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“It wasn’t so bad.”
“I forgot the fucking lines!”
Kris lent against the counter on which the props were being kept and looked at Adam who was pacing the dressing room as much as was possible in the small space. He was still wearing his suit from the wedding scene but he’d loosened the tie, undone the top button of the shirt, and removed the jacket. Kris wanted to reach out and smooth the anger lines from Adam’s face, and to put a far more relaxed look on it, but he knew that this probably wasn’t the time or place.
Matt was sat in the corner pretending to go over the lines for his upcoming death scene but Kris could see his eyes were focused more on the action in the dressing room than that on the page.
“You didn’t forget them, you just got them slightly wrong.” Kris tried to reason.
The door to the dressing room swung open and Kris had to quickly move out of the way to avoid being hit. The tiny space was made more crowded as David entered.
“What the hell was that Lambert?” David’s voice was hushed so as not to be heard by anyone from the audience who might be around, but his frustration was clear.
Kris was surprised to hear little anger in David’s voice but he figured that David knew, as well as everyone there, that lines got messed up all the time. It’s just that usually it wasn’t quite such a famous line.
Adam stopped pacing and turned to face their director.
“I’m so sorry. I just…I just lost my place for a bit.”
“Johns got his watch caught in his wings.” Matt informed David. “Adam tried to walk away from their dance and over to Kris and Michael ended up trailing after him trying to get free…it was really funny.”
“Well I’m glad somebody enjoyed it!” David growled.
“I really am sorry David.”
Kris watched as Adam deflated and perched on the table they were using for makeup. He hated seeing the slump of Adam’s shoulders.
“I know you are,” David placed a reassuring hand on Adam’s arm. “You kept going which was good, even if you did rewrite Shakespeare there for a while, but you can’t let a stumble like that throw you.”
The door swung open again and Kris again barely avoided getting hit as Allison burst in closely followed by a more sedate Johns. The dressing room wouldn’t be able to hold many more people. Allison launched herself into Adam’s arms and Johns settled himself next to Kris.
“God Adam I’m so sorry. I didn’t know the wings would do that. I can try and alter them if you’d like?”
“Oh Alli, it’s so not your fault.”
Adam gave Allison a peck on the head and squeezed her in a hug.
“Mate I’m sorry too.”
“Well it might partially be your fault.”
Adam smiled at Johns and Kris could see that there were no bad feelings there. Looking closely at Adam, Kris could see some of the tension in his shoulders dissipate. The apologies of the others were apparently helping Adam release some of the anger he’d been aiming at himself.
“It was only one line you messed up anyway.”
“Kris! Instead of saying ‘Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss,’ I mumbled something about saints and hands and kissing. I’m not even sure what I said.”
“I think you said ‘Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much…saints kiss with their hands.’ But I could be mistaken.”
“Thank you Matt.”
The warning in Kris’s voice was obvious for the rest of the room to hear but apparently Matt was oblivious.
“You should have heard the audience laughing as Johns tried to get his watch uncaught while staying in character but trying not to disturb the scene. I loved your little pompous panicked flitting movements. Paris is so gay.”
“Everyone in this production’s gay, it’s an all male cast idiot.”
David rolled his eyes at Matt as he spoke.
“Huh, never really thought of that.”
“Moron.”
Kris agreed with Johns’ sentiment.
“Besides, I didn’t know what else to do. I figured I couldn’t just leave the watch hanging there.”
“Dude, that was comedy gold. And then for walking sex on legs here to become fluster boy...”
“Matt!”
Kris wasn’t sure who chastised Matt, maybe it was all of them, but Matt’s retort was cut off before it started as the door once again swung open. Unfortunately for Johns the crowded space meant there was very little room to move and he got clipped by the door as it opened.
“Fuck it!”
“Gosh Michael I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were there.”
The embarrassment and worry was clear on Archie’s face as he rushed to check that Johns was alright.
“I’m fine, really kid.”
When Archie was satisfied that he hadn’t caused an injury he turned to Adam and Allison.
Kris had to hide a smile as he watched Archie’s eyes quickly sweep up Adam, resting for a brief second on skin exposed at the top of the shirt, before quickly looking away. The blush that appeared on Archie’s face during any contact with Adam had become such a common feature that most of them had stopped commenting on it. But Adam had been sweet and understanding and Kris had, in no small hardship, had to make good on his promise to find a more creative way to use Adam’s braces as a reward for him not teasing the younger man. Hell, sometimes you just had to do what you had to do.
