Meme The First!

[samanthahirr]

I've never done a meme before. Let's see how it goes! Via arsenicjade's journal:

Pick one of my fics, and I'll give you three details that didn't make it into the fic. Background canon, deleted scenes, or a look into the future. My choice, but if you have a specific question you can ask it in your request.

Comments

[unfrosted-cake.livejournal.com]

El Paso Low or Covington Marshes Bylaws.

[samanthahirr.livejournal.com]

Ooo, El Paso Low! Let's take a look into the future:

One week after the end of the story, Adam drives back to El Paso so he can buy Kris that beer he promised him.

Adam has spent the past week running between debriefings and doctors' offices, giving testimony and getting his burns treated. He's just been granted official leave for the next two weeks, although his first mandatory therapy session is in three days. In Albuquerque. Hopefully, he'll have a reason to stay in El Paso 'til then. He isn't counting on anything happening with Kris, but he's got a bag packed for an extended stay sitting in his trunk, just in case. Hey, it never hurts to be an optimist.

He pulls up out front of the bar Kris picked. And despite all his crossed fingers, it isn't a gay bar. Adam sighs, thinking how much potential awkwardness that would have bypassed. He thought he'd gotten some vibes from Kris during the rescue, but that was probably just Adam projecting his hero-worship, right? What were the odds that he'd get saved by the only gay undercover detective on the El Paso PD?

They've only spoken once since that night at Carson's farm house, when he called Kris to arrange this date get together. The last time he'd actually seen Detective Kris Allen, Kris had dropped him off at the Emergency Room and given Adam's shoulder a squeeze before Adam climbed out of the squad car. There were no fond glances, no knowing eyebrows or hints of a smirk. And on the phone, Kris had sounded so damn casual, his southern drawl impossible to read.

So Adam's walking into a situation blind. Well, he shrugs, he's walked into worse. And if Kris isn't interested in guys—or in Adam—Adam can at least get to know a little more about the guy who saved his life.

He checks his reflection in the rear view mirror and frowns. The bruising on his face has almost completely faded; only a ring of yellow remains under his left eye. It still isn't perfect, though, so he dabs on a little more concealer before climbing out of the car. Even if this isn't a date, he still plans to look his best.

…

Lucky for Adam, Kris is gay. Even better, he's out, with no qualms about publicly flirting with Adam over a dinner of messy buffalo wings and cheap draft beers. They talk for three hours, pleasantly buzzed the whole time, until Kris drags Adam back to his apartment for the next three days.

[unfrosted-cake.livejournal.com]

Aww! *hearts all over*

[sweet-poeia.livejournal.com]

El Paso Low! *bounces with excitement*

and/or That's Money, Honey! ♥

[samanthahirr.livejournal.com]

That's Money, Honey – a story of Love, Lust, and Luxury Goods.

Can you believe, I totally gave up on this story and declared it was never going to happen?! I was having the most impossible time with tone and structure. I outlined this fic three separate times before officially giving up after two weeks of failed attempts to start it. What saved it was actually my newfound love of podfic! I listened to the-moonmoth's brilliant Inception fic Half-way Gone as read by FayJay, and fell in love with the narrative voice of Girl!Eames in FayJay's fabulous British accent. That night, I came home and wrote "That's Money, Honey" in a single sitting—I suddenly knew exactly how I wanted to say what I needed to say.

The funny thing was, Adam's narrative voice had a posh British accent as I wrote it. I was so influenced by that podfic that I actually had to edit out stray Britishisms that had snuck into the story. Crazy!

The location where Adam first sees Kris is only described as a sun-drenched regatta party in Miami, but in my head the setting looks like Julio Eglasias's home on Star Island, Miami—an insanely posh and exclusive artificial island, home to the ridiculously wealthy.





Look at that mansion. Jesus CHRIST that's amazing.

And the reason why Adam prefers handshakes to kisses at the IPO party is purely mercenary—he's fondling rings and watches, looking for anything Kris might like. Because every gift he gives Kris is a declaration of love.

