Title: Flicker
Pairing/Characters: Adam/Tommy
Rating (Word Count): PG (3x100)
Warning(s): None
Author's notes: Written for glam_100, prompt #002: playing with fire. Thanks to florida_minxie for the preread.


Adam's living room's as dark as the night outside, lit only by a candle that stands on a low table and is reflected in every window. Adam sits in front of it, legs crossed, meditating.

Every fifth breath he lowers his palm towards the flame and holds it there through the sixth when the heat forces him to raise it again.

"Don't play with fire," his mother said.

The rule seemed so simple when he was a child and so difficult now, when the fire's Tommy Joe, and Adam is as drawn to him as a moth to a flame.

*

Light flickering through the windows at the back of Adam's house catches Tommy's attention. He's drawn to it, unable to walk away, even as he wonders what the fuck brought him there in the middle of the night.

Through the windows, he can see Adam. A single candle lights his face from below, and he's toying with the flame. Coming far too close to burning himself.

Not taking his eyes off Adam, Tommy walks up to the open doors and stands between them. Feeling the heat pouring through him as he gets closer to Adam, Tommy understands why he's there.

*

Pulling his hand away from the flame, Adam raises his eyes. Tommy's standing between the doors, between outside and inside, as if Adam's wanting had conjured him.

Still, in that hoodie, ratty jeans, and old pair of creepers, Tommy's way too dressed to be a mirage. If Adam were dreaming, Tommy would be wearing a lot fewer clothes.

Tommy shrugs and gives Adam a sly grin. "Better things you can do with fire than play with it like that."

Joy flaring through him, Adam holds out his hand with its unmarked palm and waits for Tommy to come to him.