast and hard. Good Adam slaps a hand to his chest and holds on. He chokes on a laugh and Adam sees a flash of a smile, “What?”
“Nothing,” and then laughter bubbles up again, “Is it weird to call out your own name during sex?”
Adam laughs too. “Very,” he licks his hand and reaches for other Adam’s cock. Good Adam moans and his wings snap out over his head. Adam looks up at them and says, “I think this might be the exception.”
Good Adam looks dazed, thighs trembling as he moves with Adam‘s thrusts. “Huh?”
“Say our name,” Adam whispers, wanting, no, needing to hear it. Needing some kind of reassurance.
“What? No,” other Adam says and then narrows his eyes as Adam takes his hand away from his cock. “Evil.”
Adam grins and keeps thrusting at a steady pace and Good Adam swears and reaches for his own dick. Adam grabs his wrist and holds it. “Say it.”
“Fuck,” other Adam says and there’s sweat beading his brow, “Fuck, Adam, would you just-” Adam grabs his dick and he’s coming onto Adam’s stomach after only a few hard pulls. He tightens around Adam and he lets himself go, coming so hard his eyes go fuzzy white at the edges.
They breathe deeply together until he slips out of other Adam and he says on a sigh, “I’m so proud of myself right now.”
“And pleased,” Good Adam agrees.
They clean up and then fix themselves lunch. They obviously can’t go anywhere so they stay in bed and play board games. Which turns out to be fun in a complete disaster sort of way. Adam ends up throwing Trouble across the room to Good Adam cackling in his ear. After that they watch a movie and do crossword puzzles together.
By late afternoon, after they’ve baked some only slightly burnt chocolate chip cookies, and exchanged some fantastically messy blowjob against the kitchen counter. Adam crawls into bed and starts painting Good Adam’s nails while he tries to read a book one handed. He finishes other Adam’s and is starting on his own nails when Good Adam suddenly puts his book down. “Sing to me,” he states.
Adam looks up. “What?”
“Sing to me. I want to hear it.” Other Adam reaches over and takes the nail polish out of his hand.
Adam is strangely reluctant and doesn’t know where Good Adam is going with this so he plays it off as a joke. He thinks for a moment and then starts singing Backstreet Boys really obnoxiously.
Good Adam hits him weakly on the chest and says, “Come on. For real.”
Adam still doesn’t want to give in and the sunlight reflecting off a snowy feather gives him an idea. “Well I heard there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord, But you don't really care for music, do you?” Adam sings with a bit of laughter in his voice but other Adam’s not even smiling.
In fact, he’s staring at him intensely, “Keep going.” Apparently Good Adam doesn’t find the use of biblical imagery and references to sex funny. Which Adam thinks is hilarious given their current situation. Adam finally caves when he hears a soft, “Please.”
Adam starts singing a little haltingly at first, but soon finds his rhythm, the cadence of his voice rising and falling easily with the song. He has to look away from other Adam’s gaze because it feels way too intimate. He finally closes his eyes at, “But remember when I moved in you, and the holy dove was moving too, and every breath we drew was Hallelujah.”
Adam finishes the song and feels more exposed now than when he’s on stage in front of hundreds of people.
“I sound like that?” Good Adam sounds taken aback and Adam finally looks at him. Other Adam breaks out in a grin and grabs Adam to fervently smack kisses onto him over and over. He finally pulls back enough to babble, “I mean, I know what I sound like and that I’m good, but,” he flails out a hand, “But you don’t really know. Not really.”
Good Adam’s enthusiasm is contagious. “We’re good, huh?”
“Yeah,” Good Adam says sincerely. “We’re really good.” He brushes a piece of Adam’s hair off his forehead. “I think we’re going to be okay.”
“Yeah,” Adam says and believes it.
***
They must fall asleep at some point because Adam wakes up to a flash of bright light. Everything becomes hazy and then his world is turned upside down. Images and emotions hit him all at once and for a long moment he’s completely overwhelmed.
Adam finally opens his eyes and doesn’t have to look to know he’s alone and wingless. He has two sets of memories rattling around his brain and he knows it’s going to take him a long time to sort them all out.
But for the first time in long time he feels balanced, and more importantly, hopeful. He rolls out of bed and looks for his phone, he has some calls to make.
Five years later
Adam’s first album drops to commercial success and he sends a thank you card attached to a bag of Brazilian coffee beans to the Novel Café. He figures they will reach the person they’re meant for.
The End
Master Post