Adrian King

Phase: Day Twelve

Del grinned at Adrian’s enthusiastic joy. They’d had a feeling that Cricket’s car selection might life his spirits. It was nice to see that her instincts had been correct.

They turned her attention to Cricket, who looked more relaxed than she would have imagined. Last night had been difficult in myriad ways. There wouldn’t have been an issue if it took him time to readjust and find a new equilibrium. As always, however, he’d found interest in the present. She wished they shared his ability to do that.

“I texted Morgan.” She added. “We should limit who sees this.” Discretion was something that Cricket was more than familiar with. She knew he’d be able to handle this as they both figured out how the security system worked and what they’d need to do to get in. “You’ll be helping me like with the hotel system.”

cricketmarston

Cricket preened only slightly at Adrian’s impression of the car. “This old thing? If you like it, after this you can keep it. Reg wouldn’t know how to maintain it anyway.” He managed to keep himself from saying ‘doesn’t deserve it.’ He deserved a cookie. “And before you go worrying about private property and all that, we’re in a new world. If he asks about it, you just play dumb, say I lent it to you and didn’t say where it had come from, and I’ll take care of it.” He managed to swallow his own grin. He would very much enjoy taking care of it. he was scripting the monologue in his head already.

What Adrian was saying about not remembering was deeply concerning to Cricket as someone who used to get fucked up on occasion, but he had to trust that Del would guide Adrian through any unpleasantness.

So he forced his tone to be brighter than it was. “Well, if anyone can figure out how that place’s surveillance system works, it’s us. Have no fear.”

He switched literal and figurative gears as they sped toward the roller rink. “Now, some of these systems work on batteries so they’re more secure, easier to not take the whole thing down by cutting the power. I think that’s what we need to hope for. More information that way and no risk of footage getting overwritten because the external hard drive wasn’t responding. Where were you when you fell?”

@king-a

#with: del #with: cricket #phase: day twelve

"What the fuck, seriously?" A huge part of him really wanted to. He'd almost died last night. Everything was fucked. Was it that wrong for him to want something good to happen for once?

But an equally large part of him was telling him it would be wrong. That was the parentified foster kid part of him though. And right now, even if he didn't want to admit it, there was no chance he was seeing his brothers again anytime soon. At what point did he say fuck it? "You messing with a dude with a heart condition?" he joked.

Adrian nodded like it made sense to him. It didn't, but he wasn't here because he was the brains. "I think someone said they found me near the drinks table. That's probably why they think I was drinking." Ignoring all the physical symptoms that pointed to that being the answer too.

@delilahseraven

Phase: Day Twelve

Del sent one more text to Morgan to make sure that she could make it to the rink. Coordination had never been her strong suit. She spent so much time with the same people that they developed their own rhythms and the need for explanation ebbed away. It was strange to work with people outside of that rhythm, but she was rising to the challenge.

“You look good.” They said, appreciating that Adrian looked more alive than he had before. It was reassuring to see him walking around. He showed surprisingly little cognitive issues after having such a large setback. She was impressed.

She heard the purr of a sports car outside. “That’s him.” Del moved towards the door, holding it open for Adrian. After he’d safely passed, they bounded towards the car. She went to the driver’s side and tapped for Cricket to open the window. When he did, she kissed him. Before he could deepen it, they pulled back and headed to the passenger side.

“Are you still feeling okay,” she asked Adrian, before clarifying for Cricket, “His vitals are better.”

@cricketmarston

cricketmarston

Cricket hadn’t bothered to tell Reg that he’d taken the Maserati. He’d needed a backseat for Adrian and the Aston didn’t have one, and as he’d said (thought? Eh it didn’t matter.) during their little summit, he knew better how to take care of the children so he got to keep them.

The kiss was all too brief, but he knew he needed to be patient. Del was working. They were in public. All inconveniences he hadn’t bothered to care about until recently. Community ties were a cruel mistress, even for a concubine.

“Well done, mate.” Cricket said, as if Adrian had willed his vital signs to behave. For all he knew, he had. The life sciences were strange. “So do I get to know what we’re doing at the rink or are we pranking Jacks? I’m up for whatever.” He hoped it was clear that he was joking. Mostly.

@king-a

#with: del #with: cricket #phase: day twelve

Adrian smiled at Del's compliment. He didn't bother telling them he didn't feel good. But he was relieved he didn't look too fucked up. It would make things easier for him.

