Move (Sideways)

sequel to crabwise

Kris wakes up in the middle of the night, because Adam isn’t in bed with him; it gets really cold when he isn’t there to snuggle. He gets up, scratches his stomach, and pads towards the living room, where he can see from the hall that a soft light is on. Kris is so not giving Adam a backrub if he fell asleep in front of the TV again. He’s beginning to think Adam does that on purpose.

But no. Adam isn’t asleep. Kris can hear him muttering.

“I know you don’t like change, but I really think…”

Kris leans against the doorjamb and rubs his eyes. Adam is sitting cross-legged in front of Balthazar’s tank, talking to the crab.

Again.

“It’s a much better place. You’ll see. I know you’re going to like it.”

No, make that trying to convince the crab.

Kris clears his throat. Adam whips around, his face clearly saying busted.

“I was just—”

Kris raises an eyebrow.

“I had a nightmare.”

Adam is crazy. Like, completely certifiable. He talks to his crab and thinks it actually talks back, but his face—Kris is so in love with his face, he thinks that at this point he’d probably be okay with him talking to inanimate objects.

Sitting down behind Adam and wrapping his arms and legs around him, Kris rests his head on Adam’s shoulder and sighs. “Tell me.”

Adam’s brow furrows in concentration. “It’s a little vague. There were robots? I think?”

Kris nods. Of course there were robots.

“It was, like, an invasion, and you were crying.”

Kris frowns at that. Why is he cast as the crying guy? He doesn’t cry. Much.

“And they were throwing crabs!” Adam says, appalled. “I was trying to catch them, but there were just so many, and I didn’t know which one was Balthazar. It was horrible.”

Kris runs a soothing hand through Adam’s hair, dropping a kiss on the soft skin of his neck. He seems really agitated over this whole thing—which Kris knows has nothing at all to do with robots or invasions.

“Worried about the move?”

Adam bites his lip; he tilts his head towards Balthazar and says, sounding mostly serious, “He doesn’t wanna go.”

Kris sighs. He very much doubts the crab has opinions on where they’re going to be living. Its owner though, could be having second thoughts—which kind of hurts, okay, but that doesn’t mean Kris doesn’t understand. He was married once before.

“Would it help at all if I said that I really want you—you two—to be there?”

Adam smiles softly. “It does.” He pulls Kris’ arms tighter around his middle. “See,” he tells the crab, “Kris wants you there.”

That’s not what Kris said, but whatever. If it makes Adam feel better…

In fact, Kris can do him one better. “Balthazar,” Kris says, addressing the crab, who’s just… sitting there. “I picked a great corner in the living room for your tank. You’ll have a view.”

Balthazar doesn’t respond—though Adam still nods at him, as if confirming something. “Didn’t I tell you?” Then he leans back into Kris’ embrace and says, “I love you.”

A smile creeps up Kris’ face. They’ll be just fine. “More than the crab?”

Adam pauses, thinking about it.

Kris shakes his head. “You know what—don’t answer that.”

The End

March 28th, 2010