go straight to hell boy

Coming from the Clubhouse after having a few to drink, Seth heads out to his car to find another pack of cigarettes, knowing that he’s bound to run through them. On his way back he finds someone darkening the curb in front of the Clubhouse. His paranoia ends up getting the best of him, thinking it was time for another peak at the Rogues. To his dismay, it’s Adrian rather than his chance at revenge. He’s not sure which would be worse, since Seth’s been actively avoiding Adrian these days. Being Seth’s version of nice to him was bound to be difficult, being more than Seth’s version of nice and being future Best Man at Finn’s side was another thing. So avoidance seemed to be a better plan. Clearly, the universe had other plans. “Yeah, I got one,” he says, digging in his pocket for the now mostly-empty pack. “What’re you doin’ out here? We ain’t good enough in there? Ain’t you lookin’ to be an Old Man? Gonna be a lot more where this comes from.”

-

-

Finn holds Adrian’s gaze, not tempted to look away until he does. He passed the microphone off without looking to who and for all he cared the room could carry on amongst themselves. This was their moment, and they could sit in it as long as they wanted. A soft chuckle fell from his lips. His words came out soft and quiet. “Ade, I’m a simple guy, ye know that. I need a straight yes or no.” He let his forehead rest against Adrian’s, a hand caressing either side of his face.  Finn had gotten in too much trouble making assumptions, and this was one thing he didn’t want to assume. Even if Adrian wasn’t running, it didn’t mean he was agreeing to marry him.

He leaned forward to place a lingering kiss on the other man’s lips and ran his thumb along them when he pulled away. His eyes moved between each of the chestnut hues locked with his. “I love you.” Finn shook his head at his next question. “We can stay here the rest of the night if you let me get off my knees.” He teased, but he couldn’t deny the tiled bar floor was starting to take its toll. Likely a magic killer, but it was true all the same. 

“Were you surprised?” He asked, pulling both of them off the floor to the chair Adrian had occupied before Finn had got on stage. Something more forgiving, and he could pull the other man onto his lap to hold him there for as long as he wanted to sit with him. Adrian was sure to go be a social butterfly soon enough, and Finn would make his rounds then. Or let people come to him. For now they could come over and talk to them if they wanted their attention.

“Yes! Absolutely.” he laughs. He pushes his palms ineffectively against Finn’s chest. “How fucked up would it be if I said no after all this? I’m going to marry shit outta you.” Adrian is absolutely giddy, better than any high he’s ever had. 

starter: @toddcardoso​ location: o’connor-hendrix residence

starter @scthcartcr​ location: club house

starter: @harpercarmichael​ location: calliope

Emme clicks her tongue at Adrian, shaking her head when he argues that there are people who deserve things more than he does. Instinctively, she wants to argue with him and tell him how wrong he is but he doesn’t give her a chance. Instead, she’s taken slightly aback by the shift in the air, the seriousness that clouds Adrian’s features now despite the smile still stretched across his face. Emme can’t blame him for his question, though — after all, she has been asking herself the same question, hasn’t she? Still, she frowns and sighs quietly, hand running through her hair. “I’m always with you,” she repeats her words from before for emphasis. “Always. Even if I’m not here.” Her teeth sink into her lip momentarily, shifting her weight on her heels. “I’m not planning on going anywhere though — at least… Not right now.” Obviously she can’t make any promises for the future, considering how things have been going lately. If she feels like her she and her daughter’s are going to be in the middle of danger or become targets of any kind? That would change things — she would be out of town before anyone had a chance to stop her. But for right now, she’s still trying to wrap her head around what happened and what it means for her and whether or not she can feel safe in Olympus. She’s working on it, that’s all she can promise anyone for now. “Best Maid of Honor though… I like the sound of that.”

-

Emme instinctively hugs Adrian back, giving him a tight squeeze and letting her hand linger on his shoulder as they pull apart and look at each other. He looks happier than she can ever remember seeing him before and that makes her happier than she can ever remember being, her chest bursting with genuine joy for her friend. Her own smile mirrors his, wide and bright, as Adrian talks about how he hadn’t expected to ever have a life like this. She would be lying if she didn’t agree with him — Adrian’s life hadn’t exactly been a road paved for a white picket fence ending. Most of the time she was just relieved to hear his voice on the other of the phone at all because that meant he was still alive and anything beyond that had just been a bonus. But now that he is on the other side of things, his biggest demons behind him, she’s filled with a sense of pride because if anyone deserves to have something good come around it’s Adrian.

“I knew you always had it in you,” she counters him, teasing a little. Adrian, despite everything, has a big heart with plenty of love to give and Emme is ecstatic to see that someone is finally giving him that same love back in return. “It’s nice though, right? I love this — seeing you happy, getting to settle down with someone who treats you right. You deserve it more than anyone that I know.” Emme’s idea of marriage is, obviously, skewed and she doesn’t think she ever wants to go down that road again but she knows that not ever marriage is doomed to fall apart like hers had. She has seen enough people make it work and there is no doubt in her mind that Adrian and Finn will be one of the ones to do the same. She softens when he thanks her, shaking her head. “Don’t go getting me all emotional,” she laughs softly, pushing on his shoulder gently. “I’m always going to be here for you. Always, no matter what. Especially for things like this.”

-

-

“I don’t know, dude. Blame the - what are they? Swedish? Their simple, picture instructions are too advanced for our little American brains,” Angel chuckles, but truth be told, Adrian’s completely right. The shit was confusing from the start, and she clearly wasn’t much help with the whole screw trapped underneath her thigh thing. But really, it’s all funny, and she’s having fun, even though she momentarily relinquished her assisting duties in favor of folding clothes. With her back turned to Adrian, her smile grows brighter and wider and more deeply genuine. Just as they’re happy to have her, she couldn’t be happier to be here. “Okay,” She nods, tossing a folded pair of basketball shorts back onto the bed. 

