AN: this is part of a personal challenge/project filling all the prompts of past Kadam weeks, and posting one every day from March 28 to May 8th, 7 prompts per year 5 previous rounds (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 last two managed by vcg73) the first week of May 2-8 will present to you the offering for the Kadam Week 2021 you can search for more on tumblr.
Welcome to Kadam Week 2021, prompts gently provided by vcg73
day 7: Photo Op

"Kurt finally thanks for picking up, you are just the man I needed, I need your lovely ass in here pronto..."

Kurt chuckled as he answered amused "Chase you do know I have a boyfriend and he's here in the room looking at me pretty worried..."

Chase enthusiasm and relief was clear in his tone, despite the fact that his words kept sounding playful on the verge of flirtatious "Ohh even better take him with you Imma make good use of him as well, I expect you both here in maximum of twenty minutes"

After that Chase closed the call and Adam looked somewhat worried, "Ok what was that darling? Because lemme tell ya, a fellow could totally start to get insecure when his boyfriend starts to get those kinds of calls frequently."

Kurt laughed and leaned forward kissing Adam briefly before answering cryptically "Come with me and I'll show you the kind of wickedness that happens behind closed doors."

When Adam started to look alarmed Kurt finally cracked down and started cackling to the point of almost tearing up. Once he was able to compose himself, he raised both hands in a surrender motion. Then he patted Adam's shoulder and said with a smile "Up up you go luv we've a train to catch if we want to make it in time, Chase is not a patient man, you don't want to see him getting mad when he's in such a bossy mood."

Slightly reluctant, Adam got up from the couch and picked up his keys phone and wallet from the bowl next to the door, following his boyfriend perplexed.

The fact that Kurt was being so coy, while also being cryptic, ringed many alarm bells in Adam's mind. But also seeing the loving smile and the offered hand, those were signs too good to warrant being so worried. He trusted Kurt, and despite the rather ambiguous words, there was no need to let the mind wander in the gutter, turning to dark corners and seeing nefarious omens...

He was starting to learn that with Kurt words mattered, and so did the context... Despite it all, the call came from one of Kurt's coworkers, to the land phone of their shared apartment…

True, deciding to live together had been quite the spur of the moment decision. The kind of occasions that could happen only when everything aligned. His building had changed landlord and the new one wanted to triplicate the lease, Kurt's own lease was at its natural end. And Kyle Ferguson, one of the graduated apples, had been taken in by a touring group signing an initial two years contract, after he had just renewed the lease of this apartment...

The place was in a lovely position, it had two equally large and illuminated bedrooms. But the most charming aspect was the living area with an isle kitchen large enough to allow both Adam and Kurt to cook and bake at the same time without stepping on each other's toes.

So there they ended up sharing an apartment despite being together for little more than six months. They still both had their own separate rooms, that were more like mini studios at this point.

Kurt was cherishing too much having walls again, after the experience with the loft, and Adam still wanted to not rush too much despite their current circumstances.

There was also safety, in still having boundaries. In still being having the option to retire in a private space, despite the fact that they had ended up sleeping together in the same bed, most nights soon after moving in.

As Chase had apparently already known, the new apartment was only ten minutes away from Kurt's office, noticing that detail Adam wondered out loud "Do all of your coworkers know exactly how long it takes from your place to the office or Chase is special?"

The question was asked playfully as Adam kept up with Kurt's fast pace, but the underlying worry was there. He had never gone to Kurt's working place, for one because since they got together his own working place was closer to the apartment he had back then, which was in the almost opposite direction than the Vogue's offices. And second, because Kurt never invited him to come there. Since Adam could appreciate the value of keeping work and private life separated, he never resented the lack of invitation, not when it wouldn't have been feasible going there anyway.

Unaware of Adam's internal musing Kurt couldn't stop the amused snort "Chase has his own unique brand of special luv, you'll understand soon enough. But if you're wondering just how many people know my new address at work, then there's Chase, obviously, Isabelle, and I think my paper passed through a couple of admins down in the HR department once I got officially in their payroll instead of being on a freelancer contract..."

Adam hummed noncommittally, partially grateful that the news was not that widespread. In a way he feared that such proximity could be taken as an excuse and reason for the office to call in Kurt even when he was supposed to be off the clock. Like it was happening today, on one of the rare full days off Kurt had since summer started.

