Charity Drabble: 1 of 5

[linzeestyle]

kradamite donated for a 5 dollar Kradam story. The promp was "migraine (h/c)." Established relationship, schmoop. Because I can.

Untitled Drabble 1
(Kris/Adam)(954 words)(h/c, schmoop)

Every light in the house is off when Kris gets home, and it's a rare enough occasion that Kris thinks he probably already knows what that means -- he toes his sneakers off in the foyer, sets his messenger bag down carefully and grabs a bottle of Evian out of the fridge on his way to the master bedroom.

Adam's already in bed, soft gray undershirt soaked at the neck with sweat and a dishtowel that looks like it was wet, at some point, draped over his eyes. Kris bites the inside of his cheek, steps into the dark room carefully because he knows from experience any sharp noise will just send Adam running for the bathroom. He succeeds, apparently, because Adam doesn't seem to notice Kris until the mattress dips as he sits down on it, fingers reaching out tentative to run over Adam's clammy cheek.

"How long has it been like this?"

Adam makes a sound that's somewhere between a sigh and a whimper, and Kris rubs his thumb over the dish rag, frowns at the fact it's entirely dry. "A few hours," says Adam, and his voice is so soft it's almost foreign to consider it, that a stupid headache could steal all of Adam's vibrancy away. Kris hadn't really thought about it, when they were still roommates and tour partners -- grabbed a Motrin here and there, brought a water bottle or kept their tour-mates down a few decibels, picked up an extra bag of take-out because Adam would be hungry, when the fire behind his temples burned down. It didn't start to scare him until they moved in together, until Kris really thought about how crazy it was that someone who lives for bright lights and energy the way Adam does can get taken down so completely by a freaky fluke of biology. He pets back Adam's hair and waits for him to pull the terrycloth down, looking out at Kris through bleary red eyes. "I left the studio early. I feel bad, but I'll--I wasn't getting anything done, anyway."

"It'll still be there later." Heck, they've got one in their basement: it's more for Kris than Adam, because Adam's always been the type that likes to work out takes with other people, but he uses it sometimes, works out melodies or quiet verses or sings bits of Kris's songs, when Kris writes things that were never meant for his own voice. It's carefully sound-proofed but Kris would never use it on nights like these, like he could make Adam's headache worse through just residual carelessness. "You take the stuff the doctor gave you?"

Adam waves his hand, making a sour face better suited to a twelve year old than a grown adult. It makes Kris roll his eyes, but it gives him something to do, and he gets to the bathroom cabinet and back in the time it takes Adam to sit up slowly, forehead still cradled in his palms as he leans up against the headboard.

"Here, c'mon." Kris hands Adam the water bottle and a Fioricet, and Adam wrinkles his nose, but takes both without complaint. "I don't get how somebody who hates pills so much ever took stuff for fun," Kris says, and Adam huffs and swallows.

"It's a little different. God, I just...do I need my head?" He groans and rubs at his temples. "It's a little better than it was. I almost called you earlier, but it didn't...you couldn't have done anything, anyway."

"You could have. You should have called me." Adam's right, Kris couldn't have done anything, but he'd rather be here when Adam needs him than sitting in an office at Jive somewhere, counting cracks in the tile floor while someone with a Macbook talks about 'event opportunities.' Kris scoots over closer onto their bed, until he's leaning against the headboard beside Adam. He reaches out to pet Adam's cheek. "I woulda come home."

"I know. I'm glad I didn't though. One of us has to afford my lifestyle after I get fired for being a total diva and walking out at like, noon." It makes Kris wince, because it's close to seven now and that means Adam's been miserable for most of the day now, but he chuckles anyway, scooting over on the bed enough to tug at Adam's shirt.

"Here, this is all soaked, c'mon. You want to take a shower at all?"

Adam shakes his head, pulling the soiled shirt over his head with a wince. "Maybe later. Too loud." Kris nods, biting his lip to avoid speaking again. Crap. Right. Adam hands over the shirt and looks at Kris hopefully, hair skewed and eyes bleary and makeup-smeared the way he always looks when he falls asleep without washing his face. There's concealer on the pillow and when Adam feels better, he's going to freak out about oil, or build-up or whatever. "Can I just...can you lay down with me?"

Jeez. Of course. Three years, and it's sort of silly Adam even has to still ask, like Kris is actually going to say no, ever, in any circumstance. He nods and slouches down and lets Adam drop down with him, scoots them both carefully until Adam's head is on his chest, arms slung around his waist and long legs tangled with Kris's own. "This okay?"

"Perfect." It's slurred into Kris's shirt, and when he looks down, Adam's already fading again, eyes drooping against the exhaustion that always comes when the pain is subsiding. Like weathering a storm, Kris thinks, and it's a goofy cliche but it's appropriate, too, because that's how this always is, with Adam. Kris huffs and closes his eyes and digs his fingers into Adam's thick hair, content to wait out the last of the ripples.

Comments

[ggjunkie33.livejournal.com]

Awww. Just perfectly adorable schmoop! Thank you for giving me warm fuzzies to end my day with ♥ :)

[linzeestyle.livejournal.com]

You are very welcome, bb - thank you again for donating! ♥

[gypsy-scribbles.livejournal.com]

Aww, so sweet. Loved the last paragraph.

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

Awwwwww! So sweet. I'm glad poor bb Adam has Kris to take care of him.

[oatmeal-cookie.livejournal.com]

As someone who's suffered from chronic migraines from the age of eleven -- just. Yes. This is lovely. <3

[battleofhydaspe.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I really, really enjoyed this.

[cydsa.livejournal.com]

schmooy & fluffy & cuddly

I don't know who is better at comfort, Adam or Kris... I think you might need to write something with Adam as the comforter so that I can properly decide!

lovely bb

[ckalicka.livejournal.com]

Oh, so this is pretty much the hurt/comfort I've been waiting. Every line was pure perfection.
Also, Adam, I feel your pain, bb.

[annemaris.livejournal.com]

I never commented on this, but I keep coming back to it, so I figured, hey, I should finally comment. This is truly one of my favourite hurt/comfort fics ever, and I am pretty much a h/c addict. I can't even say what exactly makes it so perfect -- maybe how realistic it is, how simple and sweet. I just love it.

[fictionnreality.livejournal.com]

So I was home sick today with a migraine and when it started to clear up, I felt the need to come rediscover this and read it to make myself less miserable. Thank you<3