Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, other than Brielle.
Rated: M
Warning(s): Slash, Het, Mpreg, Stripping, Exotic Dancing, Violence, Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, etc.
Silence. Absolute silence. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that, on the streets that night, you could have heard the sound of a pin drop. Adam was in absolute shock, his emerald eyes wide and confused as he stared at Randy. The brunette's confidence was unwavering as he knelt on the asphalt, the dirt and grass staining his nice dress pants, but he still refused to move. In any other situation, confidence like that was something to be admired. However, right now, it was doing little more than causing Adam great deals of unwanted anxiety. He was terrified and intrigued by the idea at the same time.
There was no doubt in his mind that he loved Randy. In fact, he loved him almost as much as he had loved Wade, if not more. That was the part that scared him. He had fallen head-over-heels for Wade, thought that he would spend the rest of his life with him, and look at how that turned out. Wade had turned on him and had even testified against him at the trial for custody over his daughter. Adam would be the first to admit that he hadn't had the best of judgment when it came to love, and that was what made this decision so difficult. It wasn't that he didn't trust Randy. He didn't trust himself.
As it turned out, he wouldn't have to make that decision. At least, he wouldn't have to make it yet. At that moment, his phone decided to ring. Not wanting to be rude but, at the same time, thankful for the blessed release from such an awkward situation, he motioned to the phone and watched as Randy sullenly nodded. He closed the box and slid it back into his pocket. Crisis averted... for now. Randy helped him up off of the bench and Adam thanked him with a shy, tentative smile. Now that the smoke had cleared away a bit, Adam walked away from them in the direction of the house.
"Hello?" Adam answered, not bothering to check the Caller ID. There were only a handful of people that called him, and he felt that he could trust that.
"Adam? It's Jeff. Listen, I... I'm sorry. I know that it's really late. Normally, I wouldn't have called you, but I..." here, Jeff bit back something that sounded strangely akin to a sob. "Did I wake you up?"
Adam swallowed hard. "No. No, you didn't wake me up. I've been awake for awhile, and probably wouldn't have gotten to sleep anyhow. Don't worry about it, okay? What do you need?"
Now that the fire had started to die down, the fire trucks that Adam had called started to arrive. "Are those fire trucks in the distance?"
"Yeah. It's... It's a long story, Jeff. Like I said, don't worry about it." Adam attempted to assure him. "Tell me, why did you call?"
Adam confirmed now that Jeff was crying. There was the sound of an ambulance in the background. "It's, um... It's Phil. He... He woke up and he was feeling strange. He was dizzy and nauseous and... I had him sit down, but it only got worse... and..."
Adam's emerald eyes widened. "Don't tell me that he lost the baby, Jeff. He couldn't have. He was fine. Please, tell me that he's fine."
Jeff choked back a hard sob. "No, he didn't lose the baby. Not... Not yet." There was a pause, the silence pregnant and the metaphorical black cloud hanging over both of their heads. "I called the doctor. She said to check his blood pressure and it was one-seventy over one-hundred."
"Holy shit!" And then, Adam clamped a hand over his mouth, casting a sheepish look back at his daughter. Thankfully, she wasn't listening.
"The doctor had the same reaction... but hers was a bit more professional." Jeff said. "Adam... Phil has preeclampsia."
Adam, remembering his own pregnancy battles, could only imagine what Phil must be going through at that exact moment. You didn't mess with something as serious as preeclampsia. "Do you want me to come over and sit with you while you wait for news?"
Jeff swallowed hard. "I know that it's an awful lot to ask, but it would mean a hell of a lot to me."
"Then I'll see you in about fifteen minutes."
Adam abruptly ended the call, still shaking from the news that he had received. Phil had preeclampsia. Preeclampsia. Adam knew how dangerous that could be. While his particular pregnancy issue had been different, he knew that all were serious and life-threatening to both the mother and the baby. Even if he was only seven and a half months along, when he arrived at the hospital, they would have to induce pregnancy to attempt to save both the lives of the mother and the baby. Adam prayed that it would be enough. They had already lost so much...
