hello vonnie
Cosimo Galluzzi
Misplaced Lens Cap
Today's Document
No title available
d e v o n
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Claire Keane
noise dept.
NASA
Jules of Nature
Game Changer & Make Some Noise
Show & Tell
occasionally subtle
The Bowery Presents
★
todays bird
No title available
Sade Olutola
bliss lane
seen from Malaysia
seen from Italy
seen from Brazil
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from Germany
seen from Italy
seen from Slovenia
seen from United States
seen from Vietnam
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from Argentina
seen from United States
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from Hungary
seen from Türkiye
seen from Venezuela
seen from Italy
seen from Romania
@dreamingwiththefairies
⟡Welcome to my blog!!!⟡
Hiya! I’m Bea (nickname), she/her, over 18 and I guess I’m going to post fanfics!
MASTERLIST: (click link)
Requests:
❥generally SFW only ❥Female reader or gender neutral if specified
Fandoms/ Characters I will write for:
❥Marvel- Peter Parker
❥Peacemaker- Adrian Chase
❥Teen Wolf- Stiles Stilinski, Isaac Lahey
Lots of Love xxx
Hihi! Can u write a Peter Parker x spacehero!reader where reader isn’t up to date on Earth pop culture media so Peter is trying to catch her up on things like Star Wars (because space.) But the entire time she keeps pointing out how inaccurate it is to actual intergalactic customs (feel free to make stuff up). She acts more regal and is very blunt about things but is trying for Peter because he seems to like this funny movie series.. <33
Hi Anon,
So sorry for how late this is, but I’ve actually never seen Star Wars 🫣 so I don’t think I’m the best person to write this. But I did write a cute little ending sentence.
“While you still didn’t understand what made this film series so special to Peter, you loved to see him happy and that was enough to make it special for you too.”
Apologies again, much love.
I’m cooking I promise! Requests are taking a little (or a lot) longer than I thought they would as I realized how much bigger my word counts have gotten compared to my previous fics.
I’m might make a few of them into a series.
But I thought I might tease what I’ve been working on…
Adrian Chase
❥ “You Are In Love…”
You and Adrian are co-workers, friends and now you’re roped into saving the world from an alien invasion. You weren’t in love, were you?
❥ “Electric Touch…”
Adrian had grown accustom to sleeping alone, believing love wasn’t in the cards for him… that was until he found you.
❥ “Down Bad…”
After being exposed to a strange floral biochemical on a mission, you are forced to confront your feelings for Adrian.
❥ “Actually Romantic…”
No man has ever loved you like Adrian Chase… When you join Checkmate, a rivalry of sorts ensues between you and a certain vigilante.
Peter Parker
❥ “Ruin The Friendship…”
Moments in Peter’s life when he wished he’d ruined your friendship…
❥ “Jump Then Fall…”
Your rivalry with Peter Parker follows you from Midtown Tech to MIT where your constant attempts to one up each other cause something to surface.
I love the way you write Adrian! I was wondering if you'd be interested or comfortable writing something about Adrian with an alternative or "ghoulish" (as he calls it) reader. I love our girly girl readers we get on these tags but that doesn't really ever resonate with me </3
Hi Anon!
I wrote this fic hope you enjoy it and that it’s kinda what you wanted! Glad to be of service for the alternative girlies! 🫶
NOW PLAYING
“Jigsaw Feeling…”
Summary: Chris takes Adrian to an underground indie-rock gig where he meets you.
Tags/warnings: x alternative!female reader, swearing, alcohol consumption
Notes: Hope you like this anon! I had a great time writing it!
Adrian was never one for going to gigs, not like this -no designated seats, no space- but he’d been asked by Chris.
He couldn’t let his best friend down.
Stepping carefully down the stairs, avoiding the sticky puddles of alcohol spilt on the floor, he made his way into the main room, Chris at his side. Adrian’s nose scrunched up, the place reeked of sweat, beer and the sickly sweet smell of someone’s candy floss flavored vape- something that they should have not been doing in an enclosed area. He huffed at the thought, if he came across them he’d give them serious stink eye and a lecture to boot if that wasn’t enough.
“You good, bro?” Chris asked.
Adrian swallowed thickly, people brushed past him leaving light touches that made his skin crawl, even through the sleeves of his dark blue jacket. “Hmm- yeah, yup, all good.” he replied, monotone, blank.
“Want me to get you a beer to loosen up?” Chris suggested, unconvinced, but Adrian couldn’t hear a word, eyes unfocused, the low bass and harsh drums pulsing in his ears.
Everything was a blur, moving bodies, flickering bright lights, words on the poster-clad wall muddled -something like a haze, everything too much and not enough at the same time.
Then he saw you… and he was immediately absolutely fucked.
You’d made your own small space in the corner of the crowd, dancing with reckless abandon, in your own world. Keeping the beat, you stomped around in your cobweb patterned boots, the spider charms on the zippers flinging from side to side. Your long sleeves fluttered as you flailed your arms up and down to the rhythm.
Adrian was entranced.
He didn’t realize had been walking until he was stood right beside you, blinking out of his daze.
His breath hitched, he darted his eyes back behind him, searching for Chris. But Chris was nowhere to be seen, lost in the sea of people.
Fuck.
Adrian’s mouth moved before he could think better of it, “Hi.”
Your head snapped towards the voice, somehow cutting through the boom of sound from the band, “Hi?” you replied.
Your eyes met with the man, his mouth gaping, he looked unsure but sweet, with messy curls and glasses askew. He was cute.
“Sick dance moves!” he said, hands gesturing towards you, a little awkward, smiling wide, he spoke earnestly.
At that, your eyes widened, it wasn’t atypical for someone to comment on your dancing whilst you were out but someone genuinely making a compliment- that was.
You smiled back, “Thanks.”
“I’m Adrian.” he pointed towards his chest, introducing himself, confidence growing. You introduced yourself similarly. He tested your name on his lips, whispering.
“Also sick shoes, actually everything about your outfit is super sick- totally ghoulish.” he gushed, rocking back and forth on his feet.
Your brow quirked, “Ghoulish?” That was a new one.
“In a good way.” he added.
You hummed and nodded your head upwards, “Well, I like your glasses.”
“You do?” his head tilted in thought, then he beamed, smile enveloping his whole face, somehow wider than before, “Killer.”
“I fucking love spiders!” he enthused.
“Me too.”
“And owls,” he added, “and crows and manta rays, but spiders are my favorite.”
You giggled.
“Could I- maybe dance with you?” he asked, “Teach me some of your moves?”
“Yeah.” you nudged your arm, urging him to move closer.
He inched towards you but opted to keep a respectful distance, “Coolio.”
“We can trade,” you suggested, “show me yours.”
He pumped his fist and started to dance, hips swaying, arms close beside droning in circles. He looked so carefree, he was like you -apathetic towards the perception of others, letting loose and wild. And you knew, this man was going to absolutely wreck you.
You copied his movements, laughing loud.
He showered you with praise, clapping and joining you, laughing, “You’re a natural!”
Eyes shining, he motioned you to take the lead, the song changed, crowd cheering at the band, but it felt like they were cheering just for you, like Adrian was.
You threw your arms in the air, lifting your knees up and down, head banging. Adrian softened watching you, he wanted to drown in this feeling, in this moment.
Then, you looked at him, expectantly, biting your lip.
He repeated your dance, causing his glasses to fly off .
“Shit.” he exclaimed.
Your laughter grew as you reached down and grabbed the pair, dusting them off before placing them back on Adrian’s head.
He grinned, “Thank you!”
The two of you kept at it for awhile, swapping moves, talking, gradually growing closer.
Finally out of breath, you turned to each other heaving, Adrian looked a mess, curls now damp sticking to his forehead and you were sure you didn’t look much better. Adrian thought you looked beautiful.
You flushed, noticing just how close you’d grown, mouths practically touching and then…
“Dude! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”
Chris broke the trance you were under, clutching two drinks in his hands, one nearly empty.
Adrian cursed.
“I did get you a drink earlier, but I kinda drank that one so I got you a new one.” Chris said, looking down, trying not to spill Adrian’s frankly overfilled beer.
He’d spotted Adrian eventually from afar, not realizing his friend had company, he looked up and- “Shit, sorry bro!” He howled as the two of you stepped away from each other, “Didn’t mean to cock-block ya.”
Huffing, Adrian took his drink and sipped, hoping it would cool his hot cheeks. You did the same, grabbing the water bottle in your purse.
Chris winked and walked back, smirking as he pointed towards Adrian then to you, thankfully you weren’t looking as he made obnoxious kissy faces before finally turning away.
“That was my best friend, Chris.”
You smiled, putting your drink away, “He seems nice.”
“Yeah.”
You kept chatting for another hour or so, taking a seat on one of the scarce plush leather benches. Before you knew it, the band was packing up and it was 2am, you smiled sadly.
“Will I see you again?” Adrian asked, a little frantic, eyes flitting towards the mass of people filtering out the venue.
You reached into your bag, taking out your phone, typing and then passed it to him, “Definitely.”
Adrian looked down.
New Contact Adrian (cute glasses)🕷️🩵
“Oh- you, fuck yes! Hold on.” His tongue poked out in concentration as he tapped his number in.
Handing your phone back, you checked on your Uber.
‘arriving in one minute’
You sighed, turning the screen to Adrian. He took your hand tight and ushered you up the stairs and outside, carefully avoiding the remainder of the crowd.
The cold night air was biting, causing you to shiver, a stark contrast to the warmth inside. You looked up, smiling, “Night, Adrian.” Your cab had shown up.
‘arrived.’
“Night.” he said gently.
Nodding your head decidedly, you reached up, cupping his jaw and kissing his cheek before you lost the courage.
You swiftly turned to the cab, “Text me when you’re home safe!” he shouted causing you to turn back, laugh and nod.
He waved rapidly, enthusiastically, as you were driven away.
Chris clapped a hand on his back, appearing from the shadows, “Way to go thimble!” He landed his hand on Adrian’s shoulder and squeezed tight, smiling wide.
Adrian smiled to himself as their own cab approached.
“Thanks.” he mumbled.
The Uber back was quiet for once. There were no rants about animals or tv shows that Chris would groan at clutching at his head claiming a hangover despite drinking only an hour prior, or babbles about any borderline criminal acts committed by patrons that he had prevented Adrian from intervening (and therefore committing a definite crime himself).
Instead, they were just left with the soft pattering of rain starting on the windows and the screeching of the cab’s tires.
And honestly, Chris was a little concerned by it, but that concern was outweighed by the relief of the lack of noise on his ringing ears.
And Adrian?
…Adrian was left feeling absolutely devastated.
Suddenly he was sick to his stomach, and suddenly he couldn’t be happier about it.
He’d met you.
His phone buzzed:
“Hi, Adrian!🕷️”
He smiled, texting back and….
New Contact Ghoulish Girl (future wife) 🕷️🧜♂️🩵😻
Jigsaw Feeling- Siouxsie and the Banshees
Snitches Get Stitches (Adrian Chase x Fem! Chase) Chapter 1
word count: 2.4k | ao3 |
Adrian's suit gets completely wrecked after a Checkmate job so he goes to seek advice online on reddit r/cosplay on how to fix it. Finding a helpful post from a cosplayer reader he reaches out to you privately.
tags: cosplayer! reader, unrequited crushes, Adrian being Adrian, misunderstandings, tsundere! Adrian.
-ˋˏ✃ 𓍯 ༝˚ ༝⚉ ⋆.̊ 𓍯𓂃-ˋˏ✃ 𓍯 ༝˚ ༝⚉ ⋆.̊ 𓍯𓂃-ˋˏ✃ 𓍯 ༝˚ ༝⚉ ⋆.̊ 𓍯𓂃-ˋˏ✃ 𓍯 ༝˚ ༝⚉ ⋆.̊ 𓍯𓂃-
tag list (join here) : @danversxwasabi @mellyhemps815 @emily-a13 @tostellify @lil-rigatoni @havkjhdecs @basement-laughter @whoshotupthetacobell @trelaney @stupiddumpslit @qurems @bhabbiebhee @multi-fandom-bi-bitch @nobodylikeslia @brooklynb8by @blueyobsessedgirly @pickledturnips @chevelle-r @svudetective @pearl-heartzz @smolcupatea @xxxxxxctu @freak-named-kira @directbing @feddy-wah @dreamingwiththefairies @fic-holdingcell @afternoonfairy @zombiegrrlsworld @vigilickme @runawayraccooon @secretjesterr @mayret3 @pughsbelova @s0ngbird13m @f4sh10n-m4v3n @amerikyan @stickywonderlandbird
-ˋˏ✃ 𓍯 ༝˚ ༝⚉ ⋆.̊ 𓍯𓂃-ˋˏ✃ 𓍯 ༝˚ ༝⚉ ⋆.̊ 𓍯𓂃-ˋˏ✃ 𓍯 ༝˚ ༝⚉ ⋆.̊ 𓍯𓂃-ˋˏ✃ 𓍯 ༝˚ ༝⚉ ⋆.̊ 𓍯𓂃-
Professionally, you owned a hobby craft store in Evergreen that offered tailoring and worked as a freelance textiles conservator, basically you just loved restoring things. Seeing the smile grow on people's faces when you helped fix the impossible and retain their beloved object filled you with a joy you couldn’t find anywhere else.
Your store had a silly name Snitches Get Stitches that brought in all kinds of people, you stocked the quilting, wool, sewing machines and repair, craft activities, alongside nerdy hobbies like d&d, warhammer miniature paints and terrain, cosplay gear, pvc foam boards in every colour under the sun!
Today there was a funny pairing that enjoyed coming into your store most Sundays. A mother and son duo, right out of a sitcom.
The Chases.
Mrs. Chase loved her folk art, quilting, cross stitch, sewing, you name it she was game to try it! You both bonded over sashiko embroidery and upcycling clothing from op-shops. Meanwhile her adult son Adrian was mostly interested in the other side of your store, miniatures and model airplanes. He would become entranced by the model trains you had out, lamenting the space they took up, saying someday he would make a Evergreen station model set. Outside of that, Adrian sometimes bought spools of black thread, generally one of the strongest cotton nylon blends you stocked, and pots of teal and white enamel paint.
“Can I also get the White Scar Citadel spray paint? I have my ID on me and promise it’s for my combat patrol set, not to huff illegally or anything.” He got out his wallet and you stifled a giggle at his government issued ID which had his eyes fully closed. How did he get away with that one?
“Nice, a combat patrol set, which army are you running?” You asked, handing it back to him and going into the glass cabinet.
“Grey knights.” Adrian said, watching you with a slightly thick swallow when you turned around and grinned at that.
“I’m nearly done setting up my blood angels!” Your bright eyes were near blinding.
“Neat, uh well I’ll pay for me…” Adrian fumbled with his credit card, hand painfully sweaty whenever he was in your presence.
“and this wool I guess…” Adrian rolled his eyes as his mother put down a few skeins next to his purchases.
“Oh thank you, you don’t have to do that dearie!” Mrs. Chase beamed, her cunning ploy working to get you two talking. “Such a good son of mine, he’s got a brand new job you know?” She exclaimed and you nodded politely.
“Congraulations!” When you smiled at him, Adrian quickly averted his gaze.
“How the fuck would she know that…” Adrian grumbled, clearly embarrassed at the attention being drawn on him.
His mother waved him off easily with a hand, “Well she should! He’s even got an apartment all on his own now, it’s very well-paying.” She was for whatever reason, whispering loudly even though it was only you three in the entire store. “Checkmate, making the world better- what a slogan!”
“Will you please stop telling every poor customer service worker pointless shit?” He huffed, making to leave.
“That sounds really exciting though, what does Checkmate do?” You offered, Adrian, unable to deny the pretty smile you were giving him.
“I uh, Checkmate is like…a security company? Private, not affiliated with the government because fuck those guys!” He honestly wasn’t that sure what they did, but he did know he got to shoot things for money now. And that was pretty swell.
“Very impressive!” You noticed his cheeks blaze bright pink at that.
“Oh he is! And completely single too somehow if you can believe it! Also he’s getting into his mid-thirties so really it’s time to get off the market don’t you think?” Mrs. Chase was really hammering this home, her bright toothy grin essentially spelling out in bright colours DATE MY NERDY ASS SON- I WANT GRANDBABIES!
“Ughhhh! Shut the fuck up mom, you’re literally the dictionary definition of embarrassing!” Adrian whined, tearing the bag as soon as you put in his receipt, he stormed out of the store.
“Sorry about him, he’s painfully shy when it comes to women! But he’s not gay like my husband Charles was, I checked his browser history and he loves watching ‘8hr ASMR encouraging bubbly girlfriend who loves complimenting you videos.’” Mrs. Chase was basically selling her son off to you like a used-car saleswoman.
“Oh that's uh…wow.” You didn’t know what to begin to say to that.
“HURRY UP MOOOOMM!” Adrian screamed from outside, beeping the horn of his Sebring.
“See you next time sweetie!” Mrs. Chase waved you cheerfully goodbye.
Waving back you chuckled and continued about your day, Adrian was definitely cute, but he also seemed pretty uncomfortable at the prospect of being set up by his mother. Which you could understand. The other clientele weren’t nearly as entertaining and the afternoon became a slog to get through, with not a lot of foot traffic.
When you got home for work, a recent post of yours on repairing a military costume that was torn to literal shreds was getting a lot of traction from a user called graffiti_is_illegal91.
In your personal down time, you had a serious hobby. A super hero of sorts, depending on the costume. But to those online, most of whom unknown to you were actually super heroes or adjacent, you were a godsend.
You were a cosplay first aid medic. Every convention you helped out wherever you could in fixing people's costumes, it brought you immense joy and whenever anyone went to ask advice on Reddit through r/cosplay on tricky patch jobs you were in the comments giving advice
Whoever they were, the user graffiti_is_illegal91 was replying to you in the thread, asking a hundred follow ups.
graffiti_is_illegal91: wooooow! How did you get the protective plating re-grafted? It looks brand new!!! 😱
graffiti_is_illegal91: the sewing in the kevlar…and nylon webbing is impeccable my god how??? 😩
graffiti_is_illegal91: my beloved costume has been damaged really badly and I don't want to make a new one. It took me so long…😭
graffiti_is_illegal91: please help me cosplay_nurse I'll do anything🙏 🧜♂️ like seriously anything…👀 (also nurses are like my fave profession 😍 are you actually a nurse irl??) -37 down votes
flaming-hot-cheeotes-stan: don't be creepy dude. cosplay_nurse is a pillar in the community, put some respect on your comments. +51 up votes
cosplay_nurse: it's okay, I'll help you out graffiti_is_illegal. I'm not actually a nurse, it's just a nickname I got from running a cosplay first aid tent at conventions. 🤭
graffiti_is_illegal91: thank youuuuu!!!!! 😍😍😍 and sorry I didn't mean to be creepy. I just think nurses are super hot in general, it's nothing weird, just like a sexual preference. -195 down votes
cosplay_nurse: you’re welcome and you're not, it’s all good. Same here, I think nurses are hot which is why I dress up as them 😆 I also got the nickname because I really like cosplaying nurses like Nurse Joy, and Silent Hill, oh and those creepy nurses off BG3 most recently.
graffiti_is_illegal91: 😍 WOAHHH you’re super nice too??? I'll legit pay you whatever!! and wow I'd love to see those cool choices sometime!!! -21 down votes
cosplay_nurse: let's take this offline and dm me so I can take a proper look. We can discuss rates there if needed. 😊
graffiti_is_illegal91: oki!! I'll dm you my discord!!! -206 down votes
small_ville: I know you like to offer help to anyone and everyone on this subreddit but please be careful @cosplay_nurse… +98 up votes
ginger_pal: yeah, I don't like this guy's vibe at ALL +102 up votes
hawks_rule: if anything happens to @cosplay_nurse we riot!!! helped me fix and improve my damn costume like a hundred times over now 😤 +211 up votes
Xxbowl-cutsxx69 : this comment and account have been deleted for breaching our community guidelines.
