Summary: In order to help Diana with her school's fundraiser, Adam and Lawrence must work together to face their hardest challenge yet: baking.
Read on AO3!
"A bake sale?" Adam quiered, raising an eyebrow as he leaned against the fire escape, amused as he listened to his partner's plea.
Lawrence gave him an equally pointed look. Unlike Adam, he was merely poking his head out the window. With his foot or lack thereof, he didn't want to risk stumbling on the rickety platform. "Yes, it's a fundraiser for her school.”
“She goes to a rich private school, how much money does it actually need?”
“It’s the principle of working hard for something in return. And it sounds like a sweet idea. Pun not intended.”
"No, it sounds like a recipe for disaster." He waited for a moment, before adding belatedly. "Pun intended."
Lawrence sighed. "I know, I'm not thrilled about it either."
"I can barely microwave ramen, Larry, what makes you think I'm at all qualified to help make something remotely edible for small children?" He pinched the tip of his cigarette between his thumb and index finger before taking a long drag. His eyes lit up. "Wait. Can we add edibles?"
He pinched the bride of his nose in exasperation. "We are not feeding edibles to fourth graders, Adam!"
"Hey, keep your shirt on, there can be two batches. One for the kids, one for the adults." Smoke swirled around him as he exhaled once more. He only smoked outside, since Lawrence hated it, but sometimes he moved close enough just to mess with him.
"Will you please be serious?" Lawrence asked wearily, forehead lines creasing from stress. He looked exhausted, both with work and from personal life taking a toll on him. His blond hair was even starting to see some silver streaks in his temple. "I promised Diana."
"Why would you promise her that?"
He chewed at his lip, thinking for a moment on how to answer. "Ali was usually the hands-on parent. The one who would do this sort of thing. She would go to meetings, host birthday parties, and see her piano recitals. I was always too busy with work. And um, other excuses. I found myself disappointing both Ali and Diana more than once."
Adam frowned, flicking the cigarette on the ashtray. His angry eyes spoke more volume than any words could.
"But I want to be different for their sake. Give Alison a break, and bond with Diana. Especially since we have her this weekend. I don't know, perhaps it is stupid. I don't know the first thing about bakin---"
"I'll do it." Adam said firmly.
"What? You will?" Lawrence stared at him in astonishment. "Are you sure?"
"Hell yeah I am. We'll make the best damn brownies her school has ever tasted."
"I was thinking we would bake cookies, since they're easier."
"We'll make the best damn cookies her school has ever tasted."
Lawrence laughed. "Thank you. Now, I should pick her up, speaking of which. Would you mind getting the ingredients while I'm gone?"
Adam waved him off. "You can count on me. I'm totally prepared---"
"No edibles."
"Aw."
Adam heard Diana before she even arrived, with her high pitched voice echoing through the halls. The door swung open and lo and behold, she burst in charging at full speed the moment she plopped down her My Little Pony lunch box.
"We're home!"
"Hey Princess!" He chuckled, lifting her up and twirling her around. He was only able to do this for about three seconds before putting her down again. "Oof. You need to stop growin', kid. My back can't take it."
Diana giggled. "You're just old, Adam."
Adam put a hand to his heart in faux offense. "Ouch. You wound me." he teased, poking at her nose.
"Sorry, it's just the truth, and I gotta be honest."
"Huh, can't argue with that. Speaking of old, where's your Dad?"
"Coming!" Lawrence called out. In typical Dad fashion, he was carrying Diana's backpack and handling his cane. Though he tried not to show it, he was clearly struggling to manage both, as judging by his limp being more obvious. Immediately Adam rushed to his partner's side, taking the backpack off his hands, hanging it up on the hook.
"Diana, don't forget to take your shoes off." As she was about to do so, he said, "and don't kick them off, please." Begrudgingly she obliged and unbuckled them right next to the closed door.
"I didn't have a good day at school today." She said, shuffling towards the couch and flopping on it. Adam made a note of her mismatched socks, one rainbow, the other blue with puppies.
"Aw no, what happened?" He asked, to both Lawrence and Diana. Last week they both heard from Alison that she had been repeatedly picked on by a bully named Brayden. They had spoken to the school and the parents, so he was hoping the little shit wasn't causing her any more grief. Otherwise he would have to resort to violence.
Diana made a face. "We had to do fractions."
Adam winced, pulling the exact same expression of disgust as Diana. "Ugh, man. I hated fractions when I was your age. Useless, if you ask me. In fact, I promise you that you won't use fractions anywhere except for school."
"That's not true," Lawrence interjected, handing Diana a plate of apple slices from the kitchen, which she happily started to devour. "Fractions are important, honey."