About to turn back and relay this news to Randy and Brielle (but, of course, not tell her all of the specifics), he was confronted by the chief fire officer. He informed Adam about the sorry condition of his home and confirmed that it had, indeed, been the boiler that had caused the fire. He handed Adam a stack of papers that needed to be signed in order for the building to be demolished. Adam signed them hesitantly. Without that home, they would officially be considered homeless. Adam didn't have enough money to even rent an apartment and he certainly wasn't in a position to obtain a loan.
He walked back over to them, a dismal look on his face. "I'm sorry, but we'll have to continue our conversation at a later date. A matter of life or death has just come to my attention and I would be a foolish friend if I just walked away."
"You would be a foolish man if you just walked away from my proposal." Randy countered. "I told you very clearly that I would extend my offer to you one last time. That offer was my heart, Adam, and it's not a toy. You can't just ask for it whenever you want it and then throw it back when you're done."
Adam frowned. "You sure like to play me to be some sort of monster. Have you ever considered that life itself isn't a toy either?"
Randy cocked his head to the side, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Then why do you keep playing with yours?"
"Excuse me?" Adam crossed his arms over his chest, looking positively annoyed.
"Look, I get it. Someone hurt you in the past. Someone used you and made you feel like trash. Hell, you were even raped. That's not something that anyone should ever have to live through. But you did. And you survived. So stop living life like you died back then." Randy said.
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Adam forced out through gritted teeth.
"I mean that I'm not Wade and I'm certainly not Chris. Because when I tell you 'I love you', Adam, you better damn well believe it." Randy was fuming now. "And I can tell that when you look at me, all you see is them. And I'm tired of it. I'll never be them, and they'll never be me."
"That's enough." Adam choked out, the unwanted tears returning once more.
"Is it?" Randy asked, feeling the need to push just a little bit harder.
"What the hell do you want from me?" Adam was screaming now, attracting the attention of others on the street. But he didn't care. He couldn't care any longer. "Tell me, so that we can be done with this! What do you want?"
"I want you to tell me that you love me. I want you to admit it, because you've never said it aloud and I can see it in your eyes. You love me, so say it. Say it, Adam. Say it." The last words were little above a whisper, riding on the heavy winds of the night.
"Fine!" Adam felt funny when he realized that he was still screaming into the utter silence of the night. "I love you! Are you happy now?"
"You have no idea."
And then, without a word, he swept the pregnant blond into his arms and kissed him with all of the force that he could muster. It may not have been the classical way in which he had imagined Adam declaring his love for him, but that didn't make it any less sentimental. Adam, who was, at first, rigid in his arms, soon straightened his body out and allowed his eyes to slowly fall closed, melting into the kiss. It was the kind of kiss that he always dreamed of, the one you saw in all of the movies. Cliché, but beautiful all the same. Slowly, Randy drew back, lips still tingling from the overwhelming excitement.
"And now..." Randy trailed off, the words hanging from his lips.
"What?" Adam asked, still encompassed in the brunette's arms.
"Tell me now." Randy stared into the blond's eyes, steeling himself to accept any answer that might fall from his lips. "Tell me know if you'll marry me. Tell me if we'll make a new home together, where you and Brielle will always be safe. Will you marry me, Adam?"
Those were the five words that he had always longed to hear from Wade. He had always wanted someone to love him enough to get down on one knee and to ask him to be with them forever - because, before all of these events had transpired, he never thought himself a 'slut'. Maybe he was a little bit broken, but wasn't everyone? But Wade had never proposed and Adam was left out in the dirt, alone and even more broken than he had ever been. And then Randy came along and did his very best to make everything better. But could he take that risk, that blind leap of faith?
His heart thudded madly in his ears and the wicked nausea had returned, but as he stared into Randy's eyes, he felt oddly calm. Instantly, he knew what his answer would be. And the answer was "Yes."