The reddit was very defensive of you, they respected your work and how speedy you were in helping their problems. Sometimes people were genuinely creepy, but this guy didn’t seem to mean any harm. He was just a little bit clueless. When you hopped into the private chat, a message popped up.
graffiti_is_illegal91: here is my discord: teal_manta-ray
cosplay_nurse: great! you’ll get a request from nurse_sally
graffiti_is_illegal91: dead by daylight?
cosplay_nurse: yep! 😊
graffiti_is_illegal91: it’s so cool that you like horror games!! okiii I am adding you!~
Your discord flashed with a notification right away, and the cute profile pic graffiti_is_illegal91 used on there made you giggle.
teal_manta-ray: CUTEEEE PROFILEEE PICCC!!! 💕💕💕
nurse_sally: ty I was going to say the same to you!!! ε( ꜆´ω`)꜆
teal_manta-ray: hehe should i send pics of my costume?
nurse_sally: yes please, I can figure out a game plan then 🙂
teal_manta-ray: im so scared its ruined foreverrrrr 😭😭😭
nurse_sally: don’t give up hope!!! ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧
Adrian smiled fondly at your cute emoticon and snapped a picture of his costume, sadly running a hand down at where the latest villain of the week fucked it up working a job at Checkmate. He was currently sitting in it at his teal ocean themed rgb keyboard and gamer set-up, he almost thought about asking the cute girl at the hobby store today but that was too risky. If anyone found out he was Vigilante, he had to take them out. And sadly not on a date like he wished he could ask you out on one. No, he would have to kill you.
Wow you were seriously impressed, the craftsmanship even with the small blurry image looked to be top tier! This was definitely a labor of love and you wanted to help restore it.
nurse_sally: were you trying to go for a distressed look with your cosplay? And I think I can for sure fix it! ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ
teal_manta-ray: wdym? :0 and really???
nurse_sally: the damage, it’s not from actual combat i hope lol
You meant it as a silly joke, none the wiser, but on the other side of the screen, you had flared up a major panic wildfire.
teal_manta-ray: ohhh rightttt, yes I was trying to destress and now only i am properly stressed. NO ACTUAL COMBAT AHAHAHAHAHA! THAT’D BE CRAAAZZYYY!
Adrian was sweating behind the monitor as he typed furiously away, pushing his glasses back at the bridge of his nose. Phew, that was really a close one!
nurse_sally: could i see more of the costume? It’s hard to get you a proper assessment with a close-up.
teal_manta-ray: that…might be difficult. let me try - how is this?
nurse_sally: hey sorry if I'm wrong but are you working on a Vigilante cosplay? ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡
it looks so goooood!
teal_manta-ray: …you know vigilante? i mean i don’t know who that is!!!
nurse_sally: ohh well it looks just like it, i made an inspired cosplay…let me get it!
You were actually a pretty big fan of his, Vigilante had once helped you get back home after some drunk guys tried hassling you from a bar. And you had even made your own version of Vigilante costume, only in a sailor senshi style.
nurse_sally: ta-dah! ❀.(*´◡`*)❀
Turning on your webcam, you revealed to him your Vigilante sailor girl outfit, teal, white and black themed with a big red bow.
In his chair at home, Adrian had fully spilt his can of mountain dew kickstart over his desk. “Shit! Nonononono!” He dashed to get a roll of paper towel, still reeling from the fact that you knew his costume. And you had made your own sexy version of it?!
His face was flushed bright red, cursing as he wiped the keys down, there was no way you could figure out that his costume was the real deal right? Right?!
When Adrian had patted everything down dry and stared down at the chat, he saw a message from you that made him scream.
nurse_sally: oh wow is that you Adrian? Small world! (..◜ᴗ◝..)
teal_manta-ray: Adrian???? whooo is thatttt???
Then Adrian’s heart dropped when he saw the flashing green light of his webcam. You could see him right now, wearing the Vigilante suit.
nurse_sally: i mean your camera is on too…did you turn the video on by mistake?
teal_manta-ray: FORGET THAT YOU SAW ME. THERE IS NO ADRIAN AND THERE IS NO VIGILANTE!!
You could see that Adrian was currently prowling back and forth in his bedroom, trying to think on what he should do. Then it clicked when you saw the weapons in the background, guns, swords, and the helmet at his desk. It was all way too real.
nurse_sally: but vigilante saved the world? he was on tv, sorry if you arent adrian or i got your costume wrong, you just looked like someone, its okay…
Meanwhile you were panting, frozen at the screen and afraid. Vigilante while sure, you thought was pretty neat, the dude was still a masked lunatic and now you knew his secret identity was your regular Adrian Chase! Surely that message you sent was alright…
teal_manta-ray: im really sorry but i cant let you expose my secret
Your heart thrummed painfully in your chest as you watched him continuing to type, the bubble of three dots, sending anxiety spikes up and down, it was difficult to breathe.
teal_manta-ray: i wish there was another way.
His expression was suddenly so devoid of emotion, it scared you.This wasn’t the cute shy Adrian who visited your store, this was an experienced killer.
Hands shaking you typed back desperately, tears pricking your eyes. This can’t be happening, a dangerous masked vigilante was on a mission to find and kill you now to keep his secret identity safe…this all had to be a sick joke.
nurse_sally: please i won’t tell anyone i swear!!!!
He shut off the webcam, and you did the same stewing in an uneasy silence. Waiting with bated breath, you watched the dots type back and forth from him for what felt like hours, until at last, a ping with a new message.
All that Adrian AKA Vigilante wrote back to you was:
teal_manta-ray: 🧜
teal_manta-ray has disconnected from the chat.
“What the fuck does that mean?!” You exclaimed, slamming your fists down on the keyboard.
What the hell were you going to do now?!
NOW PLAYING
“Bad Blood…”
Summary: Sleeping over at Adrian’s, you run into his brother Gut.
Tags/warnings: x female reader, swearing, sex references/ suggestive
Notes: Based off of this post by @fartknockerz hope you like it!!! I think something possessed me writing this!
Eyes fluttering open, you tried to adjust to the darkness, tilting your head up to see Adrian soundly asleep.
He always looked light as he slept, you sighed happily, body aching in the best way.
Turning to your right you noticed the bare space where your glass of water typically sat on the beside table, you’d forgotten, evidently too wrapped up in Adrian for it to cross your mind.
Carefully prying yourself away and out of your boyfriend’s arms, you padded down the hallway, avoiding the floorboard that always creaked far too loudly.
Though Adrian was a relatively deep sleeper, you didn’t want to risk waking him up, he’d had a long day and despite how much he willed himself awake claiming he ‘wasn’t even that tired’ so he could keep talking to you, he needed to rest.
Throat hoarse, you reached up towards the cabinet grabbed a glass and trotted towards the sink, filling it with water. You froze just before your lips touched your glass. Footsteps. Right outside the front door.
Fuck!
Cursing the fact that you didn’t have your boyfriend’s instincts and regretting the last time you’d turned down a brush up on self-defence tactics -you were definitely too rusty to be able to take someone in a fight and win- your body seized up, mouth ran utterly dry, unable to let out more than a indecipherable croak.
Kitchen -you were in the kitchen- you thought, pulling back to the moment.
You backed away slowly, wordlessly, fumbling as you reached for a knife with one hand whilst carefully placing your glass down on the counter with the other.
Maybe you were too out of practice to fistfight but armed, you’d have a fair chance.
Clutching the handle tight, you manoeuvred yourself into an optimal fighting stance remembering vaguely when you and Adrian practiced, heat rushing to your cheeks as your mind flashed with images of what happened after.
Stay focused you reminded yourself, taking a deep breath.
Just as you attempted to prepare yourself for the upcoming fight, keys jangled.
Keys. An intruder wouldn’t have keys.
With a groan, the door opened, revealing a man with a familiar head of dark hair.
Oh.
Oh shit.
That was a face you recognized, a face you’d found yourself scowling at whenever you’d pass the multiple framed pictures hung on the wall and on top of the mantle of the Chase home, a face you’d thankfully never had the displeasure of seeing in person- until now.
Gut Chase.
Your knife clattered to the floor, slicing part of the skin on your pinkie toe and leaving a steady trickle of blood.
“Ah! Fuck- shit!” you groaned, squeezing your eyes shut in pain, your voice was surely working now.
“What the fuck!” he exclaimed, “Who the fuck are you? You-” then, something clicked in his brain as he took in the sight of your oversized kingdom hearts shirt, “oh?”
“Oh.” It was Adrian’s, he’d made fun of that very shirt countless times over the years and now it was on you, “No fucking way!” He laughed, wildly, as Adrian often did, but it didn’t have the same earnest sweetness of his wild laugh, this was cold and condescending.
“Thimble got a girlfriend?! Either that or you’re a prostitute but prostitutes don’t typically spend the night or wear the lame-ass dorky shirts of a guy’s weirdo brother.”
“You must be Gut.” you stated bluntly, the name leaving a bitter taste in your mouth.
“And you are way too good for my brother.” he whistled, exaggeratedly raking his eyes up and down your curves.
Immediately recalling your state of dress, you grabbed the hem of your boyfriend’s shirt and pulled it down, holding it tight past your thighs.
In doing so, the neckline lowered, revealing a series of dark purple marks Adrian had littered on your collarbone hours earlier.
Guy’s eyebrows rose. You squinted, confused, then your eyes widened in understanding.
Swiftly, you moved one hand up and away from the bottom of your shirt to snap against the marks.
You knew you needed to pick up the knife and assess your wound but you shook that thought away, having to bend down right now would not be helpful in the slightest.
“Oh Gut, honey, you’re home.” Mrs Chase smiled as she walked into the room before pulling her son into an intense hug.
Adrian’s eyes snapped open, his body finally alerted to the lack of warmth and weight beside him, you were no longer in his arms.
A sharp intake of breath and he rolled out of his bed, he could be logical, most likely you’d popped to the bathroom or went to get a glass of water, but he had to see it for himself. Otherwise, he would start catastrophizing.
Shuffling his way through the house, he reached the kitchen…
“What the fuck!” There was Adrian, in nothing but his boxers, matching bruises along his chest and neck, curls sticking up in every which way. His eyes grew scrutinzing, as he attempted to understand the situation.
His brother was here.
You were here. Fuck.
And your nose was scrunched, body closed off- clearly uncomfortable.
He gaped then snapped, “Nope, nuh-uh, no way this is happening!”
Seeing Gut’s smirk, he pushed him back, standing between the two of you.
You did not consent to his family seeing you half naked, his chest heavy, his voice was dark, abrasive, “You can stay the fuck away from my girlfriend!”
“Adrian!” his mom gasped.
“Chill out little bro! I’m not gonna try anything,” he put his hands up and scoffed, a smile still lingering on his lips.
“Unless she wants me to.” he mumbled under his breath, just loud enough for Adrian to hear.
Adrian huffed-
“Ade,” you interrupted, placing your hand on his wrist, holding him back, “it’s okay.”
“Wait- ‘Ade’ -Shit am I hallucinating!?” Gut snickered.
Jaw twitching, Adrian took a breath and turned away from Gut and towards you, he softened. “You’re bleeding.” he said, eyes wide, looking down.
You tilted your head in confusion, then followed Adrian’s gaze to the scrape on your toe. Suddenly, the adrenaline wore off and the throbbing pain resumed, you stifled a whine.
“Oh, honey.” Mrs. Chase held her hand over her heart in sympathy.
“I thought there was a burglar or something and I got startled.” you muttered.
“Honestly, who the fuck comes unannounced in the middle of the night!” Adrian glared at his brother, picking up the knife and chucking it in the sink for the morning.
He couldn’t stand one more second, he’d be damned if Gut said anything snide towards you.
“Okay, we’re going back to bed, Sweetheart.” he said whilst gently, but firmly hoisting you over his shoulder.
“Wait- but I didn’t get my drink.” you protested as he walked you towards his room, closing the door behind him, placing you carefully back on the bed and decidedly away from Gut fucking Chase.
“I’ll get it for you, don’t worry,” he whispered in your ear and kissed your forehead, “after I patch you up.” He tumbled over reaching for the small first-aid kit he kept under his bed, grumbling about his fuckass brother.
“We have matching pinkie wounds now.” you teased, wiggling your toes, you winced and Adrian gave you a pointed look. You shrugged sheepishly, at least you drew his focus away from Gut.
“Well mine was partially hacked off by an alien who had taken over the body of a US senator, with a ridiculously blunt blade, I think they’re a little different, babe.” he grinned, untamed, as he picked out an antiseptic wipe and band-aid without wavering his gaze on you.
You smiled wide despite the sting as he began to clean your wound- precise, rough and gentle at the same time, an inexplicable contradiction, that was your Adrian and you didn’t want him any other way.
Bad Blood -Taylor Swift
Soccer Field Day Dreams (Adrian Chase/Fem!Reader)
A/N: This was a fucking beast to write, 18.7k words but I wanted to do a one shot on Adrian and his childhood best friend turned lover :)
Thank you @vigilantexreader for the edits and suggestions, this one was insane LMAO
Masterlist
By all means necessary, the first day they met was not special at all.
It was just another Thursday on the playground. Adrian wasn’t fully sure he'd seen her before when she crouched next to him on the edge of the soccer field. He knew for sure she wasn’t in his class, but she seemed to be his age.
He tried to ignore her, having already been burned so many times by his peers in first grade that he wasn’t sure what the girl was going to say.
Make fun of his voice? His glasses? His interests?
Adrian had learned quickly at school that the possibilities were truly endless.
“What are you doing?” she asked. Her voice was soft, but Adrian still kept his eyes on the rocks he was stacking.
“Playin’,” he answered simply, hoping that would be enough to send her on her way. He took a deep breath as he stacked the next rock. If this one was steady, it would be the highest he had managed so far - a big accomplishment for the seven year old.
“Do you want to play together?” she asked, and Adrian paused, wondering if this was a trick. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had invited him to play and then he became the joke.
“I’m stacking rocks,” he settled on, hoping that his words showed enough disinterest for her to move on and not hurt him.
“Yeah, I can stack rocks too,” she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, but Adrian noticed that there wasn’t the usual hint of malice like when he was around the other kids. He finally allowed himself to look up at her. She was smiling with a few missing teeth, her eyes were bright, and she was wearing a teal dress, one that matched her shoes, nothing like the mismatched outfit Adrian was wearing.
“Well, I’m not just stacking rocks, I’m also looking for bugs. My mom said that’s umm…multi-doing,” he said confidently.
“Multi-tasking?” she asked, head tilting to the side.
“No, multi-doing, I would know I’m doing it right now,” he said matter of factly and she smiled, picking up her own rocks and stacking them.
“Okay, well we can ‘multi-do’ look for bugs and stack rocks together,” she said, matching his tone, making him pout.
“But I’m doing it,” he insisted, putting his next rock down, making the tower wobble slightly.
“Do you know ‘together’?” she asked, as if it wasn’t just a vocabulary word from the week before, and Adrian frowned.
“I’m not dumb, yes I know.” He figured this was where the shoe would drop. She was going to knock over his tower and call him stupid.
“Okay, then we can do this together, right?” she pressed, and Adrian sat back, taking a moment to look around the playground. All the other kids were running around with their friends.
Adrian figured it couldn’t hurt to have someone like that, and she didn’t seem to want to hurt him. She was actually being very kind to him.
“Okay, we can do it together, but I have to teach you,” he settled on, and she nodded, watching him do the simple action closely. Adrian was grateful that she let him teach her, even if she already knew how to do it.
Recess every day was substantially better after they became friends. Adrian had someone to stack rocks with, someone to play tag with, and her favorite someone to push her on the swings.
Adrian wasn’t a huge fan of that last one, but he figured out that when she was on the swing she didn’t mind if he endlessly talked. He also loved watching the way she moved on the swing. It almost looked like she was flying like a superhero.
They were in third grade the first time the two got to have a playdate, long overdue from both of their points of views. Their moms arranged it for them, but all week they talked about that Friday like it was Christmas day. To Adrian, it basically was. Every recess was spent discussing what amazing things they were going to do.
Adrian had already sat out all his video games, Pokemon cards, and all of his Magic Tree House books in order of what he wanted to show her. He had his mom promise to make dino nuggets and mac n’ cheese, with no broccoli this time, and to let them hang out in peace. He wanted no hovering and time to show her all his toys and play.
When she showed up in the morning holding the bus pass from her mom they looked at it like it was the golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. They both walked it up to the teacher, making sure it got to the office, neither of them willing to take a chance on it not being approved.
“We’re going to be the second to last bus stop. It sucks in the afternoon, but in the morning it’s great because I get to sleep in a little,” Adrian said as they both found an empty seat, Adrian giving her the window seat.
“I’m one of the stops in the middle,” she said, looking around.
“Perfect middle ground,” he said with a smile, as he dug through his backpack. “Do you wanna play with my ‘etch a sketch’ from show and tell today?”
“Sure!” she said, happily taking it from him. Adrian watched closely as she began making a cool design, much better than Adrian could. “What kind of after school snacks do you have?” she asked, and Adrian's mind went blank.
Absolute, pure panic struck his features. How could he have forgotten the after school snacks! His mom could be making anything right now including ants on a log. Adrian hated ants on a log, but his brother loved it. He hated how he let this slip by. He had planned everything so carefully, and he had forgotten the snacks!
Who cared about dino nuggets when you’re too full from a bad snack! What if she hated the snack so much she never wanted to come over again and this was their last play date? Their friendship would be over before it even got really started.
Adrian wasn’t even aware he was crying until her hand came to his shoulder, refusing to look at her up first.
“Do you not have afternoon snack?” she asked honestly, and Adrian looked at her, bottom lip quievering. “That’s okay, we can just play till dinner.”
Adrian immediately stopped crying. The way she had said those words, as if having no snack after school truly didn’t bother her, shocked his young body to its core.
“I have afternoon snack, I just forgot to tell my mom what to make, so she might make something my brother likes that I don’t like,” he said, wrinkling his nose.
“Can you keep a secret?” she whispered, pressing herself tightly to Adrian as if they were surrounded by spies on the bus. Adrian took her words like they were the strongest vow as he nodded and moved closer. “I brought candy for us to share in secret.”
Adrian smiled, she always had a solution ready for him it seemed. She could anticipate what he needed before he could even tell something was wrong, from bringing an extra book to school to lending him a toy for show and tell. She always had his back and Adrian was determined to pay it back.
They were in fourth grade the first time he really felt he was able to pay her back for all her kindness and worry for him. It had all seemed to happen in slow motion to Adrian.
The bully’s hands on her, escalating the argument.
The hard shove that followed.
Her falling to the ground with big crocodile tears in her eyes as she sat up in the soccer field, maybe fifteen feet from where they first met. He watched her fists ball up and pull at the grass, clearly itching to do something but feeling unable to as the bully taunted her more, other students watching and laughing.
If she was unable to, then it had to be Adrian’s job to do something, he decided.
The rest was a blur as Adrian practically jumped the bully like a rabid animal. He was screaming, his fists were flying, and it didn’t take long for them to start bleeding.
But he didn’t stop. Even as they begged.
Hit after hit landed on the bully’s face as Adrian’s knuckles split. He smiled wide, knowing he was protecting her.
He was vaguely aware of all the kids around him screaming, but it didn’t matter because this kid just hurt his friend. He was a bully, and bullies shouldn’t be allowed on the playground. If bullies were going to be on the playground, then he was going to have to handle this himself.
Two teachers had to pry him off the bully and take him to the principal, all while he kicked and screamed. Their fingers dug tightly into Adrian’s arms, but he didn’t stop, even when they made it inside. He thrashed, trying to escape, screaming for them to let him go or at least let him check in on his friend as another teacher walked her and the bully to the nurses office.
He screamed and screamed about it being the right thing to do, everyone just telling him over and over again that you shouldn’t use violence no matter what happened.
“He pushed her to the ground!” he yelled, his parents sitting on either side of him in front of the principal. “He hurt her! That’s wrong, he should be in here! Not me! I stopped him!”
“Adrian, you broke his nose and we had to physically remove you from him. We cannot use our hands to solve problems, you should’ve gotten a teacher so-”
“So it could happen again?” he said, standing up. “He was going to keep hurting her, at least I stopped it-”
“Adrian, that is not your job. You are supposed to get a teacher! We have zero tolerance for violence in this school, you know that,” the principal said, and Adrian could tell that she was getting upset with him. He knew he lost this fight, especially as the principal read out his suspension stipulations, so he threw himself back in his seat, arms crossed.
It wasn’t until he and his parents were walking out of the school that he saw her, through the nurses window. Adrian was happy to see she was at least not crying anymore.
Their eyes met and she quickly mouthed, “thank you.” Despite the punishment he knew was coming, he didn’t stop smiling the whole day. He especially felt vindicated when his knuckles were fully healed in the morning, and all signs of the fight on his body were gone.
