Running Out Of Days (1/2)
Jan. 23rd, 2011 04:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pyrosgfTitle: Running Out of Days
Author: pyrosgf
Artist:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cassandra_ml and her art is here.
Type: Romance/Hurt-Comfort/Horror
Word Count: 13107
Rating: NC-17
Characters/Pairings: Lambliff, OFC Penny
Warnings: sexual context, violence, strong language
Summary: ~Written for the![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
lambliffbigbang
In a world not too unlike our own, terrifying creatures, and even wonderfully good beings inhabited a planet just like ours. The constant war for evil to destroy the good had been happening for years. Crimes, disappearances, and unexplained events were commonplace in this world.
This place forced two lovers to fight to survive, to hold onto one another, and to stand up for the good. However futile the fight, it was one that had been going on far before they were thought of.
Adam had a secret that would unravel Tommy’s world when his little sister was taken. Overwhelming love for his family leads Tommy on a horrifying adventure that lays his life and the lives of his lover and family on the line. Who will survive?
Disclaimer: All a figment of my overactive imagination, names and likenesses used but not meant to portray the actual lives of subjects mentioned.
Beta:scorpio_15.
His back bowed as he crouched into the darkness as much as possible, but still the length of his pale spine was illuminated in the moonlight. He could hear them, coming, coming, coming. He knew they were closing in on him when the branches snapped a few feet behind his head and he leapt from his hiding place, darting through the wilderness as quickly as his bare feet would take him.
His lungs burned, not enough oxygen flowing through his body, but all he could focus on was one foot in front of the other and the sounds of crashing, brittle limbs giving beneath the weight of the monsters at his back. Gotta run, gotta move faster, too close, they’re too close. FUCK! His foot snagged on a fallen branch hidden in the pitch black and he toppled to the ground, what little air in his body leaving with the jolt. Scorching breath on the back of his neck, teeth sinking into his shoulder, and a scream that just wouldn’t come.
“Tommy, Tommy…” A soft hot breath puffed against his back and he jolted upright in the bed. He blinked several times, panted, and finally found his bearings. A dream, the third one of the sort in the past week and when he laid back into the sweat-soaked sheets, the feeling of doom still consumed him. He knew through the years that these dreams were always significant, marking an ending, of what he didn’t know. He couldn’t bear to think about the possibilities, especially when the lamp flickered on revealing the worried face of his lover.
“S’ok baby.” His breathing was still slightly shaky and he gulped in a breath of air. “Nightmare. Sorry, fuck, I’m sorry I woke you.”
Adam just pursed his lips, and Tommy knew by now what Adam was thinking, but instead of berating him about seeing a counselor again Adam pulled him into large freckled arms. Tommy felt quite gross and chilled from the sweat drying on his skin, but he settled into Adam’s embrace. He nuzzled into the larger man’s neck, the scent calming him while long fingers brushed through strands of blond.
Another day of work. Tommy was none too thrilled about it when his alarm blared at ten minutes past six.
“Honey.” Warm angel-kissed lips pressed into his shoulder. He shuddered and tensed, the remnants of his night of terror replaying in his head. He felt Adam pull away and when he turned there was a haze of hurt in his lover’s face before he could conceal it. “Come on, time to get up. The sooner we start the sooner the day will be over.”
“I know,” Tommy said on a yawn, stretched, and then kissed Adam, “just a bad night. I’m still tired.”
The floor was cold under his feet when he finally managed to throw his body into motion, and he headed to the bathroom. Adam was two steps behind him. Tommy peed quickly and started the shower while Adam took care of his business. When he crawled in, the steamy hot water immediately took some of the tension from his shoulders, and soon Adam was pulling their bodies together.
“I think I know a way to get you going this morning. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for breakfast.” Tommy opened his eyes in time to see Adam’s smirk before his lips were captured in a searing kiss. Adam always did know how to get his mind off of things.
“And just what did you have in mind to break your fast you naughty sexy man?” Tommy chuckled when Adam finally released his lips.
He honest-to-god ‘booped’ Tommy’s nose with his finger before slithering down Tommy’s body to settle on his knees. “Oh I was thinking a protein shake would make a good start.” He’d no sooner finished speaking then wet heat encased Tommy’s shaft and it was all Tommy could do to stand. Adam shoved him back into the shower wall and pinned his hips against the cold tile, those delicious lips never leaving his cock. Tommy groaned and Adam sunk further down until Tommy could feel Adam’s breath against his groin.
“Fuck, mmm feels so good, love it when you suck me off first thing in the morning,” Tommy rambled, his fingers lacing in wet raven locks. Adam hummed in agreement and finally released Tommy’s hips, instead bracing his thighs so Tommy could thrust into that delicious heat.
Adam used every dirty trick in the book but what finally took Tommy over the brink was a quick succession of swallows. Adam’s throat clenched around him rhythmically until Tommy’s cock twitched. It spilled down Adam’s throat while he clenched his fingers in dark strands, his eyes snapping shut.
They had breakfast together after managing to finish their shower and stumbled down the stairs to open up the record store they’d opened together three years ago. This was back when they were still just band mates who jokingly kissed on stage, before Tommy was ready to admit that he was gay. Oh the difference three years had made. He flipped the ‘Yes We’re Open’ sign on and sighed in satisfaction. Record and Roll had turned out to be the best decision they had ever made. The store had made their relationship stronger while the band suffered and when the band dissolved, their love for one another sparked in a way that had surprised them both.
After all, how many people can say that they had gotten off onstage with hundreds of people watching? Yep that was the straw that broke Tommy’s back. Adam had pushed his luck and slipped a hand behind Tommy’s bass, then sneakily rubbed Tommy’s cock. Tommy remembered how he’d melted into that large broad chest while Adam murmured sinfully delicious lyrics into the microphone as the crowd went wild. Just as he had moaned the last lyrics against Tommy’s neck, the devilish man had squeezed Tommy’s cock and flicked his wrist just right and Tommy came in his pants like an overexcited teenager.
His body flushed slightly with the memory, the way he’d bit his bottom lip to stifle the moan that wanted to creep out. But that was their story, and Tommy couldn’t imagine a more perfect way to have started a relationship. Who needed dating when you could be in Adam’s bed every night? It wasn’t like it was a huge step for Tommy to move in since they’d shared a tour bus together. No in fact it was perfect. This November would be the two-year anniversary since that blessedly mischievous day.
The phone trilled loudly over Bowie seeping through the store speakers and the hair on the back of Tommy’s neck rose. “Tommy, it’s for you,” Adam called from the back and Tommy’s stomach hit the floor.
He somehow managed to walk to the back even though his feet felt like they were encased in concrete. He took the phone from Adam’s hand. “Hello?” Tommy spoke softly into the line, afraid to discover who was calling.
“Tommy Ratliff?” an unfamiliar voice came through the line.
“This is he.”
“Mr. Ratliff I’m Detective Stone from Burbank Police Department. I attempted your home number and got no answer so I figured I would try this number next. I have you listed as the brother of Penny Ratliff?”
Tommy fought the nausea that came over him at the mention of his sister. “Yes, is she okay?”
“Well, that’s why we’re calling you. I thought she might be with you, that maybe she ran away. When was the last time you saw Penny?”
“Last week, she was with our mom, they came by the store. Wait why didn’t my mom call and ask me if I’d seen her?”
“Your mother was admitted to the hospital, after she filed the report. She was clambering on about your sister being taken by monsters. She’s currently under evaluation.”
Tommy was sure his heart was beating a million miles a minute. “Monsters? Penny? Oh god but she’s seventeen, was she kidnapped?”
“Sir all we know is there are traces of blood in her room. Blood was tested and can’t be linked to human or any known species we have record of.” The phone slipped from Tommy’s numbed fingers.
He was falling into shock, his body trembling slightly and then Adam was there. His Adam, a warming solid press against his back, but then Adam shifted to retrieve the phone. Somewhere in the back of his mind he registered words being spoken, but nothing seeped through the thick haze of fog in his mind. The images prevailing were from his dream, the hot breath on his neck, and those of his little sister Penny. Oh god why were they after Penny?
Long fingers squeezed his shoulders and he blinked rapidly until his eyes focused on the scenery around him. Tommy turned back and Adam’s mouth was still moving, but he was no longer holding the phone. He’s talking to you, his muddled mind supplied helpfully and yet Tommy still had to shake the cotton from his head before the words penetrated.
“What, sorry, Adam… Penny… her blood… Adam.” Tommy turned and face planted into Adam’s broad chest, clinging desperately to his lover and praying any minute he would wake up from this nightmare.
