"Quit moping."
Chris Jericho looked up, frowning at Adam. "What?" he snapped.
Adam sighed, sitting down at the table in their hotel room. He set one of the salads he was holding down before Chris, putting the other at his own place. "I said, quit moping," he stated.
"How can you say that to me?" Chris demanded. "If the man you loved got you pregnant and abandoned you you'd be fucking moping too!"
Adam chuckled. "First off, I'm on the pill, secondly, Jay and I have been together since we were 13 years old. Neither of us is going anywhere."
"Well not all of us found our soulmate at 5 years old, ok?" Chris snapped, glowering down at his food. "I can't eat this fucking gerbil food," he muttered, shoving the salad aside.
"Sorry." Adam slipped the plastic cover back over Chris' salad, sighing loudly. "I guess I'll just hang onto this then. Maybe Jay'll want it. What do you want to eat?"
"I don't know." Chris glared off into space.
Adam leaned in. "Come on Chris, what is it? Chocolate?"
"No," Chris pouted. "It's stupid. It's so cliché."
"Well so is being all whiny and moody, so spill," Adam demanded.
It was Chris' turn to sigh. "I want a dill pickle," he replied.
"Um, ok." Adam frowned. "I doubt they'd have that at the restaurant downstairs, but I'm sure we can find a convenience store or something around here. Can I finish my salad first?"
"Yeah, sure. I'm not really hungry anyway." Chris folded his hands on the table in front of him, resting his chin on his hands.
Adam took a few bights of his salad, glancing occasionally at Chris before finally speaking. "Penny for your thoughts?" he offered.
Chris sighed, his eyes growing a little watery. "I don't wanna be a single dad, Adam," he whispered. "I don't wanna go through this without the man I love there to hold my hand every step of the way. I - I don't get all big and fat and have no one there to tell me I'm still pretty and make love to me."
"You've got me," Adam offered. "And you know Jay and Drew'll be there for you."
"I know, but it's not the same!" Chris exclaimed.
Adam reached across the table, gently brushing a strand of hair out of Chris' face. "Then why don't you make up with Hunter?" he suggested softly.
"No!" Chris pulled away, shaking his blonde head vehemently. "He cheated on me with that slut, Adam! If he'd stood by me, like he should have, and told the slut to go to hell, then there wouldn't be a problem! He actually wanted me to fucking share him with the slut! Why the hell should I have to - to lower myself to that level because he doesn't love me more than some cheap whore he had an affair with?" Chris sniffed, wiping quickly at his increasingly wet eyes.
Adam stood, walking around the table and pulling Chris into his arms. "I understand what you're saying, honey," he whispered. "Really I do, and I'm not going to try and defend what Hunter did. But if you love him, and you want to be with him - "
"I'll be with him if he ditches the slut!" Chris interrupted.
Adam drew back, frowning sadly. "You know before all this you and Kurt were friends," he said softly.
"I don't want to talk about *him*!" Chris spat. "We were friends before I found out what a two-timing little whore he is! He did this on purpose to take Hunter from me!"
"Chris, you know that's not true," Adam replied. "Having a baby is the last thing Kurt wanted at this point in his career."
"Stop defending him!" Chris cried, turning away from his friend. "I told you I don't want to talk about that whore!"
"Ok. I'm sorry." Adam wrapped his arms around Chris from behind, leaning his head on Chris' shoulder. "If there's anything I can do, Chris, just let me know. You're my friend and I want to do everything I can to help you get through this."
Chris turned around suddenly, peering deeply into the tall blonde's eyes. "Can you tell me I'm pretty?" he whispered.
"You are pretty." Adam smiled softly, brushing another loose strand from Chris' face. "You're very pretty Chris, and that's not going to change."
"If I'm so pretty then why doesn't he want me?" Chris choked out, forcing back the tears that always seemed to linger right behind his eyes.
"He does, honey," Adam assured him. "He's just caught between a rock and a hard place."
Chris sniffed again, shaking his head. "I don't want to talk about him anymore," he whispered. "I'm really pretty?" he pushed.
"Very pretty," Adam assured him. "As a matter of fact, you're absolutely gorgeous."
"Am I?" A slightly smile crept across Chris' face.
"Absolutely." Adam nodded his golden head, smiling at his friend reassuringly. "You're so pretty Chris, any man would be crazy not to want you."
"Do you?" Chris asked suddenly.
Adam blinked, quite taken aback. "Um, well, I'm taken," he replied.
"But you and Jay play with other people sometimes, don't you?" Chris pressed, moving forward and pushing Adam back onto the floor, straddling his hips and sitting astride him.
"Well, yeah, but, Chris, I don't think - " Adam began, his word cut off as Chris leaned down and kissed him.
"Should I have knocked?"
Chris glanced up, not relinquishing his position on top of Adam. He saw Jay gazing down at them with an amused look on his face, a shopping bag balanced against one hip. Adam blushed, looking more embarrassed than anything else. "Um, this isn't what it looks like, exactly," he stuttered, sitting up and nudging Chris off of him. "You see, um, Chris was feeling kind of unsure of his, uh, attractiveness, and he felt the need to, um, assert his sexuality on me, and - "
"It's ok Adam. I'm not mad." Jay set the groceries down on the table, offering Adam his hand and pulling his lover to his feet. "No offense, Chris, but this beauty's mine," he stated, pulling Adam into a passionate kiss that left the taller blonde swooning.
Chris frowned, watching with a hint of jealousy. "Do you think that the three of us could, maybe, you know?" he asked hopefully.
Jay raised an eyebrow, keeping an arm wrapped around Adam's waist. "Feeling a bit horny, Christopher?"
"I haven't had any for weeks, damn right I am," Chris replied, his frown morphing into a cross between a scowl and a pout.
Jay knelt down beside him, his voice soft and sympathetic. "Chris, I don't think mindless sex is the answer in this case," he said softly. "I think you really need to talk to Hunter."
"Absolutely not." Chris crossed his arms over his chest. "I am never talking to that cheating bastard again!"
Jay sighed, shaking his golden head. "Have it your way. Come on,"
he stated, helping Chris to his feet. "I picked up some pickles, just in
case you wanted them."
Next in the series:
Just Be Mine