Diana didn't look convinced, but she nodded. "Can we watch SpongeBob before I do my homework?"
"Actually..." He said with a shared smile at Adam. "We have a surprise for you in the kitchen."
She gasped. "For real life?!"
"Ye---" But before either of them could tell her what the surprise was, she sprinted into the kitchen and let out a squeal. Together (although Lawrence hobbled behind a bit) they discovered Diana rummaging through the grocery bags. Adam had bought regular stuff: sugar, butter, flour, salt; he also took the liberty of buying all sorts of confectionary decorations. The latter of which Diana was more invested in: sprinkles, silver balls, icing, chocolate chips, walnuts and little candies.
"Can we bake now?!" She begged. "PleasepleasePLEASE!"
Lawrence nodded. "Alright, let's get cracking."
As expected, Diana did little to help with the baking. After helping crack a singular egg, she scampered off to watch cartoons while Adam and Lawrence attempted to follow the recipe to the book. Mostly Lawrence, since Adam was rather distracted, despite being in charge of the dry ingredients.
"Don't forget to add salt."
"I won't."
"But not too much salt."
"Yeah, yeah."
Lawrence had successfully combined the wet and dry ingredients into one bowl, but it was hard to celebrate when all he could focus on was Adam staring at him dreamily. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing his strong arms, and it was impossible not to look.
"Do I have something on my face?"
"You do."
Automatically Lawrence started to touch his cheek, and in that moment had taken the bait, Adam flung some flour into the air, swirls of dust hitting Lawrence right in the face, and in his hair.
"Don't worry, I gotcha." He used his fingers to brush it with a cloth. With a cheeky grin, he moved over to bump Lawrence's hip, sliding his hand over to graze it slightly.
Lawrence, though startled, accepted the affection by pulling him closer, combing his hand through a mop of messy dark hair and tracing his fingers against the man's jawline. Adam took this as an invitation to make another move, heart aflutter as he finally pressed his lips against Lawrence's, at last closing the gap between them. He took this opportunity to slip some tongue in, a soft moan escaping him as he reached for Lawrence's belt----only for the latter to pull away.
"Not in the kitchen!" He hissed, cheeks flushed. "Are you out of your mind?"
"S' not my fault." He whined. "You're so fucking sexy when you roll your sleeves up."
"Need I remind you that we are not alone?" He warned, waving his finger.
"It was just a kiss."
Lawrence snorted at his attempt at innocence. "Just get the mixer out, please."
Adam rolled up his own sleeves as if nothing happened. "You got it! We'll continue this later."
"Diana, honey, would you like to sprinkle some chocolate chips in?" He asked, ruffling her hair fondly.
Diana squealed,. "Yes!"
"Ready kiddo?" Adam said, preparing to open the oven with Diana by his side.
"Ready!"
A blast of hot air hit them at once, smelling of sweet chocolate goodness as they reached inside to retrieve the pan of cookies. To their delight, they looked absolutely delicious. They were crispy, but not burnt. Fluffy, but not too soft. Round with the perfect chocolate chip to cookie ratio, they couldn't have looked better.
After they let the cookies cool off, Diana was practically bouncing with excitement. "Can we decorate them?"
"Maybe we should taste them first?" Lawrence suggested, already cautious.
"Man come on, they look amazing! And they probably taste amazing too!"
But when they each took a bite out of the smallest three cookies, they promptly spat them out in unision.
"Eeeew it's salty!" Diana said.
"Mine has a weird salty after taste too," Lawrence tilted his head. "Adam, how much salt did you add?"
"Uuuuhhh..."
"Adam."
"It might have been a bit more than I should have." He admitted. "But it's not that bad---" He took another bite, forcing himself not to gag. "Oh God, thisissogross. I mean, wow! So good." Wiping his mouth, he said, "Yeah, no I wouldn't feed this to my worst enemy. What do we do now?"
"Box mix?" Diana piped up.
"Box mix." Lawrence and Adam agreed.
As it would turn out, Pillsbury Cookie Dough tastes just as good as homemade.
as always, credits to @/mychem1calbr0mance for the prompt week!! song is sailor song by gigi perez<3!!
—
"i saw her in the rightest way, looking like anne hathaway."
adam would definitely worship lawrence and vise versa
"laughing while she hit her pen and coughed"
guys this is my favorite headcanon but adam deffo would have a vape LMFAOOO lawrence would HATEEEE it.
"begging, 'baby would you please do the things you said you'd do to me?'"
i've seen so many of you horny fucks write submissive adam/lawrence with this line so don't even PLAY when i say this is them
"won't you kiss me on the mouth and love me like a sailor? and when you get a taste can you tell me what's my flavor?"
this line is so deprived gay man who has shoved all of his homosexuality down and then this random man comes and makes him throw it up. them being eachother's first queer relationship makes me just. Ugh. NEVER FORGET WHAT WAS TAKEN FROM US!!