"Sheeeesh." Adrian whistled when Cricket pulled up, taking a second to admire the car. "Wassup?" he said as he slid in the back.

He chuckled, amused at the idea that he had any conscious role in making his vitals better. "Thanks. I'm okay. I'll let you know if that changes," he told Del so they wouldn't worry. "This ride is fucking fire." He ran his hand over the smooth leather appreciatively.

"I can't remember what happened before I passed out," he told Cricket. "Going to see if there's security footage that can fill the gaps."

violaparker

“Oh I can always make it worse. Should put that shit on my resume.” Viola really was a career counselor’s nightmare. She prided herself on it. Unadoptable, unhireable, mostly unlovable but she was working on it.

Speaking of, Adrian knew her business. Who said she was allowed to know her business? “I mean, it’s a glorified trailer home so at least it’s kinda familiar.” It was a far cry from Jules and Bea’s fancy ass house but it beat at least 90% of Go’s crash pads. Aside from that one tech bro’s penthouse. How she talked her way into that one she’d never knew. Probably not talking actually. Talking and a mommy kink. Viola shivered. “What about you? Are you like… okay or whatever?”

#phase: day eight #with: viola

"Not with that," he said to her, shaking his head in mild amusement. At least talking to her now he could put his mind at ease about whether she was alright or not. Adrian didn't want to worry but it was kinda just what he did when it came to his siblings. Talking to her now would at least ease his mind for a day or two. It'd get complicated when he felt the need to check in again and she didn't want him to.

Adrian nodded, glad she had Ruby to stay with. "Yeah. I'm staying at the B&B with a couple of other people," he told her. "The room looked kinda insane so I got some paint and did it up." He owed Nora a favour in return for the supplies she'd given him. Adrian was glad they were kinda friends, it made him a little less nervous that she'd get him to do something wild in return.

When it came to needing stuff it didn't apply so much. They were foster kids. They were used to living out of whatever they could fit into a single bag. It used to be a trash bag for Adrian, but since coming to Jules and Bea's they'd gotten him his own suitcase. He missed them. They actually gave a fuck. He hoped they weren't too worried.

"Biggest thing for me right now is making sure I have enough meds to last a while here." Vi was one of the few people who knew about his heart. "Got one of the doctor-y people working on it so hopefully..." he trailed off. He didn't know what he'd do if they ran out. There was no backup plan.

Phase: Day Twelve

“Kay.” They had only brought their short board. It wasn’t exactly suited for two riders. Del texted Cricket separately. Pick me and Adrian up? Even if Adrian had a car, she didn’t think it was the best idea for him to be behind the wheel right now.

She laughed at his comment. “Very much so. Man of the people.” This kind of easy camaraderie was something she’d hoped for when he moved in. There were no way to know if everyone would clicked, but there was such joy in building those relationships with each other.

“Cricket will be here soon.” It was presumptuous to say it, but she knew him. If they needed him, he would make the space and time to help. He’d stretch the universe if she asked. And they’d do the same for him. “I can,” they nodded towards outside the room, “so you can have privacy.”

She stepped out to the hallway to wait. There were too many possibilities that could arise from this. The way that Drew spoke about his own interrogation sessions, Del wasn’t sure that they were fully prepared for all of the consequences that came with surveillance. Questions did need to be answered, however, and this was their only option.

"Happy to be of service." He grinned at them, grateful for the lighter topic.

"Okay, thanks," Adrian said, waiting until she was out of the room before he started moving. He went slow, careful in case anything decided to crap out once he got up. He felt like shit but honestly, he felt like he should feel worse. Normally if he passed out he'd have some kind of injury from how he landed, but he didn't, so that was weird. One time it had happened outside, he passed out on his foster family's decking. He'd hit his head so hard the grooves in the wood had marked his scalp for weeks. But that didn't seem to be an issue for him right now.

Adrian's stomach hurt and his head ached. But if that was it, he was lucky. Adrian got up and walked to the little bathroom off his room. Perks about nobody else being in hospital meant he got a private room and bathroom. It was nice.

He washed his face, rinsed himself off where he could without having to have a full shower. Adrian found his hoodie back in the room draped over a chair. He pulled that back on, slipped his shoes on and grabbed the bottle of water Raleigh had given him.

He made his way out to the hall. "Ready when you are roomie."

Phase: Day Twelve

Del nodded their head. “Thank you. I know it’s….not ideal.” She really wasn’t the one that was good at talking to people. Knowing all the tools of communication wasn’t the same as applying them constantly.

