The Tale's Willow

Miserable

A/N: Another "mini-series", this time for all you TIDAM fans ;) I <3 you guys and I hope you really love these :)

Adam was...pretending. His whole life he was pretending to be someone he wasn't. He studied what his parents wanted him to study. He dated who his mother urged him to date. He proposed when his mother thought it was time for him to settle down. After a few year's of marriage, his mother began badgering him about when he was going to give her grandchildren.

None of his family knew Adam. Not the real Adam. Who he was, what he liked, his talents. They certainly didn't know his true sexual orientation nor would they approve. Especially his mother. He dated off and on, usually just a few months before breaking it off, with women up until college. Ericha was a nice woman. She was smart, she was beautiful, she was a generous and kind soul. Any man would be grateful to have a woman such as her.

He would be happy to have her as friend. He wasn't in love with her. Upon meeting her, not his idea, his mother just fell in love with Ericha. Right after they graduated from college, his mother began pestering him about proposing to "the most wonderful, beautiful woman you'll ever have". He gave in despite not truly wanting to be with her. He proposed out of duty.

Adam had had a few one-night stands in college with men. He found he much preferred them to women. He also realized his parents, his whole family to be honest, would most likely disown him if he ever came out as gay. Adam began to withdraw into himself but everyone just assumed it was him worrying about job prospects and the upcoming wedding. Ericha and his mother were planning a large wedding. He felt like a pawn in someone else's game!

As job prospects started to come in, and he talks it over with his soon-to-be wife, his mother decides which job is best for him and his future wife. Adam tried to argue but his mother always turned it around and made it seem like he was the bad guy. Inevitably, he gave in and took the job she wanted him to have. To him, the whole wedding was fake. At least his parts in it. His smile, his declarations of love, his happiness, his joy, his desire to even be there. All of it.

After Adam and Ericha's third wedding anniversary, his mother starts badgering him about when he's going to buy his bride their first home and get out of their apartment. His father always talks about why he isn't being promoted even though he hadn't been at the company more than a year yet. Adam Henry Rupp was miserable. He looked for houses they could afford and decided they'd have to settle on one that would need some "fixing up". Adam's mother scoffed as he said the house he'd found was big enough for them, within their budget, and they could customize it the way Ericha wanted while they were fixing it up.

That made all the difference for Ericha. Adam sighed with relief as he called the realtor to get things set up to meet. He wanted to negotiate the price since there was work that needed to be done to it. It took several weeks of back-and-forth but he was finally able to come to an agreement with the seller on the price that was good for both. He felt like he had done good but he still couldn't make his parents happy. 'Your father would have had that handled weeks ago!' his mother told him.

They moved into their house with his wife telling him exactly where she wanted everything to be. This was her house and she had all the say. He couldn't even come home and feel like he was home. Adam was miserable. Ericha had a day off work so she was in charge of finding them a jack-of-all trades handy-man to help do the things they needed getting done around their new home. She interviewed dozens of people and was about to give up when one last guy called.

After speaking over the phone, she invited him over for a second interview. He arrived an hour later. They greeted one another as she let him inside. She explained what all needed to be done around the house and asked if he could get the work done. He smiled and said he could get it all done and the few things he couldn't, he had a guy he worked with often that was very reputable in the area to help him. They talked about price and availability. To her luck, he had just finished a job and was currently looking for work.