In fifth grade, the two spent three whole months independently trying to convince their parents to let them have a sleepover, not understanding why boys and girls couldn’t have a sleepover. But after his dad left his mom his mom was practically catatonic, so her mom let Adrian spend the night. He was sure pity was driving her mom’s decision, but he’d take it.
He had arrived, sweaty and breathing hard from his bike ride, an hour before the agreed upon time. He knew if he had his mom drive him it would take forever to get her to actually leave so he opted for the long ride on his own, leaving her a note that he left early. His backpack was heavy, filled with his favorite pajamas, his Game Boy Advance with almost all of his games, snacks he had stolen from the pantry, and his stuffed ostrich, Stretch, he’s had since he was little.
He had debated heavily if he should bring him or not, but Adrian had never slept a night without him, and he knew she wasn’t going to make fun of him for it. So Stretch got to come along to Adrian’s first ever sleepover.
“Hey!” he said, out of breath the moment she opened the door, a smile on her face as if she always expected Adrian to be this early. She was already in her pajamas, clearly feeling the same excitement he was. She opened the door wider and Adrian walked in, pointing up and when she nodded he led the way to her bedroom.
He smiled as they got closer, her radio already on and her room set up for their sleepover. Every single stuffed animal she owned was out on her bed, ready for cuddles, a stack of DVDs checked out from the library, and the tv from her parents room moved into hers for one night only.
“Nice, I also brought snacks!” he said, throwing his backpack on the ground and dumping everything out. He got on the floor to start sorting through everything he had brought, immediately started to categorize everything he had brought to her. She laughed, falling to her knees next to him as she looked through his games.
“Oh! You still need to show me your final Pokemon Silver team!” she said, holding the game up and he smiled. He had spent almost every day at lunch since the game came out talking her through step by step what he had done in the game, and she had hung on to every word.
“Yeah! I saved the final fight to show you too, since you’re not going to play it,” he teased, sticking out his tongue. She returned his mean face with a laugh.
“When you buy me a Game Boy or finally let me borrow yours, then I’ll play it,” she said, arms crossed.
“But if I let you borrow mine then I won’t be able to play anything!” he complained, and she laughed and shook her head. Adrian’s heart did that weird thump it had been doing when the two were alone. “But whenever I get my first job I promise to buy you a Game Boy,” he said, hand on his heart, and she smiled at him.
The smile was…different than normal. There was something shy about it, and it had something that caused Adrian’s heart to skip a beat and a light blush to cross his features before he cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the Game Boy, his hands fiddling with the handheld console as a sudden nervousness came over him.
“You okay?” she asked softly.
“It’s just my first sleepover, I want it to go well,” he answered honestly, dodging the way she was making him feel, and something changed in her smile. It was more warm, like she understood just how important this was to him.
“It will go well, we have movies, games, you brought snacks, my mom is going to order us our own pizza, and we’re just going to spend the whole night in my room and the first one to fall asleep is getting their face drawn on,” she teased as she reached behind Adrian to grab a sharpie off her desk. Their bodies brushed as she went back to sitting on her knees.
Adrian had been running an experiment lately. He never liked the tight hugs his mom would throw him into, he didn’t like the noogies and hits his brother gave him, and he certainly did not like when family members would touch him or pinch his cheeks. However, whenever she brushed against him, gave him a hug, or grabbed his hand to pull him around it was different. He liked it. He wanted it.
He had a hard time describing the feeling. Saying that it just felt ‘right’ felt like a cop-out to Adrian, and saying it felt like home also felt wrong - Adrian barely liked being at his house. With her, it was something different, something unexplainable, something…special.
He cherished those little brush ups, those hugs, when she’d laugh so hard she’d lean into him like he was the only thing that could hold him up. It sent him spinning in a way that confused his whole nervous system.
“You always fall asleep during movies first, so are you sure you want to challenge me to that?” he asked, snatching the sharpie out of her hands.
“We’ll see about that, Chase!” she said, moving to lean against the back of her bed. Adrian smiled, moving so he could sit next to her. He reached and grabbed his Game Boy.
“Let me show you my Typhlosion!” he said, turning it on as she pressed herself against him to get a better look. The feeling, as always, was warm and comfortable; two words Adrian almost never used to describe touch.
It almost made him wish he had another friend to talk to about this. About why he suddenly started feeling this way around her. His brother would be no help, he avoided his mom at all costs, and he may struggle with social cues but he knew telling her about it could open a whole can of worms that he wouldn’t know where to even begin with.
If she could feel how hard his heart was racing, he’d probably lose it. He couldn’t even think of a believable enough lie that would make her not think it was because of her, and that feeling scared Adrian.
“Oh! My mom wanted to know what kind of pizza you wanted?” she asked, her hand coming to tap his arm, drumming a song against him that he couldn’t hear. Each tap felt almost electric against his body. He looked over at her with a lazy smile on his face, and she groaned, pressing her forehead against his shoulder, he preened at the familiar contact. “Pineapple and ham?” she said with a judgemental groan.
“Yes please,” he answered happily as she made fake throw up sounds and pressed closer into him, making him laugh.
The night was one that Adrian would hold close to his heart for forever, even as they had more sleepovers in his young mind none of them were ever as good as the first one. They ended up watching three movies, talking through most of them, eating so much food and drinking so much soda that they both felt sick and as Adrian laid down on the pallet on her floor his eyes were locked on her hand that hung over the side of the bed.
He wondered how she’d react if he just…grabbed her hand and held it all night. Her soft snores alerted Adrian that she did in fact fall asleep first, but he made no attempt to grab the sharpie. Instead he stayed awake until his brain wouldn’t let him, listening to all the noises in the house and watching her fingers twitch slightly in her sleep as he held onto Stretch, imagining what it would feel like to sleep directly next to her instead of her floor.
In the sixth grade Gut’s regular bullying took a sharp turn. More cruel, more painful, more never-ending. It was then Adrian started to notice something strange about himself. It had happened before too with his split knuckles, but it was no longer a cool trick to Adrian. It was much worse.
His brother would hit him, pull his arm too sharply, or scratch him with something sharp but before he could show anyone the mark would disappear or turn so faint that it made Adrian look like he was lying.
His mom didn’t believe him at all, especially when Gut pressed that he was lying.
“Why would I do that?” he’d repeat over and over again, smiling at Adrian when his mom’s back was to them. Gut was always the favorite, Adrian knew that. He had heard and felt countless times that his brother could do no wrong while Adrian was known for being whiny and for stretching the truth, making him the perfect target for his brother. At first Adrian would scream and argue and beg his mom to just listen to him, to see what was happening, but over the months he just shut down. It wasn’t even worth fighting about anymore.
He wasn’t sure what was wrong with his body, what was making it do this, but it was starting to wear Adrian down.
He would watch her with marks from falling from gym or getting bumped too hard by something, and some of the bruises would last over a week, but for him nothing seemed to last longer than a day - even less if he fell asleep.
It all came to a boiling point one Sunday at her house, he had been hiding out more and more at her house on the weekends to avoid Gut, especially since it was no longer football season and he was around more. She was sitting on her bed, reading a book, while he was playing a video game on her floor, sitting across from her in a comfortable and normal silence. She was hugging her knees, and there was a painful looking bruise on her calf.
Adrian couldn’t take his eyes off of it. It was a dark angry bruise, with various shades Adrian had never fully seen on his own body. None of his bruises tend to move past a light brown or pink color. It looked painful and like it was sticking around for at least another week, probably longer. If it had been on his body, it would’ve been gone once he woke up in the morning.
He knew she had gotten it a few days ago during gym, tripping over someone during basketball and hitting the ground hard. She had told Adrian about it at lunch, pulling up her pants just enough so he could see the angry mark.
But now, it looked just as angry as it had been two days ago.
“How long do you think that’ll be there?” he finally asked, voice cracking slightly. She looked at him confused but once she followed his eyes Adrian watched her flex her leg out and look at the mark.
“I don’t know, maybe a couple of weeks. It was a bad spill.” she said simply, frowning and looking back at her book.
“Mine don’t last that long,” he whispered and she hummed, eyes moving across her page.
“My mom said sometimes people’s bodies are just different. Maybe your metabolism is better than mine?” she said, finally meeting his eyes. He didn’t like the concern that painted her features once she looked at him.
“Yeah, maybe,” he said, sounding uncomfortable as he shifted slightly, silently begging her to turn her attention back to her book. Adrian would do anything to not have this conversation with her, the last thing he wanted was for her to not believe him.
“Is…something going on where you have a lot of bruises?” she asked gently, Adrian watched her put down the book and walk slowly over to him like he was a scared animal.
“I mean, nothing crazy if that’s what you’re thinking!” he immediately said, trying to pull back the conversation, but it was too late Adrian had said too much already.
Adrian watched as she pulled up his sleeves inspecting his arms for something that wasn’t there. Something she wasn’t going to find.
“Do you get bruises that disappear fast?” she asked carefully, still holding his arm as if he’s made of glass. He felt a lump in his throat.
“Sometimes,” he whispered, eyes flickering to hers, afraid she was going to be able to read him like an open book.
“How are you getting bruises, Ade?” she pressed.
“You’re not going to believe me because you won’t see them,” he murmured and he hated that his voice was shaking and tears were starting to well in his eyes. He hated how easily she could get through to him, like she spoke a language that only applies to him.
“I don’t need to see them to believe you,” she insisted, her brow furrowing like it was the most obvious answer in the world. It was at those words that Adrian broke. He was no longer able to keep any of it in. It was just so simple with her. She trusted him fully, in a way Adrian didn’t even understand. He couldn’t help but start to sob, trying to tell her what had been going on.
He wasn’t sure what words tumbled out. He knew he told her what Gut had been doing and through his tears he saw her confused and angry features. He knew he begged her to not tell her mom and he knew she looked long and hard at her closed door. They were 11, and Adrian knew this was too much for them to carry alone, but he couldn't stand another adult calling him a liar, so he begged and begged till she agreed through her own tears.
“You can come over more, to get away from him. I’m sure my mom would let you spend the night more or if it helps I can come over more. Maybe he’ll leave you alone then,” she whispered, sitting next to him, their bodies pressed tightly next to each other as if she was scared he was going to disappear.
“No, I don’t want you near him! What if he hurts you too?” He said, eyes wide with panic and she gave him the faintest smile.
“If he’s worried about being caught he won’t do it in front of me and if he does then it’s our word against his to your mom and maybe that’ll help.” She whispered, hand gently rubbing his arm. He paused, thinking about it. He wasn’t sure if Gut would actually leave him alone in front of her, but Adrian knew if his brother tried anything on her he would fight back hard.
“Okay, maybe that will work,” he relented, his mind still reeling. “You really believe me?”
“Adrian Chase, I take offense to that. Of course I believe you, you’re my best friend,” she said, pouting slightly through her own tears. And despite everything, despite knowing at the end of the day he still had to go home to his cruel brother and his mother who didn’t believe him, it would be okay because she had his back.
Even if the torment didn’t lessen, the load got a little lighter for Adrian.
It was once they were in the seventh grade that the best thing in the history of their friendship had occurred.
They finally had a class together, not just recess or lunch, but for once they had the same homeroom and the same math class.
They had to be separated multiple times through the year, but nothing ever topped that first week of school.
During the first week, it had been free seating, so she and Adrian were quick to grab two seats at a table of four near the back.
“What do you think? Next to each other or across from each other?” she asked, placing her stuff on one of the corners as Adrian looked at the two seats. He tried not to think about how everyone else seemed to be avoiding their table.
That would be fine with Adrian at the end of the day, to have her all to himself, but he was starting to become more aware of the fact that despite the fact they were each other's closest friend, she still had friends other than Adrian. It made his chest feel funny to think about how she could one day just decide to not hang out with him anymore or how there might come a time where she chose someone else over him.
“Across from each other might make it easier to talk, but next to each other might be easier to whisper to each other,” he said, scratching his chin, and she laughed at how serious he was taking this.
“Sit across from me and then in math we can sit next to each other,” she answered, and Adrian quickly moved to sit across from her, smiling widely as he watched her get out her folder and pencil pouch. As if on instinct, she pulled out two pencils, handing one to Adrian as she got more stuff out her bag.
His heart did another funny flip as he looked at his already messy backpack, a hand me down from Gut. Despite it being the first day of school, Adrian had in fact forgotten to bring pencils.
“How’d you know?” he asked, leaning forward as he watched her closely.
“Becuase I know you, silly,” she responded, sticking out her tongue, and Adrian smiled.
Those words carried him for a long time.
He wasn’t sure before her if he had ever been known. Sure, his parents tried, and he had his brother but he wasn’t really close to any of them. His parents didn’t understand his interests, and most days Gut refused to acknowledge him.
How lucky he was for that girl to demand his friendship all those years ago as he stacked rocks and looked for bugs - multi-tasking.
However, once eighth grade hit, there was a stark change in her and not him. One that he noticed immediately, as if he was more in tune with her body than he was with his own. She had gotten taller. Now she was taller than him, something she happily gloated about. Her body had started to fill out, and she was moodier.
One day he had simply poked her, and she snapped at him like he had killed someone in front of him. He wasn’t sure what his face must’ve looked like because immediately after snapping she broke into tears and practically threw herself into his arms. Adrian was very confused but still held her tightly as if he could fix everything for her with a simple hug.
Adrian’s mom told him it was natural; that she was becoming a woman (whatever that meant, Adrian wasn’t sure) and that the two would be fine. She just needed time to navigate these changes.
Adrian knew from health class what was happening on a textbook level, and he knew girls developed before boys, but as he watched her no longer wanting to do their silly traditions as much, his heart began to ache. She started using the word childish and started suggesting they start new traditions - going to the mall instead of riding bikes, watching dramatic and romance movies instead of animated films, and the hardest one for Adrian was the fact she wanted to invite more friends into their small bubble.
He started pestering his mom about when he’d change too, grow to be taller than her again, and maybe catch up to her in a way that would restore their friendship to how it was. Maybe if he was taller or looked older she would want to ride bikes with him and watch cartoons and have sleepovers again.
It was all Adrian wanted.
“Adrian, it doesn’t work that way, you can’t rush it!” she said one night, Adrian planting himself at the kitchen table looking at his homework but making no move to complete it. Maybe if he left it blank she’d help him in the morning before class.
“You definitely can’t rush it, you’re going to be a pipsqueak forever,” Gut said walking behind Adrian as he smacked the back of Adrian’s head. Adrian hissed and glared at the back of his older brother’s head, who went straight to the fridge to grab food, completely ignoring that their mom was making dinner.
“Maybe you can ask her mom if we can have another sleepover soon?” Adrian asked and he heard his mom sigh.
“Adrian, it was fine when you guys were little but too much has changed that I just don’t think it’s appropriate for a boy to spend the night at a girls house at your age.”
“Come on, Mom. Adrian’s not going to knock her up!” Gut said and Adrian’s face turned beet red as he looked back down at his homework.
“Excuse me! We do not talk like that in this house! You know better!” his mom scolded, but Gut didn’t care, he just rolled his eyes, grabbed food, and left the two in the kitchen. “Where do you think you’re going? Dinner is almost ready!”
“I’m going to Chris’s, I’ll be back tomorrow,” Gut said as the front door slammed shut.
Adrian released a breath he wasn’t fully aware he was holding at his brother’s leaving.
“I just want her back and things back to how they were,” he mumbled, and his mom looked over at him, pity all over her face, making Adrian feel even worse about how he was feeling.
“She’ll come back to you, honey. I promise.”
If she was going to come around, it wasn’t in ninth grade.
Adrian immediately hated high school. He had gotten so used to not having to deal with his brother at school that now with him being a junior, and Adrian a freshman, it was a new wave of fresh hell.
To make matters worse, high school came with its own league of challenges. The two had no classes together, not even lunch, and there was no recess. The only times they got to see each other was occasionally in the hallway and in the fifteen minutes after the buses arrived before the bell would ring for class.
His bus always arrived five minutes before hers, so Adrian would quickly beeline to his own locker, throw everything in, and essentially run to her locker - almost always beating her there.
Some days she’d walk over to him and sit next to him on the ground and the two would talk and hang out, but more recently she had been walking up with more friends. They would already be laughing and talking, a few of the other girls would give Adrian a dirty look when they realized he was there, but Adrian didn’t care because she always looked happy to see him.
“Your puppy is here,” one of her friends murmured to her as they came up to Adrian. He watched her face closely as she looked at the other girl with almost a look of shame as Adrian’s heart dropped.
Was he being too much? Was she growing sick of him? Behind his back were they calling him names?
“Don’t call him that,” she said back softly and turned her attention to Adrian. “Hey Ade, how are you?”
“I’m okay,” he said gently, looking at the two girls next to her as she opened her locker, her hands moving on autopilot as she watched him closely. “I just wanted to let you know that umm the rest of the week I wasn’t going to be able to meet you at your locker.”
Adrian immediately hated the words coming out of his mouth. He wanted to take them back, to call that girl a bitch and tell her that she just didn’t understand their friendship. He wanted to say that no one else would ever have what they have.
But the words never come out.
“Oh, okay,” he hated the look on her face as she looked at him closely. “Are you still coming over this weekend?”
“Of course! We can’t break our tradition!” he said with fake enthusiasm. Her friends didn’t seem to see through it but he could tell by the look on her face that she knew.
Of course she knew.
To make it worse, he knew she wasn’t going to let it go. They moved through the rest of the week at an awkward pace, still saying hello in the hallway, but true to his word for the rest of the week, he avoided going to her locker. Multiple times he had to stop himself halfway on his usual path to her locker and turn around to go to his first period instead.
When Saturday rolled around he was slow to get ready. Normally he’d be up, showered, and ready to go by 8 a.m. even if they weren’t hanging out till noon. Today however, Adrian was moving like it was causing him physical pain, taking extra time on each task as if it would change the plans for today.
He was silent the whole car ride over, letting his mom talk about whatever she wanted, not minding that Adrian didn’t speak up once.
“What time do you want me to pick you up?” she asked as they pulled into her driveway, the front door already open and waiting for Adrian.
“Can I just call when we’re done?” he asked softly, not wanting to get trapped by giving her too late of a time.
“Of course, honey. Are you feeling okay?” she asked, and Adrian smacked her hand away as she tried to check his temperature on his forehead.
“I’m fine, just tired, okay?” he said, and thankfully, his mom dropped it as he got out of the car. He dragged himself to the front door, knocking lightly as he listened to his mom car pull out of the driveway and started to head home.
He was really in it now.
“Hey!” she said, rushing to the door with a smile at his first knock. He fought his own smile as she opened the door. “My mom had to run some errands so it’s just us for a couple of hours and I went ahead and checked out some of our favorite movies from the library yesterday.”
“Nice,” Adrian said, keeping it simple as he followed her through the house to the living room.
He took his usual spot on the couch as she started the movie and ran into the kitchen to get them some snacks. He watched as she brought out all of his favorite snacks and drinks.
“We also have stuff for banana splits and my mom got us some frozen pizzas if you want to stay for dinner,” she said sitting next to him.
“Yeah, that sounds good,” he said softly, keeping his attention on the movie.
They last twenty minutes into the movie before she couldn’t seem to stand whatever was happening with Adrian.
“Hey, are you okay?” she asked, pausing the movie, and Adrian tensed beside her, rubbing his sweaty palms on his sweatpants.
“Yeah of course! Totally fine! Better than fine actually, I’m amazing,” he said, giving a fake laugh, and she tilted her head.
“Adrian you don’t have to lie to me,” she said gently and Adrian’s face snapped towards hers.
“Lying? I’m not-“
“Adrian, I should’ve stood up for you when Gabby made fun of you. I was a bad friend, I love that you come to my locker in the morning. Please don’t let other people ruin that for us,” she said softly, putting her hand on top of his hand and for the first time in their entire friendship, he flinched.
It was involuntary. He didn’t mean to. And when he looked at her face he wanted to puke.
She looked like she was about to start crying.
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked, voice cracking. It sounded almost painful to Adrian’s ears, he felt like his own heart was going to start cracking.
“No! God no! No I’m, this is just-“
“Do you still want to be friends?” she asked, and Adrian watched in horror as tears started falling down her cheeks. He had never really seen her cry like this, at least not because of him. Sure they had both cried after sad movies, but this was different. Adrian was making her cry.
“Yes, of course I still want to be friends,” he said, panic taking over him. “I just I don’t…I don’t umm it’s like-“
“Like what?” she cried.
“Sometimes I just don’t know if you still want to be my friend!” he blurted out, eyes darting around the room. “I don’t know where I fit in with your other friends.”