“Detective Stone said they would call if they found out anything else, but for you to stay away from your mom’s house. They’re going to put her up in a safe house after she’s released from the hospital. Turns out her vitals were abnormal when they admitted her, but she’s doing okay now. Once they have her settled somewhere they’ll call back and give you the address. They also said to tell you that they normally do not have these conversations by phone, but since this situation is extremely unusual they don’t want to take the chance of you coming to the office incase whatever took your sister might be watching. The police think those creatures staked out your house, and since your mom reported it that they may stake out the station too. The cops seem surprised they didn’t take your mother too and are worried about them coming for you.” While Adam spoke softly into his ear, warm fingers pressed and released against his neck. Tommy knew it was an attempt to soothe him, but nothing could pacify him now.
“I… I can’t do this. I can’t lose Penny.” Tommy’s voice trembled much like his limbs vibrating in Adam’s embrace.
“Tommy you’re right you can’t do this. Listen please go back up to the loft and I’ll take care of the store today.” As if on cue the bell above the door jingled, signifying a customer.
“Adam, please…” He was begging, but he was desperate, and didn’t want to be alone.
“Shh baby, come on please go back up and lay down or something...you can’t do this today.”
“Hello?” a voice called from the front.
“Be there in a sec,” Adam replied and then shoved Tommy toward the stairs.
Tommy let himself be moved but looked back knowing he must look like a lost puppy when his bottom lip quivered. “Adam, close up for the day. I can’t be alone right now.”
“Okay.” Adam nodded. “Let me take care of whoever this is and I’ll be right up.”
In a daze Tommy turned back and headed up the stairs. He was thankful the door wasn’t locked because right now a locking mechanism was too much for his brain. He walked into their loft and was instantly surrounded by familiar scents and sunlight kissing every surface it could reach, but he still felt cold inside. Instinctively he moved to their bedroom, shed his clothing, and curled into a tight ball in the bed under the covers. He hoped for a dreamless sleep or a cure for the desperation that was raking his heart.
Sleep never came, but Adam did and in the haze of Tommy’s mind he registered his lover’s warm flesh giving under his needy fingertips. He was frantic to get as close to Adam as physically possible and whined when his groin came in contact with underwear. Sweet murmurs in his ear and the cold hit him again; long limbs receded from the nest of blankets to expose skin, more skin. He needed Adam so bad, needed to forget, needed to feel safe, loved.
“Adam.” Tommy’s voice sounded wrecked even to his own ears, but then blue eyes were staring him down, a large palm brushing his cheek briefly before his lips were drawn into a kiss. Tommy knew Adam was aware of his emotions just by the feel of those beautiful freckled lips against his own. Their lips fought and warred until there was no breath that hadn’t been shared. It was beautiful, and perfect, and Tommy melted into Adam so easily.
Somehow he’d been so distracted by sinfully bee stung lips that the feel of two slick fingers at his entrance was a shock. He mewled into that wickedly decadent mouth and writhed back onto Adam’s fingers. He purred against Adam’s mouth, lips sliding together when the hard length of his lover replaced those fingers. The movements were jerky and frantic, nails digging into skin when Adam pushed Tommy's knees to his chest, curling him into a ball of hot and eager flesh. Still Tommy reached, capturing raven hair in a steely grip, pulling down, down so that lips clashed. Every ounce of desperation and grief he felt in that moment was poured into Adam’s mouth, while the sound of skin slapping skin became faster, harder. In one fine moment of clarity everything fell away into utopia, Adam’s hand reaching to grope his cock, tugging in rapid succession. Tommy's body pulled taught like the string of a bow ready to launch its arrow into its prey, and then the tension released and he was coming. Pleasure and heat consumed his body and his mind was peacefully silent, only barely registering Adam’s scream of completion.
Tommy’s mind was shrouded by exhaustion when Adam slipped from his limp form. His limbs felt heavy, and his body used. Mr. Sandman felt more like The Grim Reaper when he pulled Tommy under. When Tommy curled his fingers into the sheets to hold onto reality and Adam, he found his fingers were digging into soft fragrant dirt. The scent of grass and fresh earth enveloped him for just a moment before the panic set in. It was dusk and the remaining light seemed to seep quickly into the earth leaving him in the darkness.
The pitch black soon encased wherever he was and it was heavy, so much so that it almost felt like a quilt lying over him. Sadly however there was no blanket to keep him safe and the sounds of something very large roaring somewhere nearby turned the hairs on his neck and made him shiver. Then his body shuddered when the ground beneath him trembled, the woods moaning their complaints as whatever it was headed straight in his direction. He slowed his breathing, lying as low as he could get to the ground hoping this nightmare would end and soon. But no, there it was again, the puff of hot air on the back of his neck.
Terror sheathed every part of him, but he had to know. Shaking violently he somehow rolled onto his back, face to face with the eyes of hell. The eyes of glowing red that pierced him were only secondary to the embers that seemed to glow and occasionally appeared to lap flames over midnight fur. The animal’s head turned to the sky, a ghastly howl echoed through the night and the creature was gone. Not a trace was left behind but the foul odor of ash tinged with the scent of burnt hair. Tommy gagged and his body fell limp into the forgiving ground, the earth swallowing him in her grassy arms.
When his eyes fluttered open sometime later it was not the odor of dirt in his nostrils, but the comforting scent of Adam. The warmth of his lover’s form was spooned against his back, one arm protectively wrapped around his chest, and one long leg thrown over his hip.
“Hi.” A soft voice was in his ear and an affectionate nose nuzzled into his neck.
“Mmph, I’m shocked I didn’t wake you. Had another bad dream.” Tommy's voice felt scratchy in his throat. He shifted in the embrace until he was face to face with Adam, blue eyes shining brightly in the fading light of the sun.
“I didn’t sleep,” Adam replied, “I slept enough last night so I just held you. I knew you had another nightmare. I just curled up around you when you started to flail and you calmed. You actually slept peacefully for about six hours.”
“And you? You didn’t leave me.” Tommy sighed, knowing it was the truth without it being a question.
Adam didn’t reply, he just brushed soft freckled lips against Tommy’s.
“Thank you,” Tommy murmured and pulled Adam into a deeper kiss, knowing it was Adam’s presence around him that had made the hellhound vanish. Maybe Adam was the key to saving Penny. The thought lingered in his mind, calming him in a way he couldn’t fathom while Adam worshiped his neck with nips and kisses. Soon Adam latched on, sucking a beautiful hickey into the tender flesh while Tommy writhed, their cocks pressing together.
As cliché as it sounds, minutes turned to hours and hours into days. With each day came a night, and a new dream of the same darkened woods haunted Tommy. With each dream he learned more, saw more, and soon he was convinced that his little sister was within his reach, in a densely wooded environmental preserve only a short drive from the loft. The more Tommy dreamed the more he was entirely sure he’d walked these woods, and since the police had seemingly no leads it was up to him to find her. Each dream became more sickening, but the straw that broke him was the vision of his Penny crouched at the back of a cave, her knees tucked in to protect her body, eyes wide and glassy with fear as the hellhound approached.
Tommy jolted from the dream, his body coated in a cold sweat, poor Adam startled awake when he leapt from the comforting embrace. Sleep-warmed arms tugged him back into the broad expanse of chest, soft lips murmured non-sense into his ear until his body relaxed a fraction. The feeling was still there though, the need to find her, save her, and Adam had to help him.
“Tommy?” The questioning tone made him take inventory of himself. He was trembling, and when he blinked he realized he must’ve been staring into space.
“Penny… Adam I know where she is… she… the dreams… they’re… I’ve been there… the woods… they’re holding her in that preserve… you know the one… they… oh god Adam… she’s so scared… I saw her… and last night you made it disappear… you… the monster vanished when you held me last night… and I think you might be the key to saving her Adam… they don’t seem to like you.” The words came faster than he could seem to get them out, but Adam’s scent surrounded him and fingers ran through his hair and finally the words ended. Tommy lay panting against Adam feeling as if he’d just run a marathon.
“Who are they Tommy? Who took your sister?” Adam asked, never questioning the madness that all these facts came from dreams. That’s why Tommy loved Adam. No matter how crazy the venture, Adam supported him and he knew Adam would help him save his sister.
“Hellhounds.” A particularly sharp tremor ran down his body and he felt something similar hit his lover. Tommy looked back to see freckles standing stark against the paleness of Adam’s face.
“Tommy, fuck, this isn’t your fault… it’s… they’re using your sister to get to me.”