She took out their cell and texted Cricket and Morgan. Got a job at the rink. Adrian related. It wasn’t much to work on, but she had never seen the security system. Without knowing the kind of hardware and software, ascertaining what was and wasn’t needed was a bit impossible. They could all meet up and work through things together, but it would take some finagling. “Do you feel up to a fieldtrip or do you want to wait? We can send you the results if that’s easier.”

In this world, wherever it was located, and the real one, Adrian had so many people that were worried about him. He had people that needed him. Del wasn’t lucky enough to place themself in that schema. Being housemates was nice. In some ways, it gave her a window into a different way of living. They were building a new kind of schema together, somewhere between roommates and something closer to friendship. “You’re needed here and there.” She reassured him, “You’re saving Cricket from indecent exposure.”

Adrian was tired but the idea of going back to the BnB alone and just... sitting in bed sounded depressing as hell. "Nah, I'll come along," he said. It would feel good to have something else to focus on. And if he was there he'd be able to see what footage they had, if any, and decide for real if he wanted anyone else to see.

Adrian chuckled at that. "So you're saying I'm a hero," he said, giving Del a real smile.

"Do you wanna go now or?" he asked them. "I just need a few to freshen up."

Phase: Day Twelve

Del took a moment to think. They didn’t want to promise him something that wouldn’t be true. The council might decide to take things into their own hands. If they did, that was beyond her. “Me and Cricket, we’ll have to work together to hack into it like we did the inn.” She wasn’t sure how much he knew about that, but it had needed to be done. “Maybe Drew and Morgan…we’re a team.”

Listing that group was the easy part. She trusted Drew and Cricket with her life. Drew trusted Morgan, so she had to be worthy of it as well. The potential for corruption, however, was all too easy to see. She didn’t want to propose setting up a surveillance state or even relying on it frequently. Her own brain was racing with the ways that this could backfire. “Fern or the council. I’d do my best to pick only one of them, but it’s not my…” she trailed off. The government system was so nascent and she didn’t want to impede its growth, but there were so many facets that had to be planned and without those answers, she couldn’t promise a lot. “I’ll limit exposure. Promise.” That was all she could do.

It wasn't very reassuring. But at least it would only be people in official roles. That did make a difference, even small. He hoped they'd have the same value in confidentiality as Betty and Raleigh.

"Okay," Adrian said reluctantly. "I don't love it but if we can figure out what happened I think I need to." He shrugged. "I can't really do anything about stopping it happening again if I don't know what went down." Responsibility would always, unfortunately, win out when it came to Adrian.

"I'm not ready for this to take me out yet. Got a couple of kids at home who need me." Was he talking about his brothers or Vi and Ruby now? Ha. His sister would never need him.

Phase: Day Twelve

Del laughed alongside him. They’d all been through such difficult situations recently, it was much easier to remember better times than hard ones. The paths were clearer.

It was tempting to reach for her journal, but she fought the urge. As much as this could potentially overlap with community maintenance work, it wasn’t. Adrian was a friend. She tried to loosen her posture, be more welcoming in pose the way her father had taught them.

“S'ok.” She patted his shoulder. “It might come back in snatches. And if it doesn’t that’s okay.” They hadn’t had much time to talk about neuroscience so she didn’t know how much to say around him. She didn’t want to confuse him with explanations he may or may not be interested in. “Sometimes our brains protect us by hiding things. That’s okay too.”

She fought the urge to clear her throat. It was too much of a nervous habit for them lately, filling the space with gutteral noises because words felt insufficient. “Do you want community maintenance to see if there’s security footage to confirm things?”

Adrian honestly didn't know if he even wanted to remember it. He hadn't really been doing so great lately but he hoped he wouldn't have chosen to be that self destructive. He needed to be there for Vi, even if she didn't want him to be.

The idea of remembering also just embarrassed him. He hated that even more people knew about it all now. That they'd seen him so vulnerable like that.

"Who would see it?" he asked them. "If there was footage." It was probably smart to look. He just didn't want to agree until he was sure he'd have whatever scraps of privacy were left.

Phase: Day Twelve

#phase: day twelve #with: del

Del hadn’t known what to expect. Adrian had been honest with her, but they hadn’t fully understood what it meant in practice. Somewhere, her father was disappointed in them. They hadn’t wanted to go to another party. The last one had been anxiety-inducing until she’d run away with Cricket. And he wasn’t interested in this party either.