On the other hand, a little heavy on Adam's mind, there was already the looming threat of Kurt's ex arriving in New York and starting class at Nyada in just a couple more weeks. The thought of even more men after Kurt's attention was a little daunting, but he tried to keep his own insecurities and past at bay. After all, his ghosts were all an ocean away.

And Kurt knew the pain of being cheated on, he was not the kind of person to do that.

Also in Adam's own experience, no one would be this calm in taking their partner in a place where they kept a side lover. And as much as he believed Kurt was capable of being a great actor, remembering the amount of ridiculously blunt and direct ways it took him to convince his boyfriend he was interested in being more than just friends, it was helping…

And the warmth of Kurt's hand in his was calming and made him feel safe, making Adam hope for the best despite a tad of anxiety that peeked in.

As soon as they walked inside the building where the Vogue's offices were, an impatient man walked steadily toward them saying "You are lucky you are both so pretty because you were almost running late."

He pointed a finger at Kurt and continued "You should know I don't like to be kept waiting, take your bae and get naked and pretty for me, you know exactly where to go. Chop, chop"

Kurt chuckled and in mock seriousness he saluted as he said "Yes, Sir, we're already on our way."

The man nodded with a grin and said "You better be, I can't wait to put my hands on you. Don't make me wait longer than I already have."

He turned and took one of the elevators as Kurt tugged Adam with him on the other one chuckling all the way "And that charmingly bossy man is Chase Madison"

Adam must have looked as spooked out as he felt because Kurt leaned forward and gave him a peck on his cheek as he pressed on Adam's side

"Don't worry we're not going to be naked, but we can grab a quick shower before we get all dolled up for him. And we can grab a quick one before we leave so no matter what is in store for us we won't look like we just walked out of some sort of debauchery all the way back home."

Adam harrumphed starting to feeling a little uneasy, but once they arrived at their destination he was surprised to be ushered in what looked like a locker room.

Kurt was humming as he went picking out clean bathrobes from the shelves and pointed out one of the closed cabin smiling encouragingly "Don't worry all will be fine"

Adam looked decidedly unimpressed and quipped unamused "Darling that is not reassuring at all, especially not with your definition of fine..."

Kurt chuckled softly "All right then, things are going to be all right, good, absolutely fantastic... Is that better?"

Slightly mollified but still looking nervous Adam answered back "Rad just swell darling, especially if you can say it with a little less teasing and a tad more conviction..."

Kurt looked suddenly serious and took Adam's face in his hands "Adam, love I'd love if you could help me out, and I promise that the compensation you'll get is worth the hassle, but if you're really that uncomfortable modelling I'm sure we can call someone else last minute. It was just very convenient having both of us coming in and fill in two slots with a single call, but you're not obligated to do this if you don't want to"

Adam frowned unsure, fidgeting a little with the hem of his shirt, "Darling, are you sure about this? I mean I'm ok living in my own skin, but I'm not exactly at the levels of what you'd see on a fashion magazine, unlike you"

Kurt moved one of his hand so that he could put a finger on Adam's lips momentary silencing him "Adam, believe me, Chase is not a man willing to work with anything or anyone sub par, least of all a model who is meant to compliment his work. He is one of the most perfectionist designers we have in this office, while he had wanted to play dress up with me for a while, he had been positively salivating at the thought of both us as his living mannequins for a while now. Today simply offered him a golden opportunity and he took it, and while I think you'd even end up having fun, I thought having one more line of credited work would still be better than nothing, the pay you'd get is more than what you'd get in tips at the cafe for the same amount of time, though it's ok if you'd rather not participate."

Adam frowned even more confused pulling his head back and asking "Wait you know exactly what all this is about? It's nothing nefarious right?"

Kurt's confusion was brief he soon realised what was going on and started laughing "Oh good gracious, I thought I told you we had coming up this small photo session for a spring summer collection that was proving to be a nightmare?"

Adam nodded recalling it being mentioned in the past couple of weeks "But I thought it was supposed to happen last week?"