-------
And see the comment thread above for an epilogue to "El Paso Low!"

[akavertigo.livejournal.com]

One day Adam will steal Kris a pony.

And I will cheer.

[katekat]

THE ALDERMAN FORD TOUCH-A-THON EVENT ?

[samanthahirr.livejournal.com]

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to The Alderman Ford Touch-a-Thon Event!

"Hey. Are any of your band mates gonna show up today?"

Kris shook his head and looked around, his eyes bright with the light from the windows. "Nah, I didn't tell 'em about it."

"So they've got no clue you're gonna win a new car? You're just gonna show up at your next rehearsal and be all, 'what, this old thing?'"

He laughed a little. "I hadn't thought about it. But, yeah, that's kinda my style. Low key, you know?"


Epilogue…

Tuesday evening after the competition, Kris arrives at his next band rehearsal in Abigail June, his new candy-red Ford Fusion Hybrid. He pulls into the driveway, parks out front of the garage, opens the door, and slides out with a cocky tilt to his hips and a half-smirk on his face. Cale is the first to notice, and he slaps Andrew's arm, which gets everyone else's attention, and soon all of his band mates are lined up in the mouth of Andrew's garage, demanding to know where the hell Kris got the new ride.

Kris leans his hip against the hood, and Adam takes a moment to enjoy the view of his ass before slipping on his sunglasses (he doesn't care that it's past sunset), opening the passenger door, and striking his best Rock God pose as he stands up in leather pants and a silk shirt, necklaces and boots for miles, and his hair looking particularly glittery and fabulous. (He has an audition tonight for a local production of We Will Rock You, so he's pulled out all the stops.)

All eyes slide from Kris's new car to Kris's new boyfriend, and Adam grins as he saunters around the car. He pushes Kris's legs apart so he can stand between them, takes his chin without a word, and tilts Kris's face up for a long kiss.

"Holy shit," somebody says.

Kris snickers into Adam's mouth, and Adam nips his lip and grins conspiratorially. Mission: Accomplished.

Kris schools his smirk into an innocent expression, says, "Pick me up at 11?" and hands Adam the keys.

"Mmm, if I get done early, can I come over and watch?"

"Sure," Kris says, and squeezes Adam's ass where all his friends can see.

[cinaea.livejournal.com]

SQUEEEEEEEEAL!

[amproof.livejournal.com]

I will be so embarrassed if this isn't yours, but I want to know if Adam was right about the woman he was sent to spy on in the fic where he took his boyfriend to her party and then skulked around planting bugs and in the process risked his relationship by putting BF into an awkward situation. Was it all a big pageant to please the whims of a rockstar or was she really someone the feds were watching?

Anything else you want to share about that would be great, too!

[samanthahirr.livejournal.com]

You mean Like Julia Child, But With More Blowjobs – that is totally my story! I just reread it today, actually. Aww, I love that one.

And I love Nina Chovanec. Nina is a 30-something Glambert fanatic and bubbly trophy wife of an older, nouveau riche gentleman. One could speculate that Mr. Chovanec has made his fortune as a businessman, but he is also a close friend of the Czech Prime Minister. The CIA genuinely suspects that Mr. Chovanec may be hosting some "unofficial" political meetings at his private home—meetings that the prime minister wishes to keep secret for some reason. Although there's no proof of such meetings yet, Adam's mission to plant listening devices in the Chovanec home is straight up for reals.

But it's not very important. It's convenient that Adam is able to take the mission, but it would hardly be the end of the world if he couldn't. This isn't a life or death operation; no governments are going to fall if Adam fails. And it certainly isn't worth risking his relationship for! But Adam can't help getting caught up in the James Bond fantasy, and he blows the whole mission out of proportion.

I'm so glad you remembered this story! It was so much fun to write!

