Lawrence knows the second he walks through the door that something is amiss. It only takes one glance around the apartment for him to realize that it is even tidier than it had been when he had left for work that morning, and Adam had not come to greet him at the door as he usually did. Lawrence had learned from experience that this could only mean one thing: Adam was up to something. After checking that Adam's shoes were in their designated place by the front door and his jacket was draped over the arm of the couch (despite Lawrence's constant insistence that he hang it on the coat rack in the living room), he concludes that Adam is home and takes another step into their shared apartment.
"Adam?" He calls. There is silence for a moment, before he hears a loud bang from their bedroom that he can only assume was caused by Adam tripping over something, based on the loud exclamation of "Shit!" that immediately follows. He takes a moment to set down his briefcase and take off his suit jacket, looking up to see his boyfriend standing in the doorway, looking extremely nervous.
"What's going on, Adam?" It is obvious by the younger man's posture that something is bothering him. His shoulders are hunched, and he refuses to meet Lawrence's eye, keeping his gaze focused on the ground as he wrings his hands anxiously. Lawrence makes no effort to rush him, instead gently taking Adam's hands in his to keep him from worrying them any further and waiting for him to look up. He does so a few moments later, and it is clear that he's feeling guilty about something, looking more like a small child caught sneaking sweets before dinner than a grown man in that moment. Finally Adam lets out a sigh before responding.
"Promise you won't yell?" He mumbles, and if Lawrence hadn't been so concerned he would have smiled.
"You know you can tell me anything. Come on, tell me what's bothering you." Adam is silent for a few more moments, looking as though he's contemplating the best way to break the news to him. He gives a little nod, seeming to have come to a decision and then he's grabbing Lawrence's wrist and leading him down the hallway, towards their bedroom. Lawrence is confused as to why Adam chooses to bring him there, rather than just telling him in the living room, but Adam seems to recognize his confusion and tells him before he has an opportunity to ask.
"It'll be better if I show you." He says, still tugging Lawrence along behind him. They stop in front of the closed bedroom door and all of the different possibilities begin to run through his mind, some more plausible than others. Had Adam broken something? Did he make a mess? Had he cheated on him? (He dismisses this idea immediately). He continues to mull over the different possibilities until he sees Adam reach forward and grip the doorknob, his expression resolute, as if he were entering a war zone rather than the bedroom they shared each night. He enters the room and Lawrence follows suit, though he is somewhat puzzled when Adam closes the door behind them.
Lawrence isn't quite sure what he had been expecting, but he is perplexed when he does a quick sweep of the room and sees nothing out of the ordinary. It isn't until he sees Adam make his way over to the bed and gently take a seat on its edge that he notices the small ball of fur curled up on one of the pillows. It was a kitten. He watches Adam reach out, with a gentleness he doesn't often see in the younger man, and tentatively pick up the kitten, cradling it against his chest. Even from across the room Lawrence can hear it purr, and if he wasn't so inept at using technology he might have taken a picture so that he could remember this moment, Adam sitting Indian style on their bed with a calico kitten tucked under his chin.
"I found her outside by the dumpsters when I went to take out the trash this morning. She didn't have a collar or anything and I couldn't just leave her there, Lawrence." He knows that logically he should be reprimanding Adam for bringing the creature into their home without consulting him, but instead he finds himself making his way over to the bed, taking a seat next to Adam and reaching out to stroke the kitten's face with one of his fingers. The kitten cranes its little head to look up at him, letting out a tiny cry, and Lawrence realizes he'd likely have done the same thing in Adam's position and refrains from admonishing him.
"She?" He asks, speaking for the first time since he'd entered the room. Adam looks up at him in surprise, clearly expecting to be scolded, and he almost looks relieved.
"Calico cats are always female, it has something to do with their genes and shit. I remember reading it somewhere, and I looked it up just to make sure." Lawrence can't help but smile at this, and for a few minutes he just sits there, content to watch Adam hold the kitten, his thumb idly stroking its (her - he reminds himself) fur as she sleeps. Though he hates to break up such an endearing scene, Lawrence knows that he has to be the bad guy here, and think about things logically, despite how much he hates disappointing Adam.
"Adam-", He begins in a serious tone (Adam and Diana call this his "dad voice"), but he's cut off before he can say anything else.
"I know what you're going to say, but we- I can totally handle her. I'll take full responsibility. I'll buy all of her food and toys and litter train her and stay home with her until she's big enough to be left alone. Come on Larry, please?" Lawrence can already feel himself faltering. Adam doesn't plead with him very often, partially because of the tough guy front he likes to put up, and partially because Lawrence has a hard time telling him no if he doesn't have to, so it wasn't very often that he was in a position where he even had to plead. He does his best to remain firm, readies himself to respond but Adam beats him to the punch.
"Diana would love her too. She's been asking for a pet for ages, you know she'd love her." It's at this moment where Lawrence knows he's screwed, he finds it difficult enough to deny either of them anything separately, but the image of them both staring up at him pleadingly together is enough for him to know that he's been beat. He sighs in defeat.
"So what are we going to name her?" The sight of Adam's wide grin is enough for him to think that this just might all be worth it. And when Adam wraps his left arm around Lawrence's torso (the other still keeping a firm hold on the kitten) and begins pressing kisses to his jaw with little "thank yous" and "I love yous" murmured in between, Lawrence is certain that it is.