Room #542 (Adrian Chase/fem!Reader)
Chapter 7: Call Home
She’s still in her first year at Checkmate and getting partnered with Adrian on a mission seems like a trap - especially since she’s fighting her crush on him and now they have to play newlyweds with virtually no support from the others. What will they do as nothing seems to ever go right on this mission?
Masterlist, Ch 1
Thank you @vigilantexreader and @kakyoweenie for the edits!
True to Adrian’s word, she woke up and he was already gone. He had even gone as far as tucking in his side of the blanket, making her smile as she pictured him moving silently around the room to not disturb her.
She had no idea how long he had already been gone, but she had about an hour till she was due to meet him at breakfast and as she began getting ready for the day, her eyes looking over the dossier again, she couldn’t help but dig out her phone and call Adebayo.
“Girl, do you know how early it is?” Ads said immediately and she sighed, wrinkling her nose.
“I know, I know, but Adrian is on a run and I just needed a moment to talk to someone about this mission and I just figured-” she said, as she instantly started to spiral as she paced the room.
“It’s okay, take a deep breath and tell me what’s going on,” Ads said gently and she sighed.
“Ads, we’re fucked. We have found none of our contacts or even seen a glimpse of anyone that’s supposed to be here,” she said gently.
“Zero?” Ads asked, sounding shocked.
“Zero! And Adrian is calm as fuck about it, but we’re not going to get anything and come back from this mission with absolutely nothing and it’ll be my fault,” she cried, fighting back tears as she admitted her fear outloud.
“Have you thought that maybe this is going so bad because you’re only focused on the mission and not on making it believable that you’re on your honeymoon? I’d bet money you’re walking around that fancy ass resort with the guy I KNOW you like with the biggest scowl on your face.”
“Hey!”
“If I’m wrong feel free to correct me, but I can picture it now; Adrian with a goofy smile and you looking like you want to kill everyone. Which is weird, considering HE is the assassin.”
“Okay! Well, I’m sorry this mission is so hard for me, maybe you should’ve come with Adrian and I should’ve helped out with you and Judomasters assignment instead!”
“Me pretending to be married to Adrian? We’d be in deeper shit than you two are in,” she teased lightly. “Listen, do you want some advice?”
“Please,” she said sitting on the bed, biting her nails as Ads took a deep breath.
“You need to focus less on the mission and more on the fact that you’re playing newlyweds. Obviously Chris and Ems picked you two for a reason. They think out of everyone you guys can play that role the most while getting the job done. You need to focus on doing both, not just the job. Play it up, flirt a little, make it so you guys disappear in the background of happy people. Hopefully then things will start to click,” she said softly and she couldn’t help but sigh.
“But-”
“No buts, seriously. Sometimes our work isn’t what we expect, and we have to focus more on our cover than the actual mission. You guys have been there two days, and sure, you have nothing, but you still have like six days left to figure something out and you will. I know you will.”
“Okay,” she said, trying to not sound too defeated.
“Hey, I mean it, you got this shit, girl. Besides, it's just Adrian. He’s not going to bite.” God, but she wished he would.
“I know, I know, it’s still…just a lot,” she said, finally standing up and moving over to look at her luggage, trying to pick an appropriate outfit for the day.
“What do you mean? Did he say something to you? I know we don’t have a technical HR, but if he said something creepy I will talk to him,” Ads immediately defended her and she couldn’t help the awkward laugh that bubbled out.
“No, I just. It’s me and my feelings,” she whispered.
“Oh,” Ads said and she could practically hear the other woman’s wheels turning in her head. “Well, play it up. You like him and you’re playing a married couple - use that.”
“You don’t think that’s fucked up? To play with my feelings and his?”
“Who said he doesn’t like you back? You said it yourself, he’s playing into this way better than you are and Adrian sucks at feelings, so just maybe, he’s being for real.”
She fought the urge to react at all to that statement, refusing to allow herself even a second to believe that it was true. It was too dangerous, it was admitting too much, and more importantly it was a huge cross of boundaries, considering that at the end of the day, they were coworkers and they were on a mission. This was not the place to confess her feelings and hope for Adrian to return them. Hell, that was barely something she was ready to do back in Evergreen.
“I’ll play into it more, but I’m not going to toy with either of our feelings like that,” she said firmly, and she heard Ads laugh.
“Shit, well, if you think you can handle it then by all means go for it,” she said. “Seriously though, I gotta get back to this, but I’ll keep an ear out if I hear anything more from Chris or Ems about your guys mission.”
“Thanks Ads. I really appreciate it.”
“Anytime, but maybe next time wait till it’s a little later in the day,” she teased and she couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out. “I’ll also message Chris, see if he can give me any deets on the mission.”
“Understood, see you in a week or so,” she said as they said goodbye. Once off the phone she sighed. She could play into it, but she knew no matter what, it would fuck with her feelings towards Adrian.
She knew it was going to hurt, to pretend to be in love with someone she was in love with, but maybe Ads had a point, it was what the mission might be missing. She had been so caught up in finding their contacts that she was completely failing to acknowledge their cover; it was chosen for a reason. Chris could’ve easily done this mission with Harcourt, hell he could’ve come himself with Adrian and had a bro weekend together all while doing the mission.
But no, Chris and Harcourt picked her and Adrian for this mission which meant that they truly thought they could pull it off.
So, she got dressed and steeled herself for the day ahead. At least before she could back down from her plan. She could flirt, she could play her part, and she can keep her feelings to the side. She made quick work of making her way through the resort, beelining towards him once she was able to pick him out of the crowd.