"i don't believe in god, but i believe that you're my savior."
apprentice!lawrence who has a savior complex and non-apprentice!adam who's still waiting for the saving to kick in (or adam waiting for lawrence to come back.)
"my mom says that she's worried but i'm dripping in this favor. but when we're getting dirty i forget all that is wrong."
homophobic parents. for adam, kicking him out and getting angry at him (see original script) or lawrence, threatening to send him to a christian conversion camp. then finding solice in eachother.
"i sleep so i can see you, 'cause i hate to wait so long."
again this one just screams adam waiting for lawrence to come back for him.
"she took my fingers to her mouth"
kinky chainshipping... save me.....
"the kinda thing that makes you proud that nothing else had ever worked out"
lawrence who stays up at night wondering if he did the right thing all those years ago. if leaving alison was worth it to be with this man who was ten years younger than him who he loved more then life itself.
"and maybe i've tried other things"
adam who is a GIANT substance abuser.
"but nothing can capture the sting of the venom she's gonna spit out right now."
TOXIC. CHAINSHIPPING. thats all!
"i can be the cat, baby, you can be the mouse."
toxic chainshipping again, chasing eachother over and over.
"we can go forever until you wanna sit it out"
gay marriage wasn't legalized until 2015. 14 years after they met.
once again, credits to the amazing @/mychem1calbr0mance !!!!
—
Lawrence wasn’t sure why every fiber in his body was pulling him back to the bathroom he spent nights having rancid memories of, but the creaking sliding of the metal door was one too strong to fight off.
It hadn’t been too long ago when he was on the other side of this door. The room smelled horrifically. Two rotting corpses in the upper left corner made Lawrence’s heart stop temporarily. His leg taps rhythmically against the gentle tile of the bathroom. It was worse than he remembered.
A severed foot prodes its way into his vision. He ignores it and crushes the phone under his foot, unbridled guilt settling.
His cane poked and prodded at the brain matter that had crusted on Zepp’s head. This, Lawrence thinks, is why I did not become a brain surgeon.
Blue, icy eyes drift up to the reason he had come back to the bathroom. The corpse slumped against a pipe. Adam, who died alone. Alone, cold, and afraid, with Lawrence’s false promise on his tongue.
The doctor makes his way over and sits next to Adam. “Hello, Adam.” His voice, silk as smooth, whispered on deaf ears. A small, selfish part of Lawrence’s soul wishes his ghost was trapped here so he could still visit.
Adam’s corpse was still here. It wasn’t him. Why isn’t he getting up to leave? God, Lawrence. Get it together.
A nagging feeling of pure and unsettled hatred bubbles to the surface. He can’t imagine how the brunet would react if he learned Lawrence was an apprentice. “I’m afraid I came back a little late, but I’m here now.” He offers as if it still matters. Like Adam would still want his word.
“I’ll ask John for your key, or something to free you. I’ll bury you. Bring you flowers every chance I get. Leave stuff for the holidays.” Lawrence tried to redeem himself but still met with silence. He gets up with a groan and Adam’s body still isn’t moving. Lawrence’s hand cups his deformed and decomposed cheek, bringing it up to his hair (which would fall out if he touched it too harshly). Lawrence sighed softly.
“It should have been me.” He thinks to himself, walking out and closing the door behind him, once again locking Adam in.
prompt week credits to @/mychem1calbr0mance!! <3 ilysm ronnie.
--
Adam tucked a hair behind Diana’s head. “Goodnight, stink. I love you so much.” He pressed his lips against his daughter’s head. “Lawr and I are gonna be in the other room, ‘kay?”
The brunette nodded slowly. Her night light was on, her door was open, and the closet was checked three times. Adam got up and began walking away before pausing at Diana’s soft voice.
“Daddy.” She said sleepily.
He looked over. “Yeah, pumpkin?” Adam planted his hands on either side of her arms. She blinks. Her eyes are wet andAdam swears by everything his heart genuinely stops.
“Pumpkin,” Adam whispered. “He’s not gonna hurt you. Okay? Daddy made sure of that. Lawrence made sure of that. No one will ever hurt you again. Do you trust me?”
Diana looked up at him, the empty look in her eyes he was so familiar with. But then, a crack of a smile and a nod. “Can we go to the store tomorrow? Larry said he’d buy me Pokemon cards.” She looked over at Adam, grinning wildly. Adam sighed jokingly. “Goodnight, stink.” He repeated. “I’m down the hall. Always.”
