Confusion

(This song ; ;)

A.J.-

Confusion swam within his mind as A.J. sat in the back of Adam's car. He hadn't been told to, but he'd felt that it was appropriate to do so. Besides, there had been an umbrella on the front seat.

They had stayed at the club for an hour or so more before Adam offered to take him to his home. A.J. watched out the back window as Adam drove carefully through traffic. The distance seemed about as far as the drive to the club had been with Jade, but in the opposite direction. When Adam pulled into a small attached garage at an apartment complex, A.J. licked his lips and fidgeted with his hands for a moment, before remembering that Jade didn't like when he did that.

"A.J.?"

Jerking his eyes up from his lap, A.J. realized that Adam had already turned off the car and was holding his door open for him, a hand that had been offered to help him, hovering awkwardly between them.

Not wanting to seem rude. Or really, more rude, A.J. hurried to grasp the man's hand, then slid from the car. "Thank you, sir." He said, his head down and eyes on Adam's shoes. There was silence for a moment before Adam cleared his throat, then wrapped his fingers around A.J.'s hand where it still rested against his palm.

"Come on, A.J.. One step at a time, hm?"

A.J. bit back a sigh as he nodded, then allowed the man to lead him inside a first floor apartment. He honestly had no idea what to expect, though his short time on the street made him wary. He thought when Jade offered him a place, that sex would be the price for whatever he would give in return, but that hadn't ended up being the case. Rules. That had been the man's vice.

I don't know which I'd rather have to live with. He didn't mind rules, but the extent with which Jade's were enforced was unnerving. A.J. knew that he'd messed up, and consequently been thrown out, but he didn't understand how it could have been so simple for Jade. A few mistakes, none of which were dangerous or intentionally disrespectful, caused the man to get so stressed that he had to get rid of him.

And A.J. had seen it, too. The worry lines in the man's brow. His stress levels had been rising ever since he'd brought A.J. to his home. He wasn't too surprised that the man had let him go, but it had just been so sudden. He'd been given a chance to relax and actually sleep in a bed, and eat some food that he hadn't had to dig out of a garbage can.

Looking up as Adam locked the door, then faced him, A.J. was instantly worried about what rules the man would have. He couldn't see any immediate signs of stress, but it couldn't be an easy decision to just bring some random man into your home. When Adam crossed his arms over his chest and straightened his back, A.J. steeled himself.

"I'm sure you're wondering what my rules are, as that man tends to be quite famous for his strict list of them."

A.J. licked his lips nervously and nodded, shrugging a little to try and appear a little smaller without even realizing it. There was a pause for a moment, making A.J. fidget until he heard Adam blow out a quiet breath.

"A.J., my only rules are to respect my property and myself. I don't need you to call me master, or anything besides my name. I also don't need you to ask me for permission to do most things. I would like it if you let me cook for you, though, if you would like a hot meal. As I greatly enjoy feeding others."

Blinking out of his surprise, A.J. shifted from foot to foot, waiting for there to be more. When Adam just shrugged, then walked over and rustled his hair before walking past, A.J. realized that the man really had no other rules. It was a bit odd after having stayed with Jade. When Adam disappeared down the hall, then around a corner, A.J. hesitantly followed after slipping off his shoes by the door.

When he finally found Adam, he was in what was clearly a small kitchen. It was almost nothing compared to Jade's, but it was absolutely spotless, even though it had twice as many devices.

"What would you like for lunch, A.J.?" Adam asked.

The man already seemed to be retrieving stuff from his refrigerator, so A.J. just smiled and found a bar stool to slip onto. "Anything is fine with me. I'm always hungry." He added that last part to try and make the man feel like his cooking skills would always be appreciated, but when Adam leaned back and looked at him, A.J. fidgeted and looked down at the counter.

"Then I'll always feed you."

When he no longer felt eyes on him, A.J. peaked back up at Adam. The man seemed to have dropped the subject and moved onto cooking whatever it is he had planned. While he wasn't paying close attention to what was actually going into the two pans Adam was using, A.J. was able to tell after a few minutes exactly what would be for lunch.

"Do you like anything on your pancakes? I'd like for you to pick at least one thing, even if it's ice cream." Adam said, drawing A.J.'s attention away from scanning the well kept room to return to the man. He was glad that he didn't mention his clear health issue with being underweight.

"Do you have any fruit?" He asked. He wasn't a huge fan of sweets on top of sweets, especially if the pancakes would already likely have syrup on them. Fruit was tart and a little sweet, but much healthier and went well with pancakes.

"Absolutely. I'll give you a good helping of several, and if you don't want any or can't finish them, I'll eat them. Sound good, kiddo?"

A.J. frowned at the nickname, but then just shrugged it off. It wasn't terrible, and he'd certainly been called worse things. Even by his parents.

"Yes sir." He replied, not even realizing that he forgot to call the man by his name. It had just become a habit to speak as though he were below everyone else.

Adam made a face for a second, but quickly covered the expression with a small smile as he brought over a large plate and set it in front of A.J. with a fork and a glass of milk. Grabbing the fork, A.J. thanked Adam for the food, then began eating. He wasn't trying to rush, but he hadn't eaten for the morning yet, and his stomach was gnawing painfully at his insides.

When Adam sat down beside him with his own plate of food, A.J. offered him an appreciative smile. The pancakes were amazing, and already half gone. The fruit, too, was mostly all in his belly within moments.

"I'm glad you like everything, kid." Adam said before he took a bite of his own breakfast.

A.J. wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he just nodded as he finished off the last pancake and few pieces of strawberry. He was just swallowing the last bite when a few more pieces of strawberry and half a pancake were added to the plate. His eyes rose to Adam's in question, but the man just grinned, shrugged, then returned to eating his remaining two pancakes.

