TITLE: Purple Rain

AUTHOR: Erin E. Peters

CHARACTERS: All the Ducks from D3. Philip, Eleanor and Drew Banks. Casey Conway. Linda. A few female OC's. Jesse and Terry Hall. Casey Larson and Jake McGill. Appearances by the other Hawks guys and Coach Reilly. Coach Orion (later on).

RELATIONSHIPS: Charlie Conway/Adam Banks. Dean Portman/Julie Gaffney. Guy Germaine/Connie Moreau. Casey Larson/Jake McGill.

RATING: Teen – just to be safe. Rated for adult situations, language and slash.

SUMMARY: Charlie and Adam each deal with their own internal struggles during the summer between freshman and sophomore year; all the while standing by each other's side.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Mighty Ducks. I only own my own story scenarios. I do, however, own the ideas of the girls that Mr. Banks 'forces' on his son.

NOTES: Not sure if there's anything in this story that is outside the realm of the time period. I also think that I kept everyone in character well. But, if you do catch something, please do let me know about it. I welcome constructive criticism, as well as positive feedback. It will only help me as I write more about these guys. #inspiration

*Matchbox Twenty. One of their hits makes an appearance on Adam's radio in this chapter. I do not own them, or their songs. They do. I love it though.

By the way, I listened to a LOT, A LOT of Matchbox 20, Hootie and the Blowfish and Savage Garden writing this story.

Another Savage Garden song, and another Hootie song, make appearances in later chapters. I might include more, as I just finished Twenty Two and still have three chapters to go yet before I'm all done.

I actually researched the popular songs during 1996 for this story.

TEN

"No, dad, I'm just saying. She was a perfectly nice girl. I just didn't feel anything for her." Adam said, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"How could you not? Alyssa is a fantastic catch. Good grades, solid family, well-rounded, and drop dead gorgeous." Philip followed his son out of the BMW. "Adam, I'm starting to wonder about you."

The blonde felt a dreadful feeling in the pit of his stomach. "What do you mean, dad?" He asked, trying to sound as normal as possible. He knew exactly what his dad meant.

"Brittney, Jessica, Alyssa, all nice, pretty girls. And you didn't like any of them. It's just making me wonder." Philip ascended the concrete steps to the front door. "Maybe brunettes are more your thing. I've got a friend with a daughter who hasn't had her first relationship yet. Erin will be perfect for you."

Adam rolled his eyes, entering the house right after his dad. Brunettes are my thing, dad. His father was right about that. No more girls, please. He silently begged, trudging up the stairs, passing his mom without speaking. Philip kissed Eleanor at the foot of the staircase.

Adam pushed open his bedroom door and dove headfirst into his bed. He scooped up his pillow, adjusting it under his head. He had barely closed his eyes when he was startled awake again.

"Adam," came a strong whisper from inside his closet. The teen turned his head in the direction of his wardrobe, looking very confused. He wondered if perhaps that monster he had feared as a child was real, after all.

"Adam," came the voice again. The boy looked at his wardrobe again, questioningly this time.

"Charlie, what are you doing here?" The blonde asked as his brunette beau swatted clothes away like flies.

"Look, I'm coming out of the closet." Charlie snickered as he walked out toward his boyfriend, who was clearly not amused.

"You're not funny." Adam deadpanned.

"Sorry, I had to." The brunette stopped, halfway between the foot of the bed and the dresser. He hoped that Adam hadn't noticed an extra bag sitting on the table.

"So, may I ask again what you're doing here?" Adam looked at Charlie. He saw a hint of excitement in the boy's eyes, and was very curious.

"Your mom let me in. She said you and your dad were out, and she let me wait up here in your room."

Adam smiled. He wished his dad was the one who worked a lot and his mom was home with him. He liked his mom a lot.

"So I was thinking last night, about recent events. Those silver linings have been great lately, haven't they?" Charlie began, sitting on Adam's bed next to him. Both boys smiled slyly.