Tommy gawked, unable to find the words to ask what the fuck his lover was talking about. No fucking way could Adam, peaceful serene Adam, have anything to do with these evil creatures.
“Dark creatures are drawn to those who associate with light beings, they… I guess they thought your sister was my mate, or caught my scent on her from you. Honestly I don’t even know, but I didn’t… I… I didn’t suspect it was the hellhounds. I thought some sneaky little Fay may have snatched her… and even with the blood I didn’t… I’ve not felt the hounds of hell in several years. They took…” Adam’s voice wavered and Tommy looked up, suddenly seeing a side of Adam he’d never seen before. He looked like a defeated child, one who’d lost everything. Tommy knew Adam hadn’t had an easy childhood, but Adam never talked about it. It was something he’d given up on trying to pry out of Adam long ago, but now as the larger man took a shuddering breath, he feared he was going to get Adam’s life story. Although Tommy had desperately wanted to know about Adam's childhood for so long, now that it seemed intrinsically related to Penny's kidnapping, he wasn't sure he wanted to hear it after all.
“Adam, you don’t…” He nestled his nose into Adam’s neck, hoping to bring comfort to the both of them.
“I do baby, you deserve to know, now it’s your sister’s life at stake. You need to know what we’re up against.” The raven-haired man sat up in the bed and turned on the lamp. He urged Tommy to sit up beside him and laced their fingers together. Tommy gasped when they locked eyes; Adam’s looked murky and grey or maybe silver. Silver in the metallic sense of the word, they kind of shimmered in the low light. This was something big. Short blond hair stood at attention on the back of his neck and Adam blinked, eyes showing blue again.
“Adam?” he whispered, somehow afraid if he talked aloud they might hear him.
“I’ll get to that I promise. First you need to know we’re running out of time. Your sister’s been missing ten days. My…” Adam paused and Tommy could see his freckled bottom lip quivering when he took a deep breath, “they took my mother from me. I was seven and one day we got back from school and she was missing. There was a lot of blood in my parent’s room, and I still remember the tense lines around my dad’s eyes. I remember smelling ash, but I didn’t know back then about them, my dad did though. He was frantic. He searched for her desperately, but he was too late.” The final words sounded more like a sob and Tommy pulled Adam into his arms while Adam cried. All the while Tommy’s fingers ran soothingly down his lover’s back, his brain muddled with the words. Too late?
Adam calmed and finally sat back up and Tommy had to ask, had to know. “Too late?”
“Thirteen days, a hellhound only holds its hostage for thirteen days before dragging them to hell. Dad knew it, and the morning of the fourteenth day I found him… I can’t… I don’t want to think about it. Those things made me an orphan. My little brother and I went to foster care. Over the years I’ve felt them a few times, knew they were close, searching for my brother and I. I protected him until he was old enough to understand to lookout for himself. We didn’t know, didn’t understand why we were targets until I went through puberty.”
“Your eyes…” Tommy started to ask when Adam blinked again, his eyes becoming that same strange shimmering shade.
“That’s not all, I told you dark creatures are drawn to light beings… and I’m sure you already got the fact that I am a light being, but I want you to see.”
“Okay?”
“Listen, I know this is going to be strange for you, but it’s okay. Like I said this didn’t happen to me until puberty and even when I shift nothing changes, it’s still me, I still think the same. I won’t hurt you,” Adam said and rolled from the bed.
Tommy nodded, took in the sight of Adam’s nude form, and drew in a deep breath. He braced himself for the worst, but surely a light creature couldn’t be hideous.
A burst of light and swish of air and Tommy nearly leapt from his skin. He blinked his eyes as the light dimmed and he could finally see, well, he wasn’t sure what he was looking at. There were wings, and skin that was an almost ethereal white, and Adam’s eyes seemed to swirl with liquid silver. The strangest part was the fact that whatever had happened also gave Adam’s body what reminded Tommy of the ‘Hulk’ effect. Every muscle was well defined and there was none of that softness that Tommy so loved about Adam.
Adam’s face though, that was kinda the same, minus the pale flesh. His cheekbones were more defined, but if Adam closed his eyes, he could definitely still be Tommy's Adam. Tommy took it all in, it was a lot, but he smiled anyway. Adam needed to know that Tommy accepted him.
“Is that all?”
“Yes,” Adam replied and Tommy noticed a difference. Adam’s voice was a little deeper, a little rougher than normal. It reminded him of what Adam might sound like if he’d spent fifty years as a smoker.
“I love you.” Tommy grabbed Adam’s wrist and pulled him back into the bed, momentarily forgetting about the wings and sputtering when one feathered extension smacked him in the face.
“Sorry,” Adam giggled. Another flash of bright light and his Adam was back. “I love you too.”
Tommy smiled and used a hand on the back of Adam’s neck to tug the large man down to his lips. They kissed for several minutes, sweet sighs and moans permeating the air while they cuddled into one another. Everything in Tommy’s world was crumbling but this. This was still perfection and he let himself drown in it.
Adam pulled away from him sometime later and Tommy felt cozy, safe, and something akin to drowsy. It wasn’t long before his world faded away and Tommy wondered if Adam being a light being is what made him such a calming presence. Maybe he’d remember to ask.
The dream wasn’t like the others. It smelled the same, but daylight and sunshine permeated the air and he felt safe and warm. There was an arm wrapped around him, holding him close and he looked back over his shoulder to see shimmering silver. He tensed for a brief moment before he remembered, Adam.
Tommy took in that face even though the skin was ghastly white; Adam was still the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen and he seemed to be glowing. No not like a firefly or anything, but like the soft ambiance of a lamp. The one you switched on after a bad dream that scared the monsters away, the one you trusted to make everything okay. That radiance seeped into Tommy’s body just like the heat from the sun and he knew that everything would be fine, that everything would soon be over. Soon he’d have Penny safe back with his mom and he would be able to breathe again, and then things would go back to normal. Well maybe not normal. He wasn’t sure Adam with wings would ever be normal, but everything would be right again. As that thought settled into Tommy’s bones Adam’s wings tucked him in closer, hiding him, protecting him.
He sighed in contentment and absorbed the feelings as they came to him, finally enjoying a night without terror.
He woke up to Adam spooned against him, Adam’s breath still slow and easy with sleep. The light was peaking in through the curtains of the loft but it was still early and he couldn’t help but yawn and stretch like a cat before easing himself out of the bed and to the bathroom.
He pissed, washed his hands, and brushed his teeth. The air was slightly chilly to his bare skin and he walked back into the bedroom to an invitation he could not resist. Adam was still sleeping but he was nestled into the blankets and Tommy smiled at the way his lover seemed to be reaching for him. He crawled back into their bed and cuddled up to Adam, too awake to sleep, but loving the heat that sunk into his skin and the sweet nuzzling Adam’s nose was doing in his neck.
Time slipped away from him, the sound of Adam’s breathing soothing even the most painful thoughts. He could still feel the good energy from the dream, but the previous images of his little sister scared and alone haunted him. Day eleven, time’s running out. Just as his body tensed with fear, snuffling met his ears, then Adam shifted into a full body stretch like a big cat before returning with comforting arms and sleepy eyes.
“Mornin’ baby,” Adam purred then kissed his forehead in a very motherly fashion.
“Morning sleepyhead.” Tommy reached to cup Adam’s chin and pulled those pretty lips down for a more proper kiss. Not dirty but definitely thorough.
When Adam pulled back to look Tommy in the eyes he was smirking and smacking his lips like he’d just consumed a tasty treat. “Minty fresh, mmm,” he said with a giggle.
Tommy smiled but he wasn’t truly feeling it and it pained him when Adam’s face fell. “We’ll find her baby, I promise.” Adam knew, Adam always knew.
It was sometime later that they made it down for breakfast. Record and Roll was closed on Tuesday’s and they usually spent the day lounging around the loft together. Today however, Adam was dressed and that definitely wasn’t normal for a day off together. “Going somewhere?”
“Have to pick up some things, and I’m going to go hang a note on the door of Rec and Roll. We’re gonna be closed for the next few days. The note will say simply ‘closed due to family business.’ We’ll open back up when things are over.” Adam chose his words carefully and Tommy could tell Adam was avoiding voicing the real possibility they could be shut for a while if they failed to save his sister.
Adam left and Tommy had the familiar urge to sleep when Adam kissed him goodbye. He went back to their bedroom, the bed looking too comfortable to resist, and he was asleep by the time his head hit the pillow.