Adrian’s eyes finally locked on hers and despite her crying, a smile comes across her face. She looked almost relieved that that was what was bothering him.
“Adrian, you will always fit in with me. I would tell all my other friends to suck a dick and get lost if you asked me too. You’re my best friend, I love you,” she said, and Adrian’s heart was pounding.
He didn’t know what to say so he did the next best thing he could think of, he launched himself at her, wrapping her tightly in his arms. She was quick to hug him back as she released a sob.
“Don’t cry, I’m sorry. I love you too, please don’t cry!” he panicked, and she let out a wet laugh as she squeezed him.
“Please come to my locker on Monday?” she asked, he could feel her breath on his ear as he jerkily nodded.
“Of course, always,” he whispered. “But you don’t have to tell Gabby to suck a dick it’s okay!”
She laughed and pushed them back on the couch so she was on top of him, holding their bodies close together.
“I will if she’s mean again to you, I promise,” she said, and Adrian smiled.
After that there were no issues with him at her locker. He wasn’t fully sure if she told her other friends to lay off of him or what, but while they never go out of their way to be kind to him they’re no longer mean to him.
If only those girls were the only bullies Adrian had to worry about.
In tenth grade, Adrian experienced one of his first (of many) twists of jealousy when it came to her and possibly dating someone (who wasn’t him).
Maybe twist was too strong, he was certainly uncomfortable by what was happening, but he never expected anyone to say anything to him about it. She didn’t owe him anything, but he still couldn’t help the feelings.
He especially didn’t want to tell her about it.
Adrian still wasn’t sure why he as a sophomore had to have gym with his senior brother and his friends, but here he was. He also didn’t understand why they cared enough to make his life a miserable hell. He knew the best way to get through it was to keep his head down.
He had tried to get his mom to do something, to tell Gut to leave him alone, but she just kept telling him that boys will be boys.
Which Adrian consistently called bullshit on, considering he wasn’t walking around the school trying to make other people’s lives hell like his brother was.
“Hey thimble!” Chris Smith, one of Gut’s closest friends, shouted from across the locker room and Adrian closed his eyes and held his breath. At least this time he didn’t seem to notice him till he got his pants on. He’d take the small win.
He thought maybe if he kept his eyes shut they would go away, pick on literally anyone else, but no such luck as a hand came down on his shoulder - hard.
He tried really hard not to flinch, knowing that flinching would only make it worse.
“So, you gotta tell me, that girl that’s always hanging off of you - you’ve fucked her right?” Chris asked, grinning at Adrian as he felt his face heat up.
“No, it’s…it’s not like that, we're just friends,” he said quickly, angling himself out of Chris’s grasp, which Chris accepted with a wolfish smile.
“So, you won’t mind if I…” Chris trailed off, waggling his eyebrows up and down, and Adrian felt something twist in his stomach. Something nasty and hateful and a pure need to protect her from Chris.
“Do what?” he asked, voice unusually tense. Normally he wouldn’t disagree or fight back with any of his brother’s friends - especially since they just go back to his brother, and then Gut will start harassing him even more at home.
“You know…take her out for a spin, underclassmen are always the best for a quick fuck. They’re easy to convince and easy to dump, plus she’s hot as fuck,” Chris said with a shrug as if she wasn’t a living breathing person with feelings, not just a pussy to fuck.
So Adrian panicked. Saying the first thing that came to his mind that would possibly deter Chris from going anywhere near her.
“She’s a lesbian!” he shouted, and then threw a hand over his own mouth as heads turned towards him. “I mean, yes she’s a lesbian but I’m the only one who knows and you know if that came out…I mean if people found out she’d be really upset.”
Adrian watched as Chris nodded, chewing on his cheek for a second.
“I get it man, secret’s safe with me,” Chris said, clapping Adrian on the shoulder before leaving him alone.
Adrian learned quickly that the secret was not safe with Chris.
They were in her room, Adrian was sitting on her desk, head against her wall as she laid on her stomach on her bed. She was working on homework and he was supposed to bring his over too, but he never did. Frequently opting to just watch her and take in all her little movements instead. To him, school could wait, studying her could not.
“So, Chris Smith came and talked to me yesterday after school,” she said, and Adrian immediately tensed at her tone. It wasn’t the first time they had talked about Chris or any of Gut’s friends, but he could already tell where this was going.
“Yeah?” he squeaked out.
“Yeah, he wanted me to know that he was an ally and respected my choice to be a lesbian.” Her voice was tight as her eyes narrowed at him.
“Wow, that’s umm…well that’s very progressive of him!” Adrian tried, cringing slightly as she sat up on her knees, eyes not leaving him.
“Adrian, why-” she started, but Adrian was already spiraling.
“I mean, I would never expect Chris to be that accepting especially considering he’s one of Gut’s friends and he’s called me the f-word like a thousand times. Not fuck or fuckwad, but the other f-word, so it’s just shocking-”
“Adrian!” she said, her face was angry as Adrian fell silent, suddenly more interested in his socks than anything else. In his head he already knew how she looked, nostrils flared, eyes narrowed, and mouth tight. It was rare her anger was at Adrian but it didn’t make it sting any less. “Did you tell him I was a lesbian?”
“Maybe?”
“Adrian!”
“Okay! Yes! I did, but it was because he going to ask you out and all he wanted to do was fuck you and I didn’t want you to get hurt and I-”
“Adrian! I’m my own person, I can make my own decisions!” she said, and Adrian's hands shook as he gripped the desk while looking at her angry face. He wasn’t sure he'd ever seen her this pissed.
“I know! I know you’re your own person, but I didn’t want him to hurt you!”
“That’s not your decision to make!”
“You want to fuck Christopher Smith?” he yelled back, his own temper starting to rise at the idea of her not being thankful for protecting her from Chris. Chris was friends with his brother, and that had to mean he was at least a little bit of an asshole if he regularly dealt and seemed to like Gut.
“No! I don’t want to fuck Chris, but you don’t get to tell people I’m a lesbian so I won’t fuck them! Adrian, you realize that’s wrong, right?” she said, eyeing him sharply and he sighed.
“Yes, I know,” he whined, holding his head in shame. He listened to her shuffle around and he didn’t look up to her hand came to rest on his shoulder. He looked up at her, sniffling and fighting tears.
He was expecting her to look at him with anger or hatred, but when he met her eyes he was only met with love and acceptance.
That made him cry harder.
“Oh, Ade, it’s okay,” she murmured, a hand coming to brush the tears running down his cheek. “Hey, I’m not upset, okay? You don’t need to cry.” He tried to look down, anything to get away from her watching him, but she simply moved herself to hold his face in both hands to make him look at her. Her thumbs brushing his tears away on the apples of his cheeks, if this was any other time he knew his face would be bright as a tomato.
“You should be upset,” he muttered.
“Okay, I’m a little upset that now there’s a rumor going around that I’m a lesbian, but I’m not upset at you,” she said softly and he released a shaky breath.
“You can tell people I’m gay if it makes you feel any better, Gut tells people that anyway but they’d probably believe you more.”
“No, Adrian. I’m not going to tell people that you’re gay, but you can start by telling people I’m not actually lesbian.” He nodded gently, not wanting her to let go of his face just yet.
“Okay, I’ll tell Chris tomorrow,” he said, bringing his shaking hands around her waist and pulling her closer. She chuckled but moved so they were in an awkward hug, Adrian’s head resting on her chest.
“For the record, I would never ever go out with Chris or any of Gut’s friends for that matter. They’re assholes and I am totally uninterested. I need you to know and understand that, Ade.” she whispered, one of her hands running through his hair.
“I know,” he whispered, squeezing her tightly against him. He did know, she knew how much that would hurt him, but there was always that feeling, that doubt, that worry that would swim in his head.
In eleventh grade, their weekend tradition of watching movies started to become more difficult to schedule since she had gotten her first job and she ended up working most Saturdays as a hostess at Fennel Fields. At first Adrian had hated the change, it left significantly less time for them to hang out, but unlike him, she was saving for college, so he tried not to comment too much on the lack of time she suddenly had for him.
“You know, they’re hiring for busboys,” she said laying on her bed on her stomach, feet in the air as she chewed on a pencil. Adrian was sitting at her desk, his chemistry notes in front of him as he attempted to study for his final.
“I don’t know, won’t me getting a job make it harder for us to find time to hang out?” he asked, spinning in her chair to look at her, her eyes were already on him with a smile.
“Not if we tell the manager we have availability on the same days, we could work together!” she said, and Adrian frowned. His mom was on him about doing something after school. He had avoided every club and sport like it was the plague to avoid his brother and his shadow, but working with her would get his mom off his back, he’d earn some money, and they’d get to spend time together. It was a win win win.
“You like it there?” he asked, and he watched her smile grow, clearly knowing she’s already hooked him in.
“I mean it’s a job, but the money is okay and we get tips sometimes,” she said as she sat up.
“Okay I’ll apply,” he said and he watched as her smile turned almost devious.
“Your first training shift is Monday, I already convinced them to hire you,” she said, and Adrian laughed, smiling brightly at her knowing him.
“What were you going to do if I said no?” he said, getting up and stretching before walking over to sit next to her in the bed.
“You’d never say no to me,” she said, knocking her shoulder against him, and he rolled his eyes.
“Yeah unfortunately.”
Monday rolled around, and the job wasn’t too bad. It was definitely better when she was also working, but he really didn’t mind the tasks. He didn’t have to talk to anyone and after a few weeks carrying the dish tray around got easier and easier.
Their other co-workers didn’t seem to like him much, but they loved her, so they learned to tolerate Adrian.
But he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t more excited for his first paycheck. He had long decided what he would be spending it on and he was so excited to show her. It was so long overdue that he was completely convinced she’d be fully surprised by it - which considering how bad Adrian was at surprises he was excited to finally be able to pull one off.
He made his mom drive him straight to the bank with the first check and then to the store to spend it. Having just enough to complete a promise.
“Can you drop me off at her house?” he asked, and his mom smiled. It was a small and knowing smile, one that Adrian didn’t quite understand.
“Of course, sweetheart.”
The whole car ride Adrian felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest as he imagined her reaction. He hoped she would be excited or happy, but sometimes she wouldn’t react how he’d expect. Like when he showed up at her house close to three in the morning to show her his finally finished English essay that she had helped him with. He didn’t understand at first why she was so angry but as she rubbed her eyes and Adrian’s adrenaline disappeared he had felt a sharp pain of embarrassment and he made a note for the future.
Anything past midnight and before five in the morning wasn’t okay.
But right now, it was only ten in the evening, plenty of time to still be reasonable as he knocked loudly on the door. Adrian was bouncing back and forth on his heels waiting for someone to answer the door.
Her mom came to the door first.
“Oh Adrian! I didn't know you were coming over, come in!” she said, letting him in and he smiled, pointing in the direction of her room.
“Is she in her room?” he asked, cutting to the chase, the box heavy in his hands.
“Yes, she’s-“ Adrian had already started running up the stairs, taking them two at a time, the gift firmly in his hands.
“Mom, who-“ she called down, opening her door to be greeted by Adrian beaming at her. “Oh hey! What are you doing here?”
“I got you this!” he said, forcing the box into her hands, she tilted her head to the side and looked at him and the box.
“Adrian, you got me a Game Boy Advance?” she said, eyes wide as she walked into her room, Adrian following her in, shutting the door behind him. His smile was wide as he watched her face carefully as she looked at the box.
“Yes! I promised I’d get you one and I finally got my first check today! I didn’t have enough to get you any games, so I brought a few you can borrow,” he said smiling proudly at her as she smiled softly.
“Ade, you didn’t have to do that,” she said gently and Adrian shrugged suddenly feeling bashful under her appreciative look.
“I know, but I wanted to,” he said as simply as possible.
“Thank you,” she said, setting the box on her bed and pulling him into a hug. He was happy for her tight hold so she would miss the way his face turned bright red as he hugged her back.
For some reason he would think about that hug for a long time, imagining it on hard days.
Twelfth grade brought a new challenge Adrian was uninterested in dealing with.
They both had agreed as underclassmen that homecoming was dumb and they’d rather spend the night hanging out, playing video games, and eating as much junk food as possible.
But Adrian quickly learned prom was another beast entirely.
This year they were able to work the system in their favor, which meant that they finally had a high school class together. Sure it was intro to art, but a class nonetheless. Neither of them had been particularly interested in taking the course but it was only offered for fourth period which meant not only did they have a class together but they would also have lunch together so it was truly a no brainer in whether or not they would take it.
It was fantastic, even if Adrian was having trouble with 70% of the lessons. He never really cared much about any of his grades so struggling in art didn’t really bother him.
In fact, he liked seeing how good she was at her classes more.
“So, prom?” she asked as she focused on her sewing. Adrian’s fingers were already sore and bleeding from the amount of stitches he had messed up.
“What about it?” he asked, fiddling with his half abandoned project. He felt his heart rate spike.
“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug, avoiding his eyes suddenly. “Are you going to go?”
“To prom?” he asked, shifting to look at her closer but she stayed focused on her work. Almost surprising Adrian, she never avoided him like this.
“Yes, Adrian. To prom. Are you going to prom?” she asked, exasperated.
“Oh, no, probably not,” he answered honestly, and he watched her slightly deflate. “Are you?”
“I don’t know, I want to go, but I don’t want to go alone,” she mumbled.
“You could go with Gabby and those friends!” Adrian suggested with a bright smile and she frowned, suddenly not willing to meet his gaze.
“I’d rather go with you,” she muttered.
“With me?” he yelled and winced as everyone’s eyes flew to the two of them. “Sorry!” he whispered, holding his hands up as everyone went back to work.
“Yes, with you,” she hissed and Adrian’s heart started pounding. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go to prom with her - hell he’d do anything with her. If she asked him to jump off a bridge he’d follow with a smile and a helping hand. He could do a few hours at prom if it made her happy.
“Oh,” he said softly, rubbing his hands together and thinking. “What would I…would I drive us?” he asked gently, thinking about asking his mom for the Sebring.
“I mean, you could,” she said softly, not meeting his eyes anymore. “But I don’t want you to feel like you have to go to prom just because I want to.”
“No, I…if it’s you I want to go,” he nodded, trying to put as much conviction into his words as possible, anything to get her to believe him.
“Okay, I can get the tickets for us tomorrow at lunch,” she said and Adrian smiled, assuming that would be the end of it till prom in a few weeks as she went back to her art project, strangely quiet the rest of the class.
Unfortunately, that was not the end of the prom conversation.
His mother was constantly questioning him the moment he told her. Asking him what color she was wearing, what kind of corsage she wanted, where they were going for dinner before, if he wanted to rent them a limo, planning a time for them to go rent a tux.
It was endless and it was grinding Adrian’s gears because on the other side of things she seemed too nervous to talk to Adrian about prom.
“Do we match?” he asked a week before prom at her locker, she had looked at him with wide eyes.
“What?” she asked as she opened her locker, Adrian noted her shaking hands, but tried to not call attention to it.
“I mean, sorry. Should we match for prom? Like should my tie match your dress?” he asked, shutting his eyes tightly. He hated trying to navigate new social situations, especially when he felt like he couldn’t ask her for help.
“Do you want to match?” she asked softly, and Adrian heard her put her books in her locker.
“I don’t know! Are we supposed to?” he asked, voice pitched up.
“Are we supposed to match?” she repeated back, and Adrian threw his hands in his hair, letting out a loud harsh laugh, clearly panicking.
“Are we supposed to match to prom? Does my tie need to match your dress? What color corsage do you want? Are you getting me a boutonniere or do I need to get that when I get the corsage so we match or does that not matter? Jesus, are we getting dinner too? Do you want a limo or-”
“Adrian!” she said harshly, pulling his hands away from his hair, he was vaguely aware that he was pulling his hair roughly. She grabbed his hand and dragged him into the girls bathroom. He tried to stop her, but he was crying and panicking too hard to do anything to stop her. “Jesus, take a deep breath!” she said as she pushed him into the handicap stall, locking the door behind them. He slid down the wall to the floor, hyperventilating.
“I can’t breathe,” he wheezed out, hand on his chest as she fell to her knees next to him. Adrian could barely focus on anything outside of her own panicked expression as she grabbed his hands.
“Hey, you’re okay. You need to breathe, okay?” she said softly, and he whimpered.
“I can’t, I can’t do it! It’s too much,” he cried out, trying to stand back up, needing to get away from her. She didn’t let him, simply pushing him back into place and pulling one of his hands to rest over her heart.
“Try to match my breathing, Ade,” she said, and Adrian watched as she took a deep breath, held it, and then let it out. She repeated a few times before Adrian started to mirror her, letting out sharp gasps occasionally when the crying became too much. “Adrian, honey, you are okay. Please breathe.”
“I’m trying,” he answered, wanting to stop so at the very least she wouldn’t panic anymore. He was somewhat aware that the bathroom had cleared out due to the morning bell going off, but she made no move to bring them out of the bathroom.
He wasn’t sure if it was five minutes later or an hour when he finally felt like he could breathe again. He was still crying, but at least he didn’t feel like he was going to pass out anymore.
“Adrian, I’m going to ask some yes or no questions, okay? All I need you to do is nod or shake your head, alright?” she asked softly, and he nodded.
“Do you still want to go to prom?” she asked, he took a beat, but nodded. She nodded back.
“Would you like to match? We don’t need to at all and it won’t hurt my feelings if you don’t want to,” she said gently, and Adrian looked at her face, there were no hints on her expression on which way she’d prefer.
“What would you-” he started to croak out.
“No! Sorry, I mean, no Ade. I’m asking, would you like to match?” He paused and thought about it for a second. He knew Gut matched both girls he took to prom his junior and senior year, so he knew that was probably what they should do.
He nodded and she smiled.
“Okay, good. Do you want to pick a color now?” she asked and he nodded.
“Teal?” he whispered, and she laughed.
“Should’ve guessed that, okay yeah I can work with that. Do you want a boutonniere?” He shook his head and she smiled. “Okay then don’t get me a corsage okay?”
He nodded.
“Do you want to go out for dinner?” she asked, reaching behind her for some toilet paper, carefully cleaning the tears off his face.
“We can,” he whispered and she nodded in agreement.
“Do you have any other pressing questions before prom?” He started to open his mouth, “about prom, Ade.” She clarified and he closed his mouth, causing them both to smile.
“Prom is going to be fun, okay? And we don’t have to do it like anyone else, there’s no pressure to follow what anyone else is doing, especially not your brother, Ade. We’re going to have fun, we’ll take some pictures, eat dinner, dance to a few songs. It’ll just be us and whatever we want to make of it, okay?”
“Okay,” he whispered. Clearly satisfied that he had calmed down enough she stood up, holding out her hand for him to grab. Before letting go of his hand she pulled him into a hug.
“It’ll be a fun night, okay? No more stressing, and we don’t even have to stay the whole night,” she murmured in his ear as he swayed them a little, holding her tight.
“Okay,” he whispered, a ghost of a smile on his lips.
Prom ended up being a blur of fun, one that when his mom asked him how it went when he stumbled in at midnight all he could do was smile and say it was amazing, the best night of his life.
The whole night Adrian was very well aware of how beautiful she looked, even in his shitty car, and even though her heels made her much taller to him when they walked in. He didn’t care about all the people looking at him, clearly surprised that he had come to prom, because he had her hanging off his arm, his closest friend, his person, just…her.
By the look in her eyes, he had to assume she felt the same.
He loved every part of the night, from the dinner to her controlling the music in the car to the venue. For once in his life he wasn’t aware of the looks or the anxiety that bubbled underneath the surface of his skin. He loved talking to her all night, running his hand over the fabric of her dress and her doing the same with his matching teal tie. He loved jumping up and down and dancing poorly with her, making her laugh so hard and him beaming as if he had just won the lottery.
That night, it truly felt like he did.
Adrian is not a religious person, but if he was he would thank God daily, hell even hourly, for her and her friendship, her love.
It was the summer after graduation, and Adrian had been dreading going over to her house. He knew this was coming and had been coming for too long, he just was still in denial.
Denial that she was going to college five hours away and he was staying in Evergreen with no future plans.
He assumed if he just hid all summer, pretending that nothing was going to change come August it would end up being true. But as he pulled into her driveway and let himself into the house to go to her room he was immediately met with the stark reality that that was truly not the case.
Spread throughout the room were boxes and her suitcase filled with various items, clearly preparing for her big move.
“Oh,” he immediately said, hands falling to his side as he looked around. She smiled at him as she ran up to him pulling him into a hug.
