i can't stop putting joel in things so... bodyguard au joel. used to run with the crew but they parted ways so joel could follow his dream acting/screenwriting/whatever. they haven't mentioned adam's new gig to him until they're on the same set/at an event and they see each. and they can't talk then but joel corners them & wants to know when *this* happened (he follows zero of them on social media. rahul gets offended for adam that joel doesn't follow them on social media.)
The ballroom is bustling with people who either are somebody or want to be somebody. The loud drone of people chatting about this movie or that TV show is overwhelming, and if Adam didn’t have to be here, he would be as far away as physically possible from this place. Thankfully, Rahul is (of course) doing all the talking, Adam half-listening as he nurses a drink to keep himself occupied. There’s a fair amount of bodyguards here, too, and mindlessly, he wonders if any of them are also in relationships with the people they’re protecting. He’s willing to bet money that they aren’t.
Over Rahul’s shoulder, he catches a glance of someone. It’s familiar, and Rahul glances at Adam when he straightens up and scans the crowd. There, next to a small woman who Adam thinks he might have seen on TV last week, is...huh. Joel smiles at him through the crowd, decked out in a suit so flashy that Adam finds it hard to believe that he’s not the celebrity. But he knows Joel (knew? Man, it’s been a while), and by the way he’s keeping his arm down, he’s got a holster tucked under his shoulder. Bold move. But then again, Joel could be summed up by “bold move”.
As much as Adam wants to make his way over, they know their roles. He looks at Rahul and gives him a reassuring smile, and when he turns back to Joel, his eyebrows are furrowed in questioning. Adam nods his chin toward Rahul in front of him, and Joel’s jaw drops open in a dramatic display of disbelief. Adam chuckles into his drink, and starts mentally planning to figure out how to go and talk to him.
Somehow, but not surprisingly, Joel is outside when they leave. Adam’s about to ask Rahul to give them some privacy, but Joel comes out no holds barred. It makes something deep in Adam feel whole again—something he didn’t even know was missing.
“When did this happen?”
Adam shrugs. “Maybe six, seven months ago?”
“And you never told me?”
“Never came up. Besides, how do you not know? It’s all over.”
Joel squints at Adam, and Adam feels oddly intimidated. “Bold of you to assume I follow any of you assholes on social media.”
“Wait, you don’t? Aren’t you like, friends?” Rahul chimes in, and Joel pivots to give him a thorough once-over.
“Of course we’re friends.”
Rahul grumbles something about that not being an answer at all, folding his arms over his chest defensively. Adam can’t help the fond smile, which Joel clocks, ever the profiler, and gasps.
“You’re dating? Oh, you nasty man, getting involved with the person you work with. That’s called transference, you know.”
“I thought that was just for therapists,” Adam points out, but Joel isn’t listening.
Joel is, instead, on his phone, sending a text to Bruce that he’s not even trying to hide from Adam. No doubt lecturing him for keeping secrets, that he expects to be fully debriefed on everyone’s personal lives the next time he runs a mission with them.
“Look, I do want to catch up with you, Joel,” Adam says as Joel types, keeping one eye on the words, “but we should get going. And besides—I didn’t know you were what’s-her-face’s bodyguard either. Kind of goes both ways, don’t you think?”
“It was only for tonight, and Cameron’s a friend. She needed my help.”
When he sends the text, he looks back up, placing a hand on the side of Adam’s arm. He really does regret letting life get in the way of his relationship with Joel, but between his crew and Rahul, and Joel’s screenwriting career taking off more than any of them expected, it was really inevitable.
“We’ll get coffee. I want all the dirty details.”
Rahul laughs, and Adam leans in to mutter, “You could probably just ask James for those.”