Charlie remembered the secret PDA at the movies. Adam reminisced about taking his boyfriend in the woods at Lake Calhoun.

"Yeah, they have." Adam replied.

"I just wanted to thank you. You know, for being so great about everything."

"Well, you have been too. Look at you, sneaking in my house at 10:30 on a Wednesday night. What's this about?" Adam was dead curious now. If only he noticed what was different about the dresser right in front of him.

"I just," Charlie got up, walking over to Adam's dresser, "wanted to get you something to thank you; to show my appreciation for you and your patience." The boy reached in the bag, revealing a long, thin jewelry box. He opened it and displayed the gift. It was a long, thin silver chain. Adam looked at the necklace, then up at Charlie, who had a sincere look on his face.

Adam gasped. "Charles." He was rendered speechless. He knew all about Charlie and his mom's socioeconomic situation, so for him to spend money on something like this for his wealthy boyfriend said a lot. "I love it."

Charlie looked at the front line center, and saw a small tear roll down his cheek. He wiped it away gingerly with the pad of his thumb. "I wanted to give you your own silver line. I hope you'll wear it even after we don't have to look for them anymore."

Adam got up from the bed, clutching his boyfriend in his arms. He still felt speechless and grateful, and was having a hard time voicing his emotions. He had never gotten a present like this before. Finally, he uttered a phrase that confused the hell out of Charlie.

"I wish that we were a normal, hetero couple."

"What?" Charlie pulled back and looked at his boyfriend, perplexed. This was definitely a weird response.

"Because I want to make love to you so bad right now." Adam spoke, barely a whisper.

Charlie swallowed. His stomach felt like it was going up and down at the same time.

"I love you, Charles Conway." Adam tightened his arms around Charlie, pulling him to lay on the bed.

"I love you, Adam Tyler Banks." Charlie responded, stroking his fingers through strands of blonde. "We've got nothing but time."

Charlie laid there with his boyfriend, feeling dizzy and all loved up, wondering how the hell he was going to get out of there and avoid Adam's dad, who would not be too pleased to see him this time of night.

…

Adam breathed a sigh of relief, walking back over to his bed.

Charlie had left a few minutes ago, telling him he would just jump down into the bushes below Adam's bedroom window. It really isn't all that far, he had said, I'll be fine babe, really. Adam had seen the boy's mad hops on rollerblades, but he was still worried about the guy.

Once Charlie got out of the bushes, dusted himself off and grinned, giving a thumbs-up, Adam breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to his bed.

He sighed happily and fell down on the bed face-first, his head landing square on his pillow. He glanced over at the jewelry box that held Charlie's expensive gift, and reached for it. He sat up in his bed, opening the box once more to gaze upon the beautiful necklace.

Adam thought about how everyone wore thin silver neck chains nowadays. No one would know the difference. Only he knew the meaning behind his necklace. It was a superb idea, and Adam felt a sense of pride that he had that ingenious and wonderful of a man. He could now show off a symbol of Charlie's love without anyone knowing. He slowly took it out of the box, placing it around his neck. It fell perfectly over his dark blue polo. The blonde reached his hand up to feel it, and couldn't stop another tear escaping one of his eyes. He just could not get over the sweet sentiment.

I wanted to give you your own silver line. I hope you'll wear it even after we don't have to look for them anymore. The words repeated in his head, over and over again. Adam would wear the damn necklace until his dying day. There was absolutely no question.

It was right then that Adam decided to get up and brush his teeth. He just wanted to get to bed right now. He had to thank his mom for letting Charlie in tomorrow night, or tomorrow morning if he got up early enough. If he got asked why he came over he was just going to say that Charlie had some news about one of their friends he had to share. In the same way that Charlie feared for his reputation among his friends, Adam feared for his reputation among his family. He touched the necklace again, as if to remind himself of something, smiled, and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

The blonde came back to his room, all freshened up, and turned on his bedside clock radio. It was tuned to Cities 97 FM, like it always was. Sometimes when he was in his feelings he liked to listen to soft music to get to sleep, and he knew Charlie was the same way. The current song was just ending, and the DJ announced the next song. Adam shut his lamp off and curled in bed, ready to sleep. Charlie had put him in a wonderful loved-up mood, and he knew with that he was going to sleep like a baby.