“Adrian!” she said happily, swaying him slightly. He shivered as her fingers wrapped around his curls, his own hands loosely around her waist. “I’ve missed you! You didn’t come over last weekend!”
“Yeah, sorry I was helping my mom with some stuff,” he answered softly, and she tsked him. He fought a smile as he noticed a framed picture of them at prom on top of one of the boxes.
“Yeah that’s why when I called your mom said you were at the gym,” she said, pulling back to inspect him. “Why are you working out again?”
“I don’t know, it’s just something to do for now,” he lied, still not sure how to tell her about his idea to become Vigilante.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t sure if she’d support him, but more that he didn’t want to cause her to worry too much about him yet. Besides, he knew from experience that he was going to have to ask her for help to design his suit and keep it in tip top shape.
“That’s fair,” she said gently, biting her lip. “I wish you had applied with me to college still though.”
“I know, but it’s okay because in four years you’ll be back in Evergreen, right?” he asked, and she released him fully, walking back over to the bed where she had been packing.
“I mean maybe, it depends on if I get a job here or somewhere else, Ade,” she said simply, and Adrian frowned as he walked over to sit on her desk, his usual spot.
“No…you’ll get a job here,” he repeated like it was the most obvious thing on the planet. Her hands froze over the blanket she had been folding and she turned gently towards him. Her expression was almost unsure, like she was afraid of hurting him.
“Adrian, are you wanting to stay in Evergreen forever?” she asked, walking over to him, hands gently grabbing his. The two had always had casual touches between them but ever since prom there had been an extra charge he felt between them. He found himself wondering late at night if he was alone in thinking about those touches.
“I mean, not forever, but I like it here. I don’t want to leave,” he said carefully and she nodded.
“I might not want to live here forever, but wherever I end up, you will always have a place there, okay? And I’ll come back to Evergreen too, okay?” she said looking him in the eyes, Adrian smiled at her conviction.
“When’s your first break?” he joked, not willing to acknowledge the possibility of them not living fifteen minutes apart anymore, and she laughed, one of her hands coming to slap his chest.
“Thanksgiving, but you better drive up with us and help me unpack. I don’t think this will all fit in my mom’s van. We’re going to need the Sebring.”
“Can I spend the night?”
“Adrian, I don’t even know my roommate yet,” she said, rolling her eyes, and Adrian chuckled leaning forward so his forehead was resting on her shoulder. He had finally managed to catch up to her in height, but most days he still preferred to be seen as smaller than her, finding comfort in her warmth.
“Maybe? If she’s cool with it?” he tried.
“Jesus, okay, maybe. We’ll see after we move everything in,” she relented.
Even if the idea of her leaving Evergreen stung, he knew at the very least she’d always have a place for him and he would always make sure she had a safe place in Evergreen to come back to.
Her being away at college wasn’t as hard as Adrian anticipated, post her freshman year the two had developed a very solid rhythm for chats and hangouts. If she couldn’t make it up for a long weekend Adrian would simply come down, doing the five hour drive solo with a smile on his face.
It was the leaving that was the most challenging for Adrian.
But on weekends that it simply didn’t work out that either could go see the other, they would talk on the phone. Which was great because he learned very quickly she didn’t mind him calling her almost constantly on the phone.
He would ramble about his day, his plans, ask her about school, her new friends. He kept on his radar who she was friends with and how they were treating her.
Adrian wasn’t the biggest fan of her having new friends, but he kept it to himself and attempted to keep himself in check. It was a struggle, but he understood that if he didn’t come with her to college then he had to accept that some part of her would need in person connection. There was only so much he could do on the phone and on short trips to her.
The two would frequently sit in silence on the phone while she studied and Adrian tinkered or looked at weapons online, sometimes even playing video games. Occasionally one of them would speak up to share something that had happened during the day, but for the most part it felt like their usual after school hangouts, minus the actual school part. Which was always Adrian’s least favorite part, so this was significantly better.
“Oh hey, I told you about Ethan, right?” she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice. His own smile played on his lips, as he assumed she was about to tell him some embarrassing story about a classmate. He was hoping for something with blood or at the very least public embarrassment.
“The guy that you keep running into at the dining court?” he asked, the phone smushed between his cheek and his shoulder as he played video games. His eyes focused hard on his screen.
“Yes! Okay, so last time I saw him, he asked me on a date and we went out last night and it went really well, Ade! Like really well,” she said with a light giggle, one Adrian didn’t understand but still caused a sharp twist in his stomach. “We got dinner and walked around and talked almost all night. We’re going out again in a couple of days!” she said with a wishful sigh and Adrian’s fingers stilled, dropping the controller harshly. His eyes blurred as his character on the screen died.
“Is he your boyfriend then?” Adrian blurted out, feeling hot anger flash in his voice. He could feel tears starting to well.
“I, well maybe? He hasn’t asked me yet but I’m hoping he does,” she said, clearly confused by Adrian’s reaction.
“Well that’s great, I hope you guys have a great wedding and have tons of fun,” he said, hanging up the phone as tears poured down his cheeks.
He was confused by his own feelings, even more confused by how when her name popped back up on his phone he was filled with instant dread.
He was spiraling, he knew he was spiraling, as his brain immediately jumped to a future that she had that was completely without him. It would be so easy for her to be done with him, maybe he was just a placeholder this whole time for her. He knew she’d make more friends in college and as painful as it was he knew there would be stuff in her life without him, but this felt different.
This felt wrong.
He didn’t answer his phone. He let it ring and ring till she gave up. It made him feel sick, but he couldn’t bring himself to answer.
He was unsure if any of this would ever feel the same again.
It was less than a year later. She and Ethan had officially gotten together shortly after that call, and Adrian had pulled back as much as his heart could handle.
He would wake up and tell himself that today was the day he would go all day without thinking about her, without calling her, without texting her. He never ever lasted the full day.
She did most of the calling, and Adrian for the most part always answered, especially when it was late at night and he knew she was walking home. He responded gently on the phone and didn't ask any prying questions. Not because he didn’t care anymore, but because he wasn’t sure his heart could handle it.
He missed her daily, she was always on his mind, but he wasn’t sure where he lived in her world anymore.
“Hey, do you wanna come up next weekend?” she asked and Adrian frowned, looking down at his sketchbook. He was just starting to workshop ideas for his hero name and suit. He desperately wanted to get her opinion on it but was scared that she would tell stupid Ethan.
“I don’t know, I'm kind of busy with work and some stuff,” he said, shrugging even though she couldn’t see him. He heard her sigh on the other end and his heart ached.
“Maybe I can come visit next weekend?” she asked, sounding hopeful.
“Don’t you have finals or something?”
“Adrian, it’s February.”
“I don’t know how college fucking works!” he said honestly, and she laughed lightly. Adrian’s heart pounded in his chest at the sound, missing the way she always made him happier.
“Okay, it’s settled. I’m coming over next Friday. I want to see what you’ve been working on!” she said, and Adrian smiled. He could finally show her the beginnings of his Vigilante basement and get her help on his suit.
It was something he wanted, so for the first time since she had started dating Ethan he gave in.
“Okay.”
The following week Adrian heard the doorbell from where he was working in the basement. His test suit was ready for her to look at.
He knew it needed improvements, his sewing was atrocious and some of his choices were probably more cool than practical, but it was a start. He just hoped she wouldn’t freak out or try to stop him from becoming Vigilante.
“He’s downstairs, honey. He never lets me in the basement anymore but the door should be unlocked! Oh my it’s so good to see you, how’s college? Are you still doing okay?” Adrian listened to his mom talk to her as they walked down the stairs, he frowned as his mom didn’t even let her get a word in as per usual. He rolled his eyes as he went to the door, opening it just enough to stick his head out.
“Okay, mom. I got it from here, goodbye! Thank you!” he said, and she laughed, turning towards his mom.
“Thank you, Mrs. Chase. I’ll stop by before I go back to catch up some more I promise.”
“Ugh, no you won’t because we’re going to hang out all weekend,” Adrian said, a smile tugging on his lips as she rolled her eyes, but his mom finally started to make her way back upstairs. “Hey, uhh before I let you in…can you promise not to freak out?” Adrian watched her as her eyebrows narrowed.
“What did you do?” she asked, immediately suspicious of him and he frowned.
“I didn’t do anything, well I mean. I did but it’s not bad, but I just wanted to talk to you about it in person, but I don’t want you to immediately panic,” he said honestly. He saw something strange flash in her eyes. Something different, it was almost like concern, but closer to fear. What did she have to be afraid of around him?
“You’re freaking me out, Ade,” she whispered, he watched her shuffle slightly, trying to see over him into the basement. “What are you hiding?”
It was now or never.
He moved out of the way, holding the door open for her, revealing a handful of weapons and his prototype Vigilante suit. Before she could even ask him any questions, he immediately launched into his speech he had been mentally preparing since he decided to tell her.
“Do you remember how like, when we were kids I’d get hurt, and it would heal really quick or I’d faint and then I’d be fine after like 10 minutes? Well, I think I’m like a superhero - nothing insane like Superman, I’m not like an alien! But I think I can use my healing for good, like I’ve been going to the gym and working out and training and I think I can help make Evergreen a safer place, by becoming the Vigilante and stopping criminals. I mean you know the cops here, they’re fucking corrupt, it’s ridiculous and maybe I can help fix that,” he rambled, watching her as she moved closer to the chest plate, her fingers moving gently across the teal spray painted v shape.
“Teal?” she said, a smile playing on her lips, and Adrian released a sharp breath, happy she was at the very least not panicking right now.
“Yeah, it’s the best color,” he answered like it was obvious, face burning at her clear recognition of the teal matching their prom colors. He moved so he could inspect her face closer. “You’re not panicking,” he observed.
“It’s just not what I was expecting, but your brother is friends with Chris Smith, and isn’t he the Peacemaker or some shit? This isn’t a complete surprise, I guess.”
“Wait, what were you expecting?”
“Nothing it was just something Ethan had said that was bothering me I guess,” she said cryptically, but before Adrian could even ask what that meant she kept going, “Is this why you’ve been so weird lately?” she asked softly, hand coming to rest on his shoulder. Adrian immediately took the chance to write off his behavior as part of being nervous about becoming a hero - even if that wasn’t fully true.
“Yeah, I just…didn’t want it to change how you see me,” he whispered, his eyes locked on hers as she seemed to melt with those words. A small sound came from her mouth before she pulled him into a tight hug.
“You’ve always been my hero, Ade. You know that and if you think this is something you need to do, then of course I’ll support you always. I just want you to be safe and keep me updated, okay?” His heart was beating hard and fast, he almost felt faint at her words. He knew he wanted to be a hero for Evergreen, but actually hearing he was her hero this entire time, it did something to him. He couldn’t help the smile that overtook his features, he was her hero. Her hero and not because he was running around in a costume fighting criminals, but because he protected her.
“Yeah, of course.” He said, tightly holding her back. “I was wondering while you were here if you could help me with some sewing on the suit? I want to make it so I can pop the chest piece off quickly but I haven’t been able to figure it out.”
She pulled back, Adrian immediately missed her warmth but let her inspect his suit closer as she hummed. Adrian felt his heart pounding as he watched her touch the suit with such reverence, it made him wish he was wearing it instead of laying it out for her to look at.
“I’ve got a few ideas we can try this weekend,” she said as she nodded, a smile pulling at her lips. “On one condition.”
“Anything.”
“After every patrol, I want a text or a voicemail that you’re okay. Even if all you can manage is five seconds, okay?”
“Deal.”
It had been a few months since they had spent the whole weekend workshopping his Vigilante costume. He was so thankful she had helped him because of her use of velcro so he could pull it off with ease was unmatched, especially when he was injured or just plain exhausted. He had watched Chris fight too often with his too tight suit to want anything to do with that. He needed comfort and protection and like always she helped make it happen.
He had also made sure to keep good on his promise. Sending texts and leaving late night voicemails so she knew he was okay. Between working and being Vigilante and her class schedule and Ethan it did mean that the two were talking considerably less than normal.
However, Adrian hadn’t heard from her in two weeks. He knew his schedule with being Vigilante meant he slept a lot during the day, but even then, she still tended to call between classes or send something so he knew that she had seen his message.
He had sent at least fifty unanswered texts and it was beginning to worry Adrian. He debated driving up to see her, just to put eyes on her to make sure she was okay.
He had never done that before and before Ethan he would have never doubted that idea. She was always happy to see him, but now he wasn’t so sure what his place was.
Adrian would be fine if she was ignoring him in favor of something with school or if he had done something, he would not be fine if something had happened to her.
It was with that fear that after a long patrol on a Friday night that Adrian bought a couple of redbulls and some of her favorite snacks as an apology for just showing up out of the blue. He spent most of the car ride going back and forth from being excited and being petrified that he was doing the wrong thing.
The last thing he wanted was to upset her worse, especially if she was already mad at him.
It was always a possibility that Adrian had made her upset in some way, said the wrong thing, did the wrong thing, or simply missed a social cue. Normally though she would take a breath or if it was really bad a few days before talking to him.
But now standing outside her apartment door, arms full of snacks he wasn’t so sure, but before he could lose his nerve he knocked.
He heard shuffling behind the door but it wasn’t her, it was her roommate, Kate.
“Oh, hey Adrian,” she said, letting him in. Adrian awkwardly shuffled in, never knowing how to talk with the other girl.
“Is she here?” he asked quietly.
“Oh, she didn’t like, call you over?” she asked, tilting her head to the side. Adrian felt his heart pounding, not knowing how to handle this social situation.
“Uh, no. I haven’t heard from her in a few weeks so I brought some treats and just wanted to put eyes on her,” he said softly and the girl nodded, clicking her tongue as she led Adrian through the apartment.
“Probably a solid move, considering the state she’s in,” she whispered as they got closer to the door.
“What do you mean?” he whispered back, eyes flickering to her door.
“Ethan cheated on her,” she said as she knocked on her door. Adrian felt his entire body flood with anger. How the fuck could anyone, especially some lame guy named Ethan, do that to her? She was amazing, beautiful, kind, and just perfect and that asshole fucking hurt her.
He wanted to kill him.
He could, he totally could. He had his suit and his weapons in his car. He could turn around right now, sure all he knew was his name but he could figure it out.
“Honey, Adrian is here and he came bearing gifts, come open the door.” Kate’s soft voice interrupted his murderous thoughts as he heard a soft groan come from her on the other side of the door.
Murder can wait, first he needed to make sure his friend was okay.
She opened the door and Adrian didn’t want to be rude but he had never ever seen her in such a state. Her eyes were bloodshot, hair was a wreck, and her skin was a mess.
He wasn’t sure how long he stood there looking at her, but it was long enough for Kate to leave the two of them and long enough for her to fall into him, immediately sobbing. The bags of treats awkwardly between them.
“Hey, hey, you’re okay,” he murmured, slowly guiding them into her dark room. She didn’t go far from him acting as if she was glued to his side, just how he did when they were younger. Adrian tried to calm his mind as he took in the complete disarray of the room, the half eaten food on her desk, the growing amount of laundry, and the drawn blinds. It was too much, he should’ve come up sooner.
His heart ached in his chest - how long had she been sitting like this wallowing in this pain while he simply thought of himself and only himself?
“Hey, give me one second to set this down okay?” Adrian murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head while she nodded and drew herself back, still hovering close to him, as if he’d suddenly leave her if she let him out of her sight. He moved slowly, carefully. He sat the snacks down and moved to hold her in his arms, she immediately held him tightly back.
“God, you look terrible,” he whispered looking at her face. It was then she finally cracked a mix between a sob and laugh bubbled out as Adrian immediately panicked. “Shit, I mean, fuck okay I didn’t mean it like that. You don’t look terrible, you never look terrible I just meant, I’m worried about you, you don’t seem like yourself. I mean your room looks like my room which cannot be a good thing because you’re supposed to be the one doing better!”
“I don’t feel like myself,” she said softly, voice cracking slightly as she untangled herself from Adrian. He fought the urge to keep her close as if that would make all her problems disappear as she walked over to her bed and moved under the covers.
“What do I…how can I help you?” he asked, moving to sit on the edge of her bed, his hand coming to sit on her covered leg. Adrian fought his own panic as she sighed, deep and heavy.
“I don’t know,” she answered and Adrian felt his own panic begin to rise. Truly not knowing what to do to make her feel better. He turned around towards the snacks he brought.
“I have your favorite drinks, but they’re warm now. But I also have some candy, your favorite chips too. I can also go out and pick you up some real food or even ice cream if you wanted. Ice cream is what they always have after a break up in the movies, right?” he rambled, pulling everything out and lining them up on her desk as something he could at least control in some capacity.
“Can you…can you hold me, Ade?” she asked as a harsh sob came over her, and Adrian’s hands stilled as he moved the food. It took him a moment, but once he snapped out of it he moved quickly, getting under the covers and pulling her close. She was pliable against him, instantly molding into him as she cried.
“You’re okay, you’re okay,” he repeated like it was a mantra, like if he said it enough she would start to believe him.
“I’m so sorry,” she cried, rubbing snot on his shirt as one of his hands rubbed circles on her back and the other weaved into her hair.
“No, you’re okay, I don't even like this shirt. It’s kind of one of the worst ones I own to be honest, so no harm no foul at all,” he said, trying to put her at ease and she laughed, but it still sounded wrong to Adrian. It wasn’t bright and playful, it was heavy and unearned and it hurt him to hear.
“No, that I…I should’ve texted you back or told you what happened but I was just so fucking embarrassed,” she whispered harshly.
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about!”
“He cheated on me for four months, Adrian and I was too fucking stupid and blind to see it.”
“You guys were only together for like five months,” Adrian said before he could stop himself, and she sobbed harder, pushing herself even closer to him as he grimaced at his inability to fucking read a room. “I could kill him, if it helps,” he murmured, pushing his nose into the top of her head, breathing her in. Even at her worst he had missed her so much.
“What?” she croaked, looking up at him. Adrian took in her puffy face and red eyes.
“You know a little Vigilante justice, he hurt you and you’re like the most amazing person on the planet. I’ve killed criminals for way less back in Evergreen,” he said softly, smiling as he imagined the man who had hurt her screaming in pain, begging for forgiveness he would never get from Vigilante. “I could just…make it so he never hurt you again.”
“You’d do that for me?” she asked honestly, and Adrian blinked owlishly.
“I’d do anything you asked of me,” he said like it was obvious, and for the first time the whole night a genuine smile played on her lips.
“I don’t want you to kill him, but if you want to…scare him a little I think I’d be okay with that,” she whispered, snuggling close to him.
“That can be arranged." He was already thinking of various ways he could make Ethan’s life hell.
Adrian wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that there were no more college boyfriends to deal with post Ethan.
He did know that it was a good thing that post college she had moved back to Evergreen, getting an apartment in the city and a local job. Meaning that whenever Adrian had a free moment he was at her apartment.
Honestly, with or without her.
He always tried to make sure her fridge was stocked with her favorites, if he knew of a bad day or something was coming up that she was dreading he would do his best to alleviate as much of the stress as he could.
She never seemed to mind him in her space. Adrian frequently ended up crashing on her couch, sometimes on the floor in her bedroom if the two wanted to have a good old-fashioned sleepover.
It was the highlight of his week. Before she had moved back, a lot of his days blended together since he was almost always either working at the restaurant, patrolling, or sleeping. She helped break up the boringness of every day.
He tried not to ask too much, she only had a one bedroom apartment so Adrian was careful to not suggest being roommates as much as he’d love that. He wasn’t sure how thrilled she’d be at his suggestion of him crashing on her couch every week and moving more of his stuff over.
“Oh hey, I got something for you,” she said the moment he walked in. Adrian smiled as he watched her get off the couch with a stretch, her shirt riding up slightly as she walked back towards her bedroom. “Stay there, it’ll just take a second!”
Adrian locked the door behind him and walked deeper into her living room as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. Ecstatic at the idea of a gift, he was torn between hoping it was the new Pokémon game and a real surprise.
He was surprised when she came out holding a huge duffel bag. She walked over to him smiling, handing him the bag - it was heavier than he expected.
“Oh, thank you? I have a duffel bag though, but I mean more than one is always a good thing!” he said and she laughed, placing one of her hands on his shoulder.
“Adrian, it’s a first aid kit,” she said with a smile and he frowned.
“I have a first aid kit in my Vigilante room, I do keep it pretty well stocked, but I’m sure I’ll need to replace stuff at some point.”