The dream was filled with wispy fog, hot steams he thought to himself, remembering a book he’d read in school. It was dark, the air around him was muggy, and it seemed to take everything he could do to draw in a breath. He wasn’t afraid though; he couldn’t feel anything evil around him. The area was blessedly silent, just a clearing with just grass and moss from what he could see through the haze that surrounded him. It was then he heard Penny. “Tommy,” she shrieked and it set Tommy’s body in motion. The cries continued and he followed the sound of her voice until he came upon the cave, just outside of the clearing, hidden behind a blanket of ivy and vines.
With his hands he swatted through the overgrowth until the cave opened up around him, and there she was, huddled near the back. Her tears left streaks down her face; it was covered in dirt and full of fear until she caught a good look at Tommy. The cave was illuminated somehow and a sense of calm suddenly washed over him. He turned back to see Adam, wings spread out wide and casting a soft light all around them. Tommy thanked his stars for that man and now Penny was within his reach. Tommy reached down and scooped her up into his arms. She was shaking and too pale from the days she’d spent without food, but with the glow from Adam he looked her over. Aside from a few shallow gashes she appeared to be safe minus the glassy look in her eyes. He squeezed her, words spilling from his lips, how much he loved her and how sorry he was, and then Adam’s hand was on his shoulder and wings folded around him and his sister. He shuddered with relief and a sob left his mouth - hot salty tears streaming down his cheeks when Penny finally looked up at him. “Tommy, I was so scared.” Her voice was small, but those words were precious because she was speaking and he kissed her cheek and shushed her.
He opened his eyes, blinked away the tears, wiped his face and finally sat up in the bed. The pillow was soaked. It was all a dream, but it had felt so real. Premonition? His mind dared to ask, to hope.
Tommy shook off the feeling, letting his body go loose and pliant in the nest of bedding that surrounded him. Things were going to be okay. He and Adam were going to save his sister; there was just no other outcome that could be accepted.
The sound of something hitting the floor caught his attention. He threw himself from the bed and put on some sleep pants, finally accepting the fact that today was going to be one of the days they didn’t spend naked. He padded through the loft following the noises and eventually ended up in the kitchen, observing a very frustrated looking Adam hovering over what surely could not be a cauldron. But of course it was, there was a cauldron saddled over a burner on their stove. That wasn’t unusual, he thought, in retrospect of the things he’d discovered lately. After all, the hounds of hell had his sister, Adam had thought a Fay nabbed her, and Adam, his Adam who he’d thought was a pretty vanilla guy, was a light being. It’d been one hell of an educational few days.
Adam was muttering under his breath when he looked up to finally notice Tommy and Tommy smiled in a way he hoped was reassuring. The grumbling quickly stopped and Tommy saw Adam bend down to pick up what he hoped was seasoning. The container looked the same as those you found herbs and spices in but the contents of it were the color of a ruddy brick. “Chili powder,” Adam said with a huff, indicating the bottle in his hand.
“So I would presume you’re not making chili… you don’t need a witch’s pot for chili do you?” Tommy shuffled further into the kitchen and leaned over the bar on his tiptoes to look inside the pot. His stomach churned at the mucky looking contents and hoped to the gods Adam didn’t expect him to consume any of that.
“It’s a potion… to kill the hound. I saw my father make it when I was a child, but never knew what it was until after…” The area around Adam’s eyes tightened and his body tensed. Tommy walked around the bar, came up behind Adam, and wrapped an arm around his waist, face planting into his back. Adam turned in the embrace and when they were finally face to face he let out a sharp breath and continued, “I found this recipe in one of the drawers in the kitchen after everything. I guess Dad made it up in his attempts to save Mom but he was too late. I never saw it used and I don't know if it'll work. Frankly though, it’s the best shot we’ve got right now at saving Penny.”
Tommy nodded. The dream he’d had still lingered in his subconscious but he was less worried now than he had been since the hell had started. He pressed his lips to Adam’s for a short moment and then pulled away, letting his lover return to the cauldron. He backed away and perched on one of the barstools to observe. Adam was silent as he tossed item after unrecognizable item into the pot. Tommy wanted to gag at the foul smell the pot was emitting but he held himself together and soon fog rolled in waves from the cauldron. Again his mind flitted back to his earlier dream and the thought of hot steams.
The thought fled his mind when his cell phone blared into the near silence. It startled him, but he quickly ran to the bedroom to retrieve it from the nightstand. He’d gotten to the point of sleeping with it by his head with the ringer on just in case he got a call about his sister. This was the first time it had rung in days and it was a little unnerving. The last call he’d received had been a wrong number several days ago.
“Hello,” he breathed into the line when he finally made his shaking fingers hit the button to answer it.
“Mr. Ratliff?” a familiar voice came through the line.
“Detective?” Tommy asked.
“Yes, this is Detective Stone. I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to get back with you about your mother, but since she was released she’s been relocated six times.” The detective sounded quite frazzled.
“Oh, well can I see her? Where is she?” Tommy missed his mother dearly, but he hadn't once attempted to contact the department to find out where they'd relocated her. He was scared that the monsters would somehow overhear the phone call and head straight for his mother. But surely that was madness...
“No son, I’m sorry but they’re relocating her again tomorrow. Seems every time we get her settled animals in the neighborhoods go missing. At first we thought it was a fluke, but Ms. Ratliff gets real uneasy when it starts happening, she keeps claiming that the scent in the air changes. Says it smells of ashes, same as when Penny was kidnapped, so we move her. Again and again it’s happening and we just… we’re at a loss for what to do until we get a lead on her kidnapper.” The last words came on a sigh and Tommy’s chest tightened with sympathy for the men who were unknowingly putting their lives at risk.
“Tomorrow then?”
“No, we think it’s best you stay away from her until we get this worked out. We think it will be safer with you both in separate places. We’ve set her up with a cell phone though so you can call her. I know she misses you dearly and she… she seems to be talking a little bit out of her head even though the hospital said physically she was fine after the initial few hours of being admitted.”
Tommy nodded to himself out of habit and quickly scrambled through their end table until he found a pen a paper amidst the condoms they never threw out after they’d stopped using them. “Okay, what’s the number?” He listened intently and jotted down the number, reading it back to Detective Stone just to be sure.
“You’ve got it. Have a good day Mr. Ratliff, hopefully I’ll have better news the next time we’re in contact.”
“Thank you, you too,” Tommy replied. They would need to come up with an elaborate story in order to cover up the real goings on, but that was presuming they lived to tell the tale. No one knew that Adam was a light being. If it became common knowledge then evil would come from miles around to eradicate the goodness that was Tommy's lover. And therefore not even the police could be told about the hellhound or why it was after Tommy’s little sister. It was too risky.
“Babe,” Adam called from the kitchen.
Tommy snatched up the piece of paper with the number, cell still in hand, and went back to the kitchen. “Yeah?”
“Who was it?”
“Detective Stone. Long story short, they’re having to relocate my mom because each time they put her somewhere new she starts freaking out. Neighborhood animals start going missing and the scent of ash is in the air. I can’t see her, they want us to be in separate places until this is over, but…” Tommy sighed wishing he could hug his mother, all the emotions inside him toppling over at once. Hot tears threatened to fall from their perch in his eyes and he wiped at them in frustration. Momma could make it better, she could hold him, but he couldn’t go to her. He hadn’t heard Adam move, but suddenly he was being enveloped in strong arms, Adam’s warm spicy scent filling his nose where it nestled into his lover’s neck. “Shh,” Adam murmured gently into his ear, “your momma will be fine honey and so will Penny.”
Tommy took a deep shuddering breath to calm his nerves before he was finally able to finish what he was saying. “They gave her a cell, I have the number so I can at least call her.” Adam nodded into his hair and kissed his forehead.
“Alright baby, you call your momma and I’m gonna finish up this Hellhound-B-Gone.” Adam chuckled at his own joke and when he pulled away his eyes were smiling and Tommy couldn’t help the grin that crept over his face. Adam always knew how to make him smile even when the world was falling apart. Someday he was sure this whole thing would be funny, and he’d probably remember it like one of those hilarious old Night of the Living Dead movies, he hoped anyway.
The day slipped by with preparations, phone calls, and more than a few hugs. His mother had cried when he’d told her that he believed her but he didn’t mention anything more. He didn’t want to get her hopes up or his own.
They had packed a backpack of supplies and tomorrow were going to check out the woods he was convinced he’d been dreaming about. If he could find that clearing from his dream, they would find the cave.
Now though he was nestled in Adam’s arms, his head on Adam’s chest and the gentle thrum of Adam’s heart soothing his frazzled mind. This was his safe place, and as he burrowed further into the blankets he plastered himself closer to Adam’s side and let sleep claim him. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.