“Umm…Danny umm…Alli he needs your help. He…he’s split his trousers.”
“Oh for the love of…”
Allison patted David’s arm as she and Archie made their way out of the room. Kris was about to say something when the 5 minute bell came over the speakers.
Kris jumped when David clapped his hands together sharply to get everyone’s attention.
“Right, everyone not allocated to this dressing room, out. Kris, for the love of God get changed for the second half and try not to rip anything. Matt, don’t over-egg your death scene, same goes for you too Johns. Adam, let it go and move on. I’m going to be down in the bar getting shit-faced if anyone needs me. No more mistakes people.”
Ushering Johns in front of him David opened the door and was about to leave when Kris called out to him.
“At least it’s only opening night right? I mean, if it had happened on review night we’d have been really screwed.”
David turned and smiled at Kris. His eyes flickered over to the wall where the glowing reviews ‘Romeo & Julian’ had received the previous week had been tacked onto the wall.
“That we would my friend, that we would.”
David left the room and Kris closed the door. He moved over to the costume rack to pick up the hoody he was to wear for the beginning of the second half and then placed it on the prop counter. Facing away from the middle of the room he began to unbutton the shirt he was wearing. A pair of hands covering his own on the buttons caused him to jump. The arms around him stopped him from turning around to face the body behind him. Instead he looked in the mirror and caught Adam’s eyes.
The smirk that Kris had expected to see was present and correct but he was frustrated to see that it was still partially obscured by self-recrimination and uncertainty. Entwining his hands in the bigger ones Kris slowly moved them from one button to the next until the shirt was hanging open on his shoulders. Kris’s eyes never left Adam’s in the mirror. Kris untangled their hands so that he could shrug the shirt off of his shoulders. Adam’s hands ghosted over his chest as they reached forward to pick up the hoody. Kris noticed that Adam’s hands moved a little slower than necessary and the tip of his thumb very slightly rubbed the nub of Kris’s nipple as it passed. Kris couldn’t help the involuntarily breath he sucked in at the sensation.
“I’m gonna just go and…find Anoop and get into place for the beginning of the scene.”
Matt’s presence had been forgotten and his voice caused both Kris and Adam jump. Kris was pulled against the body behind him as Adam tried to move his arms away from Kris forgetting that he was holding the hoody in both hands. The material pulled on Kris’s stomach and forced him to stand flat against Adam making it so that he couldn’t help but notice that he was not the only one more than a little hard.
Matt quickly pushed past them as he rushed out of the room.
Adam finally managed to disconnect himself from Kris and quickly handed over the top, allowing Kris to finish getting dressed alone. Kris pulled the top over his head, grateful for the bagginess of the jeans he was wearing. He turned around to look at Adam and saw he was frantically engaged in touching up his make up. Adam’s trousers were nowhere near as baggy as his own and Kris could see exactly what Adam we feeling.
Kris moved over to Adam and wrapped his arms around his waist. Adam didn’t turn around in the embrace, instead bowing his head with a small sigh.
“Kris, we don’t have time.”
Kris gently kissed the back of Adam’s neck, lips touching a small slither of skin that showed between Adam’s hair and his shirt.
“It’s a promise for later.”
“God, now I’m going to have something else to distract me enough to mess up my lines.”
Kris tightened his hold.
“You’ll be fine. You’ll be wonderful. And tonight I can give you a little extra tuition in how to remember your lines when your mind is on other things.”
“And just how do you plan on doing that?”
“Oh I can think of plenty of ways to make you think of other things…all you have to do is not mess up your lines while I’m distracting you.”
“And if I do?”
Kris leant up a little further and nibbled at Adam’s ear before moving to whisper in it.
“Let’s just say you’ll be glad that Julian doesn’t have any scenes where he sits for a long time.”
This time it was Adam’s turn to inhale sharply.
“I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire: the day is hot, the Capulets abroad, and, if we meet, we shall not ‘scape a brawl.”
The sound of Anoop’s voice as Benvolio coming over the speakers caused Kris to pull away from Adam. He moved over to the makeup counter and picked up his prop gun. Turning back to Adam he gave him a quick peck on the lips.
“To be continued.”
Kris quickly made his way out of the dressing room and towards the stage.