for that ronan and adam thing: honestly i just really love the idea of really tired adam (having school in the morning then two jobs + studying and college applications) just coming home to st agnes and ronans just THERE and he literally collapses into his boyfriend and ronans like "god adam, you cant even stand up" and cUDDLES AND TAKES CARE OF HIM AND JUST!!! NORMAL LIL TEENS IN LOVE FOR .2 SECONDS IS MY KINK
DAMN THESE TWO ARE SO AMAZING TO WRITE I LOVE THEM
The street lamps were too bright, the world was too dark.
His feet were too heavy. His back was too stiff, his hands were too cracked.
His work was too much, his pockets were too empty.
It was too much. It wasn’t enough.
Adam adjusted his messenger bag sluggishly, keeping his finger pressed to the outer bottom corner where the edge of his Latin textbook was threatening to fall through and cause more damage to the worn leather. The constant pressure made his bones grind, wing bone pressing tightly against his skin.
There’d been a test in Latin today. He’d done well, he knew he had. He’d recited the verb endings to himself over and over again at the garage, chanting in his head, lips mouthing the vowels to the rhythm of his wrench-twisting wrist, to the beat of the barely working radio his boss always kept on in the break room, anything. It was good. It was the kind of work that could be done with other work.
School had been fine. He’d been tired, but it was fine. He could survive his shift at the garage. He had a granola bar. Only, then Marty had been sick today. And Adam didn’t have two cars to work on, he had four. He’d been given Marty’s work as overtime as a given, without being asked. It was an assumption. A slightly insulting one, but correct all the same. He needed the money. God, everyone knew he needed the money. But it meant this.
He’d gotten work done, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that it was close to two in the morning and he had to be up at six, ready and bright-eyed to start the cycle over again. Over and over. School, work, (sleep?), school, work, (sleep?), school….
Adam closed his eyes when he reached the church door. Pressing his hand to the wood, he let himself fall away for a moment, just a little. Wind only barely made it to his skin, leaves touched his fingertips so lightly that it prickled. Then he pulled back, opened his eyes, sighing. He’d fall over if he let himself relax to much, pass out right here outside of the church, like some unwanted child left by a un-needing mother. Adam almost smirked as he pushed at the door. How fitting.
It was the stairs that really got him. There were barely twelve of them but there might as well have been twelve hundred. He pushed his palm flat to the wall, swaying on the spot when he reached the sixth. He felt his cheek press against his hand and realized he was tilting to his left. He blinked open his eyes, which he hadn’t realized had closed, eyelashes brushing the satin wallpaper that lined the narrow stairwell. He hated this wall paper. It was patterned in leaves, green and shiny, with millions and millions of haloed angels among them, peaking out, hiding, clutching, smiling. He wanted to tear it, wanted to get Cabeswater to tear it, because nature had nothing to do with these angels, this God. God had nothing to do with nature. Nature was Cabsewater, it was separate. It had done everything for him, it had saved him, given him a purpose. Brought him Ronan. And what had God ever done for him? Given him a father that beat on him, a mother who turned a blind eye, and a deaf ear? They didn’t belong on the same wall, much less the same plane. Breathing hard, he pushed away, feet slamming on the last six steps and dragging down the dimly lit hallway.
His hand shook putting the key into the lock and he leaned his forehead against the cool wood, nearly stumbling over when the door clicked open. He went to turn his light on when he realized, after much too long a period to be normal, that it was already lit. The dim, shaded bulb cast the room in a foggy glow, or, more importantly, cast Ronan in a foggy glow. Ronan, beautiful, sharp Ronan sat sprawled on his bed, Chainsaw asleep on the window sill next to him, blue eyes blinking slowly up at him at first, then more alert. He sat up, Chainsaw only lifting her head from beneath her wing for a moment to make sure he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Took you long enough, Parish.” His mouth curved up slightly, “Your burrito is cold.”
Adam just stared at him, squinting his eyes, blinking hard.
He caught glimpses of Ronan’s face morphing into one of confusion, then worry, but it was like the room wouldn’t stay in focus, “Parish?”