There was a universe, though, somewhere where Adrian was safe. It was possible that that reality was built through Cricket and Del’s presence. It wasn’t important now, but it did bother her.

“Hi,” she raised their hand in a half wave. “How are you feeling?” She placed her hand down, not entirely sure what to do with it. The weather was too warm for her hoodie. “I…” she paused, “Raleigh was vague. Whatever details you want to give me, I’ll take. No judgement.”

"I've been better," he said, feeling like he should smile or something. Try to make Del look less worried than they did right now. All the attention and concern made him uncomfortable. Probably something to do with not being used to people caring. Adrian tried his best to make his face look okay.

He was surprised but also grateful. He knew the pool of people who knew something had happened to him had blown up overnight, so it was nice to get to share the parts he wanted to.

"That's the thing, I don't really know..." Adrian scrubbed his palm over his cheek. "I'm not supposed to drink. It can fuck with my meds and my heart." He looked down, focusing on the white hospital blanket covering him instead of Del. "Raleigh said I passed out at the party. That it was alcohol but I don't..." He let out a frustrated sigh. "I feel like I wouldn't have done that. Or I'd remember."

cricketmarston:

Cricket was used to putting people at ease. It was his specialty, really, when he wanted it to be. Still, he was proud of himself on this one. It had taken him months to figure out this connecting to people without kissing them thing. And Adrian was beautiful, it was true, but Cricket hadn’t even flirted. Well. Mostly. And his reward had been a moment of closeness, of connection, or understanding, that he’d never imagined he’d have experienced in West Ham. But this was a whole new place in a way, wasn’t it? He felt a flare of protectiveness within him when Adrian talked about his parents. perhaps because they were more alike than even he wanted to admit. Would Cricket’s mother have told his father that Cricket was missing? Or would she have kept it to herself, not wanting to “worry” him when he was dealing with so much already? “Your mum sounds like an absolute git. I’m sorry.” Still, the news about Adrian’s brothers was heartening. “That’s what matters, I think. That they’re together.” Cricket couldn’t imagine a world where he’d actually had someone to share the load. Sure, Reg had been around for a bit. But Reg never shared anything. Cricket gave a slight wave to push Adrian’s thanks away and indicate that it had been no trouble. Or, more accurately, trouble worth making. “And I appreciate you overall.” He sighed, looking down at the food. “This is lovely. You’re lovely.” And look at that. It wasn’t even a flirt.

Adrian huffed a laugh. He'd never heard someone call anyone a git before, but he was sure it was fitting. He nodded, scratching at a pretend itch on the back of his head. "Yeah, she is. And yeah. I'm glad they have each other." He knew Oscar would be looking out for Matty. They'd had to grow up too fast too. It fucking killed Adrian that he didn't have them with him, but at least they weren't alone. That would have killed him more.

He almost started talking about how he had planned to care for his brothers once he turned 18. How that day had come and gone and he couldn't even talk to them. But something stopped him. It wasn't that he didn't think Cricket would get it. Adrian had a feeling he would. It was more that he didn't know if he could handle being that seen when it came to this right now. It was too raw.

Adrian gave Cricket a smile, one of his wide toothy ones. And it was real too. "Back at you," he said, shoveling another forkful of eggs into his mouth.

Phase: Day Twelve

The lights are on, but no one’s home. Noah’s house is still smoking, and the mysteries are piling up. Oh, and there’s that government thing to worry about. Might need a criminal justice system like now.

So press play, and go.

#hey uh do me a favour and pretend there is not another person in this gif hehe thanks x #with: del #with: raleigh #phase: day twelve

Adrian felt like shit. He couldn’t remember what had happened that got him to this point. They’d told him he passed out at the party. That he must have been drinking. But he didn’t do shit like that. He knew what could happen if he did. It didn’t make sense. It was hard to deny it when he only remembered small bits of the party. He didn’t even know if he had anyone he could ask. Adrian had a vague memory of talking to someone there, but it was too blurry.

All he knew for sure was that he was fucking embarrassed. And so damn tired he was dozing off every time Raleigh left him alone. That part was normal, he knew. He could count on one hand the amount of times that something like this had happened to him. He just needed to rest for a few days and he’d be okay. Mostly.

Raleigh had asked him if it was okay to call Del to tell them what had happened. He had agreed, actually kind of glad that he didn’t have to do it himself. Adrian still wasn’t looking forward to her seeing him like this though. They’d been great about it when he’d filled her in on his condition, but actually witnessing it? He didn’t want anyone to see that.

