It had been more than a month since Adam was taken from the island. Freya left her job at the game store and spent most of her time keeping Adam's shop running. There were traces and bits of him everywhere, small reminders that he was gone. Some days she thought that he'd just walk through the doors and give her that same smile and some teasing remark. When he didn't she felt her heart sink all over again.
Lorna had her baby and Freya had slowly begun to open to those around her. It was all because of Adam, he'd been her first real friend and she couldn't stop worrying about him. He was probably somewhere safe but there was no way to know. She always wore the belt that he'd made and her usual black punk pants were now covered in bike grease. Her arms were bare with smears of black while her tank top had a cat in a top hat riding a bicycle on it. Freya felt as if it fit the shop more than she did most days. Her long hair continued to grow longer and she began to tie it back when she was working.
She pushed herself up and looked over at the clock. It was getting late and she should probably head out but she felt more comfortable here. It was one of the few places on the island that she felt comfortable. With a bit of a puff Freya turned and walked to the back of the store and laid down on the couch. She was just going to sleep for a few minutes and then she'll get back to working.
Freya felt a shift, jolting her awake. She's on her feet and suddenly in a different room. Her eyes narrowed at the room around her. "What the fuck?" This wasn't Medietas, she could tell instantly, which meant that she had to figure out where she was... again.
She didn't have her backpack, which pissed her off but she'd deal with that later. She walked from the room and tried to find someone that she knew.
As she walked it felt like the city was pressing down on her, digging it's claws into her. She didn't like it. A familiar scent crossed her path and Freya paused. She pivoted sharply and ran towards the scents owner. It was Adam, it had to be Adam. She didn't know how long she ran but she ran as fast as she could. Given her natural speed it didn't take her that long to find him. When she did she slowed to a normal run and threw her arms around his shoulders.
"It's you! It's really you. You were here. I've missed you so much." She pressed her face to his shoulder and inhaled. She noticed a small difference in him but she didn't care. It was Adam.
He hadn't been there that long at all - perhaps only a week. Long enough to get his feet beneath him and his bearings straight. Once again, he was alone in a strange place, though at least this one wasn't floating. Still, knowing as he did that things were going awry back home, he felt a sense of uncertainty. So he tamped it down, and he explored. If Adam was good at anything, it was that.
(Though, admittedly, Adam was good at a lot of things. Exploring was just up there. He had the observational skills that it begged for.)
He didn't have the same skills of pinpointing scent the way Freya did, so he had no warning when Freya ran at him and pulled him into a tight hug. All he knew was that there was an exceedingly familiar voice, and the hug was weirdly comfortable; his hands came up automatically to return it, pulling her in against him. It took another moment, but Adam's brain finally caught up to what was happening, registering that Freya was here. This wasn't Medietas, but Freya was here. Someone who, he realised, he'd thought he'd never see again. The thought only made him pull her in a little closer, as he exhaled softly.
"Hey," he breathed, all intentions of exploring the outer edge of the City now gone. "Hey. Yeah, I'm here. I was on the islands, then I woke up back home, and then- Then I woke up here. When'd you get here?"
Freya was only half listening to what Adam was saying. She heard the steady drum of his heartbeat and the rhythm of his breath. Every detail that she'd tried to remember since he'd left the islands. After a moment she spoke, her voice muffled, Freya didn't want to pull away or loosen her hold on him.
She didn't want him to vanish again.
"You left. I went looking when you didn't come to my birthday. I knew that something was wrong. I didn't know where you went. You've been gone for the last month. I've missed you so much." There was pain in her voice, the sort of weakness that she wouldn't have admitted a few weeks before. She didn't have that many people she was close too. Adam was the first. He was someone that she couldn't ever forget.
"You're not allow to leave again. I'm not letting you go." Now she just sounded childish but Freya gave no fucks.
It was fine by him if she wasn't entirely listening; he didn't really know what he was saying, anyway. It was just babble, something to get him to settle back into reality. Talking made it more real; it grounded him. So did focusing on everything around him, he realised; so he did that. He focused on the way she had latched onto him, arms tight around his shoulders, her everything pressed against him. He wasn't even sure her feet were on the ground anymore, and that was okay.
He missed her too, he decided. It was sort of an inexplicable dull ache in his chest, somewhere behind his ribs, in one of those most tender bits of him. The ribs were there to protect it, but that hadn't stopped her from worming her way under there anyway.
