Adam all but collapsed into bed last night—still wearing Luke’s clothes.

He tried not to think too hard about that bit. He could, theoretically, have just stripped down. The room was wonderfully heated and the blankets heavy and soft, but he kept the clothes on.

They just… smelled nice, that was all.

Someday he was going to get around to asking the universe why it kept dumping shit on him. Not that this was nearly as bad as when Mom died, but the possibility of getting transferred, the loneliness of the last few years and the failed dates, the horrible case with horrible clients, and now this… it was hard not to feel like somebody, somewhere, was having a laugh at his expense.

His last thought before drifting off was that, for all that it made his stomach twist in guilt, he could still feel the ghost of Luke’s hands on his body and the taste of Luke in his mouth.

When Adam woke up in the morning, he was groggy and starving. It took him a moment to remember where he was. Odd sheets, a dark room not at all like his bedroom, and clothes that were comfy but far too large.

He sat up with a jolt. Yesterday. The horrible week, and his flight, and going to the bar—

He’d made out with the man he was supposed to be serving papers to. Shit, shit, shit.

Adam flung himself out of bed and hurried to put on his clothes from the night before. Oh, thank God, the motel room had an iron and ironing board. Not in the best condition, sure, but they’d help him look presentable at least. He needed to find a way to look somewhat professional when he met Luke again to hand him the papers, anything to salvage himself after last night.

God, Luke was going to hate him, and why not? Adam was working for the people who were trying to take Seth away from him.

Seth was a bright kid. Adam had enjoyed talking to him last night, although he could sense Luke all but looming protectively as he finished cleaning up the bar. There was a determined air to Seth that Adam recognized. He’d seen it in himself plenty of times, when he’d looked in the mirror after his Mom had passed. It was the determination to make something of yourself, to make your parents proud even if they weren’t around to see it anymore.

It also gave Adam something to do, growing up. If he was working on his applications, and volunteering, and basically padding his resume so that he could get an edge when applying to schools, then it meant his time was full. He wouldn’t have long hours to just sit and think about how much he hated his new foster home, or how much he longed for his mom. He suspected that Seth’s drive came from the same place. As long as you were busy, you didn’t have to sit and think.

Adam had tried to answer Seth’s questions carefully, avoiding saying anything that would make Seth suspicious—although he’d known at the time that it was a shit thing. Seth asking questions about his profession would have been the perfect opening. All he’d had to do was say he was a lawyer, and then say that actually, in relation to that, he needed to talk to Luke privately.

Bam.

Instead he’d just gotten swept up in Seth’s enthusiasm and his own guilt and social awkwardness.

Seriously, who walked into a bar where the guy you were supposed to serve papers to was there all alone and said, “Sorry but can you help me dry off”? What kind of idiot was he?

He should have just handed Luke the papers, turned around, and walked right out to the nearest motel. He’d been so goddamn tired though, and Luke was attractive, and he’d just—been off his game and wanted to dry off.

Adam groaned, scrubbing at his messy hair. He had no gel or anything. All of his usual armor, the outfits he carefully constructed and wrapped around himself to put on the mantle of the competent, corporate lawyer, were gone.

Okay. This was no time to panic. This had been a hard week, he’d messed up… he’d really messed up and made out with the opponent of his client… but he could fix this. He’d serve the papers to Luke, explain the situation, and apologize for his behavior last night. Then he’d just… have to pray that Luke wouldn’t bring up his inappropriate behavior in court. It would be fine.

Then someone started knocking on the door.

He could be wrong, but Adam was pretty sure that this wasn’t the type of place that had things like room service. That meant that unless there was something wrong and someone was coming to him from the front desk, there was only one other person who knew where he was and would have any reason to want to talk to him.

Adam opened the door, still in Luke’s borrowed clothes from last night, to find Luke standing on the other side of the door.

He did not look happy.

Luke didn’t look… angry, either, but definitely not happy. He looked more like… like he was waiting for something, like he was wary.

“Sorry to bother you,” Luke said. He sounded exhausted, like he hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep. Adam had an instinctive urge to reach out to him, reassure him. “I was just hoping I could ask you a question?”

Adam nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

Luke looked him over. It wasn’t quite like last night. There was a bit of heat, there, but also an assessing aspect to it, like he was sizing Adam up.

“Are you working for Seth’s grandparents?”

And there it was.