Adrian cracked an eye open when he heard footsteps approaching. He’d assumed Raleigh would have intercepted anyone coming in but maybe she was busy. Del came into view. “Hey roomie,” he said, hating how worn out his voice sounded.

@delilahseraven

Phase: Day Eight

frankiecrowne:

“Seems like it would mess with the flow of conversation though. Like what if they say something messed up in paragraph one. Then you’re supposed to talk about the weather and the crops and shit in paragraph three? Hell no.” Frankie tugged at the grass a little self consciously. That was a more intense reaction than she was used to having, especially when ye olden hypothetical times. Ever since she’d gone cold turkey her emotions had felt so very loud. Maybe that was what was hurting her head.

She took a deep breath imagining the color of the paint. Diving into it really. An eternity of blue. “That sounds nice.” she said finally. “If a little deep.” But as long as you don’t add a photorealistic shark on there you’ll be fine.” This was why she didn’t like wall art in general. That shit could move if you tried the wrong strain. She’d gotten attacked by one of August’s weird anime guys once before she realized what the hell was going on.

“No one knows anything, Mr. King. Anyone who says they do is selling something.” Frankie should know. Her parents did it all the time. I can promise you we’ll take him for everything he has. If everything isn’t in off shore accounts. Or in his mistress’s apartment. “So what’s in the bag?” She pawed at the care package gently. Reverently even. He really was unnecessarily nice. But he’d always been that way.

“Right?” Adrian rubbed at the stubble growing on his cheek. “Probably feels weird to save the big stuff for right at the end though. A letter cliffhanger. I think we just figured out that letter writing fucking sucks.”

Adrian laughed. “Yeah, don’t worry. Viola and Ruby would probably vandalise something like that anyway.” If he ever actually saw Viola again. He had a feeling she’d avoid him as long as she could. And Ruby was always attached to her like a little blonde leech.

He raised his eyebrows in agreement. Adrian would just have to get used to feeling clueless all the fucking time.

“Honestly kind of a bit of everything. I don’t really know what you like so I wanted to make sure you had options.” He gestured for her to open it. “Found one of those box cake mix where you just have to add like 2 ingredients. Half a funfetti cake in there. Pretend I made it from scratch though okay?”

#frankie describes rp threads in the first paragraph #with: frankie #phase: day eight

Phase: Day Nine

cricketmarston:

Cricket knew saying cheers again would have been more than a bit silly, so he settled for nodding gratefully at the plate of food. “Gorgeous, thank you.” It wasn’t as good as Del’s, but he knew he’d exhausted her. They deserved some rest.

“Don’t promise that.” he replied with a slightly crooked (let’s call it jaunty) grin. “Telling me to go fuck myself is a God given right. I encourage people to exercise it as needed.”

Cricket let the words sit there for a moment to give them their proper weight. He knew a fair amount of kids in the system from the city. Sharona sometimes seemed to collect them, formally or informally. “I’m glad and I’m sorry. In the reverse order.” he clarified to finish. Adrian had shared as much as he was comfortable with, but Cricket didn’t want to be the asshole who hadn’t said anything. “My dad’s in jail. Life, pretty much. Nothing violent. Just stupid. His own, I should say. The cardinal rule of thieving is don’t get caught. The Crown doesn’t take kindly to three time rulebreakers.” It felt a little weird, saying it all at once. But he was an engineer. He was familiar with inertia. A body in motion wishes to remain in motion. Apparently it was true of the tongue as well. “My mum’s around, sort of. Unless he calls. Then we drop everything.” He kept the crack out of his voice. An unfortunate habit. “Everyone expects me to be worried about losing my parents, but I take solace in knowing one’s already on the other continent protected from his own bad decisions. And mine if we do decide to experiment with those explosives.”

Adrian laughed at that. “Okay, fair call.”

“I’m sorry too,” Adrian replied. It was kind of weird talking about things so personal with someone he’d never held a conversation with before. But it was also sort of nice too. It made him feel just that little more comfortable here. Understood. People sometimes tried to empathise with him but he knew they couldn’t really get it unless they’d experienced something similar themselves. Cricket knew what it was like to have your parents let you down in some of the worst ways they could.

