title: don’t apologizepairing: Adam Parrish/Richard Gansey IIIrating: gwarnings: nonea/n: I’m finally posting this!! I made it romantic (I’m weak, I’m sorry) and I also changed the line from “so I found this waterfall...” to “well, I found this waterfall...” I hope you like it!(on ao3)
The cool light of the moon filtered through the gaps in thecanopy of leaves overhead, giving the forest an eerie tone – even with Ganseycrashing through the brush in a lemon-yellow polo, a flashlight in one hand anda map in the other. Adam didn’t really know where they were going; all Ganseyhad said was that he wanted to show him something. He hadn’t bothered to ask,but he found himself growing more and more curious with every step. Finally, hecouldn't stand not knowing. “Where are we going, exactly?” Adam asked, shiftingthe backpack that hung on his shoulder as he followed Gansey in duckingunderneath a large branch.
“Well, I found this waterfall and I think there’s apossibility it’s connected to Cabeswater,” Gansey replied, looking back over hisshoulder to make sure Adam could hear him. “It’s a fair distance downstreamfrom where we’ve been previously, but we still don’t know where the bordersare. I was thinking we could use your,” he hesitated for a moment, “connection to help us determine whetheror not it is.”
“Oh, okay,” Adam nodded, unsure if this plan of Gansey’s wasactually going to work. They still weren’t sure what Adam’s connection toCabeswater all entailed – the rest of them seemed to be afraid of it, afraid ofthe unknown power that coursed through Adam’s body, but it brought him peaceand made him feel like he was actually strong enough to handle anything. Therewere a hundred more questions he wanted to ask – what was so special about thiswaterfall, why they’d had to come and night, and why they hadn’t brought Blueor Ronan or Noah along – but he held his tongue and kept walking.
Adam knew that they were nearing the waterfall before Ganseyturned around to tell him. He could feel the phantom mist on his skin and feelthe magic of it rushing through his veins, so he wasn’t surprised when hecaught a glimpse of it through the trunks of the trees.
The waterfall was much larger than Adam had expected it tobe – louder, too. He was almost sure that he could hear the roar of water inhis left ear as well as his right, but that was probably just his mind playingtricks. Moonlight glistened on the broken surface of the water.
Adam was suddenly very happy that Gansey had brought himhere at night.
“So?” Gansey said, startling Adam out of his reverie. “Whatdo you think?”
“It’s definitely part of Cabeswater,” Adam answered, takinga few steps forward. He knelt down by the edge of the water, skimming hisfingertips along the surface. There was something mesmerizing about the pool ofwater – something that made it feel almost alive.
He felt Gansey sit beside him on the softened earth at theedge of the water, no doubt watching the strange interaction between him andthe water. Adam followed his lead and sat down too, leaning back on his hands.He could feel Gansey’s eyes on him as he watched the water cascading over thecliff face.
“Adam.” It came out just above a whisper, so quiet that Adamwas sure that he wouldn’t have heard it if Gansey had been sitting on his leftside.
Adam turned to look at Gansey, whose normally composedexpression was slowly unravelling. There was a shift in the atmosphere aroundthem, a tension swirling in the gentle night breeze that hadn’t been thereearlier. Adam was suddenly aware of how close they were – the scent of mintfilling his nostrils – but before he could fully comprehend what was happening,Gansey’s lips were pressed against his.
The kiss was quick, fleeting, and Adam hadn’t even had timeto react before Gansey pulled away. “Adam, I’m so–”
“Don’t apologize,” Adam interrupted, resting his hand onGansey’s knee. He leaned in and kissed Gansey softly – this one longer,lingering – and his heart fluttered in his chest. They were both quiet for afew moments after they pulled apart.
“We should, uh, probably get going,” Adam finally said,breaking the silence, “it’s a long hike back to the car.” He pushed himself up,wiping the dirt on his hands onto his pants before holding out a hand to helpGansey up.
Adam was suddenly very happy that they hadn’t brought Blueor Ronan or Noah.