Part 2
Author: pyrosgf
Artist:
cassandra_ml and her art is here.Type: Romance/Hurt-Comfort/Horror
Word Count: 13107
Rating: NC-17
Characters/Pairings: Lambliff, OFC Penny
Warnings: sexual context, violence, strong language
Summary: ~Written for the
lambliffbigbangIn a world not too unlike our own, terrifying creatures, and even wonderfully good beings inhabited a planet just like ours. The constant war for evil to destroy the good had been happening for years. Crimes, disappearances, and unexplained events were commonplace in this world.
This place forced two lovers to fight to survive, to hold onto one another, and to stand up for the good. However futile the fight, it was one that had been going on far before they were thought of.
Adam had a secret that would unravel Tommy’s world when his little sister was taken. Overwhelming love for his family leads Tommy on a horrifying adventure that lays his life and the lives of his lover and family on the line. Who will survive?
Disclaimer: All a figment of my overactive imagination, names and likenesses used but not meant to portray the actual lives of subjects mentioned.
Beta:
scorpio_15.His back bowed as he crouched into the darkness as much as possible, but still the length of his pale spine was illuminated in the moonlight. He could hear them, coming, coming, coming. He knew they were closing in on him when the branches snapped a few feet behind his head and he leapt from his hiding place, darting through the wilderness as quickly as his bare feet would take him.
His lungs burned, not enough oxygen flowing through his body, but all he could focus on was one foot in front of the other and the sounds of crashing, brittle limbs giving beneath the weight of the monsters at his back. Gotta run, gotta move faster, too close, they’re too close. FUCK! His foot snagged on a fallen branch hidden in the pitch black and he toppled to the ground, what little air in his body leaving with the jolt. Scorching breath on the back of his neck, teeth sinking into his shoulder, and a scream that just wouldn’t come.
“Tommy, Tommy…” A soft hot breath puffed against his back and he jolted upright in the bed. He blinked several times, panted, and finally found his bearings. A dream, the third one of the sort in the past week and when he laid back into the sweat-soaked sheets, the feeling of doom still consumed him. He knew through the years that these dreams were always significant, marking an ending, of what he didn’t know. He couldn’t bear to think about the possibilities, especially when the lamp flickered on revealing the worried face of his lover.
“S’ok baby.” His breathing was still slightly shaky and he gulped in a breath of air. “Nightmare. Sorry, fuck, I’m sorry I woke you.”
Adam just pursed his lips, and Tommy knew by now what Adam was thinking, but instead of berating him about seeing a counselor again Adam pulled him into large freckled arms. Tommy felt quite gross and chilled from the sweat drying on his skin, but he settled into Adam’s embrace. He nuzzled into the larger man’s neck, the scent calming him while long fingers brushed through strands of blond.
Another day of work. Tommy was none too thrilled about it when his alarm blared at ten minutes past six.
“Honey.” Warm angel-kissed lips pressed into his shoulder. He shuddered and tensed, the remnants of his night of terror replaying in his head. He felt Adam pull away and when he turned there was a haze of hurt in his lover’s face before he could conceal it. “Come on, time to get up. The sooner we start the sooner the day will be over.”
“I know,” Tommy said on a yawn, stretched, and then kissed Adam, “just a bad night. I’m still tired.”
The floor was cold under his feet when he finally managed to throw his body into motion, and he headed to the bathroom. Adam was two steps behind him. Tommy peed quickly and started the shower while Adam took care of his business. When he crawled in, the steamy hot water immediately took some of the tension from his shoulders, and soon Adam was pulling their bodies together.
“I think I know a way to get you going this morning. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for breakfast.” Tommy opened his eyes in time to see Adam’s smirk before his lips were captured in a searing kiss. Adam always did know how to get his mind off of things.
“And just what did you have in mind to break your fast you naughty sexy man?” Tommy chuckled when Adam finally released his lips.
He honest-to-god ‘booped’ Tommy’s nose with his finger before slithering down Tommy’s body to settle on his knees. “Oh I was thinking a protein shake would make a good start.” He’d no sooner finished speaking then wet heat encased Tommy’s shaft and it was all Tommy could do to stand. Adam shoved him back into the shower wall and pinned his hips against the cold tile, those delicious lips never leaving his cock. Tommy groaned and Adam sunk further down until Tommy could feel Adam’s breath against his groin.
“Fuck, mmm feels so good, love it when you suck me off first thing in the morning,” Tommy rambled, his fingers lacing in wet raven locks. Adam hummed in agreement and finally released Tommy’s hips, instead bracing his thighs so Tommy could thrust into that delicious heat.
Adam used every dirty trick in the book but what finally took Tommy over the brink was a quick succession of swallows. Adam’s throat clenched around him rhythmically until Tommy’s cock twitched. It spilled down Adam’s throat while he clenched his fingers in dark strands, his eyes snapping shut.
They had breakfast together after managing to finish their shower and stumbled down the stairs to open up the record store they’d opened together three years ago. This was back when they were still just band mates who jokingly kissed on stage, before Tommy was ready to admit that he was gay. Oh the difference three years had made. He flipped the ‘Yes We’re Open’ sign on and sighed in satisfaction. Record and Roll had turned out to be the best decision they had ever made. The store had made their relationship stronger while the band suffered and when the band dissolved, their love for one another sparked in a way that had surprised them both.
After all, how many people can say that they had gotten off onstage with hundreds of people watching? Yep that was the straw that broke Tommy’s back. Adam had pushed his luck and slipped a hand behind Tommy’s bass, then sneakily rubbed Tommy’s cock. Tommy remembered how he’d melted into that large broad chest while Adam murmured sinfully delicious lyrics into the microphone as the crowd went wild. Just as he had moaned the last lyrics against Tommy’s neck, the devilish man had squeezed Tommy’s cock and flicked his wrist just right and Tommy came in his pants like an overexcited teenager.
His body flushed slightly with the memory, the way he’d bit his bottom lip to stifle the moan that wanted to creep out. But that was their story, and Tommy couldn’t imagine a more perfect way to have started a relationship. Who needed dating when you could be in Adam’s bed every night? It wasn’t like it was a huge step for Tommy to move in since they’d shared a tour bus together. No in fact it was perfect. This November would be the two-year anniversary since that blessedly mischievous day.
The phone trilled loudly over Bowie seeping through the store speakers and the hair on the back of Tommy’s neck rose. “Tommy, it’s for you,” Adam called from the back and Tommy’s stomach hit the floor.
He somehow managed to walk to the back even though his feet felt like they were encased in concrete. He took the phone from Adam’s hand. “Hello?” Tommy spoke softly into the line, afraid to discover who was calling.
“Tommy Ratliff?” an unfamiliar voice came through the line.
“This is he.”
“Mr. Ratliff I’m Detective Stone from Burbank Police Department. I attempted your home number and got no answer so I figured I would try this number next. I have you listed as the brother of Penny Ratliff?”
Tommy fought the nausea that came over him at the mention of his sister. “Yes, is she okay?”
“Well, that’s why we’re calling you. I thought she might be with you, that maybe she ran away. When was the last time you saw Penny?”
“Last week, she was with our mom, they came by the store. Wait why didn’t my mom call and ask me if I’d seen her?”
“Your mother was admitted to the hospital, after she filed the report. She was clambering on about your sister being taken by monsters. She’s currently under evaluation.”
Tommy was sure his heart was beating a million miles a minute. “Monsters? Penny? Oh god but she’s seventeen, was she kidnapped?”
“Sir all we know is there are traces of blood in her room. Blood was tested and can’t be linked to human or any known species we have record of.” The phone slipped from Tommy’s numbed fingers.
He was falling into shock, his body trembling slightly and then Adam was there. His Adam, a warming solid press against his back, but then Adam shifted to retrieve the phone. Somewhere in the back of his mind he registered words being spoken, but nothing seeped through the thick haze of fog in his mind. The images prevailing were from his dream, the hot breath on his neck, and those of his little sister Penny. Oh god why were they after Penny?
Long fingers squeezed his shoulders and he blinked rapidly until his eyes focused on the scenery around him. Tommy turned back and Adam’s mouth was still moving, but he was no longer holding the phone. He’s talking to you, his muddled mind supplied helpfully and yet Tommy still had to shake the cotton from his head before the words penetrated.
“What, sorry, Adam… Penny… her blood… Adam.” Tommy turned and face planted into Adam’s broad chest, clinging desperately to his lover and praying any minute he would wake up from this nightmare.
