Kradam: One day at a time

[acquiescence]

Title: One day at a time
Rating: R
Word Count: 2820
Summary: Kris arrives at the Temple and makes some friends
Notes: This is a brief look into the backstory of Kris from my fic Coming Home from the kradambigbang. This is just an introduction to Kris' life at the temple, and his training there. For the Summer Heat Wave Challenge, prompt: School




When he first came to the temple Kris had been a little scared by the whole thing - he didn't know what they would expect of him, what the training would be like, and of it really. He'd made the choice to come of course, Daniel would have a chance to go to one of the city schools thanks to the contract Kris had signed, and that made all of his trepidation more than worth it. Daniel wouldn't have the chance otherwise, and if Kris could give his brother this opportunity then he would and had.

He was sitting nervously on his bed that morning, the trip into the city had been amazing, or it would have been if Kris had been able to look out the window of his transport as the scenery changed around him. Instead he caught only the briefest glimpse of the outside of the temple, rising up and over all the buildings that surrounded it - the very heart of the city - before he was ushered inside and into one of the nicest rooms he could ever remember being in.

It was expansive, the room was obviously made for comfort, unlike the home built for utility where Kris had grown up. The walls were a warm yellow color and Kris felt like he could almost seem them glowing and warming the room, it was all too tempting to let himself sink into one of the many plush arm chairs that filled the room and just soak up the feeling that radiated from this place. Instead though, Kris was invited to sit at a round table, it was small, wide enough that he could reach across it's distance without stretching much and on the opposite side sat a woman.

"Welcome Kris, my name is Celia." She offered him a reassuring smile, and gestured to a pot of tea that sat between them on the table, two small cups sitting beside. Kris could only nod dumbly, and watch as she took the tea pot with was more than just a simple gesture and carefully filled each cup, before setting the pot down once again, he'd been entranced by the movement, watching the way her fingers curled around the handle of the pot, the easy turn of her wrist as she poured, the simple understated tone to the entire gesture - it was beautiful. He was pulled from his study of her hands as she moved his cup closer to him.

"Thank you." He felt even more aware of just how young he was here sitting with Celia and sipping at the tea she had poured for him.

"I'll be your guardian during your time with us at the temple." She explained, her voice was soothing, easy to listen to and Kris was glad it had been her sent to greet him today and not someone else, perhaps this wouldn't be as horrible as he had feared as he packed his things to leave the night before. His mother had been distraught, she didn't want him to go - but Kris had been insistent, it was the only way they would be able to afford to send Daniel to school in the city, and the only way his brother would have even a chance at attending the University when he was old enough. Kris could do this for them, it would mean a better life for all of them - himself included. They didn't accept just anyone into the temple after all, it was a honor to even be given the chance to have made the decision that ended up with him sitting there awkwardly across from Celia. "You can come to me for anything you need while you're here." She explained. "I'll be in charge of your schedules, and taking care of all of your basic needs, and if you ever need anyone to talk to, it is my job to make sure you receive the proper training during your time with us, and address any concerns you might have about anything at all."

Kris nodded dumbly, not really sure what he should say, if she needed some information about him or anything, but she seemed to know who he was - or at least he hoped so and this hadn't all been some big misunderstanding and he'd been sent to the wrong place.

"If you don't have any questions at the moment," She paused long enough to raise an eyebrow at him, giving Kris a chance to speak, before she continued after he'd stayed silent, "I'll take you to your room and you can get settled in for the night." And she was up on her feet a moment later and Kris was setting down his cup and scrambling after her.

Celia pointed things out along the way, training rooms, tea rooms, service rooms, recreation rooms, the kitchens, visiting rooms. She explained how things worked as well, and gave Kris an idea about the sort of schedule he would be following during his stay with them, at least for the first several months while he adjusted to the change of living in the Temple. She seemed very nice, and Kris thought maybe she was being honest when she'd told him he could come to her for anything. Celia made a point to stop outside a certain door and made Kris pay particular attention to it's location. "This is my office, if you ever need anything you can almost always find me here, and if I'm not available there will be someone here who knows how to get in contact with me." She promised. And they continued on until they entered a long hallway filled with doors, these rooms were much smaller than any of the rooms Celia had shown him on their way here - but these were living quarters not training rooms, or classrooms.