Adrian relaxed into his chair a little more. “Yeah, I get that.” Maybe not the explosives part though. “Honestly haven’t thought about mine at all. Never met my dad. Haven’t seen my mom since I got put in the system eight years ago. Doubt they even know anything happened. It’s my brothers I’m worried about. They’re together though so that’s something.”

“Thanks for telling me. About yours. I really appreciate you sharing.”

#with: frankie #phase: day eight

Phase: Day Eight

frankiecrowne:

Frankie mimed using a long feathery quill pen. “ ‘My dearest Adrian. Sup?’ “ And then three days later you reply with ‘Not much, you?’. Very ineffecient. That must be why all those old fashioned letters are so long.”

Frankie didn’t have this but Adrian was very nice to say so. Everyone was being so nice. Had so many people always been this nice? Had she just never noticed before?

“Oooh what color?” Heli had offered to make up Frankie’s room anyway she wanted in Trip’s house using what she often accidentally called ‘interior resign,’ but that would involve actually picking a room. Frankie was bad at sleeping inside at the best of times. Sleeping in someone else’s cavernous already over ‘interior resigned’ house was something else.

She sighed at Adrian’s painfully true observation. “Maybe it’s the contrast. Maybe it just distracts from the other little inconveniences that are now so glaringly obvious.” Frankie had thought she was pretty independent and didn’t ask much of her family’s staff but she was struggling in her own way. At least Heli had a tendency to take care of the cleaning basics on instinct. She had already asked for lessons. If Heli could remember to do it, maybe her mary jane addled brain could do it too. “You don’t realize how much stuff goes into making other stuff happen, you know?”

Adrian laughed loudly. “For sure. Writing whole ass diary entries to their friends. It makes sense. Gotta use up those characters.”

“It’s kind of like a sea blue. Different to anything I’ve had before.” That wasn’t a hard thing to achieve though. Adrian had mostly just had a lot of plain and boring until he got to Jules and Bea’s house. They’d let him personalise things but his room at the BnB was definitely the most creative he’d been able to get.

“Facts,” he said, sighing loudly. “I thought I already knew a lot about life but this whole deal makes me think I don’t really know anything.”

Phase: Day Nine

cricketmarston:

“Oh not often.” Cricket conceded innocently. “Mining and misbehavior mostly. So not recommended.” He was usually more than mildly offended when people didn’t trust him with STEM things, but he truly didn’t have the best record in this arena particularly. Not that Adrian should have known that. But Cricket also knew a thing or two about being the new kid. You picked up quick if you wanted to survive. That or you built yourself armor out of glitter and made it work.

“Cheers, again mate.” Cricket nodded gratefully. He generally forgot to eat, which was why when someone reminded him he was almost always ready to consume everything in sight. Moderation in no things, he liked to say. He would have preferred cinnamon bread, but there was only so much room for a sweet tooth in this situation.

He’d been getting an awful lot of offers of help of late. Some had felt more earnest than others, but there was something about Adrian that felt more than earnest. Authentic, maybe. Like he knew what he was getting into, or at least he wanted to know. Del’s quiet reminder whispered in his ear. Community ties. He studied his hands as he spoke. “You’re not from around here, are you? Sorry if it’s private. I just… Del mentioned…” God he was shit at this. “Don’t let the accent fool you. I’ve got ah, bit of experience with… parental instability.” He didn’t mean to presume anything. That was more dangerous than not talking at all. He knew that, being on the receiving end. “So I appreciate the offer of assistance and may well avail myself of it. But if you ever need to, ah, commiserate about all of these people mourning the loss of something they take for granted… well, let me know. Or tell me to go fuck myself. It’s generally justified.”

“Alright,” Adrian said with a chuckle. He wasn’t worried. He even kind of wanted to check out the explosives sometime. It would be fine if he knew it was coming. Probably. He’d think about that some more before he asked. Should probably check with Betty too.

Adrian finished arranging the food on the plates, not very artfully for someone who was meant to be an artist. He gathered them up and brought them over to the table, setting one down for Cricket. “Here you go.” He wasn’t super confident in his ability to make good food, but he knew it was edible at least.

His focus was on shoveling the scrambled eggs into his mouth, but Cricket’s tone had changed. Adrian found himself feeling a little self conscious. He always did when people brought up this part of his life. Even if he did his best to project confidence, like he didn’t give a shit about what people thought. He did. He gave quite a few shits, in fact. But Cricket wasn’t judging him. That wasn’t what this was.

