Chapter Text
Kris drummed his fingers on the table, staring at the door to the café, wondering where the hell his guests were. It was funny that he chose a restaurant to meet them in considering he was so nervous, he couldn’t eat a bite. The waiter had been by three times and all Kris had ordered was water.
Finally, Leila and Eber arrived. It was a small café so they had no problem finding Kris. He stood up, hugging and kissing Leila and shaking Eber’s hand. Both men waited until Leila was seated and then they joined her. Immediately, the waiter arrived and everyone ordered water.
They started lunch with small talk as they perused the menu. Kris looked and immediately forgot how to read. Once their meal was ordered, the talk turned towards the purpose of the get together.
“It’s a shame Adam couldn’t join us. I guess he’s busy dazzling somebody somewhere,” Leila commented.
“He doesn’t know we’re here.”
“Oh.”
There was some awkward silence and then Adam’s dad spoke up. “Kris, what is this about?”
Kris picked up his fork and fiddled around with it, looking for water spots, seeing if the prongs were straight. Adam’s mom took the utensil from him.
“Kristopher, talk.”
Taking a deep breath, he began. “Like I said, Adam doesn’t know I’m meeting both of you. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about and I know it’s really old fashioned but blame it on my upbringing and it’s also kinda weird considering Adam is a grown up and a man and everything and this kind of thing isn’t all that common…,” he rambled on, dancing around the subject.
“You’re babbling. Just spit it out son,” Eber urged kindly.
Kris closed his eyes and blurted it out. “I want your permission to marry your son!”
Silence. He slowly opened his eyes, not sure what he would see. Adam’s parents were holding hands; tears were streaming down Leila’s smiling face and Eber looked stunned.
“I know this isn’t necessary but it’s a big step and I promise if he says yes, I’ll love him forever and never make him regret it. Hell, if he says no, I’ll still love him forever, he probably never thought about getting married, being gay and all and I’ve been married before but it wasn’t right and its not as if I’m looking for a do-over….”
“Son, you’re babbling again.”
“Sorry.” He snapped his lips shut.
“It’s true, after we learned Adam was gay, I was hoping he’d find a life partner someday but I never thought he’d get married,” Leila explained, taking Kris’ hand. “This is a huge step. Are you ready for it? Do you think Adam is ready for it?”
“If Kris wasn’t ready Leila, he wouldn’t be popping the question.”
“I want to spend the rest of my life with him, whether as his life partner or his husband. I really think Adam is ready for this too. He’s told me how happy he is, how content…”
“Adam’s content?”
Kris laughed. “With us he is. I guess I’m hoping that our families will support us.”
Eber smiled. “I think I speak for both of us when I say we already consider you a part of our family and if you want to make it legal, that’s fine with us.”
“What he said,” Leila added. “So, when are you doing the deed?”
“Next week. We’ve rented a beach house in Oahu for a vacation and I think this would be the perfect place and time.”
“Did you get him something, you know, an engagement gift?” Leila was really getting into this.
“Actually,” Kris replied, taking a small box out of his jacket pocket, “I got him this.” Kris opened the lid.
“Oh Kris, it’s stunning! He’ll love it,” Leila exclaimed.
“Do you think so? Honestly?”
“You know how Adam loves his glitter. It’s perfect…and masculine too,” Eber commented.
“I think so. They don’t exactly make engagement rings for men but I thought this was pretty close. Just the right amount of sparkle but not too ‘in your face’.”
“He likes ‘in your face’.”
“I know but I don’t want it to look so out there that people will think its fake. I want the world to know he’s taken – you know, love him all you want from afar but his heart’s mine.”
--*--
It had been a long, long trip to get to their vacation retreat. First they landed on the big island of Hawaii then took a smaller plane to Oahu. At the airport they met up with the property manager and were driven along the coast to their home for the next week. The pictures online didn’t do the place justice.
Located on the side of a hill, it was a collection of smaller buildings on different levels connected by covered walkways. The house was built of rich woods with a pagoda style roof. Inside, the ceilings were high with exposed beams and the décor was done in earth tones with soft and simple furniture. There were four bedrooms and Adam and Kris chose the one that overlooked the ocean.
Outside, a cascading staircase led them to a sunken patio with loungers, a lap pool and a small pool house. The surrounding palm trees and foliage were lush and fragrant. It was a bit of heaven although anywhere they were together was a bit of heaven.
Handing over the keys to the house and the car they arrived in, the property agent got into the company car that followed them and was gone. Leaving the unpacking for later, they headed down to the private beach, kicked off their shoes and looked out across the expanse of water.
“I’m so glad we decided to come here,” Adam commented, slipping behind Kris and wrapping his arms around him, holding him close. “Just the two of us – no obligations, no commitments, no interviews, no interruptions, no media, no anything.”
Kris leaned his head against his boyfriend’s shoulder. “Do you think we’ll get bored with nothing to do but relax and swim and make love?”
“Relaxing and swimming maybe,” Adam kissed Kris’ temple, “but get bored with making love to you? Never.”
--*--
Kris and Adam spent the week resting but they also had some adventures, like taking surfing lessons, going sailing, and riding horses ride along the beach. Kris wanted to try parasailing but Adam put his foot down – no way was his boyfriend being bounced around on the wind currents like a kite! They also went shopping and sampled nearly every restaurant and café within half an hour of their retreat. Despite all this fun, they still found plenty of time to relax by the pool or on the beach, and of course, to be together, visiting all of the bedrooms, the four bathrooms, the living room and the pool house.