“Oh, I mean you can take it home if you want, but I figured we could keep this one here. That way if you ever get hurt on patrol you can come here and I can help you,” she said, looking away from Adrian almost looking shy and Adrian bit back a smile.
“You wanna stitch me up?” he said smiling, his tone light and teasing.
“Want to is strong, I want to make sure you’re okay. I don’t like that you’ve been sleeping in your car when you get hurt,” she said and Adrian frowned.
“Yeah but I heal after a quick nap?”
“Just because you do, doesn’t mean I have to like that that’s what you’re doing, Ade. I like having eyes on you, making sure you’re actually okay. You tend to let things build till they're unbearably bad.”
“Agree to disagree,” he said with a shrug and she got a hard look on her face. One he recognized well, so he pouted.
“Adrian,” she said sternly and he groaned.
“Okay fine! But if I start coming here after getting hurt you can’t freak out because it’ll freak me out!”
“Jesus, Ade. Fine, deal. But if it’s really bad, I get to freak out a moderate amount.” He smiled gently at her insistence.
“Okay, you get a 20% freak out,” he decided, and she laughed, hard, leaning against him so he wrapped her arms around her. It was a sweet gift, something he should’ve expected from her but he was still surprised.
He couldn’t help himself, having her this close was intoxicating, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. It was soft and not quite new, but carried words neither of them had said yet.
She squeezed him tighter.
It was a few months later, and Adrian had started coming over when he was slightly injured. He made sure if it was really bad, despite his promise, to stay away. Not willing to make her cry or hurt her by seeing him bleed.
But she was much better than him at stitching him up.
However, today he had called her over to his moms house, wanting to show her some new weapons he had gotten his hands on.
Shortly after he had showed her his new katana they had cuddled up on the couch in his Vigilante basement, not an uncommon place for the two to be. He had just finished completely regaling the whole butterfly saga to her with wide eyes as she laid on top of him. Her hands drawing shapes and patterns on his chest.
“That sounds so fucked up, Ade. I’m glad you’re okay,” she said softly, her eyes looking up at him from where her head laid on his chest. “I wish Chris had called me when you were in the hospital.”
“Nah, I was only in there for like four hours before I left. Chris didn’t even come visit me! That’s how unserious it was,” he said, as if that made everything okay. Her hand stilled on his chest, holding flat on his chest. He wasn’t sure but it felt like she was feeling his heart beat. His hand played with her hair.
“Some best friend,” she muttered and Adrian stilled.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m just saying you always say Chris is your best friend, but some best friend to not even visit you in the hospital,” she said tensely, and Adrian’s brows furrowed, not understanding where this was even coming from.
“Yeah, but I was fine. I’m sure if I was worse he’d visit me,” he said gently.
“If he didn’t visit you, how’d he’d even know you’d be okay?” she asked, her voice still angry as she pulled herself off Adrian.
“Wait what’s happening?” he asked, following her up but she wouldn’t look at him.
“Nothing’s happening, just going to leave you to hang out with your best friend. I’m sure he’s so worried about you right now,” she said, and Adrian wasn’t the best at social cues, but he could tell that was sarcasm.
“Wait, are you upset that Chris is my best friend?” Adrian asked, head tilting as he watched her gather her stuff. He stood there, hands drumming anxiously against his leg. He missed her warmth, he wanted her to come back and lay with him, but he didn’t know what to do to get her there.
“I’m not upset,” she said, voice tight and even Adrian knows that she’s lying. He bit his lip, struggling to navigate through this.
“Then why are you leaving?” he asked, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to catch up to what was happening. She sighed and Adrian watched as she forced her body to relax.
“I just don't understand how we’re not best friends. Adrian you’re my best friend and it just hurts that after literally two decades you still won’t call me your best friend, okay?” she said, and Adrian moved towards her, but she had already backed away. Leaving Adrian alone in his basement.
The next time she had crossed his mind in a new way she wasn’t even around. Well at least not technically.
Finding himself in an alternative universe was one of the coolest experiences in Adrian’s life. Getting to ask himself questions about himself was even better. It was trippy how much he had in common with his alternate self, but in a way it made sense. This universe didn’t seem much different from theirs so far and Chris had said that this place was so much better than their dimension.
“And is she still one of your friends?” Adrian asked, pulling out a picture of the two of them from the back of his phone case, the polaroid had been there since she had given it to him on a whim when he had helped her move back into Evergreen. Unpacking the boxes the two had found her old polaroid camera, she had them take two pictures together. One for her, one for Adrian.
It had made Adrian’s heart clench when he imagined her with their picture on the back of her phone.
“Dude, more like she’s my best friend! Of course she is!”
“Really?” Adrian asked, getting excited. He wondered if he had enough time to meet her alternative universe self. Would she talk the same? Have the same opinions? He wondered if the two met in school the exact same way and if-
“Dude, that's my wife! Of course she’s my best friend, she’s my person. Your person too, right? Did you guys have pizza at your wedding too? We did rootbeer for our toast since we weren’t 21 yet, but-” His alternative self started rambling and Adrian felt like he was about to pass out.
“You guys got married at 20?” Adrian asked, bewildered. Did this version of her not go to college? Did he ask that of her? How could she be happy with that choice?
“Yeah, it was the only way we could get housing together our freshman year and we both knew we were going to get married anyway. Why? Did you guys not do that?”
Adrian felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest or he was going to faint in this suddenly too warm and familiar basement. He couldn’t believe it - his alternative self went to college, not only that but went to college with her. They got married, they had a wedding, they ate pizza and toasted with rootbeer. It was probably the best night of his life and he didn’t even get to experience it. They probably had amazing mind blowing sex with each other and it’s something Adrian could only dream about in the shower.
“Dude, we’re not even dating!” Adrian said and his alternative self started laughing, causing Adrian to pout.
“That is such a good joke, man! She would get a kick out of that one, I can’t wait to tell her!”
“I’m serious! We’ve never even kissed. We’re not dating, we’re not even best friends!”
“Who the fuck is your best friend if it’s not her?” He asked, head tilting to the side.
“Chris Smith! The Peacemaker!”
From there the whole conversation got away from Adrian. He had so many questions that went unanswered and he knew it was more important to make sure Ads was safe, but he couldn’t help but wonder what was the difference between him and his alternate self that made her love him.
Post their conversation about Chris being his best friend and him returning to the right dimension, she had successfully avoided him. Avoiding him hard core.
Texts were unanswered, calls went without being picked up, and whenever Adrian stopped by her apartment she was never home.
He really wasn’t sure how she was doing that last part, but it was making him a mess.
Every buzz of his phone had him rushing to answer, hoping, praying that it was her. That she finally answered him, only for his heart to plummet when it wasn’t here. He wasn’t sleeping and was having a hard time remembering to eat. He's lucky his friends have been taking pity on him and have been doing like 80% of his job for him. Killing criminals is starting to be the only thing that makes him feel semi-normal.
He needed to talk to her. He needed to clear the air and tell her the truth, but he didn’t know how to do that if she wouldn’t let him and it was killing him.
So he did something shitty.
He figured that if she came back home and his Sebring wasn’t in the parking lot of her apartment she’d assume she was in the clear.
So Adrian had Ads drop him off after work and he waited in her living room. He was at least comforted by the fact that even though she was avoiding him like the plague, the pictures of the two of them and trinkets from various hangouts were still spread throughout the apartment.
“You’re not my best friend, you’re like my person,” he said abruptly the moment her front door opened. She looked at him with a confused expression so he continued, "It’s a completely different roster, a list of one. It’s always been that way but I was too scared or too stupid to notice, but I swear to you you’re the most important person in my life, you’re the most important anything in my life. If you asked me to quit being Vigilante, I would do it in a heartbeat not because I want to stop but because you asked me and that makes it important.” He rambled, barely noticing that she was moving slowly towards him, a smile itching at the corner of her lips at his confession.
“Really?” she said breathlessly, but Adrian kept rolling, needing her to understand this. To understand what he was trying to tell her without breaking their friendship.
“You’ve been my person since we were in the first grade, I don’t look at anyone else the way I look at you. The way I think about you, the way I care for you, the way I want you in my life. Hell the way I need you in my life is completely different than anyone else.”
“Adrian, but-”
“I love you,” he interrupted softly, his hands moving from her shoulder down to her hands, nervously playing with her fingers, suddenly too shy to make eye contact. “And I know we say that. We say I love you, but when I say it…I don’t mean it in the way that I love my other friends or the way I love being Vigilante or the way I love video games. I mean it in a way that you are just so much a part of me that I don’t think I could be the person in front of you today without you and your amazing influence.”
“Adrian-”
“And I know this might ruin everything and I hate that, I hate that I have to risk everything because I don’t know what to do if you hear all this and just tell me we’re friends and that’s how it is,” he said. She moved one of her hands to his cheek, wiping away a tear he didn’t even know was there. “I just love you so much it fucking hurts sometimes, and yeah, Chris is my best friend, but you are just…so much more than that. Like calling you my best friend is disrespectful to how much you mean to me, ya know? I need you to know-”
He didn’t get a chance to finish because her lips are on his.
She was slow and careful, Adrian was clumsy and unsure. He had dreamed of this kiss with her more times than he could count but somehow this was better than anything he had ever imagined.
Both her hands came to cup his checks, brushing tears away as he released a full body sob against her. She laughed, it was wet and unsure as she pressed more kisses against his mouth and face. As if she had been dreaming about this the same way he had.
“You’re okay, don’t cry,” she murmured against him and for some reason those words just released something in him, cracking at walls he had been convinced would be up for forever.
She pulled Adrian slowly back toward the couch and he collapsed down, the shitty futon groaning under his sudden weight as she joined him slowly.
“I love you too, Adrian. I’ve loved you for a very long time. I just figured…” she trailed off and Adrian looked at her as he sobbed. All the emotions of the confession catching up to him, even with her positive reaction it still was a lot for Adrian.
“Figured what?” he cried, and she smiled at him. It was weak and watery as if she was about to start crying as her hands came up to his head, pulling him against her shoulder. He took a deep breath, happy to have her close again.
“I don’t know, that you’d never return my feelings. That we’d always just be friends and I’d have to accept that the only way to have you in my life was as a friend - as my best friend.”
“Well you’re my person,” he murmured against her collarbone and she chuckled, her hands playing with his curls.
“You’re my person too, Ade. Ever since you mansplained stacking rocks to me,” she joked and Adrian pulled away, face confused and upset.
“I was not mansplaining! I was helping you understand, come on you know I’m a feminist!” he said and she laughed before pulling him for another kiss. This one was more confident and it made Adrian smile against her lips.
“What does this mean for us, Ade?” she asked carefully, inches away from his mouth, he leaned in for another gentle kiss. His heart was pounding at the fact he could just do that now, kiss her.
It felt like something had been missing this whole time and the two had just discovered it. His whole body was on fire.
“Do you wanna be my girlfriend? I wanna be your boyfriend,” he answered honestly, and she smiled as he laid his forehead against her. “Hell, I wanna be your husband, but we probably should go on at least one proper date first.”
“I love how simple you make everything,” she murmured, hand brushing a curl behind his ear as he tilted to follow her hand. “Yes Adrian, I’d love to be your girlfriend.”
He watched her smile as if she was debating saying something else, her eyes flickered to his hands. “And your wife, one day, but let’s do that first date first.”
“Awesome sauce,” he whispered, unable to say anything else out of fear of combusting and she laughed, a full body laugh that made him laugh too.
All that time, all those memories, all the questioning where he fit in was all worth it if it meant she got her.
His classmate, his friend, his person, his soulmate.
Just her.
___
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Tag list:
@youngflower @snowyathena @obsessedromancereader @zombiegrrlsworld @a-young-g0d
symbiotic relationship 🕷️
Adrian Chase x Reader
synopsis: Adrian likes to yap a lot. Usually you don't mind. You just really, really wish he would stop yapping about spiders.
tags/warnings: pure fluff, humor, arachnophobic!reader, quiet/shy reader, Adrian talks too much, Judomaster has a pet tarantula
word count: 2.8k
Currently working on the Vegas wedding bonus episode of i don't want to miss you like this and also an omegaverse!Adrian x reader multichap fic but wanted to provide something in the meantime <3 please enjoy. As always thank you for the beta @embeanwrites!
Adrian never shuts the fuck up.
Most of the time, you find it endearing. You’re not particularly chatty, yourself, so…it’s kind of nice, to have someone constantly filling in the silence. To know that he’ll ramble on for ages about anything and everything, and you don’t have to feel pressured to contribute to the conversation.
There’s also the fact that he’s got a nice voice, and he’s pleasant to look at. Half the time, you’re not even listening to what he says, just staring at his mouth and daydreaming. But that’s beside the point. You could listen to Adrian talk all day. You do, a lot of the time, because once everyone else in the office realized that you didn’t mind it, they started shoving him off onto you, constantly.
You became quick friends. He yaps, you listen to him yap. It’s a symbiotic relationship.
You just really wish he would stop yapping about fucking spiders.
You do your best to tune him out when he brings them up, but he loves the fucking things, and he talks about them all the time. Whenever a tiny one manages to make its way into the office, someone calls over Adrian to deal with it, because he will happily trap it in a cup and bring it outside, chatting to it the entire time. He talks to them like little buddies.
Ads found one just this morning crawling across her keyboard, and summoned Adrian to deal with it, and now that you’re on lunch, he’s rambling about his spider rescue of the day.
“He was so cute!” Adrian says. “Just a tiny, itsy-bitsy guy, like the one from the nursery rhyme. He had thin little legs, but he was quick. I almost didn’t catch him before he scrambled off!”
“I’m glad you got him,” you say weakly, and you mean it, because if you knew there was a spider loose in the office right now, you might have had to feign a stomach virus to go home early.
“The little guys are so adorable,” Adrian says. “I mean, not nearly as cool as the big ones. Did you know—the biggest spider in the world eats birds?”
“That is not fucking true,” says Judomaster as he comes into the break room, making an immediate break for the snack cabinet where you keep a stash of Flaming Hot Cheetos in stock for him. “It might be called a Goliath birdeater but it does not actually eat birds. It eats other bugs and worms. Sometimes frogs. They liquify their insides and suck them dry like vampires.”
Your stomach churns, even as Adrian’s eyes light up with excitement.
“Vampire spiders?”
“Spiders can fly, too,” Fleury reminds him on his way out of the room. “Using electricity. And make milk.”
“Right!” Adrian says. “We learned that from a spider facts article! Even though I already knew that, actually, I’m a spider expert. I totally knew about the vampire spiders too, by the way. But—I didn’t know that you can buy spider milk at Whole Foods, did you know that?”
You’re still stuck on the fact that spiders can fly, and liquify the insides of their prey, two facts which you really did not need to know, because now you’re going to have a nightmare about a giant, flying, blood-sucking spider.
“That is also definitely not true,” Judomaster says bluntly.
“Fleury said it was,” Adrian argues.
“He’s as much of a moron as you are, then,” Rip says, munching on a Cheeto.
“Why do you know so much about spiders, anyway?” Adrian grumbles.
“Because,” Rip says. “I have a pet tarantula.”
Adrian stops, his jaw hitting the floor. “No you do not.”
“Uh, yeah, I do.”
“Please let me meet your pet spider,” Adrian begs. “I take back everything I’ve ever said about you being tiny and annoying. Oh my god, what’s his name? Your spider? What’s his name?”
“Her name is Ruth.”
“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry,” Adrian says. “I should not be assuming your spider’s gender. That is so not feminist of me—”
“Females are bigger,” Rip shrugs. “And they live a lot longer.”
“I totally knew that,” says Adrian, who absolutely did not know that.
“You have…a tarantula…named Ruth?” you say faintly.
“CanImeethercanImeethercanImeether—”
“I’ll bring her to work tomorrow,” Rip agrees.
“FUCK yes,” Adrian cheers.
You feel your hands start trembling, and you move them under the table to hide it.
You work black ops. You cannot admit to your coworkers that you have debilitating arachnophobia.
Looks like you will, in fact, be faking that stomach virus, because if you showed up to work tomorrow and a tarantula crawled across your desk, you might actually throw up everywhere, or have a heart attack and die.
“You okay?” Ads asks you as she sits down next to you. “You look like you’re gonna be sick.”
Apparently, you don’t even have to try that hard to soft-launch your fake illness. You try not to look grateful that someone else started your little white lie for you.
“Don’t feel very good,” you say weakly. “I think I’ll go home early.”
Ads feels your cheeks with the back of your hand. “You are a little warm.”
Yeah, from embarrassment, you think. Adrian’s excited smile quickly drops into a concerned frown.
“I can drive you,” he offers immediately. “You shouldn’t be driving if you’re sick, it’s dangerous.”
“I’ll be okay, Ade,” you say softly. “It’s just a headache.”
“What if you’re having a stroke! Or you have a brain tumor! Or—”
“Or she’s tired, and she needs some sleep,” Emilia says as she enters the room. “Go home, kid. Take tomorrow, too, if you need.”
“Thanks,” you say softly. You stand up slowly, and Adrian scrambles out of his seat to help you up.
“Let me walk you to your car, at least, and carry your stuff,” he says, taking your hand and walking you through the office, making a pit stop at your workstation. “Just your bag at your desk, right?”
“Adrian, you don’t have to—”
“I want to,” he says. “Please.”
“Okay,” you give in. “Yeah. Just my bag. Thank you.”
He holds the door for you as you walk out to the parking lot, and opens your car door, too, tossing your stuff into the passenger seat.
“Do you need anything else? I can run to the store and get you some medicine or soup or ginger ale or—”
You feel terrible for making him worry. He frowns as he looks down at you, rambling off a grocery list of things you might want or need, and you just—hug him. He stops talking and wraps his arms around your shoulders immediately, returning your embrace.
He’s never touchy with anyone else, but you are, and he’s never minded. You listen to him talk too much, he accepts your affection. When both of your cups are spilling, the other one is there to catch the overflow.
“I promise, if I need anything, I will call you,” you say, your nose smushed into the fabric of his shirt.
“Okay,” Adrian says quietly, and when you look up at him, he pats you on the cheek fondly. His hand is so big it covers almost your entire face. “Feel better. Quick. Economos doesn’t like it when I talk too much. He’s a sorry placeholder for you.”
You smile.
The next day, you wake up early and stare at the ceiling for a long time, thinking about whether you’ll be able to suck it up and go into work. Then you think about how much shit you’ll get from the entire team when they find out about your stupid phobia, and you shoot Emilia a text and tell her you’ve got a fever.
Not a minute after the start of the work day, Adrian texts you.
Harcourt says you’re still sick?????? Are you dying??????????????
Please don’t do that it would ruin my life actually 🧜🧜🧜
You feel a little guilty for making him worry.
I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about me. I hope you enjoy meeting Ruth today.
NOOOOOOOOOOO you’re gonna miss Ruth 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
While you might not have Adrian yapping away in your ear, he texts you. All day. Nonstop. Your phone buzzes, and buzzes, and buzzes, like he’s filtering his stream of consciousness right through to you, riddled with far too many emojis. There’s no such thing as an inside thought with him.
You have a fever, right?
I’m googling your symptoms 🔎
According to 18th century witches, you might need to try bloodletting
Do you have any leeches? 🐛🐛🐛
I could probably get some for you at a pet store let me look it up
The office is freezing I think it’s because you’re not here 🥶
Like one less person’s body heat, you know?
But idk it’s never that cold when Ads is out sick
You just make me feel warm I guess
That’s weird I should probably get that checked out 🤔
Harcourt is yelling at me for being on my phone ☹️
You snort at that one. Get off your phone, then!
But I’m talking to you!!
The updates are nonsensical and constant, just like Adrian’s usual ramblings throughout the work day. You start to look forward to whatever batshit crazy thing he’s going to say next.
Then comes the jump scare—Adrian texts you a picture of him holding Rip’s tarantula, and you shriek and nearly drop your phone. The thing is massive, taking up Adrian’s entire large palm, and—you felt his hand on your face only yesterday. That spider is literally as big as your head.
“Fuck no,” you whisper furiously, and you instantly delete the picture. But Adrian just keeps chatting, text after text coming through one after the other.
She is so friendly and nice and fuzzy
Maybe Judomaster doesn’t actually suck that bad
But I asked him if Ruth could stay in the office and he said no 😕
This is still like the best day of my life
Well
It would be
If you were here too
Something about that last message gives you pause. You have no idea how to respond, so you just…don’t. You let it sit for a few hours, and take your impromptu “sick” day to get some chores done, like tackling the pile of laundry that’s been building up in the corner of your bedroom for an embarrassingly long time, and just…relax. Plop down on the couch to watch some mindless television, take a midmorning nap to catch up on sleep after your last long, exhausting mission.