“Detective Stone said they would call if they found out anything else, but for you to stay away from your mom’s house. They’re going to put her up in a safe house after she’s released from the hospital. Turns out her vitals were abnormal when they admitted her, but she’s doing okay now. Once they have her settled somewhere they’ll call back and give you the address. They also said to tell you that they normally do not have these conversations by phone, but since this situation is extremely unusual they don’t want to take the chance of you coming to the office incase whatever took your sister might be watching. The police think those creatures staked out your house, and since your mom reported it that they may stake out the station too. The cops seem surprised they didn’t take your mother too and are worried about them coming for you.” While Adam spoke softly into his ear, warm fingers pressed and released against his neck. Tommy knew it was an attempt to soothe him, but nothing could pacify him now.
“I… I can’t do this. I can’t lose Penny.” Tommy’s voice trembled much like his limbs vibrating in Adam’s embrace.
“Tommy you’re right you can’t do this. Listen please go back up to the loft and I’ll take care of the store today.” As if on cue the bell above the door jingled, signifying a customer.
“Adam, please…” He was begging, but he was desperate, and didn’t want to be alone.
“Shh baby, come on please go back up and lay down or something...you can’t do this today.”
“Hello?” a voice called from the front.
“Be there in a sec,” Adam replied and then shoved Tommy toward the stairs.
Tommy let himself be moved but looked back knowing he must look like a lost puppy when his bottom lip quivered. “Adam, close up for the day. I can’t be alone right now.”
“Okay.” Adam nodded. “Let me take care of whoever this is and I’ll be right up.”
In a daze Tommy turned back and headed up the stairs. He was thankful the door wasn’t locked because right now a locking mechanism was too much for his brain. He walked into their loft and was instantly surrounded by familiar scents and sunlight kissing every surface it could reach, but he still felt cold inside. Instinctively he moved to their bedroom, shed his clothing, and curled into a tight ball in the bed under the covers. He hoped for a dreamless sleep or a cure for the desperation that was raking his heart.
Sleep never came, but Adam did and in the haze of Tommy’s mind he registered his lover’s warm flesh giving under his needy fingertips. He was frantic to get as close to Adam as physically possible and whined when his groin came in contact with underwear. Sweet murmurs in his ear and the cold hit him again; long limbs receded from the nest of blankets to expose skin, more skin. He needed Adam so bad, needed to forget, needed to feel safe, loved.
“Adam.” Tommy’s voice sounded wrecked even to his own ears, but then blue eyes were staring him down, a large palm brushing his cheek briefly before his lips were drawn into a kiss. Tommy knew Adam was aware of his emotions just by the feel of those beautiful freckled lips against his own. Their lips fought and warred until there was no breath that hadn’t been shared. It was beautiful, and perfect, and Tommy melted into Adam so easily.
Somehow he’d been so distracted by sinfully bee stung lips that the feel of two slick fingers at his entrance was a shock. He mewled into that wickedly decadent mouth and writhed back onto Adam’s fingers. He purred against Adam’s mouth, lips sliding together when the hard length of his lover replaced those fingers. The movements were jerky and frantic, nails digging into skin when Adam pushed Tommy's knees to his chest, curling him into a ball of hot and eager flesh. Still Tommy reached, capturing raven hair in a steely grip, pulling down, down so that lips clashed. Every ounce of desperation and grief he felt in that moment was poured into Adam’s mouth, while the sound of skin slapping skin became faster, harder. In one fine moment of clarity everything fell away into utopia, Adam’s hand reaching to grope his cock, tugging in rapid succession. Tommy's body pulled taught like the string of a bow ready to launch its arrow into its prey, and then the tension released and he was coming. Pleasure and heat consumed his body and his mind was peacefully silent, only barely registering Adam’s scream of completion.
Tommy’s mind was shrouded by exhaustion when Adam slipped from his limp form. His limbs felt heavy, and his body used. Mr. Sandman felt more like The Grim Reaper when he pulled Tommy under. When Tommy curled his fingers into the sheets to hold onto reality and Adam, he found his fingers were digging into soft fragrant dirt. The scent of grass and fresh earth enveloped him for just a moment before the panic set in. It was dusk and the remaining light seemed to seep quickly into the earth leaving him in the darkness.
The pitch black soon encased wherever he was and it was heavy, so much so that it almost felt like a quilt lying over him. Sadly however there was no blanket to keep him safe and the sounds of something very large roaring somewhere nearby turned the hairs on his neck and made him shiver. Then his body shuddered when the ground beneath him trembled, the woods moaning their complaints as whatever it was headed straight in his direction. He slowed his breathing, lying as low as he could get to the ground hoping this nightmare would end and soon. But no, there it was again, the puff of hot air on the back of his neck.
Terror sheathed every part of him, but he had to know. Shaking violently he somehow rolled onto his back, face to face with the eyes of hell. The eyes of glowing red that pierced him were only secondary to the embers that seemed to glow and occasionally appeared to lap flames over midnight fur. The animal’s head turned to the sky, a ghastly howl echoed through the night and the creature was gone. Not a trace was left behind but the foul odor of ash tinged with the scent of burnt hair. Tommy gagged and his body fell limp into the forgiving ground, the earth swallowing him in her grassy arms.
When his eyes fluttered open sometime later it was not the odor of dirt in his nostrils, but the comforting scent of Adam. The warmth of his lover’s form was spooned against his back, one arm protectively wrapped around his chest, and one long leg thrown over his hip.
“Hi.” A soft voice was in his ear and an affectionate nose nuzzled into his neck.
“Mmph, I’m shocked I didn’t wake you. Had another bad dream.” Tommy's voice felt scratchy in his throat. He shifted in the embrace until he was face to face with Adam, blue eyes shining brightly in the fading light of the sun.
“I didn’t sleep,” Adam replied, “I slept enough last night so I just held you. I knew you had another nightmare. I just curled up around you when you started to flail and you calmed. You actually slept peacefully for about six hours.”
“And you? You didn’t leave me.” Tommy sighed, knowing it was the truth without it being a question.
Adam didn’t reply, he just brushed soft freckled lips against Tommy’s.
“Thank you,” Tommy murmured and pulled Adam into a deeper kiss, knowing it was Adam’s presence around him that had made the hellhound vanish. Maybe Adam was the key to saving Penny. The thought lingered in his mind, calming him in a way he couldn’t fathom while Adam worshiped his neck with nips and kisses. Soon Adam latched on, sucking a beautiful hickey into the tender flesh while Tommy writhed, their cocks pressing together.
As cliché as it sounds, minutes turned to hours and hours into days. With each day came a night, and a new dream of the same darkened woods haunted Tommy. With each dream he learned more, saw more, and soon he was convinced that his little sister was within his reach, in a densely wooded environmental preserve only a short drive from the loft. The more Tommy dreamed the more he was entirely sure he’d walked these woods, and since the police had seemingly no leads it was up to him to find her. Each dream became more sickening, but the straw that broke him was the vision of his Penny crouched at the back of a cave, her knees tucked in to protect her body, eyes wide and glassy with fear as the hellhound approached.
Tommy jolted from the dream, his body coated in a cold sweat, poor Adam startled awake when he leapt from the comforting embrace. Sleep-warmed arms tugged him back into the broad expanse of chest, soft lips murmured non-sense into his ear until his body relaxed a fraction. The feeling was still there though, the need to find her, save her, and Adam had to help him.
“Tommy?” The questioning tone made him take inventory of himself. He was trembling, and when he blinked he realized he must’ve been staring into space.
“Penny… Adam I know where she is… she… the dreams… they’re… I’ve been there… the woods… they’re holding her in that preserve… you know the one… they… oh god Adam… she’s so scared… I saw her… and last night you made it disappear… you… the monster vanished when you held me last night… and I think you might be the key to saving her Adam… they don’t seem to like you.” The words came faster than he could seem to get them out, but Adam’s scent surrounded him and fingers ran through his hair and finally the words ended. Tommy lay panting against Adam feeling as if he’d just run a marathon.
“Who are they Tommy? Who took your sister?” Adam asked, never questioning the madness that all these facts came from dreams. That’s why Tommy loved Adam. No matter how crazy the venture, Adam supported him and he knew Adam would help him save his sister.
“Hellhounds.” A particularly sharp tremor ran down his body and he felt something similar hit his lover. Tommy looked back to see freckles standing stark against the paleness of Adam’s face.
“Tommy, fuck, this isn’t your fault… it’s… they’re using your sister to get to me.”
Tommy gawked, unable to find the words to ask what the fuck his lover was talking about. No fucking way could Adam, peaceful serene Adam, have anything to do with these evil creatures.