Feeling warmth spread through his cheeks, A.J. ducked his head and mumbled a quiet "Thank you" before continuing to eat. He had honestly still been hungry, so he greatly appreciated the second helping.

When he finally finished his meal, A.J. straightened and stretched his arms over his head. His belly felt full, and he was thankful for the simple feeling. When he lowered his arms, he offered Adam a smile. The man had just finished his own food, and returned the grin before he gathered up their plates and set them in the dish washer after rinsing them off.

"Alright. So, I'm off today, but I don't think lazing around is what's best for this situation." He said as he leaned on the counter opposite where A.J. sat.

Unsure what the man was trying to get at, A.J. fidgeted with his hands in his lap, just out of view of Adam's gaze.

"How does looking for a job sound, A.J.?"

Surprised by the man's question, A.J. took a moment to go over what he'd just been asked... and also, why he hadn't thought about getting a job when Jade had taken him.

"I think that's a really good idea, sir."

Adam raised a brow at the same time A.J. winced. "I'm sorry... Adam. It's become a habit, even from before I met Jade."

The man just chuckled and nodded, so A.J. relaxed, reassured that it wasn't a serious issue. "That's okay, A.J., I'm just not used to have my submissives call me that, and you aren't even a sub, are you?"

A.J. shook his head, fighting his instinct to stare down at his feet. When Adam's shoes came into view, A.J. realized that he had looked down anyway. Biting his lower lip, he looked back up to see Adam smiling at him. "It's alright. Before we head out to see who's hiring in the area... is there anything you need from me?"

Unsure of what that meant, A.J. looked back down and shrugged. "Jade got me more than enough clothing, and a pair of shoes. I think I really only need some food until I can find a job and pay for it myself." He looked back up, then continued with a determined expression. "I'll help around your apartment until I can pay rent, too. If that's okay. And even after, because I don't want to be a burden."

He felt an inkling of hope in his belly that this time, he might be able to start rebuilding his life. He didn't want handouts, and Adam didn't seem to have nearly as many rules, which meant he was a lot less likely to be kicked out again. Or given away.

"That's not what I meant, kid." Adam said as he crossed his arms over his chest and chuckled.

"I don't understand." A.J. replied when Adam didn't elaborate.

He wasn't sure what else he was supposed to need. Did the man want him to ask for something? He wasn't entirely against offering his body, on one or two occasions, in exchange for a place to stay, but A.J. wasn't going to say that he needed to be in bed with the man. He had more self respect than that.

"Jade wouldn't have brought you to that club if you didn't have some submissive tendencies. You don't look like the type that enjoys pain. Considering he gave you to me, you likely broke a rule of his, and probably aren't too keen on following strict ones. So, then there's being restrained... or just physical attention."

Being restrained didn't seem all that fun, but when Adam said attention, A.J. immediately perked up. A smile even ghosted over his lips, drawing one from Adam. "Ah ha. We have a winner. So, what kind of attention do you like, A.J.?"

Not wanting to seem awkward, A.J. clasped his hands in front of him out of habit and replied. "I just like attention, sir-Adam." He quickly corrected himself.

Adam nodded, then gestured for A.J. to follow him. When Adam dropped down into a large recliner and stretched out a welcoming hand, A.J. gladly took it and climbed into the man's lap. As soon as he had settled against the man's chest, his head resting on his shoulder just beneath his chin, Adam wrapped him in a comfortable hug that somehow made all of the stress he'd gone through in the past few days dissipate. It felt as if Adam was taking all of his worry from him with the simple hug, then releasing it into the air to disappear from existence. It felt good.

"You're quite a cuddler, kiddo."

Instead or replying verbally, or being embarrassed, A.J. nuzzled the man's neck and tried to scoot closer against him as he let his eyes drift closed. He felt Adam chuckle, the vibrations of the sound moving between them. He then shifted a little before the man's legs were suddenly lifted.

He'd put up the leg rest.

Knowing that Adam intended to stay the way they were for a little bit, as he'd had to have put up the leg rest to get more comfortable, A.J. smiled and hummed quietly in appreciation as he lifted his left arm and grasped a bit of the man's shift. The fabric felt real in his hand, making the situation seem less like he was getting a small break before being handed over to someone else again, and more like he was being given a chance to have a roof over his head and food in his belly while he tried to get on his feet.

After several minutes had passed in silence, A.J. took a deep breath and moved his head back to Adam's shoulder so that he could look up at the man as he looked down at him. "What's on your mind, A.J.?" Adam asked with the warmest smile A.J. had seen in a very, very long time.

Without realizing what was coming, A.J. felt his lower lip tremble, then he quickly tried to blink away the tears he felt beginning to well up in his eyes. "Aw, kid." Instead of telling him not to cry, or that things would get better, Adam just carefully moved his legs up so that the bend of his knees would move A.J. even closer against, then leaned down and pressed a kiss to his soft hair while his arms tightened their hug.

"I want you to know before we continue whatever this will end up being, that I'm not gay, and I don't want your body in exchange for anything I do for you. I just want you to look at me like I'm making a difference, and to tell me when I'm not so that I can try to fix things. We'll look online later for some local jobs. Then we'll go out for dinner to wherever you'd like before Jade calls."

Sniffling to try and keep his nose from running, A.J. reached up and wrapped his arms around Adam's neck, then buried his face into the crook. He had been worried when Jade had taken him in, then scared when he'd been given away so abruptly. Now he could finally breathe a sigh of relief and begin to try and build a future for himself with the help of an amazing man.