“Thanks. That’s um...” Adrian sniffed. “Thank you. I will.” He picked up his piece of toast. “I will let you know, I mean. Not tell you to go fuck yourself.” Adrian smiled to try and smooth over any awkwardness. “And it’s not private. You’re right. Foster kid.” Those two words said a lot. “I’ve been kind of lucky. But still, it’s not... you know.”

#with: viola #phase: day eight

Phase: Day Eight

violaparker:

Viola was nearly out. Or close to out. She’d gotten away from Dylan’s douchiness and Jordan’s whatever-that-was. Ruby waited like a beacon of “fuck this shit” at the edge of the green. But Adrian got there first.

“Hiiiiiii.” She said, as if she could elongate the vowel into an escape. She didn’t want to talk. She didn’t want to think about that night. She didn’t want to think about the chaos and the tension and the shame. She hated crying. It fucked up her makeup. “Ugh stop. This is embarrassing. You’re embarrassing. When will you learn to stop giving a shit?”

She paused, glancing at the ground. Maybe there was a faster way to do this. And one that made her feel marginally less shitty. “I’m fine. Not much changed for me.” It was an understatement. But saying things got better (aside from this disastrous picnic) would be shitty, even for her. “Sorry about the boys. Are you, uh, well, I assume you’re unhappy but I feel like I’m gonna make it worse. Kinda my brand.”

Adrian didn’t answer her question. He got the feeling it was rhetorical anyway, and she already knew the answer was never. He was okay with being embarrassing.

It was more than a little surprising when she didn’t immediately leave or insult him some more. Adrian was ready for it, but he hadn’t been ready for genuine Vi. Whatever defenses he still had up were somewhat disarmed. “Thanks,” he said, slowly unfolding his arms, letting them hang at his sides instead. “Nah. You can’t make it worse,” he told her.

It was hard to know what to say next. Asking a question risked ending this too quickly. Adrian hadn’t managed the art of navigating a conversation with her that didn’t end in a fight. Not like Bea and Jules had. He wished they were here. “You probably got everything you need right?” He asked it like she obviously did. She was Vi. She had it in hand. But if she didn’t maybe he could help. Indirectly. “Living it up over at the Mauk’s.”

Phase: Day Nine

cricketmarston:

“Like explosives might be a bit of an exaggeration.” Only just, really, but he didn’t need to know that. “Let’s say I am not opposed to using them when needed, since I know how to do it properly.” His trial and error days were over on that front. That had been part of the whole ‘not being sued into the ground by Lou’s family’ setup.

“More fond of electricity, actually. I’ve got a slight compulsion to improve on any engineering I see and this situation offers many, many opportunities.” He’d been offering to redo the Bottles’ freezers for years at this point, but Tala hadn’t let him. Something boring about insurance this and liability that.

“Cheers.” he nodded. It turned out people did nice things for you when you were nice to them, even when you didn’t have a sexual history. Funny that.

“Yes I’m not sure exactly how yet as most of my solutions tend to involve resources Mr. Eckman isn’t keen to part with. We certainly need more non-Alessi affairs. Rumi told me she wants to do some odd improv thing. Art does consume materials of course but the return is far better than most, I think.” Perhaps Del and Mia made him biased, but he’d never apologized for bias before and wouldn’t do so now. “If you or your compatriots run out of supplies do let me know. I might be able to figure out something.” Chemistry was more Lou and Rora’s territory but manufacturing was his. He had to believe that he could still get Aurora to do some things if he asked. The alternative was too depressing.

“When are they needed?” Adrian asked. He couldn’t really think of any situations himself, but he might be missing something. “That’s cool. Heaps to keep you busy then I guess?” Adrian would be happy for Cricket doing anything that didn’t involve explosives near him. Del had said they would take care of that anyway.

Adrian hadn’t thought about the fact that he might need to ask for resources in the future. Luckily he had enough to probably last him a couple months. Paper might be an issue but he could always make his own. Recycling and everything. Anything more than that... he was already in debt to Nora for stuff he’d asked for. He couldn’t really take more on, but if Cricket could help that’d be great. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Adrian poured the scrambled egg mix he’d managed to create into the pan and moved to put some pieces of bread into the toaster. “If there’s anything I can help with let me know. For real. I got time.” Too much time. The longer he was here, the more he wanted to do whatever he could to stay busy.

The eggs were done pretty quickly, and the toast followed soon after. “You want toast?” he asked, buttering his piece for himself. “I’ve got an orange here too if you want half.”