Rated G, it’s pure fluff (with a dash of angsty Adam)
1.5k, Killemses
Thanks to @funhausplease and @oldmachaywood for letting me yell at you guys about this idea!
Lyrics from Toothbrush by DNCE
It had been a lovely evening. James and Elyse had invited Adam over for a home cooked meal, his first in weeks he admitted while James served him up a plate of lemon rosemary chicken with some penne pasta and roasted bell peppers. They watched a movie after eating dinner, some cheesy rom-com James suggested, and Adam played with Benson on the floor.
It was around 9pm when Adam started to grab his things to leave. “Thank you guys, really, this was awesome. I had a really great time.”
James was smiling as he responded, “Anytime dude. You’re always welcome here.”
Elyse was fiddling around on her phone. As Adam slipped on his shoes a song started to play.
Baby you don't have to rush
You can leave a toothbrush
At my place
At my place
We don't need to keep it hush
You can leave a toothbrush
At my place
At my place
Elyse was grinning at Adam as the song continued from the phone she was holding in her hand. “Like James said, you are always welcome here, and you can stay here as long as you want.”
When you're standing there in your underwear
And my T-shirt from the night before
With your messed up hair
And your feet still bare
Would you mind closing the bedroom door (ah ooh)
Adam laughed as he gave Benson one last pet goodbye and opened the door. “Thanks again, I’ll probably take you up on another home cooked meal if you’re offering, but don’t think I’ll be leaving a toothbrush here anytime soon.”
Elyse turned the song off when the door was shut and she couldn’t hear Adam’s footsteps anymore.
“Do you think he got the hint,” she asked James, turning and giving him a hug.
“No, but I think he will get the hint. Even if we have to hit him in the face with it.”
———————————————————————————————————
When Adam gets to the office on Monday theres a tupperware on his desk filled with homemade mac-n’-cheese. The sticky note on the top has a heart and a dick drawn on it. He puts the tupperware in the fridge and the sticky note on his desk, glancing at it every now and again.
Adam’s day instantly turns into a good one, even the incredibly shitty demos he has to play and his computer crashing don’t get him down. Elyse noticed that even the simple act of bringing Adam a lunch that wasn’t something he could buy at a gas station had cheered him up. And seeing Adam happy made her happy.
During lunch, James made a quick trip to the store. He hoped to get there and back and sneak the gift onto Adam’s desk without anyone noticing he was gone. He managed to do just that by complaining loudly of an upset stomach before disappearing.
When Adam got back to his desk there was a purple toothbrush, still in the package, sitting on his desk with a little red ribbon tied around it. A note next to it read, “For our place xoxo Willems^2”
Adam’s heart skipped a beat. He wondered if they actually meant it, or if this was just a joke because of the song. He decided to not read too much into it while still at work and freak out about the possibility that he was getting hit on by his coworkers, his married coworkers, later in the privacy of his own home.
When he got home, Adam pulled the toothbrush out of his bag. He was going over to James and Elyse’s for Halo night on Wednesday, so he had a full day and a half to freak out about the hidden meaning of the toothbrush before bringing it over to their place.
He couldn’t imagine that they actually wanted him to be in a relationship with them, they were married! He was used to people asking him about having a three-way with them when they found out he was bi, but it was usually a knee jerk reaction, not something that anyone ever waited for, especially not this long, they had known him forever.
He did what he knew how to do: drink vodka. He figured if he couldn’t puzzle out his feelings as well as theirs, he sure as hell could find solis in the bottom of the bottle.
———————————————————————————————————
An uneventful Tuesday came and past. James and Elyse, as well as the others, noticed Adam seemed a bit off but no one asked about it. They figured if something was really wrong he would tell them. Elyse played Toothbrush again while Adam was getting ready to leave. He didn’t know why, but it made him smile as he pulled his bag over his shoulder and turned off his monitors for the evening.
Wednesday was much better. Adam put the Tito’s away and actually thought about what he was going to say to James and Elyse, if they brought up the idea of dating. He still wasn’t convinced they would, but if they did he wanted to be prepared.
The night started out great. James was singing Toothbrush in the kitchen when Adam got there.
No need to question next time we meet
I know you're coming home with me, home with me
Sweat like a sauna
Break out the ice
I know you're gonna stay the night, stay the night
“Oh really,” Adam said, “you think I’m going to stay the night?”
“Only if you want to Baby Boy,” came Elyse’s response from the living room. She was setting up the game while James was pulling the pizza out of the oven. They had made chicken and pesto pizza with sun dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts for Halo night even though Adam had insisted they let him bring dinner this time. Instead, he brought two six packs of cider, the kind he knew James and Elyse would like.
“I mean, with all this subtle toothbrush messaging I though maybe my breath smelled bad or something,” he said as he put the cider in the fridge and searched for one Benson Willems.
“Have you been listening to the song at all? It has nothing to do with halitosis!” James said in a mock offended voice.
“I have been listening to the song,” Adam said. He took a deep breath before he continued, “it sounds like its about wanting to be more than fuck buddies.”
James and Elyse laughed at the phrasing but Elyse caught the look in Adam’s eye.
“I mean, Adam, let’s sit on the couch.” Elyse was already in one corner and James had practically sprinted over so he would be in the other before Adam had even had time to react.
“Okaaaaay,” he said, easing into the middle space in the couch.
“Adam. We, we like you. A lot. Both as a friend, as possibly as more than a friend. I guess this whole Toothbrush thing was more about showing you that you always have a home here. With us. James and I really care about you, and yes we do want to be moe than fuck buddies.”
“And we understand,” Jame started, “if you don’t want this. Its probably pretty weird to be approached by your married friends about being in a relationship together, but we really want to try. If you want to try that is.”
They were silent for a minute before Adam spoke up. “So, what would change? Would we still hang out and play Halo and watch movies, just now with kissing?”
“Well, yeah,” Elyse said, “and you could even leave a toothbrush here so you could stay the night.”
“Stay the night,” James echoed, grinning.
“I think I’d like to try and make this work. You’re sure I wouldn’t be third wheeling? Or like, intruding or anything?”
They could tell Adam was trying to mull over the consequences of this choice before any had the chance to arise.
“We’re sure. We’ve talked about this a lot actually. Because we really like you and we want to make this work.”
———————————————————————————————————
Months passed and Adam grew more and more confident in his relationship with both James and Elyse.
James would sing to him on mornings when they rolled out of bed together:
When you're standing there in your underwear
And my T-shirt from the night before
With your messed up hair
And your feet still bare
Would you mind closing the bedroom door (ah ooh)
And Elyse would text him song lyrics or pictures of toothbrushes when he was feeling down. The song sort of became a part of their relationship as well. It was a comfort to Adam, a promise that he always had a place to go to even if that place wasn’t his own home. James and Elyse would remind him how much they care for and love him and he grew to love them as well.
Their relationship was not one Adam expected, but he wouldn’t trade it for the world.