[kira-dark-wing.livejournal.com]

The Alderman Ford Touch-A-Thon Event please

[samanthahirr.livejournal.com]

Your wish is my command--check the comment thread above for a sexy epilogue to "The Alderman Ford Touch-a-Thon Event!"

[cinaea.livejournal.com]

In "Like Julia Child," how did Jason manage to get an introduction to Adam?

[blue-icy-rose.livejournal.com]

OMG, I'm torn. Can we pick two? LOL.

Community Rules for Hauntings - a fic that you should never ever ever read while you're alone at night in a two-story house watching Paranormal Activity (I never claimed to be the brightest crayon in the box, okay? LOL.) because then you have to walk upstairs in the freaking dark and it's creepy.

And then, if we can have a second pick (or if you'd rather do this one), The Sky's The Limit.

Community Rules for Hauntings – Deleted Scene, 1/3

[samanthahirr.livejournal.com]

GASP! Brilliant choice! I have only one deleted scene in all of my fic-writing files, and it's for Covington Marshes Bylaws, Section 13.D: Community Rules for Hauntings!

I remember getting so caught up writing this story that I got carried away and wrote the scene of Adam's solo break-in to Kris's haunted condo. It was a suspenseful little scene that I ended up having to cut because it was the ONLY scene in the whole fic that wasn't from Kris's POV. (Doh!) And now I get to share it!

Okay, to set the scene in context: Kris met Adam four days ago, and has been crashing at Adam's apartment so he can avoid going home—he's that terrified of the spirit that's haunting his place. The guys have spent all day Tuesday and Wednesday together and are really clicking…but Kris stopped by his condo on Wednesday evening to grab a change of clothes, and he saw some fresh destruction courtesy of that thing, and ran out of the condo like the Devil was on his heels. After street busking and sex that night, protective!Adam decides to personally investigate why Kris is so scared of going home….


————

Adam lies awake afterward, Kris breathing deep and even on the bed next to him, in for another marathon 12 hours of sleep. He's never known anyone to sleep as much as Kris has the past few nights, but he's never seen anyone have daily panic attacks, either. Adam clenches his fist and sits up, slides out of the bed to go pace in the kitchen.

Issues are normal in their community. Bad stuff, like families kicking you out, addictions, discrimination, harassment, assault…. And Kris certainly has his share of issues: failed marriage, bad credit, frustrated ambitions. But he also has that sweetness, that voice, and so much talent Adam wants to put him on a pedestal so the whole world can see and appreciate him. And best of all, he has hope and joy. Despite all the crap he's been going through, Kris actually seems like a guy who could rise above his issues, who wouldn't drag Adam down with the inevitable contest over who's had a harder life.

But Kris, for all the venting Adam's encouraged, still won't talk about the other thing, the one that's really messing him the hell up. Which is seriously unfair, because Adam can tell when he's getting too attached to someone, and he's dangerously close to Kris right now. He needs Kris to be able to get past whatever that mysterious, unspoken issue is. If it's something Kris can't get over, or Adam can't fix for him, then this relationship is gonna turn out like the others; a competition that Adam won't compete in. And if it's gonna end like that, he'd be better off walking away right now.

Adam remembers what Kris looked like, running out of his totally normal, cookie-cutter condo, pale and shaking, too afraid to even change his shirt in his own home. The memory pisses him off, makes him want to protect, to fix, or at the very least understand. He has to know why Kris is so afraid of going home…before he falls in love with someone too broken to keep.

Adam looks at the wallet and keys Kris left on the counter. Fuck it. If Kris won't talk to him, he'll go see for himself.

[moirariordan.livejournal.com]

I would like to second Community Rules for Hauntings with a resounding HELL YES, THIS, I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENSSS NEXT

[pennilesspoet17.livejournal.com]

Diptych!!

Oh...too soon? LOL

A $500 Bottle of Merlot?

Diptych - The Soundtrack!