“Dark creatures are drawn to those who associate with light beings, they… I guess they thought your sister was my mate, or caught my scent on her from you. Honestly I don’t even know, but I didn’t… I… I didn’t suspect it was the hellhounds. I thought some sneaky little Fay may have snatched her… and even with the blood I didn’t… I’ve not felt the hounds of hell in several years. They took…” Adam’s voice wavered and Tommy looked up, suddenly seeing a side of Adam he’d never seen before. He looked like a defeated child, one who’d lost everything. Tommy knew Adam hadn’t had an easy childhood, but Adam never talked about it. It was something he’d given up on trying to pry out of Adam long ago, but now as the larger man took a shuddering breath, he feared he was going to get Adam’s life story. Although Tommy had desperately wanted to know about Adam's childhood for so long, now that it seemed intrinsically related to Penny's kidnapping, he wasn't sure he wanted to hear it after all.
“Adam, you don’t…” He nestled his nose into Adam’s neck, hoping to bring comfort to the both of them.
“I do baby, you deserve to know, now it’s your sister’s life at stake. You need to know what we’re up against.” The raven-haired man sat up in the bed and turned on the lamp. He urged Tommy to sit up beside him and laced their fingers together. Tommy gasped when they locked eyes; Adam’s looked murky and grey or maybe silver. Silver in the metallic sense of the word, they kind of shimmered in the low light. This was something big. Short blond hair stood at attention on the back of his neck and Adam blinked, eyes showing blue again.
“Adam?” he whispered, somehow afraid if he talked aloud they might hear him.
“I’ll get to that I promise. First you need to know we’re running out of time. Your sister’s been missing ten days. My…” Adam paused and Tommy could see his freckled bottom lip quivering when he took a deep breath, “they took my mother from me. I was seven and one day we got back from school and she was missing. There was a lot of blood in my parent’s room, and I still remember the tense lines around my dad’s eyes. I remember smelling ash, but I didn’t know back then about them, my dad did though. He was frantic. He searched for her desperately, but he was too late.” The final words sounded more like a sob and Tommy pulled Adam into his arms while Adam cried. All the while Tommy’s fingers ran soothingly down his lover’s back, his brain muddled with the words. Too late?
Adam calmed and finally sat back up and Tommy had to ask, had to know. “Too late?”
“Thirteen days, a hellhound only holds its hostage for thirteen days before dragging them to hell. Dad knew it, and the morning of the fourteenth day I found him… I can’t… I don’t want to think about it. Those things made me an orphan. My little brother and I went to foster care. Over the years I’ve felt them a few times, knew they were close, searching for my brother and I. I protected him until he was old enough to understand to lookout for himself. We didn’t know, didn’t understand why we were targets until I went through puberty.”
“Your eyes…” Tommy started to ask when Adam blinked again, his eyes becoming that same strange shimmering shade.
“That’s not all, I told you dark creatures are drawn to light beings… and I’m sure you already got the fact that I am a light being, but I want you to see.”
“Okay?”
“Listen, I know this is going to be strange for you, but it’s okay. Like I said this didn’t happen to me until puberty and even when I shift nothing changes, it’s still me, I still think the same. I won’t hurt you,” Adam said and rolled from the bed.
Tommy nodded, took in the sight of Adam’s nude form, and drew in a deep breath. He braced himself for the worst, but surely a light creature couldn’t be hideous.
A burst of light and swish of air and Tommy nearly leapt from his skin. He blinked his eyes as the light dimmed and he could finally see, well, he wasn’t sure what he was looking at. There were wings, and skin that was an almost ethereal white, and Adam’s eyes seemed to swirl with liquid silver. The strangest part was the fact that whatever had happened also gave Adam’s body what reminded Tommy of the ‘Hulk’ effect. Every muscle was well defined and there was none of that softness that Tommy so loved about Adam.
Adam’s face though, that was kinda the same, minus the pale flesh. His cheekbones were more defined, but if Adam closed his eyes, he could definitely still be Tommy's Adam. Tommy took it all in, it was a lot, but he smiled anyway. Adam needed to know that Tommy accepted him.
“Is that all?”
“Yes,” Adam replied and Tommy noticed a difference. Adam’s voice was a little deeper, a little rougher than normal. It reminded him of what Adam might sound like if he’d spent fifty years as a smoker.
“I love you.” Tommy grabbed Adam’s wrist and pulled him back into the bed, momentarily forgetting about the wings and sputtering when one feathered extension smacked him in the face.
“Sorry,” Adam giggled. Another flash of bright light and his Adam was back. “I love you too.”
Tommy smiled and used a hand on the back of Adam’s neck to tug the large man down to his lips. They kissed for several minutes, sweet sighs and moans permeating the air while they cuddled into one another. Everything in Tommy’s world was crumbling but this. This was still perfection and he let himself drown in it.
Adam pulled away from him sometime later and Tommy felt cozy, safe, and something akin to drowsy. It wasn’t long before his world faded away and Tommy wondered if Adam being a light being is what made him such a calming presence. Maybe he’d remember to ask.
The dream wasn’t like the others. It smelled the same, but daylight and sunshine permeated the air and he felt safe and warm. There was an arm wrapped around him, holding him close and he looked back over his shoulder to see shimmering silver. He tensed for a brief moment before he remembered, Adam.
Tommy took in that face even though the skin was ghastly white; Adam was still the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen and he seemed to be glowing. No not like a firefly or anything, but like the soft ambiance of a lamp. The one you switched on after a bad dream that scared the monsters away, the one you trusted to make everything okay. That radiance seeped into Tommy’s body just like the heat from the sun and he knew that everything would be fine, that everything would soon be over. Soon he’d have Penny safe back with his mom and he would be able to breathe again, and then things would go back to normal. Well maybe not normal. He wasn’t sure Adam with wings would ever be normal, but everything would be right again. As that thought settled into Tommy’s bones Adam’s wings tucked him in closer, hiding him, protecting him.
He sighed in contentment and absorbed the feelings as they came to him, finally enjoying a night without terror.
He woke up to Adam spooned against him, Adam’s breath still slow and easy with sleep. The light was peaking in through the curtains of the loft but it was still early and he couldn’t help but yawn and stretch like a cat before easing himself out of the bed and to the bathroom.
He pissed, washed his hands, and brushed his teeth. The air was slightly chilly to his bare skin and he walked back into the bedroom to an invitation he could not resist. Adam was still sleeping but he was nestled into the blankets and Tommy smiled at the way his lover seemed to be reaching for him. He crawled back into their bed and cuddled up to Adam, too awake to sleep, but loving the heat that sunk into his skin and the sweet nuzzling Adam’s nose was doing in his neck.
Time slipped away from him, the sound of Adam’s breathing soothing even the most painful thoughts. He could still feel the good energy from the dream, but the previous images of his little sister scared and alone haunted him. Day eleven, time’s running out. Just as his body tensed with fear, snuffling met his ears, then Adam shifted into a full body stretch like a big cat before returning with comforting arms and sleepy eyes.
“Mornin’ baby,” Adam purred then kissed his forehead in a very motherly fashion.
“Morning sleepyhead.” Tommy reached to cup Adam’s chin and pulled those pretty lips down for a more proper kiss. Not dirty but definitely thorough.
When Adam pulled back to look Tommy in the eyes he was smirking and smacking his lips like he’d just consumed a tasty treat. “Minty fresh, mmm,” he said with a giggle.
Tommy smiled but he wasn’t truly feeling it and it pained him when Adam’s face fell. “We’ll find her baby, I promise.” Adam knew, Adam always knew.
It was sometime later that they made it down for breakfast. Record and Roll was closed on Tuesday’s and they usually spent the day lounging around the loft together. Today however, Adam was dressed and that definitely wasn’t normal for a day off together. “Going somewhere?”
“Have to pick up some things, and I’m going to go hang a note on the door of Rec and Roll. We’re gonna be closed for the next few days. The note will say simply ‘closed due to family business.’ We’ll open back up when things are over.” Adam chose his words carefully and Tommy could tell Adam was avoiding voicing the real possibility they could be shut for a while if they failed to save his sister.
Adam left and Tommy had the familiar urge to sleep when Adam kissed him goodbye. He went back to their bedroom, the bed looking too comfortable to resist, and he was asleep by the time his head hit the pillow.