Around noon, you’re scrolling through a food delivery app, considering what to order for lunch, when you’re startled by a loud banging on your front door.
“What the fuck,” you mutter, and when you get up and look through the peep hole, you’re even more confused. You swing the door open. “Adrian?”
His fist is still raised in midair, where he was pounding on the door, and he looks at you with wide eyes. “Hi!”
“Hi,” you say slowly. “What…are you doing here?”
“I came to check on you!” he says brightly, holding up a brown paper bag. “It’s lunch time, I brought you some soup!”
“You left work and drove all the way over here to check on me?”
“Harcourt told me I could,” he says. “I think I was getting on her nerves. I thought about just climbing up your fire escape and peeking through your window, but I decided that would be creepy.”
“Good call.”
“So this is me, uh, checking on you. Making sure you’re alive. I mean, I knew you were alive, because you’ve been responding to my text messages, obviously. Except the last one! About Ruth! Did you see the picture? I thought maybe you were sleeping, I know you’re not feeling good—”
“I—what—” You pause. “There’s a tarantula at work, and you’re here instead?”
“Well, you’re more important than the tarantula,” Adrian says. “She was cool, and all, but you’re way cooler. Listen—I was in line at the deli waiting for this soup, for like, forever, and I have to pee so bad can I please use your bathroom—”
You laugh. “Oh my god, yes, why didn’t you say anything! Go!”
Adrian shoves the paper bag into your arms and makes a beeline down your hallway.
You take the soup into the kitchen and place it on the counter, then pull out some bowls.
“Are you gonna stay for lunch?” you call down the hall.
“Sure,” he says. “Oh my god, look at you!”
“Look at me?” you ask, and you look up as Adrian comes into the kitchen holding one of the tiny paper cups you keep on the bathroom counter. He shoves it toward your face.
You shriek and leap backwards.
“Oh my god oh my god get it out of here did you find that in my bathroom I am never going to be able to go in there again fuck—”
Adrian just looks at you, bewildered. “What—”
“The SPIDER TAKE IT AWAY—”
His eyes go wide when he realizes what’s going on. “Oh! Okay.” He doesn’t say anything, just immediately walks to the front door and lets the spider loose in the grassy area near the parking lot, several yards away, while you watch, tense, from the window.
When he comes back inside, you’re still clutching the windowsill, and he’s looking at you curiously.
“You work black ops,” he observes.
“Uh huh.”
“And…”
“And I’m afraid,” you admit. “Of…spiders.”
Adrian stares at you.
“You can’t tell anyone,” you say quickly.
“Why?” he asks, confused.
“Because Chris will call me a pussy until the end of time if he finds out about this! I’ll never, ever live it down—”
“No, I mean—why are you afraid of spiders?” he asks, genuinely. “Spiders are so cool!”
“They are not cool. They are freaky looking and apparently some of them can fly and liquify the insides of their prey and that is fucked up—”
“How come you never said anything?” Adrian says, frowning. “I talk about spiders all the time. I would have stopped if I knew it was stressing you out, or making you uncomfortable.”
“It’s embarrassing,” you whine. “I don’t want anyone to know. That’s why I called out today. I’m not sick, I just couldn’t be in the office at the same time as Rip’s tarantula. I wouldn’t have been able to keep it together.”
“I won’t tell,” Adrian says. “I promise.”
“Thank you,” you say gratefully. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m afraid of ghosts,” Adrian offers. “And demons. I generally do not fuck with paranormal or witchy shit. I think it’s terrifying. Chris thinks it’s goofy. I’m just trying to make sure a blood curse doesn’t fall upon myself or my family.”
It’s your turn to stare. “O…kay. Thank you? For sharing.”
“No problem,” he says easily. “Everyone is afraid of something silly. And I will protect you from the spiders, if you protect me from the ghosts and demons.”
You smile. “That sounds like a deal.” He grins. “Do you mean it? You think I’m cooler than Rip’s tarantula?”
“What is Ruth gonna do to protect me from the demons?” Adrian scoffs. “Her brain is so tiny. Not that spiders aren’t smart, but—” He cuts himself off. “Sorry. We just established the fact that you don’t like spiders, so I’m gonna shut the fuck up about spiders.”
“You can talk about spiders all you want,” you say softly. “As long as you stick around to take care of any creepy-crawlies for me.”
“I can do that! I’ll need to run home and grab some stuff from my mom’s, though, if I’m gonna move in and be your spider bodyguard. You don’t have a guest bedroom, though, right? I guess I could sleep on the couch—”
Your eyes widen, and your face goes hot. “Um—wha—I did not mean move in. I mean. You’re skipping over a couple really big steps there, Ade. Maybe…we start with dinner?”
“Dinner?” Adrian repeats, confused, looking in the direction of your kitchen and pointing. “But I just brought you lunch—”
“I mean,” you interrupt. “Dinner, like. A date.”
Now Adrian’s eyes widen. “Oh! Oh. I would…like that. Yes. We should. Get dinner.” He looks at you with blatant shock. “You really want to go on a date with me? I never shut up.”
“Well, yeah,” you say shyly. “I like it when you talk.”
“I like you,” Adrian says. “When you talk, or when you don’t talk and you just listen to me, or you hug me. I don’t like hugs from other people but you do it right. You don’t squeeze too tight, or make me feel trapped—”
He stops talking when you do just that—hug him just the right way, gentle and firm, not too tight. He pats your head, like he always does, and he smiles.
Adrian tag list: @snowyathena @justalotoffanfiction @danversxwasabi @clowninavan @obsessedromancereader @adoresami @a-young-g0d @rattymess @raidstarz @bastardstevie @am-3-thyst @xoxocamis @morguegrl89 @somethin-sparklyy @awesomsaucesom @secretjesterr @fangirl48 @seeingdubs @lovenerdywhitemen2 @23s0fia @jeshomie @aerionshipthrust @deamlucem @tlfg-adrianchase @brianna-merlim @amart-e @countvonklit
Scout's Honor 📯 (Adrian Chase x Fem Reader) Chapter 1
Based on this post and this ask
word count: 3.9k
It took me a while but here it is!! 💖
Tag list: @danversxwasabi @evielovve @lil-rigatoni
tags: rivals to lovers, mutual pining, awkward crushes, boy scout Adrian, girl scout reader, reunions, eventual smut.
☾⋆｡𖦹 °✩🍃🏕
Evergreen National Scout Jamboree - Year of 2008.
Adrian was a total boy scout in school.
Like a literal one with the little striped neckerchief and everything.
He was a member of the Evergreen boy scouts and loved every second. It was something he could take pride in, earning badges steam pressed and stitched on his uniform reflecting newly learned abilities.
Practical things he could use that weren't boring school work, such as how to start fires, archery and tie ropes, all important skills that would help him become Vigilante later in life.
There was also a nice sense of independence he got leaving the cramped house to go out on scout trips and camp in the outdoors.
Away from his over-bearing mother and older brother’s tormenting for a short while. This was a special scout event, the jamboree only happened once every four years and was an opportunity to earn accolades not usually awarded including the eagle scouts. Hosted in Evergreen National Park, he got off the bus with his bulky khaki kit bag ready to go.
This jamboree in particular was the only chance Adrian had left to earn the coveted rank of eagle scout, securing him a place to become a troupe leader, something he had wanted ever since joining.
However the jamborees also meant that he had to meet up with someone he couldn’t stand.His ultimate rival, who attempted to usurp him at every time.
You.
You were from another town in Washington, Portsmouth, so Adrian only ever saw you at the Jamborees or major scouting events. Yet even so, you remained his number one enemy in life. It didn’t matter what he did or said, you always had to upstage him.
But it wasn’t at all like the usual bullying he experienced in school, no this was strictly around the competition and needing to win. Prove once and for all who was the better scout.
“Chase, you’ll enjoy eating my dust in the sports merit badge, I’m already winning with lacrosse and volleyball!” You teased him last time, showing off an impressive array of athletic badges.
“I've got you beat with sewing, basket weaving and wood carving!” He challenged you, showing off all of his craft badges.
When going for the bugling badge, you’d rudely interrupted his morning Reveille for the troupe to wake up.
"Hey Chase, your bugle is sounding a little rusty, you’ll want to do better than that for bugling! See I play the trumpet, which is actually the most difficult and versatile instrument of the three. Maybe lower down to the cornet? It’s more your beginner speed.”
How dare you, Adrian was a school marching band veteran! There was absolutely nothing wrong with his bugling, thank you very much!
You also never called him Adrian, instead referring to him only as Chase.
It was like a special nickname reserved for your fiery hatred of him, he guessed. And as far as he could see you never were this nitpicky with anyone else in the scouts, instead super nice and encouraging.
While yes, you certainly enjoyed winning, you did so gracefully with others. No, it was only with Adrian that this side of you really shone through.
For whatever sordid, likely evil reason of yours.
“Hey Adrian, how’s it hanging man?” Scout troupe leader Drew greeted him with the salute, and Adrian quickly returned.
“Good sir! Excited to get my final merits and go for the eagle scouts.” Adrian grinned a large wired smile, his braces were finally set to come off next year.
“Well you’ve got competition. I’m sure I don’t need to say from who.” Drew laughed light-heartedly, but Adrian glared over in your direction.
When he found you in the crowd, Adrian was shocked to see how different you looked since the last jamboree, seventeen like he was.
He cursed internally that his growth spurt hadn’t at all yet kicked in, you were definitely at least a head taller than he was now. Surely you'd comment on it and use those longer limbs to your advantage.
But mostly, he was stunned by you and the more well defined features that his eyes now lingered down to. Places he couldn’t help but notice where you filled out the scout uniform that you hadn’t previously.
Gulping thickly, Adrian didn’t understand the hold you suddenly had over him but didn’t like it one bit. Those distracting curves were a ploy somehow to get him to put his guard down!
Along with your frustratingly pretty face.
Ugh, all of this was so infuriating! Adrian seriously hated how commanding and high-pitched your laugh was, currently hearing it ringing with a group of friends before you saw him.
Then your eyes sharpened upon meeting his own, sauntering over with a devious smirk that seemed only ever to be reserved for him.
“Hey Chase there you are! Why so quiet? Scared that I'm going to obviously beat you again this year?” You scoffed, throwing your stupidly soft looking hair over a shoulder.
“I don’t think so, besides last time was an obvious tie. We had the same number of merit badges.” Adrian huffed, already feeling riled up.
“But I bet I have more now.” He flattened out the sash, showing off his new assortment.
“Bird study, insect study, model design and building…”
“Huh that's nothing!” You announced loudly, showing off the new suite of badges you’d earned over the past four years.
“Astronomy, geology, kayaking!”
It slowly devolved into you and Adrian pointing at every patch and entering a shouting match.
“Pottery, textiles, leatherwork, traffic safety!”
“Theatre, photography, cooking, fire safety!”
“Chess!” The two of you both said at the same time and cursed.
“Coin collecting. Pretty cool huh?” He saved the best for last.
"Stamp collecting.” You had reserved your latest beauty as well.
“Darn it, stamp collecting is cooler…” Adrian sighed in defeat.
“I have way better badges and I am going to claim the crime prevention badge to become an official eagle scout first.” You declared.
“I'm after the crime prevention badge too!” Adrian actually found himself excited at the prospect of you also wanting to fight crime but firmly shook it away.
Especially when you giggled back mockingly at him. “Uh-huh, like you could do anything against a criminal short-stack.” You towered over him.
For whatever reason, his blood pressure skyrocketed whenever your poisonous lips uttered that horrible laugh of yours.
"Ugh. Look I'm a feminist and all, however, I'm going to win that badge first!" Adrian couldn’t stand when you got overly competitive like this, all up in his face and certain.
Which was all the time.
It made his heart race and cheeks flush uncomfortably, he supposed with rage at his annoying rival.
What else could it be?!
Still Adrian had a solid plan that you didn't, heading out into the woods at night, there was a group of no good vandals that kept trashing the old scout hall. They'd get drunk, toss their beer cans on the ground, and spray paint inaccurately large penises across the grounds.
But not tonight!
Adrian was going to test out his new costume he'd made, for the crime fighter Vigilante. While it was only a prototype, the outfit gave him solid protection, earning those crafting merit badges was tough work! But before he could don the helmet, Adrian was rudely interrupted.
“Hey back off Chase! This is my turf, I'm going after the graffiti artists.” You snapped, bursting out of the shrubs, camcorder at the ready. How annoying that he'd copied your plan!
“And what are you wearing?” You took in his strange costume, black combat suit with his red merit badge sash and teal striped white ascot.
“It's my crime fighting outfit! and uh I don't think so these guys are mine. What's even your plan here? Going to make a dance video or something?” Adrian laughed at your video camera, making your cheeks blaze.
“Obviously to hide back, record them in the act and send the tape to the authorities!” You hissed.
"Oh that's actually a good plan.”
“What was yours?”
“Set up a rope trap, jump out of the bushes and tell them all to stop graffiting once and for all! Like hey criminal scum that stuff isn't yours to draw on and littering sucks for the environment.” He struck a pose and wagged a lecturing finger.
“And if they try to give me any trouble, well…” Adrian had his trusty bow for a reason.
“A rope trap? Who are you Freddie from Scooby Doo?” You rolled your eyes at his childish idea. Easily spotting the apparent trap, poorly hidden with a pile of leaves a mile away.
“That's where I got the idea. How did you know?” He responded looking shocked you guessed it so easily.
There was a snap in the distance, the tell tale sign of people stumbling through the woods and you roughly grabbed Adrian, pulling him down into the bushes.
“Ugh because it's obvious! And be quiet, I think I can hear them coming over.” You angrily whispered, setting up the camcorder.
The drunk group of college-aged guys with nothing better to do apparently on a Saturday night lumbered through on cue.
"You'll see they'll walk right into my…” Adrian began and then faltered when they immediately clocked the rope. "...trap."
“What the hell is that about? A hunting thing?” One of the guys wondered aloud, shaking his spray can and graffiting a helpless tree.
“So dumb, what animal would be stupid enough to fall for that?” Another guy laughed, hucking a rock through the old scout hall window.
"Ha, I've got you losers all on video…” You grinned, then turned to Adrian who pouted that your idea was working.
"So unfair!” He couldn't keep quiet to save his life and your hiding spot was instantly revealed.
The vandals spun around and started tossing rocks and beer cans at you two.
"Hey you bitch! Trying to rat on us huh?” One yelled when he spied your video camera.
"I-it’s evidence! Don't come any closer.” You shouted back, voice wavering.
"Aw how cute you gonna sell us some girl scout cookies?” He stalked towards you.
“I'd like to taste her ole oles!” Another jeered.
“Or maybe you were thinking of giving us a little show on that video camera?” Their lecherous whistling and eyes made bile rise in your throat.
“Wanna earn a demerit badge with us? We can teach you a few things…”
Suddenly a curly nest of hair was in front of you, Adrian stepping up to shield you from them.
“Drop the cans of spray paint, fuck off and don't even think about touching her!” He shouted, only to be met with a string of cruel laughter.
"Or what?”
“Or I'll put an arrow through your jugular." Adrian whipped out the recurve bow at his back, arrow primed and ready.
“What the actual fuck dude! Put that thing away, you could kill someone.” They weren't laughing now.
“Yeah I know…I've got my archery badge.” Adrian flashed the group of creeps an unhinged smile.
“Don't worry though, I've also got the first aid merit badge.” Then he pulled the string taut, eyeing them off.
"This dude is a fucking whack job!”
“Let's get out of here before Jeffrey Dahmer Jr. kills us!”
With that the cowardly vandals fled far into the woods, stumbling away and screaming for their lives.
"Wow, we can totally get the crime prevention badge now, how freaking cool!" Adrian beamed, slinging his bow over a shoulder.
"Yeah, really cool. Um hey look I have to admit that you were really brave there Chase. Standing in front of me like that...” You said shyly.
Your heart was rabbiting away, those men frightened the hell out of you, talking about you like that. As if you were a piece of meat. Then Adrian defended you so gallantly.
"I bet you're mad about that huh? I know you probably weren't even scared but look I just acted on impulse in the moment so don't get all..." His next words were stolen out of his mouth by your lips.
You could feel the wire of his braces clash against your teeth and a soft vibration when Adrian let out a small noise.
"W-what the heck was that about?" Adrian asked. He was bewildered by the kiss, stepping back, glasses adorably askew.
When he readjusted them, you felt a deep anxiety clutch inside you, gripping at your heart strings.
"I wanted to see who the better kisser was. Obviously I won like always." You lied.
The truth of it was, you wanted to have Adrian be your first kiss. He was different from other guys, gentle and funny, he also deep down seemed to like the bossy and competitive side of you.
But you couldn't help but tease him, you weren't sure of how else to approach those feelings.
Entirely unequipped, you'd somehow over the years set up to be his rival. If you were completely honest, you'd rather be his girlfriend, which seemed like an impossible dream.
"Hey, that's so not fair, I wasn't ready!" Adrian whined. "And I never kissed anyone before, have you kissed a lot?"
"Duh, I've kissed plenty of guys a ton of times before Chase. I'm way more experienced than you are." Another silly lie, trying to cover up your true feelings.
"Just another thing to add to the list that I've accomplished over you.”
This was a wall you built and wanted to hide behind to not bear the brunt of potential rejection.
Adrian would probably find another girl at his school, the two of you only saw each other once ever so often at the jamboree after all. He would probably forget all about you soon, after you both finished high school and went off to college or work.
Soon you would be nothing but a distant memory to him. Some annoying girl he met at camp who tormented and tried to out do him at every turn.
"What other guys did you kiss? Who were they? Are they at the jamboree?" Adrian's expression darkened, becoming uncharacteristically serious.
"You wouldn't know them, they go to my school." You shrugged off the interrogation.
"Were they better at kissing than I was?" His tone was sharp and there was a competitive edge in his green eyes, alongside something else you couldn't pinpoint lurking within.
"Maybe..." You felt yourself get shy under his intense gaze.
"Well let me do it again properly, I'll out kiss them! Also I've got braces so please don't count that against me I can't help it!" Balling his fists, Adrian's face was bright pink with anger as he marched right towards you.
"W-what?" You sputtered.
"Best of three!" He said, fired up with a determination that took your breath away.
”Unless you don't want to…” He offered you an out.
But you didn't want to take it.
"Best of five, to make sure." You matched his bet.
Yanking him by the neckerchief, you clashed lips again. Adrian whimpered, melting into your touch, eyes wide open.
"One for me." You smirked up at him.
Once Adrian's shock wore off, he quickly kissed you back, eyes now shut, and wrapped his arms tightly around your waist this time.
When he dipped his tongue into your mouth you gasped at the new pleasant sensation.
"I-I so win that one..." He laughed shakily against your cheek.
Ugh you couldn't just let him win, he'd be so insufferable! Dragging him back in with a gentle tug of his curls, you used your own tongue to battle back your place on top. When he moaned, you pushed him against a nearby tree.
"I'm way better at this than you are Chase, there's no competition here!" You panted, trailing another kiss down his jawline and neck.
Pressing up to get closer, your knee hit up against something hard and Adrian reeled back, a strange look spilling out across his face.
"That's definitely two more for me, it's over!" You announced, excited to claim victory.
"Y-yeah...you uh win." He admitted shyly, turning away from your gaze.
Looking down there was an obvious bulge in his combat pants. Adrian quickly covered it with his hands, lips swollen and cheeks scorching red.
"Um yeah, I win..." You nodded, awkwardly standing back unsure of what else to say or do.
Wordlessly, Adrian retreated, bolting away for a while into the woods, leaving you breathless.
You set up your tent and made a small fire to cook up dinner, still no sign of him.
Then it began to thunder.
So you got into your tent and hunkered down.
Then it poured.
Then it started absolutely pissing down rain.
"My tent is ruined.” Adrian announced, unzipping your tent without so much as knocking.
"A bear or something got to it and ripped a big hole through. It's also raining like crazy. Can I please share yours?”
“Chase! What if I was changing?!” You yelled at him, throwing a pillow at his dumbass head.
"And there are no bears in Evergreen you moron!" You had only just got your pajamas on and had settled into reading a book in the sleeping bag.
"Fine it was a raccoon who really wanted my s'mores. And I know you weren't, you already did that. I saw the silhouette.” Adrian explained with an easy shrug.