Kurt nodded as he grinned visibly pleased that Adam had listened and remembered "Supposed is the keyword as it didn't happen… Some models had conflicting schedules and asked for it to be moved to today, only for them to not show up, hence Chase's call asking for reinforcements on my day off and using the opportunity to drag you into our pay books at least once. Probably so he could have the chance of a direct line to beg for more of your time next time something like this happens..."

Adam still looked unconvinced but a lot more at ease with the whole situation...

After a quick furtive kiss from Kurt, they quickly got ready and started being dressed up and expertly directed by Chase's clear vision.

Despite appearing a deceptively easy work, Adam discovered that modelling could be just as hard and just as long a process as acting. They were nearing the fourth solid hour of work, they must have posed by now for what felt like at least a hundred photos or more, when Chase finally called with a satisfied grin "And done, that was fantastic guys great job we're done, time to wrap this up."

Kurt bounced happily and with a gleeful exclamation as he rushed to the clothes' rack and started checking the ones they had just worn with great care, seemingly searching for something.

Adam was so absorbed in looking at his boyfriend's delight and apparent endless energies that he didn't realise Chase had walked closer and stood right next to him until the older man said "Watching him bouncing around after this kind of gruelling sessions sometimes it makes me feel old... I appreciate you coming in and helping out, don't worry both Kurt and I will make sure you'll get properly registered in our books and receive your compensation right away. The pay might be paltry, but it's a useful gig, and I know I'd love to have you come in more often if you're up to it"

Adam turned a shocked look at the other man and asked confused "Are you sure? I mean I"

Chase shook his head "On second thought instead of making you wait for Kurt to be done I'll do that myself" he turned toward Kurt and hollered "I'll take your man down to fill in all the paperwork."

Kurt snorted and waved clearly dismissing the notion and waving them away "You just want to have the tastiest eye candy in your arm. And rub it in Matthew's face down in HR"

Chase chuckled unashamedly as he quipped back "You have him all the time, letting my old bones enjoy such a lovely view and sweet company won't kill you. And I believe you should check the ice gray one too, Adam would look lovely in that."

Kurt had turned to look at them, a contemplating look in his eyes as he nodded "He would indeed, and I won't object this once, but I want my boyfriend back by the time I'll get home with him…"

Chase pouted playfully before quipping back tongue in cheek "Or you could both consider the option to share, any man would be lucky to have you two in his arms. If you'll decide to do that, remember me as a possible option… One call is all it'd take"

Underneath the teasing tone, the playful wink and Chase's carefully chosen words, Adam was able to pick up the wistful and longing undertone in them. Unlike Kurt, who simply laughed and waved it off before shaking his head saying fondly "You're such a flatterer, when will you believe me that any man would be lucky to have to be crazy to not see how sweet and wonderful you are?"

Chase smiled and gently put Adam's hand on his elbow and started leading them away, calling from over his shoulder "You can't fault a man for trying… We'll see you later, I'm sure you know what needs to be done to wrap things up in here, so I'll leave that up to you."

Kurt nodded his acknowledgement and returned his full attention to the clothes in his hands.

Adam had watched the exchange carefully and once he and Chase were alone on the elevator he said softly "You love him."

Chase looked startled for a moment and then his surprise softened in a gentle smile as he shook his head "No, to call it love would be a disservice, and it would imply Kurt had open up with me enough for feeling to actually develop. I am attracted to him, he is a very attractive young man and I believe you know that already."

Adam nodded with a small smile on his face and nodded "I know that"

Chase must have seen some of the conflicting emotions currently invading Adam's mind, because he continued gently "You don't have to worry with him, you do know that, right? He's a good one, he wouldn't cheat on you"

A clearly self deprecating grin stretched Chase's lips as he carried on "Even less with me, if I had any chance with him, I would have probably managed to at least be the rebound from when his ex had been enough of an idiot to cheat on Kurt and set him free. If I didn't manage to raise Kurt's interest in the six months between then and when he met you, it's unlikely he'll ever look my way."

Adam frown and barely had the time to say "He probably didn't even see you were serious in your offer and not just being kind to him" then the elevator's door and Chase put on the same easygoing expression he had since Adam met him earlier.

They walked together inside the HR office and Chase commented airily "Matt treat my new angel well, I'd be very upset if he felt so unwelcome here, he'd decide to not return next time I need my dose of sexy blond candy man to satisfy my needs."