He cracked her door and made his way to the bedroom. He collapsed against his boyfriend’s chest. The older man chuckled. “Rough night?” The blond stroked his hair. “I need you so, so bad.” Adam roughly yanked his own pants off, smashing his lips against Lawrence’s.
A squeak fell from Lawrence’s mouth as he sunk into the kiss, slowly taking off his own clothes. The two grinned against each other's mouths as Adam moaned softly while his boxers got pulled off and thrown under the sheets.
As their bodies heat up against each other and gentle touches become loud moans, Adam clasps a hand over both of their mouths. “Shh. Shut up.” He whispered as gentle feet pitter against the floor. Adam slips his boxers and ducks into the bathroom just as his door opens. Diana’s head pops in. “Lawrence? Is my Dad in here?” She whispered, climbing onto the bed and into his lap. The blond smiled gently.
“Yeah, Diana. He’s… going to the bathroom.” Lawrence whispered, stroking the younger girl’s hair. “Did you have a nightmare, princess?” Diana looked down before nodding. At this point, a fully dressed Adam comes back out. “Hey, stinker. You botherin’ Lawr?”
Diana flung herself into Adam’s arms, the waterworks starting up. “Daddy.” She whined. “Can I sleep with you and Larry tonight?” She begged, flashing him the puppy dog eyes he could never turn down. Lawrence looked over and smiled at the interaction, a tint of red spreading over his face.
Adam pulled her against his chest. “Yeah. ‘Course you can, pumpkin.” The brunet put his daughter against the bed and tucked her in as Lawrence turned to sandwich the girl.
“Goodnight, you two,” Lawrence said. Adam spooned the girl. Usually, he’d be upset if Diana interrupted their personal time, but he couldn’t help but feel whole as the three of them lay in this bed.
prompt week by the lovely @/mychem1calbr0mance !!! 🤍
--
-Adam and Lawrence had grown significantly closer together over the course of recovering from their trap. Even getting together romantically.
-When John took both of them in, however, Lawrence started noticing more. Parts of Adam's appearance changing, but most concerning, used needles.
-Lawrence grabs one from the trash (carefully) and confronts Adam, who immediately bursts out into hysterics.
-He lifts up his shirt to reveal two scars under his pectorals. Lawrence's face grows red and shameful. He apologizes with an awkward mutter.
-Lawrence who loves to run his fingers over the scars, the raised skin calming him. Adam, who secretly gets off to it. If only his hand was just a little higher.
-On days when Adam wants to lay in bed, cry, chainsmoke, and forget he was ever a girl, Lawrence comes in to hold him for hours. He'll usually get out of bed at 7, refusing to get back into bed until 8pm. Even now, Lawrence can't stay in bed once he's been up and moving. So for Adam, this is huge.
-Lawrence makes an effort to tell him how handsome and manly he looks, kissing his arms, etc.
-Amanda definitely gave him a horrific haircut the first time btw.
-Adam would also cave and show Lawrence embarssing photos of him freshly transitioned/before he was.
Idk these kinda sucked but I think about trans!adam sm.... so... :3
Lawrence slammed his front door and slid down slowly. He put his hand to cover his face before bringing them up to rake through his stringy, laid down blond hair. A ticking sound goes off to his right.
He jerks up, looking around. Jesus, he’s going crazy. Lawrence sits up. He needs a coffee. Walking to his car makes gravel crunching sound weird. He listens to the soft clicks and crunches under his shoes. His head is pounding. Listen, marriage is supposed to be a team effort and Lawrence was definitely putting in his fair share. Alison needs to stop taking his words out of context.
The slam from the car door was too loud for his own preference. However, that brief bubble of annoyance went away when Lawrence felt the hair on his neck stand up. He looked back. His key slips into the hole to fit into the ignition.
Two miles seems a lot longer when you’re angry. And when there's nothing good on the radio. Lawrence ignores his pager going off again. Carla can wait.
He orders a medium iced latte with whole milk, two sugars, and vanilla creamer. The barista looks at him with what he assumes to be shock but comes off as irritation. Lawrence sighed. His button up felt tight as he sat outside to sip on his coffee. Clicks go off in the distance and Lawrence convinces himself that he needs to get hearing aids, despite only being 46. He gets up. If Carla pages him one more time, he’s going to get in his car and drive off a bridge.
A scrawny brunet moves closer. He is hauling a camera. Lawrence is glad he doesn’t have his wallet on him except for his $2.50 change. As he’s walking, the other man trips, spilling his coffee on Lawrence before looking panicked and running off. The blond is thankful he has a spare blue button up in his car for a shift he was supposed to cover.
Oh well, what’s fifteen minutes more late? She could definitely wait.
(credits to @mychem1calbr0mance for the prompt week!)