“He didn’t have to tell me!” Angel whips around with a laugh, facing Adrian. “He walked in here like in a towel, and he was shocked to see me. And he asked me like how long I’d been here, and I was like ‘two weeks?’ He looked confused,” She laughs again, the sound of her laughter settling into a shrug. “I really fucking appreciate it. I can’t like right now, but I want to help out around here. Bills, rent, groceries, whatever. I wanna help.”

-

-

His heart felt like it would beat straight out of his chest. For once in his life, it was for a good reason- at least he hoped it would end well. Finn stared up at Adrian, and the few seconds between his question and Adrian’s reaction might as well have been a lifetime. Then all of a sudden the other man’s hand dropped from his mouth and he saw the laughter. A look of relief washed over him. He happily wrapped the arm with the ring box still in hand around his waist, the other hand on the side of his head. As cheesy as it was to think about, from the time their mouths collided it felt like the room melted away into the distance and they were in their own moment away from everyone else. 

He pulled back just enough to rest his forehead against Adrian’s and rubbed at his face with his thumb. “So- was that a yes?” He murmured, a corner of his mouth raised in a half smile. Finn waited a moment and pulled back more to wipe at the moisture from Adrian’s cheeks. A glance over to the crowd and he looked back. “I mean, your parents are here if ye need a quick escape.” He joked, letting out a breath of a laugh. Finn was half surprised they showed up, but was pleased to see their faces among their other friends and family. The warmth of the room was almost overwhelming in an environment that had been cold for so long, and a past that was even colder. But, that was one of the many things he loved about Adrian- the warmth he brought into his every day and the way he could make him smile or laugh with little effort. 

“I love you so fuckin’ much, you’re everything babe. Fuckin’ everything.”

-

• closed for @adrianhcndrix​
• setting: the bar, post-finndrian engagement

It goes without saying that Emme isn’t really doing well. The events of the last few weeks have left her feeling drained, both physically and emotionally and all Emme really wants to do is curl up at home until she feels better. Except… well that isn’t really true either, is it? That’s just the way she thinks she should feel. In reality, that familiar urge to run is back again and clawing it’s way up her spine. Distance is what fixes things, a voice in the back of her mind reminds her. Every instinct at her reminds her how unsafe this town really is, even if she’d let herself believe for a time that that wasn’t true, and with that comes the urge to pack up the girls and leave again. Not necessarily back to Stillwater — preferably not, if she’s being honest — but somewhere else. Maybe somewhere sunnier, she’d thought. Maybe Annie won’t hold it against her if they move again if they move to the beach. Emme pushes that urge down though, stomps on it until it’s almost gone because she knows, despite everything, she can’t. 

She can’t go down that path again at all but especially tonight. Tonight she had managed to pull herself together and go down to the bar where Finn had been planning to propose to Adrian and Emme had, somehow, managed to keep herself from spilling the beans. She’s never been particularly good at keeping secrets and so she’d been, admittedly, a little worried that the moment she saw Adrian she would blurt out ‘you’re getting engaged tonight’ but somehow, thank God, she hadn’t. And that had been very, very worth it to watch the entire thing play out. A warmth settles in her chest and her smile widens even more when she finds Adrian a little while later, “You’re practically glowing,” she points out and it’s true. Emme has noticed it more and more often since she came back — all of the changes in his life have left Adrian with a soft glow to him, reminding her so much of the young kid she used to sing showtunes with when they were fourteen. Sometimes that glow is brighter than others and tonight? Her oldest friend may as well be one of the neon signs on the wall. “I’m really happy for you — and I’m happy for me because you have no idea how hard this was to keep a secret.” Not that Emme knew all of the details when it came to the night, but Finn had showed her pictures at disco night and she’s been practically biting a hole in her tongue to keep her mouth shut ever since.   

-

Adrian clearly didn’t appreciate this line of conversation but Cal didn’t particularly care. What had he expected? That he could just disappear for a year, fully no contact, and Cal would just be fine with it? That certainly wasn’t how things were going to play out as Adrian had no doubt noticed. 

“An apology would be nice.” Cal snapped, since Adrian had asked. He figured he deserved that much, at least, and that also seemed obvious to Cal. “No one shoots up in my bathrooms, thank you.” That wasn’t the kind of business Cal was trying to run or the experience he offered. Yes, he knew drug deals happened, but they happened discreetly, or at least that’s very much how Cal tried to keep it. He realised that he was in some way missing the point and not really listening but it was hard to listen when he was so irritated. “Congratulations. Perhaps I could’ve applauded you for that had I not been completely cut off.” In a way, Cal did mean it. It was good if Adrian was getting his life together but the implication that he had to do that entirely without Cal…well, it stung a little. “Perhaps I wouldn’t have hurt feelings if you’d bothered to call or even text and explain that’s what was happening instead of suddenly disappearing. Did you think I would try to stop you?” All right, maybe it stung more than a little. He bit back a longer diatribe. Did Adrian think he was such a hedonistic narcissist that he would intentionally harm or hinder someone trying to quit that lifestyle? That he would purposely lure him into situations that would tempt him? Cal didn’t like that assumption at all but he was trying very hard not to show it. 

No one shoots up in my bathrooms. Adrian doesn’t bother hiding the dramatic eye-roll at that. “I’ve got a couple track marks that beg to differ, if you wanna see ‘em,” he says, pretending to roll up the cuff of his hoodie before letting his arms fall back to his sides. “Don’t act so offended by the concept. Not like you’ve got security guys in the stalls to stop it.”