Title: Keeping His Promise
Pairing/Characters: Adam/Tommy
Rating (Word Count): G (11 X 100)
Warning(s): None
Author's notes: This is a sequel to last week drabble-set, Childhood Dreams. Many thanks to leela_cat  for the beta.

Tommy’s phone rings in the middle of the evening. Since he can hear it but has no idea where it is, he decides that it doesn’t matter. Whoever it is will leave a voicemail and he’ll call them back as soon as he can find his phone.

It would have been a perfect plan if it wasn’t for the fact that his phone’s barely stopped ringing before it starts again, not even thirty seconds later. Grumbling, Tommy has to hunt it down, and he finally finds it lost in his bed.

“You need to turn on your TV right now.”

***

It takes Tommy a second to recognize his cousin’s voice, and even then, all he can produce is a small, “Huh?”

“Come on, Tommy, move faster! Believe me, you want to see this.”

He finally realizes what day of the week it is and tells her, “Forget it. You are not making me watch Idol.”

She huffs. “I’m not asking you to watch the whole thing! Just have a look. Hurry up. You’re going to miss him!”

It takes him so long to answer that she adds, “I promise, if you hang up on me, I’ll only call you again.”

***

With a sigh, he finally turns on his TV. His jaw just about drops to the floor when he hears the name of the next singer: Adam Lambert.

“Is that your Adam?”

Tommy doesn’t respond. The guy on stage has very little in common with the red-headed, freckled, a little bit overweight friend that Tommy remembers. It’s only at the end of the performance, when they show Adam’s ‘family and friends’ and he recognizes Leila in the audience that he can say, “Yeah. It’s him.”

From that moment onward, his cousin happily sends him links every week to Adam’s performances.

***

In a perfect world, Tommy would send a message to Adam and tell him that he’d seen him on Idol, and they would reconnect that way.

In this one, if he did, it would look a lot like he’s only doing it because of Adam’s sudden fame. They haven’t spoken in too many years for things to go any other way.

So Tommy lets it go. He keeps an eye on Adam’s career but doesn’t try to rekindle their friendship. There’s no point.

Maybe a year later, his friend Liz hooks him up with the singer she plays bass for.

***

Because he’s never paid that much attention to Idol, he has no idea that the Allison who Liz plays for and who’s currently desperate for a guitarist is the same one who finished in fourth place in Adam’s year.

When he figures things out, they’re about to go on tour, and Allison is opening for Adam.

They finally meet, but Tommy doesn’t dare say anything, and Adam doesn’t seem to recognize him. It’s not surprising: they were kids the last time they saw each other and they’ve both changed a lot.

If Tommy feels a little disappointed, it’s his problem.

***

And then, maybe a week into the tour, everyone piles up into Adam’s bus for a trip that they all think will be far too long.

It’s Liz who comes up with the idea for the silly game they play: someone tells only the end of a story, a real story that happened to them. And the others have to come up with the silliest explanation possible.

Things go smoothly until Adam shows a scar on his forearm. “I got this at ten, falling from a tree. How did that happen?”

Tommy laughs. He remembers that day far too well.

***

Without thinking, he says, “Miller’s dog chased me up a tree. When he finally took his dog away, I couldn’t come down because I was too scared by the height. You climbed your way up to me and got me back on the ground in one piece, but you hurt yourself doing it.”

“That’s a pretty good story,” Allison says as she tries, once again without success, to reach for Liz’s drink.

Adam, however, is staring at Tommy like he’s seeing him for the first time. “TJ?” At Tommy’s nod, he bursts out, “How the hell didn’t I recognize you?”

***

“Wait, you two know each other?” Liz asks, grabbing her glass to keep it out of Allison’s hands.

“Yeah,” Tommy replies. “Our families lived on the same street until Adam’s moved away when we were fourteen.”

They go back to their game, but all along, Tommy can feel Adam’s eyes on him.

That night, after the show, Adam follows Tommy and says, “I’m going out with Sasha and Terrance. Can we talk when I come back?”

“Sure you won’t be too drunk?” Tommy smirks. “Or too busy?”

Adam laughs but shakes his head. “No. Not tonight.”

“Okay. We can talk.”

***

Later, Tommy climbs onto Adam’s bus and, while the other are rocked to sleep by the bus rolling, they talk until it’s so late that Tommy would almost say it’s early instead. They talk about everything and nothing until they’re both falling asleep on their feet but refusing to head to bed. After all, they have fourteen years to catch up on.

From there, it’s almost like they never lost contact in the first place. Tommy doesn’t expect it to last, though. He’s sure that after they’re done touring and back home, their friendship will once again be a memory.

***

He wasn’t counting on how stubborn Adam is. They skype at least once every two weeks while Adam is touring Asia and Europe, and when he’s back home, he keeps inviting Tommy pretty much everywhere.

Just as it once was, no matter how much of a hermit Tommy can be, he can never say no to Adam.

And then, the next fall, Adam calls, and the first words out of his mouth are, “I need a new guitarist.”

Tommy’s heart hammers in his chest, and he can barely keep his voice even to ask, “Why are you telling me this?”

***

He can practically feel Adam’s smile through his voice. “Because you’re more than good enough to take the spot. Because I think you fit with who I have in my band right now. Because I need someone I can trust.” There’s a long silence, then Adam says, “Because I made a promise once. Remember that?”

…we’ll be on a stage together, and everyone will know our names. I promise you.

Tommy’s breath catches in his throat. All this time, he thought that Adam had forgotten. “I remember.”

“So. Will you do it?”

Just like that, Tommy’s world feels right again.