armanya

Title: Winner Takes it All
Part: 1/1
Author:

glambrosiah
Genre: Slash
Pairing: Adam Lambert/ TommyJoe Ratliff
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Some swearing
Word Count: 1791
Summary: Tommy somehow finds himself on Celebrity Big Brother...
Author's Note: Written for

glam_bingo prompt TV/Movie: Big Brother. Also, I waved my writer's license around and changed some stuff about the BB format to accomodate my storyline.

Tommy sat on a chair in the corner, his dark lined eyes sweeping over the other people in the room. It was clear that while everyone else were trying to chat, already starting to form their own little cliques, he had no interest in making friends with these people, nor did he really want to be there at all. And it seemed like they all felt the ice in his stare, because everyone else was pointedly ignoring him. Although maybe that was just because they didn't view him as a connection that could possibly further their career in any way.

It had all started with a silly drunken evening, like so many others, spent watching shitty TV in a tour bus. Big Brother had managed to divide them into the people who found it an interesting social experiment, and people like Tommy himself, who thought it was just a way for fame hungry people to get on television, and since they liked to find the most ridiculous people ever for the show, it wasn't as if it was a genuine social experiment at all. Like most things on drunken tour bus nights, it had turned into betting, and like most nights when Tommy was wasted, he had been way too vocal about it and way too hurt by people implying that he wouldn't last one week on the show. And of course, with Tommy's usual luck, suddenly there was apparently a need for celebrity big brother in the US. And somehow his awesome (yeah right!) friends had managed to secure him a spot in the house.

And that was where he found himself now, surrounded by has-beens and C-listers (though some of those people were barely even that), all hoping that this would somehow help their careers. He had originally wondered how the hell he had got his spot, he could see now that he was no less famous than most of these people. Even if his only general claim to fame was still only as being the dude Adam Lambert snogged on stage. Of course, he was quite sure the network knew that his appearance was likely to pull in viewers in the form of a huge section of Adam's fanbase. Not that he was cocky or anything, he still had both feet firmly on the ground (unlike most people in the room right now), but he knew Adam's fans were amazing like that and he was forever grateful for the way they supported him.

He sighed as he looked around the room again. The others had all started to segregate, the divide happening as naturally as it did anywhere people who considered themselves stars mingled, everyone gravitating towards people it would help to be seen with or people that seemed desperate enough for fame that they would unquestioningly worship anyone that had even the tiniest amount thereof. It was all about getting yourself seen while having your ego massaged. He was convinced that he was going to lose a sum of money due to drunken stupidity. And possibly his sanity.

By the end of the first week he was already ready to give up. Even though he normally tried to get on with anyone and everyone, he just couldn't stand being holed up with people that were this pretentious. It didn't help that some of the other contestants had apparently decided that it would help them get votes if they picked on the outcast, nor that they liked making sly remarks about just what Tommy was famous for. They were careful enough not to make it sound like homophobic slurs, but Tommy understood what they meant it to be, and he was seething even though he ignored them because, fuck it, he wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of knowing they were getting to him.

He expected to be voted off that first week. It was being voted for by both the public and his fellow housemates, after all, and he doubted his reclusiveness had appealed to either. He was more than ready to go home, he didn't even care that it meant parting with money, he didn't want to spend any more time in this houseful of egos. He wanted to go home to his own house, to his friends, to Adam.

But somehow, he did not get kicked off. Maybe it was those infamous Glamberts coming out in huge numbers and voting to keep him on TV, or maybe it was housemates and public wondering how much he could take before he cracked. Maybe it was a mixture of both. Either way, he forced himself through a second week, by the end of which he still was not voted off and decided that maybe trying to socialize with his fellow housemates wouldn't be so bad.

Unfortunately, his plan sort of backfired when his attempt to socialize put him right in the firing line for more snide remarks. Which was why about halfway through the third week, he ended up coolly outing himself by admitting that "yes, Adam fucks me. That's generally what people who are in relationships do, isn't it? You got a problem with that or something?"