It was their last night in Oahu and Kris had been trying all week to think of the perfect way to propose. He didn’t want to just come out and ask Adam while they shaved but he also didn’t want to go super mushy and wax poetic Shakespeare! Kris did, however, want it romantic and from the heart. That afternoon, Adam insisted on buying gifts for their parents, something Hawaiian-made but not touristy. There was an artist on the other side of the island they had been told about who did beautiful wood carvings; this was the perfect excuse for them to leave the house so the decorator and the chef Kris hired could come in and do something special.
On the way home, Adam was a little pissed at Kris because there was one more restaurant he wanted to check out but Kris insisted they go home, saying they needed to pack for the trip home tomorrow and find some way of shipping back all the extra stuff they had bought. As they pulled in the driveway, Adam got a sense something was up. The pathway leading up to the front door was lined with Japanese paper lanterns.
“Okay Kristopher, spill. What’s the real reason you insisted we come home?”
Kris replied casually as he got out of the car and popped the trunk. “I just thought it would be nice to spend our last night alone, you know, just the two of us – privately.”
Adam picked up two of the packages. “With a little help, I see,” he quipped, jerking head towards the lighted walkway.
“I may have had a couple of folks drop in to set things up for us but aside from the chef – who will remain in the kitchen – it’s just us.”
The whole place smelled of jasmine and delicious food as they headed to their bedroom. They shared the shower, shared a little lovin’, then got dressed in some comfortable casual clothes and hand in hand, strolled out to the patio. Strings of white lights hung over a romantic table set for two, tiki torches blazed amongst the garden and lawn and soft music danced on the ocean breeze.
Adam and Kris started with drinks and appetizers then delved into a fresh seafood feast and finished with coconut pineapple cheesecake. After dinner, they turned up the music and danced, sharing coconut pineapple kisses and intimate touches.
“This night has been perfect,” Adam breathed into Kris’ windblown hair, holding him tight.
“It’s not over yet lover.” He reluctantly pulled back and took Adam’s hand. “Walk with me.”
They ambled down the staircase to the beach and sat on the grass line. The wind was picking up and they hugged each other to fight off the evening chill.
“Can you believe this is our life?” Kris asked, trying to calm his nerves.
“It’s so surreal. I wake up every morning, thinking the day before was some psychedelic dream and then I remember it’s all real and I roll over and see you sleeping and it hits me how fucking lucky I am.” Adam stroked Kris’ cheek with his fingers. “Fame is great but it’s an illusion; what we have is true. If I had to choose, I’d give up music in an instant to be with you.”
Kris turned in Adam’s arms and kissed him softly. “You don’t know how happy it makes me to hear you say that.”
Adam laughed. “Why baby, do you know something I don’t?”
Kris kissed him again. “Wait right here.” With that he got up and ran back to the house.
Adam curled his arms around his legs and rested his head on his arms. He closed his eyes, listening to the calming ebb and flow of the ocean’s tides beneath the full moon. He thought he wouldn’t mind living here someday, living here with Kris, and spending their days leisurely. When they got back to Los Angeles, he had two interviews and a recording season and Kris had a photo shoot and a slew of personal appearances. They were probably going to see very little of each other in the next week, except when they fall exhausted into bed beside each other.
Before he knew it, Kris was back at his side, appearing incredibly nervous, and clutching something in his hand.
“Kris, I was thinking…”
“Adam, please, can I go first while I can still make sense?”
Adam nodded, unsure if he was going to like this or not. He watched Kris fiddling with the object in his hands, swallowing and gazing up into the starlit sky. Releasing his held breathe, Kris turned and held Adam’s hand.
“There are so many things I want to tell you Adam, about how you make me feel when I’m with you and how blessed I am to have you in my life. I was floundering when I met you, not sure if music was the right course for me, not knowing if I was ever going to find someone to love. Then we met at Hollywood Week, became friends then roommates and finalists together and through it all you were my rock, my guide, my brother and eventually my lover. I thought moving in together was the pinnacle of our relationship but I want more. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy with our life but I think it could be better.” Kris opened up his hand, revealing a box. “I got this for you, a way of showing you what I want, what I hope you want. Please open it.”
Adam’s heart was in his throat as he recognized a ring box. Hand quivering, he slowly opened the lid and the tears came. He gazed upon a white gold band set with a solitary sapphire.
“It reminded me of your eyes, how they get dark and intense when you’re excited. My love, you are my heart and my life. I want the world to know you belong to me and I belong to you. Will you marry me?”
Adams chin quivered, fighting the urge to morph into ugly cry face. His tongue froze and his heart stopped. He never saw this coming; they’d never brought the subject up and yet now that it was out there, floating around the universe waiting for an answer, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to do. Adam had only been in love once before he met Kris but compared to the simple joy and contentment he felt with Kristopher Allen, it had been a mere crush.
Tearing his eyes way from the ring, Adam noticed Kris was just as emotional as he was. He better answer quickly before his boyfriend had a heart attack. Staling until he could recall how to speak, Adam brought Kris’ hand up to his lips and kissed it, rubbing it against his cheek.
“A-Adam? Say something! Anything!”
Adam couldn’t speak. Instead he nodded his head, barely moving.
“Yes? Is it yes?”
The little nod turned into a full fledged bobble head and the ugly face won out. Kris retrieved the box from his fiancé and removed the ring. Catching Adam’s hand – which wasn’t easy as it was shaking so much – and slipped the ring on.
Adam captured Kris’ face and smothered him with kisses and laughed, “I’m a bride!”