[samanthahirr.livejournal.com]

It's never too soon for Diptych! I've got a lot of thoughts to share, and they'll probably be spread out all over this post. But here's a little something to get started with:

cinaea cheered this fic on from its inception in June 2010 through completion in July 2011. To celebrate my writing the final chapter, she put together the following AMAZING PLAYLIST OF SHINING WIN. Download it to relive all the swagger and angst and joy of the fic!

1. Suede - Filmstar
Adam's façade is firmly in place.
"Giving it class, living it fast, it looks so easy."

2. Spoon - I Turn My Camera On
Kris is running surveillance on Adam…and losing himself in the process.
"I cut my fingers on the way / I feel me slipping away / I wipe my feelings off / You made me untouchable for life."

3. One Republic - Everybody Loves Me
Adam's façade may show a couple cracks, but so far everyone's buying it.
"Look so good I might die / All I know is everybody loves me."

4. Rufus Wainwright - Cigarettes & Chocolate Milk (Reprise)
Adam needs certain things to get by—things like Sawyer.
"Everything it seems I like's a little bit stronger / A little bit thicker / A little bit harmful for me."

5. Imogen Heap - Goodnight and Go
Kris knows he and Adam would be perfect together.
"Beautiful shot / You're taking everything off / Watch the curtains wide open"

6. Bess Rogers - See Me? See You!
Kris makes his move on Adam.
"I only wanted a fair chance to be the one / You want to run, but you see me see you / You want to go, but you don't know where to / Take my hand, you'll be safe here inside these arms."

7. Frightened Rabbit - Modern Leper
Why would anyone love Adam?
"You must be a masochist / To love a modern leper on his last leg."

8. The National - Mr. November
Adam will become whoever he needs to in order to keep Kris.
"I won't fuck us over / I'm Mr. November / I'm Mr. November / I won't fuck us over."

9. Afghan Whigs - Crime Scene Part One
Adam makes peace with himself on his way to the tradeoff.
"If you knew just how smooth I could stop it on a dime / You could meet me at the scene of the crime."

10. The Diggs - Everyone's Starting Over
Forgiveness in the hospital—Brad and Kris are still Adam's.
"I don't think you're ugly at all / But you're tired and it shows / I won't give you false hope / But everyone's starting over."

11. Suede - She's in Fashion
Adam's façade is back in place, this time with a happy-ending vibe.
"The sunshine will blow my mind / And the wind blow my brain."

12. Bear Hands - Crime Pays
Adam and Brad and Kris are successful criminals with swagger.
"Everyone knows that crime pays / And everybody does it / Everyone knows that crime pays / And everybody loves it."

Diptych - Fallout from the Shootout

[samanthahirr.livejournal.com]

Brad started the rumor before Adam was even out of Intensive Care, and by Thanksgiving every criminal in the city had heard the “real” story of the Matheron Diptych:

How Adam Lambert had vowed to avenge James Sinclair’s murder; How he’d spread the word that he had the diptych in order to lure the killers into an ambush; How he and his bodyguard had gunned down all three murderers themselves rather than hand them over to the Feds; How Adam was heroically wounded in the gun battle; And how he’d selflessly returned the diptych to the museum rather than profit off something stained with a friend’s blood.

Adam rolled his eyes at the 38th Get Well Soon card from the New York community of conmen, forgers, thieves, and fences—most of whom he’d never worked with.

He threw a fit when the Christmas cards started arriving a few weeks later.

[akavertigo.livejournal.com]

Oh, I see what you're doing. You're sitting there all smug and brilliant with your pretty brain, thinking that ah ha, widdle Vertigo is going to plead for Diptych details. Is that what you think, huh? Huh? Well, do you? Thinking I'll dance to your tune like I've got stuffed bones and strings around my limbs?

I AM NOT YOUR MOPPET, SIR.

So...Diptych, what's up with that?

[samanthahirr.livejournal.com]

Bwaaaahaha!

Not only was this a trap to lure you in, but I almost included this warning label: "Notice - Vertigo is allowed no more than THREE story requests." And then I thought that might make you feel [GASP] entitled to three, so I deleted it.