“You what?!” Screaming, you picked up a heavier item, your torch, to hurl at him.
"Owww! Hey I didn't perv, I turned my back and waited till you were done to ask. I even got all rained on okay?” Adrian defended himself, motioning to his dripping wet state.
“Ugh fine! Just no funny business…don't get any weird ideas.” You said, feeling flustered at the prospect of having Adrian sleep next to you.
"Yeah definitely not, no need to worry I totally took care of that earlier.” Adrian said shamelessly, rolling out his sleeping bag.
"Too much info! Shut up Chase and go to sleep.” You yelled back, tossing a towel at him.
“And dry yourself, I don't want the place smelling like a wet dog.” Turning over you pretended to read, trying and failing to ignore how nervous having your crush in your tent made you.
There weren't any further words when you laid side by side turned from one another in sleeping bags. Hearts pounding away and not much actual shut-eye in the night, the kissing competition or the aftermath was never discussed again.
The next morning after the rain settled, you and Adrian made your way back to the scout hall. Receiving the eagle scout honors together, a friendly handshake between sworn enemies was given, nods of understanding that this was a rare draw.
“Guess I'll see you at the next jamboree?” Adrian grinned back at you.
The same dumb goofy smile he always gave, as though nothing had changed. Despite what you'd shared last night.
As you though he didn't care about you like you did for him.
Figures.
“G-guess so.” Your voice quivered slightly and you desperately tried to refrain from letting out how upset you were.
Because you weren't even going to be at the next jamboree.
Your parents were making you quit the scouts after reaching eagle scout, because in their minds that was the pinnacle. It was time for the next challenge and that was college.
In Metropolis.
“See you then Chase.” You lied, unable to tell him.
To admit defeat, or more so, let him down made you feel hopeless. The crushing realisation that you'd likely never see him ever again was too much.
Keeping quiet for the rest of the ceremony, it was only when you went to pack your bags on the bus that you couldn't hold it together anymore.
Tears dripped onto your rucksack before you could stop, wiping them away with your ascot, you dashed up the bus steps.
"Hey wait, don't forget your trumpet!” A voice called out to you. “I know you suck at bugling but they aren't cheap.”
Turning around you saw Adrian standing there holding the leather case expectantly. But his smirk fell when he saw the state you were in.
"Are you crying? Hey what's wrong?” He cocked his head, trying to reach out and pat your shoulder.
“Nothing Chase, it's just stupid allergies- I don't cry!” You snapped at him.
“Give me my stuff.” Roughly ripping the case out of his hands, you ran back up and took a far seat in the bus to Portsmouth, head turned so he couldn't see you sobbing anymore.
“Alright fine be that way then!” Adrian shouted.
“Ugh, why do I even bother?” Shaking his head off he got onto his own bus back home to Evergreen.
That was to be the last time he saw his ultimate rival for over fifteen years. Adrian didn't get why you never came back to the scouts, why you'd suddenly quit out of nowhere.
At first he tried to take it as a win, but that felt all wrong.
While he kept up with the Evergreen scouts and led a troupe of his own, deep down even if he would never admit it, Adrian missed his rival. The competition aspect made it all so much more fun.
Then one day while remembering to check his Checkmate work emails and mostly deleting them unless it was from Harcourt because she truly scared him, he saw one that made him pause.
Hey Chase,
Long time no see. (Thank God, I bet you're thinking as well!)
I'm back in Evergreen for a while and going to the Jamboree this year. I will be leading a troupe for the Evergreen Girl Scouts. Anyway, I'm keen to beat you like I did every other year.
If you're up for someone to challenge you, I noticed that I go to the gym near your office. My own office is actually on the same block, saw you on the news promoting Checkmate.
If you're not scared, I'll see you tomorrow morning!
“No way…” Adrian dipped backward and fell off his chair. “Ow!” He rubbed his tailbone and stood back up.
“What's up super nerd?” Langston asked from his desk, not bothering to look up.
Adrian ass planted from his chair at least once a day. It was standard fare.
“My old rival is emailing me and just sent a challenge!” He shouted, a wild grin growing on his face.
“Old rival? Like for Vigilante?” John asked from across the office.
“Pfft nah! Vigilante kills all of his rivals.” Adrian laughed, wheeling around in his chair. “This is my all time rival, a heinous enemy from scouts.”
“Huh what's the challenge? Who can wear the dorkiest outfit and make stupid bird calls?” Chris scoffed.
Nearby Eagley screeched at him angrily for that.
“No, to meet at the gym and compete against each other!” Adrian said excitedly, basically vibrating as he tore on a jacket.
“I gotta go train right now before I see her tomorrow morning! Bye bye everyone!” He basically Naruto ran out of the office.
“See ya.” John waved.
“Wait a second…” Adebayo began.
“Hold the fuck up...” Rip continued.
“Did he say…” Langston raised a brow.
“Her?” Sasha finished.
“Chris, you've got to scope this out for us.” Harcourt told him, overzealously smacking his bicep.
She needed the goss. Craved it.
“Why me?” He rubbed his arm.
“Because, I said so dummy.”
“Oh right love you too sweetie.” Chris rolled his eyes at his hot nosy wife. “You damn gossip.”
Adrian Chase who… (p2)
…insists on taking photos in photo booths if he spots one whilst you two are out, more often than not it’s whenever you go to the arcade together
…keeps every little memento from your dates categorized in a box he keeps in his wardrobe, everything from receipts, movie/concert tickets (he prints them out if they’re digital), polaroids/ photographs, wrappers/wrapping paper from gifts, love letters, cards, little trinkets, the chapstick he used before the first time you kissed. anything and everything (let’s face it he probably has a lock of your hair too)
…has a separate memory box in his secret room that is filled with photos of you and him in his Vigilante suit or any of your notes that mention his ‘hero’ persona
…absolutely adores fairgrounds and theme parks (bonus points if the rides are in any way related to or themed after one of his interests), he especially loves rollercoasters because of the adrenaline rush, but he hates the crowds and queuing, he also hates ghost trains and will avoid them at all costs (unless he’s dared to by Chris), he genuinely thinks they’re haunted
…doesn’t particularly enjoy soft skin to skin contact, but loves to be connected to you, he always has an arm around your waist or shoulders, on your back, or links your arms together if and when he doesn’t want to hold hands (though when he does hold them, he squeezes tight)
…always walks between you and the road, and between you and other passers-by to make sure you’re out of harms way. even though he knows you can handle yourself, he’s very protective of you, you’re his favorite person, he never wants to see you get hurt
Adrian Chase who’s yours wholly and wouldn’t want it any other way
Thank you to everyone who sent requests! I’m already busy working on them!!! Eeeee 😋
My requests are always open girlies! I’m so uninspired right now and my WIPs aren’t fun to write anymore 😭
So if you’d like me to write a fic… 👀
Adrian Chase’s favorite songs through the Eras (TS)
Taylor Swift
•Picture To Burn •Should’ve Said No •The Outside
Fearless
•You Belong With Me •The Other Side Of The Door •The Way I Loved You
Speak Now
•Better Than Revenge •Electric Touch (feat. Fall Out Boy) •I Can See You
Red
•I Knew You Were Trouble •Girl At Home •22
1989
•Shake It Off •New Romantics •I Know Places
Reputation
•Look What You Made Me Do •I Did Something Bad •This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
Lover
•Cruel Summer •Paper Rings •It’s Nice To Have A Friend
Folklore
•betty •this is me trying •mad woman
Evermore
•no body, no crime (feat. HAIM) •‘tis the damn season •long story short
Midnights
•Vigilante Shit •You’re On Your Own, Kid •Hits Different
The Tortured Poets Department
•Fortnight (feat. Post Malone) •Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? •I Can Do It With a Broken Heart
The Life of a Showgirl
•CANCELLED! •Opalite •The Fate of Ophelia
(Honorable mentions: All Too Well (10 minute version), Blank Space, You Need To Calm Down, Mastermind, Fresh Out The Slammer)
Adrian Chase who…
…paints his nails to match yours
…makes friendship bracelets with you, matching and non-matching (he will wear both everyday and under the gloves of his Vigilante suit)
…wears your initial on a chain ‘round his neck and you do the same for him (because you really know each other)
…loves classic or cheesy romance- he loves to leave love notes and doodles but he especially loves pillow/blanket forts, there’s something really special to him about creating your own little bubble on shag carpet, he feels so safe and adores admiring your gorgeous face in the soft glow of fairy lights
…hates when you’re sick but loves to take care of you
…kisses your forehead before going to sleep and wrapping you in his arms
…puts his bed next to yours on your shared Minecraft world- he loves to mine and fight mainly, he has a plethora of weapons and potions that take up the majority of his inventory, redstone frustrates him but he’s incredibly good at it and he loves to give you resources, every time he gives you a diamond or gemstone his heart beats out of his chest, it feels like a miniature proposal in his head (he’d marry you in a heartbeat)
…never particularly gets flustered but loves to fluster you
Adrian Chase whose love is raw, unfiltered, deep and plain as day, he loves being around you doing anything at all
Figured out how to use custom colors on here, I feel so smart! I’m learning tumblr!!
NOW PLAYING
“So High School…”
Summary: Adrian keeps leaving love notes on your desk but they don’t exactly come across the way he wants them too…
Tags/warnings: x female reader, reader works at Checkmate, swearing, sex references, short’n’sweet (again)
Notes: poor Adrian’s trying his best! had a lot of fun with this one!
“Adrian!” Harcourt’s stern voice cut through the room as she approached Adrian’s station. His head snapped up and eyes widened before he tilted towards her. In his peripheral, Ads was following slowly behind, shaking her head.
“What the fuck is this?” Harcourt loomed over him now, slamming down a sticky note onto his desk.
Ads gave her a pointed look, “I thought we said we’d be subtle about it!”
Harcourt just rolled her eyes.
Adrian’s brows furrowed as he looked down at the paper, why would they ask? It seemed pretty fucking obvious to him.
“It’s a note.”
Emilia groaned, “I can see that! Why the fuck are you writing threatening notes to our new hire, are you trying to make her quit?!”
His mouth fell, brows shot up and eyes widened. Then, abruptly, he started to laugh manically as if Harcourt had just said the funniest thing in the world.
“Threatening? They’re not threatening they’re- they’re supposed to be…” his voice lowered to a whisper, “sweet.”
“What was that?” asked Emilia.
Adrian looked down, biting his lip, suddenly incredibly interested in the rubber band he was stretching between his fingers. He mumbled gibberish whilst silently praying they’d both magically disappear so he wouldn’t have to admit anything. “Speak up!”
“Em, come on, I’m sure Adrian has a totally reasonable explanation.” Ads looked at him expectantly, one eyebrow raised.
“I said they’re supposed to be sweet! Okay? Fuck!”
His eyes darted around the room, thankfully no one else was nearby, he was especially grateful that you hadn’t overheard the commotion.
He was so not ready for this information to get out into the world yet.
“Adrian, read it again, does that sound sweet to you?” Ads asked, exasperated.
“You should really double check all your locks, somebody could break in through your window and stab you :)”
“I don’t see anything wrong with it, I’m telling her to stay safe.” he said. Your safety was crucial to him.
“Adrian.” Adebayo sighed. “Well excuse me for not wanting her to die.” he scoffed. She raised both her eyebrows, “You’re concerning the poor woman.” “I don’t mean to! I thought it was a nice thing to do!” he scrunched his eyes closed, he might as well admit to it all now.
“In tons of movies guys leave girls love letters in their lockers when they like them, so I thought I’d do the same!” he continued, “Okay, yes the characters are in high school and we don’t have lockers, but that’s why I left them on her desk!”
“You like her?” Ads questioned, sharing a look with Emilia that Adrian couldn’t decipher. “Duh, I just said didn’t I?” Adrian mocked before chuckling.
Taking a seat, Ads spoke carefully, she wanted to help her friend, “I’m sure you are trying to be nice, but the notes? They don’t really come across that way.” She leaned forward, using her hands to articulate, “You gotta clarify your intentions man. And no more mentions of her dying or being killed.”
Adrian was silent for a moment then asked, inquisitively, “What am I supposed to say then?” “Speak from the heart.” she replied.
Rolling his shoulders back he whined, “Ugh- I hate that phrase, your heart can’t speak, it’s not the correct organ for that function”
Harcourt took Fleury’s seat now, attempting to spell it out for him, joining the pseudo-task-force that Ads had just created, “What she means is, talk about how she makes you feel. And apologize, even if you didn’t mean to frighten her.”
“You think she’s frightened of me? I don’t want her to be frightened! Shit.” he pulled the band on his hand too sharply and cringed.
“Maybe frightened isn’t the right word, it’s more…” Ads looked at Emilia, “confusion? She likes you but she doesn’t understand what you’re trying to say.” she nodded in confirmation.
“Okay.” he replied, with newfound determination.
“Okay.” Ads smiled kindly.
“This is gonna sound stupid but do you mean she likes me or like, like likes me?” he felt pathetically childish. “There’s only one way to find out.” said Harcourt, her voice softened. He looked up expectantly. “Ask her.” Ads finished, giving Adrian an encouraging shoulder squeeze.
“Wait how did she know I left her the notes?” he looked up to the ceiling in thought, then called after the pair as they walked away.
“How did she know it was me!”
Taking a breath, he put his rubber band back and pushed his pen up and down staring at the note in front of him. He reached for a new post-it. ‘Talk about how she makes you feel’ …yeah he could do that.
“Adrian I think we need to talk.” you said.
Fuck.
Maybe he was too forward with the latest one? “Yeah okay.” he winced.
“I thought that Adebayo and Harcourt already spoke to you but then I got this.” you stood beside him, nodding towards the series of sticky notes you held between your fingers, the newest on top.
“You make me feel like I’m dying.” you read.
Ads huffed from across the room, pushing her chair out, “Adrian come on man, I thought we said you wouldn’t write about death.”
“No you said that I shouldn’t write about her dying! You should’ve been more specific!” he rolled his chair out to match, pointing accusatory at her.
“Okay what the fuck is going on here?” John shouted.
“Adrian has a crush on rookie over there.” stated Emilia from the opposite direction.
“A crush? Adrian?” John laughed.
Why was that idea so funny? And why did it feel like a punch to his gut? Adrian frowned.
With the group’s words, Fleury’s eyes grew sceptical, analysing, as he looked back and forth between you and Adrian.
“Oh shit he does!” he jeered, “Super nerd wants to tap that so bad.” Sasha leaned out from her station and raised her eyebrows at him, “Really Langston?” He shrugged, smiling wryly.
Chris immediately stood up, pointing at Adrian before scoffing and chucking his hands up in the air. “Holy shit, Vigilante has a crush and no one told me! The fuck!”
Adrian shoved his hands over his ears attempting to stop the pounding in his head. There were too many overlapping voices- noises fucking Rip was eating his stupid Cheetos so loudly, just revelling in Adrian’s discomfort. He squinted, feeling as though the fluorescent lights above grew brighter and harsher; with the unease already brewing in his chest, it was all too much.
“Okay can everyone please please just shut the fuck up!”
“But-” Chris started before Adrian screamed, interjecting: “Fuck off!”
“Oh shit, he’s telling Chris to fuck off!?” John exclaimed, looking like he was about to combust in hysterics.
Adrian’s eyes grew dark, glaring as though he would pull a gun on John right then if he didn’t choose his next actions wisely. He threw his hands up in surrender and turned back towards his computer. “You have a crush on me?” You asked, gently.
Adrian blinked and the darkness was gone. Turning to face you, he grimaced, it felt like an admission of guilt- like he wasn’t supposed to feel this way.
“I- yes.” Eyes closed, he attempted to prepare himself for the inevitable onslaught of offence, but it didn’t come. Instead, you grasped his arm and pulled him toward the break room. His head snapped back, looking towards his friends in panic. They weren’t much help: Sasha and Emilia looked away seemingly uninterested, John was avoiding his gaze still pretending to be invested in his work, Fleury smirked with a finger on his lip, Rip stared blankly still munching on his Cheetos and Chris created a hole with one hand and pushed his other pointer finger in and out of it. Shit.
At least Adebayo was giving him a thumbs up, albeit awkwardly.
“I didn’t know, Adrian.” You shut the door and perched on the sofa. “I been leaving you notes every Monday for like the past month!” he pointed out, pulling clumsily at his jean pocket. “They didn’t exactly scream ‘I like you’.” you teased.
“I know that now.” he slumped, taking a seat beside you.
“Ugh fuck why did they have to make it feel like we were in a fucking courthouse drama- this is so not how I wanted this to go!” he tugged at his hair, pouting.
“It’s alright, Adrian.” you said, trying to ease his distress.
“It’s not, it’s so not.”
“Well…” you looked down asking thoughtfully, “how did you want this to go?”
“I had it all planned out, I swear,” turning to look at you he spoke gravely, this was important, “I was going for a slow-burn you know?”
You nodded, softly urging him to continue.
Slowly, he released his curls and placed his hands on his knees, “Like those teen movies where there’s kinda a friends to lovers situation. I’d leave you notes, nice enough to be able to pass off as friendly and then gradually become more… not-friendly.”
He took a deep breath and blurted everything he never said, “It’d evolve into more romantic compliments. I’d tell you how pretty you are, how you make my palms all sweaty and how I can’t even bring myself to be mad at it even though it’s truly an awful feeling, how you can take me in a fight and how ridiculously hot that is.”
He started to rub his palms, looked down, and resumed, “Then hopefully you’d start to like me back- I’d grow on you like those dads who say they don’t want a pet and then they get it and it ends up being like their best friend.”
At that you giggled, Adrian took that as a good sign.
“I should’ve asked you straight up. I just didn’t know how to approach it, I didn’t understand. I’m sorry.” you said, inching your hand towards his.
“No, I’m sorry, I thought it was obvious.” he shook his head stiffly, moving his hand away as he ran it through his hair. “Obvious?” you shifted your hand back too and shuffled the notes picking them out, “Adrian, this one says ‘You need stronger armour, my knives could easily slash right through you’ and there’s a winky face.”
“Your protection is essential on missions!” he argued.
“I want to bite you?” flipping to the next one, you posed his words quizzically.
“I meant that in a good way!”
“You drew a devilish face this time.” you interrupted.
“Like a sexy way,” he corrected.
“What about this one? ‘You’re done, you’re done’ What the heck is that supposed to mean!” you asked, all of your vexation from the past month or so coming to the forefront. This is what you should’ve done in the first place, ask. “I was trying to tell you that you were done with work, you always push yourself too hard, sometimes you don’t know when to stop! And I know you’re doing it to try and prove yourself as a member of the team but you already are!” he said with conviction, attempting to look you in the eyes until he faltered.
“Oh-” “Yeah, oh.” he smiled to himself. “How was I meant to understand that? How was I meant to understand any of that?” you retaliated, more-so as a question to yourself.
“I don’t know,” … “You kept them though.” he commented, it seemed like an important detail.
“I- did.”
“Does that- uh, mean anything?” he asked, growing hopeful as he looked up at you once again.
“You’ve really got to work on your sweet-talking.” “That wasn’t a no.” he stated.
“No it wasn’t.” you replied tentatively.
You liked Adrian, despite his strange way of (apparently) flirting through post-its. Out on the field, you always laughed with each other and he was so considerate. He was always making sure that you were safe as you found him constantly by your side, he always made sure you were well-rested and well-fed, asking you throughout the day and leaving a granola bar on top of your work if you hadn’t without being asked, along with distracting the others so you could rest here in the break room to get at least 15 more minutes of sleep without being questioned. Of course you liked him.
You smiled as Adrian spoke, “I really am sorry, I’m not- I’m no good at this.”
“That’s okay, we can figure it out.” you tilted your head. “Yeah?” he wondered out loud, he felt dazed, eyes glossing over. Was he dreaming?
“Yeah.” you confirmed.
“Holy shit.” He was definitely not dreaming then, fuck yes!
“Holy shit.” you mimicked, nudging closer towards him.
His smile grew unbelievably wide as he bounced in his seat, glasses nearly falling off of his face, “I was thinking, there’s a screening of Ghostbusters at the drive-in theatre in two days, which would be sick, if you’re free and if you want to that is, we could go after work? As a date.” “It’s a date, then.” you affirmed.
“Fucking awesome!” he said as the two of you high-fived. Adrian then caught your hand and held it in his, it felt right somehow. You squeezed tight, “God this is so high school.” You laughed and didn’t let go of each other.
So High School- Taylor Swift