Adam felt his bag drop from his shoulder and heard the unmistakable tear of leather. He cursed, but found his lips wouldn’t move enough to make the actual word, just a blurred version of it. Then he was falling. Then he wasn’t. He didn’t know if he had been falling for hours or seconds, but suddenly there were arms around his waist and breath against his neck. Time was gone, and all that was left was Ronan and the ache in Adam’s bones.
“Jesus.” Ronan was now saying, “Jesus, Adam-“ There was worry in Ronan’s voice that Adam didn’t often hear. It made it softer somehow, when worry usually made voices harder. But this was Ronan Lynch. This was Ronan. When was anything ever usual?
Adam couldn’t help it, he let his weight fall against Ronan’s chest, boots slipping against the floor, fingers digging into Ronan’s biceps. He expected Ronan to stumble against the sudden assault, but his arms just tightened, holding Adam against him, chest unmoving.
“Fuck, you can’t even- fucking stand. Fuck.”
When Adam blinked his eyes open next, he was on the bed, Ronan carefully pulling his feet up as well. It had only been a second then. It had felt like years. God, what would an entire night of sleep feel like? Death? Was that what it had come to? Sleep feeling like death? Was that how his body was trying to cope with the lack of it?
His inner ramble was cut off by quick fingers through his hair. He caught a glimpse of Ronan’s worried eyes and then all he could hear was the crinkling of a bag before his chest was being lifted up. He was confused. He would have expected pillows but he only had the one, and it certainly wouldn’t prop him up this high. Instead, he was met with the firmness of Ronan’s chest, the comfort of his arm across his stomach, his thighs snug against his hips, and the mouth of a water bottle pushing against his lips.
“Small sips.” Ronan’s voice was gruff, demanding, “Don’t fucking throw up on me, Parish.”
Adam did as he was told, but only for a second before his head was lolling back against Ronan’s chest, eyes slipping closed. He breathed heavily through his mouth.
He felt Ronan sigh and stretch to put the water on the window sill, “Yeah. ‘m here.” He felt the fingers in his hair again, slower this time. He felt leather against his temple, then, “You aren’t going to school tomorrow.”
Adam opened his eyes at that, craning his neck backwards so he could see Ronan’s face, “Yes.”
Ronan looked down at him, their noses almost touching. He narrowed his eyes in a very Ronan-like way, “No.”
Honestly, Adam couldn’t argue. He was pretty sure he’d just passed out eleven times in the last five minutes. He already felt his eyes closing again, but he struggled against it, needing one more thing, “You’re going to school tomorrow.”
Ronan scoffed at him. The annoyed noise sounded odd paired with the soft way he was still stroking Adam’s hair back from his forehead, “No.”
Ronan rolled his eyes. Adam could see the way he was biting the insides of his lips, holding the words back. He slouched down on the measly rag of Adam’s pillow and made a face, “What the fuck is this?”
Adam just smiled a little, allowing his eyes to slip closed with the knowledge that Ronan was in for the night with him. He asked that question every time he intended to stay.
There were a few beats of silence. Adam didn’t know how he was still awake. But the air was filled with Ronan about to, waiting, unsure, needing to say something.
“You… You can’t do this.” Ronan’s fingers stilled in his hair, sliding down and tightening around his waist, “I can’t watch you do this.”
Adam mustered enough strength to sigh and roll onto his stomach, chest against chest, nose against neck, “Don’t want to talk about this now.”
Ronan growled a little in his throat, frustration, “You fucking- You fucking passed out-“
“Please.” Adam said against his skin. It was sticky from the humid night air, smelling strongly of grass and heat. If Adam hadn’t been so tired, he was sure he’d be kissing and licking every part of it he could reach by now. Maybe he’d dream of that instead.
Ronan sighed, pushing his cheek against Adam’s head, rubbing gently as if trying to calm himself. His voice came out a whisper when he spoke next, “Just let me get you a pillow. Please, just let me get you a fucking pillow. This is bullshit.”
Adam shushed him softly, already half asleep, ear catching each thump of Ronan’s heart, “Yes. You can buy me a pillow.”
He felt Ronan nod, then, a second later, “…two pillows. One for you and one for…”
Adam pressed a kiss to his jaw, “Two pillows.”