Kris' name was written on the outside of the door where they stopped in an elegant script that Kris rather liked. "This is where you'll be staying during your first few months." Celia explained. It was larger than the rooms he had at his home with his parents - and it was his, he wouldn't have to share this room with Daniel, and much to Kris' delight he found he had his own bathroom as well, or it was a bathroom shared between his room and the one adjacent but it was almost like having his own.

"I'll leave you to get settled then, if there isn't anything else you need. You'll be notified when the next meal is served." She promised him and gave him another of her welcoming smiles before she disappeared and left Kris alone in his room.

The few things he'd brought with him were all ready there, and so Kris spent the time alone in his room to unpack. It wasn't much of course, and it didn't take nearly enough time to keep him occupied the way he might have liked - the few changes of clothes he'd put into the drawers, but the information he'd been given before coming to the Temple said they would provide him with the appropriate clothing for his training (that there had been nothing in the drawers to start with, was a bit worrisome - and Kris hoped they didn't expect him to start training naked), a few books were put onto the shelves, and a single picture, he placed on the table by his bedside, his family standing as a unit smiling arms around one another. And that was all that remained of the life Kris had before he'd come to the Temple.

Before Kris could get too caught up in his own thoughts a chime rang out, apparently that was the notification of the next meal. He cautiously opened his door and saw others, boys and girls his own age filing down the hall, laughing and talking as they went to their meal. And Kris slipped out of his room and followed after them.

---

The training ended up being no where near as scary as Kris had thought it would be in those first several months. Mostly he took classes, history lessons about the Temple, the Clerics and how the companion class had come to be. It was interesting he decided, and Kris easily took in the new information he was given.

There were also mandatory recreation hours, and relaxation hours, all interspersed into his class schedule. Kris found he enjoyed his new life there at the Temple, and after a tentative start, he made friends easily. There was Charles first, he was loud and occasionally obnoxious, but Kris liked him, and they had become fast friends after that first week, Charles sliding into the seat beside Kris at an evening meal and introducing himself before he launched into a talk about his life before the Temple.

It was good to have a friend, someone beyond those he shared classes with - someone he could joke with and who was easy to laugh with and occasionally at when the situation called for it. He and Charles became practically inseparable during their time outside classes.

Cale had come later, when they had been moved out of the initial classes and onto more specialized training. Kris would of course receive training in every area important for a companion to know, but all companions excelled in certain areas - Kris' first area of specialization was music.

He had a natural talent for it, even when he'd lived at home with his family he'd enjoyed making music, whistling, humming, picking out off tune melodies on a piano beyond repair. Here though, they had more instruments than Kris had ever imagined even existing, it was amazing. And he wanted to learn to play as many of them as possible.

Of course he'd started with the piano, it was perfect. The keys smooth under his fingers, and the sounds - it was never the discordant sound of notes long out of tune, but harmonies rose up easily out of it when Kris sat himself down at the piano and put his mind to it. It was different like this, at home he'd made up the melodies he'd played, memorizing them through rote - but this, he learned how to read music, what the little dots on the lines meant and soon he could create music created by others. He still enjoyed making music himself the most - but he listened to his instructor, and learned the way he was supposed to, until he could play even the most complicated pieces, and he could create things he never even imagined possible when he'd first started playing.

"You're not bad." Cale had said to him one day, and Kris looked up from the keys where he'd been putting all his attention for the better part of the last hour. Kris had seen the other boy during his lessons, sitting with a guitar in hand bent over pages of music and scribbling down notes every few minutes. He had wondered what he was working on, but Kris was almost always too absorbed in his own music to ever think of going to ask.

"Thanks." Kris flushed, it was less praise than he'd gotten from his instructor, but because it came from someone he didn't really know it some how meant more. "You play the guitar."