The dream was filled with wispy fog, hot steams he thought to himself, remembering a book he’d read in school. It was dark, the air around him was muggy, and it seemed to take everything he could do to draw in a breath. He wasn’t afraid though; he couldn’t feel anything evil around him. The area was blessedly silent, just a clearing with just grass and moss from what he could see through the haze that surrounded him. It was then he heard Penny. “Tommy,” she shrieked and it set Tommy’s body in motion. The cries continued and he followed the sound of her voice until he came upon the cave, just outside of the clearing, hidden behind a blanket of ivy and vines.
With his hands he swatted through the overgrowth until the cave opened up around him, and there she was, huddled near the back. Her tears left streaks down her face; it was covered in dirt and full of fear until she caught a good look at Tommy. The cave was illuminated somehow and a sense of calm suddenly washed over him. He turned back to see Adam, wings spread out wide and casting a soft light all around them. Tommy thanked his stars for that man and now Penny was within his reach. Tommy reached down and scooped her up into his arms. She was shaking and too pale from the days she’d spent without food, but with the glow from Adam he looked her over. Aside from a few shallow gashes she appeared to be safe minus the glassy look in her eyes. He squeezed her, words spilling from his lips, how much he loved her and how sorry he was, and then Adam’s hand was on his shoulder and wings folded around him and his sister. He shuddered with relief and a sob left his mouth - hot salty tears streaming down his cheeks when Penny finally looked up at him. “Tommy, I was so scared.” Her voice was small, but those words were precious because she was speaking and he kissed her cheek and shushed her.
He opened his eyes, blinked away the tears, wiped his face and finally sat up in the bed. The pillow was soaked. It was all a dream, but it had felt so real. Premonition? His mind dared to ask, to hope.
Tommy shook off the feeling, letting his body go loose and pliant in the nest of bedding that surrounded him. Things were going to be okay. He and Adam were going to save his sister; there was just no other outcome that could be accepted.
The sound of something hitting the floor caught his attention. He threw himself from the bed and put on some sleep pants, finally accepting the fact that today was going to be one of the days they didn’t spend naked. He padded through the loft following the noises and eventually ended up in the kitchen, observing a very frustrated looking Adam hovering over what surely could not be a cauldron. But of course it was, there was a cauldron saddled over a burner on their stove. That wasn’t unusual, he thought, in retrospect of the things he’d discovered lately. After all, the hounds of hell had his sister, Adam had thought a Fay nabbed her, and Adam, his Adam who he’d thought was a pretty vanilla guy, was a light being. It’d been one hell of an educational few days.
Adam was muttering under his breath when he looked up to finally notice Tommy and Tommy smiled in a way he hoped was reassuring. The grumbling quickly stopped and Tommy saw Adam bend down to pick up what he hoped was seasoning. The container looked the same as those you found herbs and spices in but the contents of it were the color of a ruddy brick. “Chili powder,” Adam said with a huff, indicating the bottle in his hand.
“So I would presume you’re not making chili… you don’t need a witch’s pot for chili do you?” Tommy shuffled further into the kitchen and leaned over the bar on his tiptoes to look inside the pot. His stomach churned at the mucky looking contents and hoped to the gods Adam didn’t expect him to consume any of that.
“It’s a potion… to kill the hound. I saw my father make it when I was a child, but never knew what it was until after…” The area around Adam’s eyes tightened and his body tensed. Tommy walked around the bar, came up behind Adam, and wrapped an arm around his waist, face planting into his back. Adam turned in the embrace and when they were finally face to face he let out a sharp breath and continued, “I found this recipe in one of the drawers in the kitchen after everything. I guess Dad made it up in his attempts to save Mom but he was too late. I never saw it used and I don't know if it'll work. Frankly though, it’s the best shot we’ve got right now at saving Penny.”
Tommy nodded. The dream he’d had still lingered in his subconscious but he was less worried now than he had been since the hell had started. He pressed his lips to Adam’s for a short moment and then pulled away, letting his lover return to the cauldron. He backed away and perched on one of the barstools to observe. Adam was silent as he tossed item after unrecognizable item into the pot. Tommy wanted to gag at the foul smell the pot was emitting but he held himself together and soon fog rolled in waves from the cauldron. Again his mind flitted back to his earlier dream and the thought of hot steams.
The thought fled his mind when his cell phone blared into the near silence. It startled him, but he quickly ran to the bedroom to retrieve it from the nightstand. He’d gotten to the point of sleeping with it by his head with the ringer on just in case he got a call about his sister. This was the first time it had rung in days and it was a little unnerving. The last call he’d received had been a wrong number several days ago.
“Hello,” he breathed into the line when he finally made his shaking fingers hit the button to answer it.
“Mr. Ratliff?” a familiar voice came through the line.
“Detective?” Tommy asked.
“Yes, this is Detective Stone. I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to get back with you about your mother, but since she was released she’s been relocated six times.” The detective sounded quite frazzled.
“Oh, well can I see her? Where is she?” Tommy missed his mother dearly, but he hadn't once attempted to contact the department to find out where they'd relocated her. He was scared that the monsters would somehow overhear the phone call and head straight for his mother. But surely that was madness...
“No son, I’m sorry but they’re relocating her again tomorrow. Seems every time we get her settled animals in the neighborhoods go missing. At first we thought it was a fluke, but Ms. Ratliff gets real uneasy when it starts happening, she keeps claiming that the scent in the air changes. Says it smells of ashes, same as when Penny was kidnapped, so we move her. Again and again it’s happening and we just… we’re at a loss for what to do until we get a lead on her kidnapper.” The last words came on a sigh and Tommy’s chest tightened with sympathy for the men who were unknowingly putting their lives at risk.
“Tomorrow then?”
“No, we think it’s best you stay away from her until we get this worked out. We think it will be safer with you both in separate places. We’ve set her up with a cell phone though so you can call her. I know she misses you dearly and she… she seems to be talking a little bit out of her head even though the hospital said physically she was fine after the initial few hours of being admitted.”
Tommy nodded to himself out of habit and quickly scrambled through their end table until he found a pen a paper amidst the condoms they never threw out after they’d stopped using them. “Okay, what’s the number?” He listened intently and jotted down the number, reading it back to Detective Stone just to be sure.
“You’ve got it. Have a good day Mr. Ratliff, hopefully I’ll have better news the next time we’re in contact.”
“Thank you, you too,” Tommy replied. They would need to come up with an elaborate story in order to cover up the real goings on, but that was presuming they lived to tell the tale. No one knew that Adam was a light being. If it became common knowledge then evil would come from miles around to eradicate the goodness that was Tommy's lover. And therefore not even the police could be told about the hellhound or why it was after Tommy’s little sister. It was too risky.
“Babe,” Adam called from the kitchen.
Tommy snatched up the piece of paper with the number, cell still in hand, and went back to the kitchen. “Yeah?”
“Who was it?”
“Detective Stone. Long story short, they’re having to relocate my mom because each time they put her somewhere new she starts freaking out. Neighborhood animals start going missing and the scent of ash is in the air. I can’t see her, they want us to be in separate places until this is over, but…” Tommy sighed wishing he could hug his mother, all the emotions inside him toppling over at once. Hot tears threatened to fall from their perch in his eyes and he wiped at them in frustration. Momma could make it better, she could hold him, but he couldn’t go to her. He hadn’t heard Adam move, but suddenly he was being enveloped in strong arms, Adam’s warm spicy scent filling his nose where it nestled into his lover’s neck. “Shh,” Adam murmured gently into his ear, “your momma will be fine honey and so will Penny.”
Tommy took a deep shuddering breath to calm his nerves before he was finally able to finish what he was saying. “They gave her a cell, I have the number so I can at least call her.” Adam nodded into his hair and kissed his forehead.
“Alright baby, you call your momma and I’m gonna finish up this Hellhound-B-Gone.” Adam chuckled at his own joke and when he pulled away his eyes were smiling and Tommy couldn’t help the grin that crept over his face. Adam always knew how to make him smile even when the world was falling apart. Someday he was sure this whole thing would be funny, and he’d probably remember it like one of those hilarious old Night of the Living Dead movies, he hoped anyway.
The day slipped by with preparations, phone calls, and more than a few hugs. His mother had cried when he’d told her that he believed her but he didn’t mention anything more. He didn’t want to get her hopes up or his own.
They had packed a backpack of supplies and tomorrow were going to check out the woods he was convinced he’d been dreaming about. If he could find that clearing from his dream, they would find the cave.
Now though he was nestled in Adam’s arms, his head on Adam’s chest and the gentle thrum of Adam’s heart soothing his frazzled mind. This was his safe place, and as he burrowed further into the blankets he plastered himself closer to Adam’s side and let sleep claim him. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-12 12:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-14 11:52 pm (UTC)