Matthew snorted at the playful banter and quipped back with the same tone "Does Kurt know you're parading his bae so shamefully in our faces?"

He did his work fast and efficiently, filling up and saving Adam's data for future times, as Chase grinned and quipped back "Of course, I have Kurt's blessing, you know me better than that, I am not one to steal men away, I simply sweep 'em off their feet with my brilliant designs."

Matthew chuckled and handed Adam a white envelope with the day's pay saying with a sincere smile "It's a pleasure seeing you in person, please don't hold against us the level of levity you saw today, we can all be professional when it's needed but being called back in on a saturday afternoon is never fun, so we need to amuse ourselves somehow"

Adam smiled serenely and nodded "Don't worry it was a pleasure coming and have a look at where Kurt works, though I never thought I would have a reason to be here."

On their way back to Kurt Chase made a detour, at Adam's raised eyebrow Chase simply smiled and said "There's something I think you should see."

Chase took Adam to a totally different floor than any of the ones he had been before, and when they reached a desk on the opposite end of the room, he could see many photos of him or of Kurt and him.

Some were framed, others were pinned on a bulletin board, some he knew were taken, others were new to him despite remembering the moments when they were taken.

Chase took that moment to comment "He's crazy about you, and everyone in the whole building knows that. He is more than willing to gush on how happy you make him. And he didn't even need to say that. We all could see it, we saw how different he is now that he is with you compared to a year ago when he arrived. You two are good for each other."

Adam smiled fondly seeing that surrounding Kurt's desk and picture of them, there were also pictures of all their friends. He felt oddly relieved and surprised to notice that none of the people's from Lima had made the cut to feature anywhere.

Adam felt Kurt wrapping one arm around his waist and gave him a peck on the cheek "I see Chase was showing you off my little corner. Ready to go home?"

Upon turning, Adam realised the one arm hold was due to the fact that Kurt had what looked like two clothes bags in his other hand resting on his shoulder. So he asked curiously, pointing at the bags "I'm ready, but do we need to stop somewhere for those?"

Kurt chuckled and shook his head "Nope those are coming home with us. Perks of the job."

Adam turned a confused look between Kurt and Chase, who took pity on him and ended up explaining "As Vogue employee we cannot officially add more monetary compensation on Kurt's pay for the additional services like today's extra work. But for collections created by and made for this office, if someone from the office helps out, they can take home things that are no longer needed for the vault."

Adam nodded starting to understand a little better how Kurt could have such a large collection of clothes and not casting away a huge chunk of earnings for that purpose.

Chase gently patted both Adam's and Kurt's back "Well it's time for me to go, thank you both for your help."

The next week, on wednesday evening, when Kurt returned home he offered Adam a closed manila envelope "Chase sends this… I didn't ask what's in it but I think it should be the shot to add to your portfolio."

Adam nodded and opened it to see a set of pictures, upon taking them out he saw a post it simply saying 'You're Welcome'

The first was a picture of the both of them chuckling together in a downtime moment, turning the picture he noticed there was noted down the date, the location and a single descriptive sentence 'A stolen moment when love shone brighter than any lighting or makeup could ever create. It was a pleasure witnessing it.'

The second photo was one of the black and white shot they took during that saturday gruelling photo session. It was a shot in which Kurt looked every bit the professional model he could be, on its back the writing just listed Kurt's name, the date, the campaign and the photographer. It looked like it was supposed to be something to add to Kurt's own resume and portfolio.

Adam smiled and passed them to Kurt asking "I think your solo shot is for your resume darling"

The last photo inside was one of Adam himself, it was startling to realise that in this shot he looked just as much as a professional model as Kurt did, he quickly turned it and saw the same note added on its back and another post it 'You look as much as a professional model as Kurt does, it was a pleasure working with you, please do consider dropping by again for those extra work.'

Kurt came behind Adam and looked over his shoulder smiling and commenting softly "Wow I knew already you are hot luv, but damn that pic truly shows it to the world. You are going to add this to your shots right? It is legit work and you will receive the proper credit for it after all."

Adam nodded still looking at the picture in surprise.

Maybe, just maybe, he could see what Kurt, and Chase, were talking about…

Despite never having seen or thought of himself that way before.