"Yeah." Kris wanted to smack himself for that statement, you play the guitar, he was obviously an idiot - he was sure at some point they'd get around to instruction on how to have a proper conversation, but he hadn't gotten to that part of the curriculum yet, so he was just going to sit here and make an idiot of himself. "I'm Cale."

"Kris." He inclined his head and grinned. "How long have you been playing?" He asked, and managed much to his amazement not to sound anymore like an idiot than he all ready had up to this point.

"About six months now. I was really horrible when I started." He laughed at himself and Kris grinned.

"And now?"

"Marginally less horrible." Cale smirked.

And that had been it, after that first stilted and awkward conversation, Kris and Cale began spending their time together - Cale even started to show Kris how to play the guitar in exchange for Kris playing with him on the piano from time to time. It was good, and at some point Kris had stopped feeling like he was just visiting here, and maybe this really was where he belonged.

---

"I have a feeling you're leaving things out." Adam commented with a pointed glance at Kris while they lounged in bed that afternoon. Kris' training was still a topic they had done a fairly good job of avoiding, but slowly Adam let Kris fill in some of the details about his life before they had been assigned to one another.

"Well yes, I can't exactly fill in all the blanks in one afternoon." Kris reminded Adam with a grin poking his side with a finger, making Adam squirm away from him. There were classes Kris had a feeling Adam might not want to hear about, lessons in pleasure, and he still kept those to himself - and instead only let Adam enjoy the result of those classes.

Adam nodded closing his eyes for a moment, the sun was pouring in through the large windows that opened out into the city, Kris liked it. He'd liked Adam's home outside the city, but it was so large for just the two of them. This was better, Adam could spend time with his friends here in the city and Kris could visit Allison without causing anyone too many anxiety attacks. It was a much better set up for them all really, and Kris was glad Adam had decided to make the move.

"Besides we were just talking about friends." Kris reminded Adam with a grin. "If you want I'll tell you more about my lessons next time, give you a more complete picture of life at the Temple." He told Adam though he knew that it was unlikely.

"We'll see." Adam decided after a quiet moment, and Kris smiled, watching the way the sun wrapped itself around Adam's body, some parts shining bright orange in the light, and others hidden in shadow. Adam looked good here, happy even - in a way he never was back in the home outside the city. Kris liked to think that he was responsible in part for this change in Adam. That the Clerics hadn't been wrong when they made the assignment, and that he was good for Adam in the way that Adam had been good for him.

"Okay." Kris nodded, curling himself around Adam's side, fitting himself there in a way that was well practiced now, his leg hooking over Adam's thigh and pulling him just a bit closer as he pressed his face into that space where Adam's neck met his shoulder, nosing against the sun warmed skin he found there, pressing a brief kiss there as he settled himself against Adam's side. "Are we still going out tonight?" Kris asked after he'd settled himself against Adam's side, clinging without actually holding Adam.

"I don't see why we shouldn't." Adam murmured, turning his face to press his lips against the top of Kris' head.

Kris hummed softly, closing his eyes and just enjoying the feeling of Adam. "Okay, we should start getting ready soon."

"Pretty comfortable right here." Adam said after a moment, and Kris smiled, he liked that this wasn't just affecting him. Though he'd been affected from the very beginning, it was the pair of them now.

"Me too."

"You know they're going to be running the show again tomorrow night." Adam reminded Kris, which made him laugh.

"Yes, that's what you told me last night when we put off our plans, we keep this up much longer and we're going to miss it entirely." Kris warned with a laugh, lifting his face to look at Adam.

Adam grinned, and shrugged. "It's not like there won't be a new show after this one closes." He reminded Kris who just laughed.

They would miss the show that night, and the night after when Kris would manage to get them both dressed and heading for the door when Adam would stop him right in the entrance hall for just a quick kiss which ended up with their clothes in tatters and Kris gasping as Adam fucked him against the wall, and the night after that they actually made it out to the private transport Kris had waiting, but when they arrived neither was in a state to be seen in public.

They did, however, make it to the next show that came into town, two weeks later.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/acquiescence_/]

that's the plan :D