“Hey baby,” she said quickly as she walked up to him, the moment he spun around, still slightly sweaty from his run she leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek. Nothing crazy, just taking Ads advice of loosening up and playing her part. “Ready for breakfast?” she asked sweetly when he didn’t respond right away, his face becoming even more splotchy as she rubbed his shoulder, stuttering his body into moving again.
“Yeah, yeah I am,” he said gently, eyes never leaving hers as she linked her arm with his as they walked over to the buffet, Adrian looking around the room, but she kept her focus on looking like a wife on her honeymoon.
“What are you in the mood for this morning?” she asked, beaming up at him as the hostess took them back to their table. She did spare a glance around, playing up her awe as if it wasn’t the same thing as yesterday, but she didn’t see any of their contacts, targets, or anything at all that could be related to their mission. Just happy people at a resort.
“A little bit of everything of course!” he scoffed as he pulled out her chair for her, clearly snapping out of his surprise at her change.
“Of course,” she said with a laugh. “I can wait for the waiter, if you want to get started? What do you want to drink?”
“Ugh, I want a Redbull, but they’re not going to have that, so a chocolate milk is fine,” he said standing back up and stretching, giving her a small peak of his tummy as she giggled.
“We can go out later, grab some Redbulls. I wouldn’t mind some gas station snacks that aren’t insanely priced from the mini bar,” she said, nodding at him when he beamed at her. “I’ll even let you drive,” she said, winking, and he laughed before squeezing her shoulder and leaving the table for the buffet.
She focused on looking around the room, keeping a soft smile on her face as she imagined the ghost of his hand still on her. It wasn’t till a beat after she had given the waiter their drink order that Adrian sat back, holding two plates and smiling at her.
“They have a pancake station today,” he replied happily as she got up to get her food, his hands staying surprisingly folded in his lap as he looked up at her his large green eyes sparkling at her. His canines slightly showing as his smile grew under her gaze.
“Are you going to eat?” she asked, tilting her head as she pointed to his plate.
“Nah, I’ll wait for you, but hurry I hate cold eggs,” he said, and she laughed before loading her plate up with all of her favorites. Smiling as she passed the pancake station. When she came back their drinks were there and true to his word his hands remained folded in his lap as he watched her sit back down.
“Thanks for waiting,” she said gently as she sat back down.
“Yeah, of course,” he said, finally digging into his food. “I love your outfit by the way.”
“Oh, thank you,” she said shyly. “I like your shorts too.”
“Right! They’re-”
“Teal, your favorite,” she finished and he smiled, leaning forward.
“God, you know me so well,” Adrian said with a dreamy sigh, and she shook her head.
“What? I do not,” she said chuckling.
“I bet you know me better than you think,” he said leaning back with a shrug, his hands settling over his stomach as he watched her with a lazy smile.
“Oh really?” she teased, still eating.
“List the things you know about me,” he said confidently and she rolled her eyes but played along.
“I know your work and that you prefer to use your katana over a gun. I know that you’re getting ready to move into Chris’ old trailer. I know you like sour candy over sweet or anything chocolate. You prefer to play your switch as a handheld over the television and I know that you also tap your fingers non stop,” she said laughing and rolling her eyes as his smile ticked up.
“See! You do know me!” he said and her smile faded slightly as she realized what she had said and what it meant. “I’m just saying, you know me.”
“Yeah, I guess I do,” she said gently, picking back at her food.
“Don’t feel bad, I know a lot about you too,” he said as he leaned back forward to his plate, talking around a mouthful of bacon. “I know your favorite color, I know the book you’re reading right now, I know your favorite candy based on what you take from people’s candy dishes at work. Oh! And I know where you live-” she wrinkled her nose.
“Why would you frame it like that, Adrian. I had everyone over for Mario Kart, just say you’ve been to my apartment,” she said and he rolled his eyes - clearly not seeing much of a difference between what she said and he said.
“Now, I also know what your swimsuit looks like,” Adrian said cheekily and she laughed.
“Yeah and I know yours too,” she said.
“Eh, but yours is significantly hotter than mine,” he said and she laughed, fighting the urge to say ‘agree to disagree.’
“You know it’s kind of a bummer the others aren’t here,” Adrian said after a beat, with a frown on his face as he took a bite of his omelet.
“Yeah, honestly this would be a fun mission for the whole team,” she said.
“I’d still want to room with you, though,” Adrian said simply as she looked up at him, heat rushing up her face.
“Not Chris?” she squeaked out and he shook his head, but didn’t comment on it any further and before she could poke him for more her phone buzzed, she spared a quick glance down to see it was from Ads.
I talked to Chris, everything's fine, just keep up with your plan!!
She sighed and looked up at Adrian, he looked at her with concern as he moved slightly to read her text as she angled her phone. Where she should be feeling relief that they were on the right track, she couldn’t help but feel slightly defeated that neither Ads nor Chris had any more helpful advice for them.
“You okay?” he asked and she smiled.
“Yeah, of course. Do you want to go on that gas station run after this, and go to the beach for the day?” she said, shifting the subject as Adrian smiled.
“Sounds like a perfect day to me, especially if I get to see you in that swimsuit again!”
Tag List (comment if you’d like to be added!)
@trelaney @kierselleboogie @v1gilanteloser @quietlybitchy @lil-rigatoni @snowyathena @tez0 @danversxwasabi @obsessedromancereader @pandanapping @burningluminarysheep @a-young-g0d @4duniadae @countvonklit @suzucain
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