exhaustion clung to danny’s frame. he was barely able to drag himself to the coffeeshop, hoping the caffeine would provide enough of a kick to get work done. as he grabbed one of the remaining cups off the counter, he paused momentarily, sure the first letter formed an ‘a’ and not a ‘d’ – his suspicions confirmed by the voice beside him. “uh” he paused to look under the lid and then toward the source, stopping momentarily at the familiar sight. “no way. adrian?” he blinked several times as if to confirm his suspicions before holding a hand out. “nice to see you, man. what brings you here? yeah, yeah. it could be a flat white. i ordered a latte, but i’m no aficionado. it’s honestly all the same to me.”
new york had been a foggy and damp adjustment after growing up baking in the tallow sunshine, and not much could wring even a drop of nostalgia for the place from adrian- but danny had been a bright spot. losing contact had been unfortunate side effect of the non-stop workload he’d taken on over the past five years, and as he stared in astonishment at the other man, a smile replaced the furrow between his brow. “ danny ! i actually grew up here ,” he explained, pulling him into a brief, one-armed hug, still juggling the cup of coffee. “ honestly? they’re pretty much the same. flat white just has less espresso. ‘m tryna cut down .”
it was a rare sight to see maeby outside the comfort of her own home, especially during any hour of daylight. typically she’d take a short nap during the afternoon after a long sleepless night and if not, she’d reach for a case of red bull. going out to get coffee was a little lower on her list, yet there she stood waiting for her drink with eyes glued to her phone. at she heard her name being called, she plucked her cup from the counter and took a sip, not realizing that the drink wasn’t hers until it was too late and she already had a taste. her nose scrunched as she put two and two together, lifting her gaze to meet adrian’s as he approached her. “ yeah—i think so, ” she said, pressing her lips together. “ i already drank some. um—sorry. ”
shrugging nonchalantly, adrian brought the cup in his own hands to his lips, taking a swig from the drink and grimacing instantly as the liquid hit his tounge. “ oh, jesus. well, i guess we’re even then ,” glancing down at the cup, his brow was still furrowed, but a grin was spreading across his features " what is this ?”
the cup in his hand may have his name scrawled across it in barely-legible barista writing, but a cursory glance under the lid confirmed the coffee in his hand was not his order. spotting what appeared to be the only other person contemplating their own order, adrian politely cleared his throat as he approached, holding the cardboard cup aloft. “ -- is that a flat white when it’s not supposed to be ?” he asked hopefully. “ i’m missing mine .”
what is Up kids it’s me with another kid who is actually a grandfather in a twenty-nine year old’s body, adrian brink !!
( joseph morgan )? no that’s ( adrian brink ) the ( twenty-nine ) year old ( lawyer ). who has been ( back ) in town for ( six weeks ) and reminds everyone of ( black coffee at three am, expensively tailored suits, jetstream clouds, disheveled hair and an undone tie ). maybe it has something to do with the fact the ( cis male ) is always ( earnest & studious ) or ( sardonic & troglodytic ). either way ( he ) is apart of the town.
insp: bellamy blake, harvey specter, poe dameron
adrian is ... a total history and aviation geek who hides it with his expensive, tailored suits and jarring intellect.
LOVES his family, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he likes them because they’re assholes, for the most part - but he feels an extreme sense of duty towards them.
growing up he felt incredibly pressured by his parents to be an overachiever, and when it became obvious they didn’t appreciate his love of of the greeks and romans, he began to explore the engineering side of airplanes, to the point he cajoled himself into summers at aviation camp, but it still didn’t please them. eventually, he found law and order, and realized he had a huge interest in true crime - particularly the role of the lawyers.
he LOVED law once he started reading about it and getting into the logistics of it; loved finding reason and rationale in the hypothetical and real-world examples laid out in the textbooks he would read for fun, but his parents’ insistence did put a damper on his genuine enthusiasm, making him question whether he really enjoyed the thought of being a lawyer or was just relieved they were off his back.
so he did the ivy circuit; yale, harvard law, then corporate law in washington, dc. his interest in law significantly decreasing as he won soul-sucking after soul-sucking case. one of the main advantages he’d seen in becoming a lawyer was making the world a bit of a better place; here he was defending corporations who were profiting off the misery of others.
his only reprieve was flying on the weekends; losing himself in the clouds and landscapes below for hours. flying made him feel free when his work had him caged sixty hours a week.
it didn’t help that he was homesick; for the desert, for his pain in the ass little sister, for the small town familiarity he loved and missed, so eleven years later, he’s back in tallow with his own practice, focusing more on criminal and family law and hoping to take on the type of cases that first got him into the field.
personality wise, he’s a very empathetic and pacifistic, traits that made it incredibly hard for him to stomach the shark-like persona he had to adapt in d.c., but also such an old man... like miss him with that social media shit bc he literally has no idea how to use any of it. his iq is off the charts but snapchat filters confuse him lol.
SOME WCS (but like i’m totally open to plotting pls plot w me i live for brainstorming okay) : high school sweetheart, clients, Love of his Life (heartbreak??? i want angst okay), unlikely friend, drinking buddy, maybe he’s tutoring someone? uh literally All the connections okay thanks LMS or message me n we’ll plot