;D

[samanthahirr.livejournal.com]

...dude, what's up with "stuffed bones"?!?!

[sacredpornondw.livejournal.com]

DIPTYCH.

Please tell me something (or a lot of things) about Kris? <3

Diptych - Why Kris Went to the Coffee Shop that First Day

[samanthahirr.livejournal.com]

Kris has been thinking about Adam Lambert nonstop for two weeks. Lambert's handsome, and lively, and Kris is almost hypnotized watching him move around his apartment…watching him sleep. (Kris may have done a few extra shifts as favors for the other guys on the diptych case so he could watch Adam sleep once or twice…or three times.) Watching Adam is never boring. When Kris closes his eyes off-duty, he fantasizes what it would be like to be touched by Adam. He doesn't even have a moment's hesitation about Adam being male instead of female. The mystery of that unknown just makes the thought all the more compelling.

Kris has been studying Adam's pictures in the file and peering through the telescope for weeks, but the distance between them still makes it unreal, like Adam isn't a real person, just Kris's personal fantasy. Through some complicated (and self-serving) mental gymnastics, Kris manages to justify his itch to see Lambert with his own eyes and actually get a good, solid look at him in person, in order to actually care about the case. The Matheron Diptych is a set of old portraits he's never even heard of before, and all they have on Lambert is hearsay from an untrustworthy source that Lambert might have purchased it. There's no real proof, and Kris just isn't getting the villain vibe from Lambert, so he justifies his longing to get a closer look at the man.

Kris sees Adam leave his condo on Friday morning and jerks to attention. He knows Adam starts most mornings at the coffee shop around the block, and if he hurries…. Kris yawns loud and long and asks his partner if he wants coffee. It's 9:35 a.m.; they've been on shift since 8. They usually don't make a coffee run until 11:00…but his partner looks down at his empty travel mug and says, fuck yeah.

Kris books it to the coffee shop, but he's delayed by a few random obstacles—a long wait for the elevator, stopped for directions by a tourist, nearly getting run over by a bus—to the point where he's worried he'll miss Adam. He's in a panic, checking the time on his phone as he runs into the shop…and smacks into Adam.

Kris's first instinct is to apologize, his second is to help clean up the mess, and his third is to run, because that's the mark he's just bumped into, and he can't let Adam get a good look at his face. He needs to flee, to mumble an excuse and get the hell out of there…but he can't run. He's so damned curious, and Adam is right there…. He hears himself apologize, moves on autopilot to get napkins.

His training is screaming at him, Avoid eye contact! Avoid eye contact! Eye contact guarantees facial recall, and Kris will be useless for future surveillance. But Adam grabs his wrists tight, and Kris can't help looking up and meeting his eyes. Which are an amazing blue, lined with black, and Adam smiles at him and isn't upset. He's nice about the spill, and Kris is completely bowled over, because this isn't the arrogant, self-obsessed guy he'd read about in the file.

Kris gets him another coffee, and Adam invites him to sit down, and proceeds to flirt with him, and Kris…Kris is so fucked. Because it's better than a fantasy; it's real. Adam wants him, and Kris just knows they'd be good together. And now he can't wait to have Adam's hands on him, spread out on those red sheets, making love. His cock is getting hard already, fantasy and reality tangled in a bewildering storm. But damn it all, Kris is on duty. His partner is expecting him, will call in and report him if Kris doesn't come back (or if he sees Kris in Adam's condo, in Adam's bed…).

He's torn between agreeing to sex with Adam right then and there or running back to his job when Adam makes the choice for him, sending Kris back to work with a kind smile. Kris leaves, regretful. He hopes Adam's appointments won't keep him away from the condo for long.

[Kris lucks out; only a couple minutes after Kris rejoins his partner (and apologizes for dropping their coffees, sorry, sorry), Adam returns to the condo and takes all his clothes off. SCORE.]