The next song was a new song by a band called Matchbox Twenty. Their new album was coming out in the fall, and the song that was playing was going to be one of their big hits on the album. They were playing it a lot that summer. Adam really liked it. He turned the radio up a tiny bit.

It's nothing, it's so normal
You just stand there, I could say so much
But I don't go there 'cause I don't want to
I was thinking, if you were lonely
Maybe we could leave here and no one would know
At least not to the point that we would think so-

Adam laid there, eyes closed, letting the melody wash over him. He never really listened to the lyrics in songs much, just listened to the music. But this song had really good lyrics. They made him think about his predicament.

Adam touched his necklace again, now lying against his bare chest. He stroked it and blissfully smiled to himself. Charlie was right, he was patient. The man was worth it. He would wait until the ends of time. He was getting pretty used to seeing the silver linings.

…

Charlie aimlessly strolled around in the small park across the street from his apartment on Saturday, hands in the pockets of his jeans. It was a beautiful day outside; the summer evening sun still shining bright and the birds still sitting in the trees, singing a happy little tune. He was glad he had gotten something for Adam last weekend, and the reaction he'd gotten had been even better than he'd expected.

Charlie had gotten blowjobs from girls before, as well as given them when he started seeing Adam, but he had never had sex before. Adam had been completely physically inexperienced when they had begun their romance. Charlie had even been the boy's first kiss, that night after the season finale party. It was heartwarming and exhilarating knowing that he was thinking about it, and that he wanted to express himself in that way. They were young, but Charlie had to admit that he did too. He never thought he could have this much love and adoration for anyone. In fact, thinking about him and Adam losing their innocence to each other got him very dazed and wired up.

As time went by, he was starting to feel like his love for his boyfriend was outweighing his fear for his reputation. However, he still feared for it, and thus couldn't say he felt ready yet. He'd had a few dreams that summer, in which he told his friends, and half of them alienated and ostracized him because of his sexual preference. He still liked girls, but he was more attracted to boys. He was finding that out the more time he spent in a relationship with one. The first time he had experienced one of said dreams, he had woken up crying in a cold sweat. It was not fun.

"Charlie," his mom called from the apartment building. Charlie looked up, seeing his mom across the street, waving him over. "Dinner's ready sweetie, come in."

Charlie walked inside. He met his mom at the top of the stoop, and the pair of Conway's walked up to their apartment together. The place smelled wonderful, like Thanksgiving.

"What are we having, Mom? The place smells great." Charlie asked, walking over to the sink to wash his hands for dinner.

"I made turkey and green bean casserole." Casey said, getting the meal out of the oven. Charlie grabbed potholders to place on the table.

"What's the occasion? This is nice." Charlie took another deep breath in. It was almost impossible not to when the whole apartment smelled like the holidays.

"I just wanted to make you a little treat. I know that you're going through a rough time with your relationship and I really love how you're handling things. It's very mature."

Charlie smiled. "Thanks mom." He loved making his mom proud of him. "It's not easy, but I love Adam so much. It sucks making him wait, but he's been so gentle and understanding."

Casey came over and put her hand on Charlie's shoulder, giving him a look of motherly love. "You treat Adam like a prince."

"That's 'cause he is." Charlie grabbed plates and silverware for the table.

"Honey," Casey began, helping Charlie set the table, "I just want you to know that, when you decide to tell your friends about your boyfriend, if they don't still treat you like the same Charlie, they're not really your friends. Just think about that."

As mother and son sat down and started to dig into their food, Charlie tossed his new 'food for thought' around in his mind. His mom was always right about these things. He had the smartest mom in the world.