He expected the producers to kick him out then, if not at least reprimand him for it. After all, he had seen firsthand just how much offense America seemed to take to being exposed to gay men. But nothing happened. Apart from the fact that his lack of contact with the outside world made him worried about if he upset Adam and how much shit he might have left Adam to face on his own, he really didn't get much negative backlash in the house. The snide comments faded out. The girls suddenly took an interest in him, because hey, every “famous” girl seemed to need a gay best friend. And he supposed having been upgraded in public opinion from "that dude Adam Lambert kissed on TV" to "Adam Lambert's boyfriend" made him a little more attractive as a contact that could possibly enhance your public image.

He softened up a little after that, hiding his annoyance with his housemates, actually able to be on friendly terms with most of them. He was still aware of that fact that most of them probably wouldn't (and hadn't) give him the time of day if it wasn't for his connection to Adam, but he was also distinctly aware that by making their relationship public knowledge, from now on anything he said or did would reflect on Adam as well. Besides, just in case Adam was angry with him, he didn't want to upset him more by acting like an ass too.

He wasn't sure how, but somehow as the last week rolled around, he found himself still in the house. And he was even more shocked when he was announced as the actual fucking winner of the show. Considering he was only there because of a stupid drunken bet and really, when sober, hadn't expected to last past the first (maybe second at a push) week, it felt pretty damn good to accept a cheque for charity, and to be able to say he actually won something. Even if it was just a tacky TV show.

He barely even had time to worry about the fact that leaving the house would mean facing a possibly angry Adam (for a brief moment he scared himself shitless with the thought that maybe he wasn't even Adam's boyfriend anymore), because when he stepped out into the real world again amidst a sea of camera flashes Adam was there and he was promptly wrapped up in familiar arms. He was only dimly aware of how the flashes seemed to multiply when Adam kissed him, dimly aware of cheers and there being anything else in the world at all as his focus shifted completely to Adam.

"I'm so fucking proud of you baby," Adam murmured, smiling down at him as he pulled away from the kiss. "And I could hardly wait to get to do this," he added, brushing his fingers across Tommy's cheek before pecking his lips again.

"Was afraid you'd be angry," Tommy admitted, smiling in response to Adam's smile, feeling silly now because deep down he had known all along that Adam would be happy about telling the world, even if Tommy had perhaps not chosen the best moment to do so.

Adam chuckled. "I was. A little bit. You can't even imagine how many phone calls and emails and everything I got, while you were hiding away in that house not having to deal with any of it." Adam fake scowled at him and Tommy tried to look innocent, making Adam laugh instead as he pulled Tommy closer again.

"But you know what?" Adam murmured into his hair, his hand coming up to tease the hairs in Tommy's neck, "then I got to tell them all how fucking much I love you, and that made it much, much better."

Tommy tilted his head up, his chin resting on Adam's chest. He just soaked in Adam's gaze for a moment, the rest of the world slowly fading back into his consciousness. As he became aware of the flashes again, of the people shouting a mix of questions and encouragements, he wondered for a moment why the thought of this used to scare him so, when in fact this was heavenly. To just be able to stand there and openly bask in Adam's love and know that from now on they would be able to go out and do anything they wanted (alright, within reason) together and never have to worry about if there was someone with a camera following them.

"I love you so fucking much," he said eventually, feeling like he had never meant it more. And perhaps that was true, perhaps being brave enough to trust the world with this knowledge gave those words more weight than they used to have.

Adam grinned at him, pulling away, releasing Tommy from the safe cocoon of his arms. "Ready to face the vultures then?"

He nodded, following Adam over to the fence where reporters were all trying to get their attention at once, clutching Adam's hand tightly. He glanced over at Adam as Adam's thumb rubbed against his hand, and caught Adam's grin even as questions were rapidly being fired at them, everyone looking for a statement, as if the photos that had just been taken didn't prove enough.

But it was so worth it, Tommy thought, so worth it just to see that look on Adam's face. He might even let his actually quite awesome friends keep their money; he felt like he already had everything he could ever want anyway.