"I didn't want to miss it. I wanted to surprise you with that gift, and then-" He trailed off quietly, exhaling softly. So rarely did people tell him they missed him. Briefly, he found it hard to breathe. "I'm not going anywhere. Or if I do, I'll give you warning - you can come with next time. Instead of us meeting up like this." As a surprise, unexpected.
Her toes just barely brushed against the ground. It was enough to keep herself balanced and her arms held tightly around him but the moment he moved would be the moment she was just hanging on him.
"I still have it. I haven't stopped wearing it." It was one of the few things that came with her from Medietas. "I found it when I went to look for you. It's how I knew you were gone." Her voice choked a bit but she steadied herself. He was here now and that's all that mattered.
Freya felt the knot in her chest loosened some. A soft laugh escaped her lips and she nuzzled against his collar bone. "Damn straight. If you go anywhere you need to take me with you, or else I'll find you and kick you instead of hug you."
She was happy. It was nice, actually, how much she'd missed him. He'd worried, of course, that he'd be forgotten, that life would move on; he had come to terms with it in the few moments he had alone, when he remembered.
"Good," he mumbled quietly, a faint smile curving his lips. "I'm sorry you found it that way, but I'm glad you found it anyway." At least it hadn't just sat there, untouched and ignored. He didn't have enough customers or clients back at the shop for someone to notice his immediate disappearance, anyway.
He tipped his head a little to one side, resting his cheek against her hair as she nuzzled against him. "I'd like to avoid getting kicked, thanks. But now I know. Can't misstep if I know what to avoid, right?
Freya feared the same thing; to be forgotten. She'd never forget Adam and she wore the belt everyday to remind her. Even here she'd never forget those she knew in Medietas because it was in her memories that people could live on.
After a few moments Freya moved her chin to look up at Adam. "I went looking for you. I would have found it no matter where it was." Since it was the last thing that he'd been touching before placing it down, it was there that his scent had been strongest.
"I'll find other reasons to kick you." Her voice slowly became less tense and she began to tease him. Just happy that he was here. "Yeah, we probably should." She slowly dropped herself back to the ground but kept her arms resting gently on his chest.
"I always forget how tall you are." Freya wasn't short, she was fun sized.
"Good," he murmured, glad that she'd have managed. He thought she would have; of course, he'd have preferred giving it to her with his own two hands, so he could see the look on her face when she got it, but this was a good secondary option. He'd take it. He never thought he'd see her again: it was all gravy from here.
So when Adam chuckled, it was soft and relieved and weirdly reassured. Even he hesitated to let her go immediately, instead lowering her down to the ground and holding her still, almost as though he refused to let go entirely. "Yeah? Maybe it's a good thing you showed up when you did, then. Before you started thinking of me as short or something."
Freya felt his laughter shake threw them both. It brought an easy smile to her lips. Her light storm gray eyes shined brightly up at him as if the two of them were sharing a silent secret.
"I generally thing that everyone is bigger than me." Her tone was light and teasing. "But I'm glad I didn't forget. I don't like short guys." Freya stuck out her tongue momentarily to show her obvious distaste for those who are shorter than her. She was at a height that she expected most of the world to be taller.
Her hands stayed on him as well and as much as she enjoyed touching Adam and being close to him, it didn't seem all that productive. She wondered if she could embarrass him. "If you want to keep holding me we can go back to your place. Or we can keep standing here. I don't really mind either." Her tone was suggestive but light and easy. Teasing was fun and Adam was always a good sport.
She'd never forget the sight of his legs on Halloween.
"Good thing I'm not, then," he said, the words somewhat weighted. Coming fast on the heels of that look, that shining warmth that they shared and the hug, there was no doubt what he might have intended.
Her ideas fit into his own, somewhat. She always had a more teasing tone about her, regardless of what it was, and Adam had always kind of loved that; she made him laugh more often than most people he knew. Even still, it always surprised him, like he didn't quite expect it until it happened. He didn't think he'd ever get used to it.
So his chuckle now was light and surprised, his eyebrows creeping slightly upward. "What, no exhibitionism for you?" A beat; only a beat. It was almost remarkable how quick he was to agree: "Sure. Let's go back to mine. It's not far."
Freya lifted her shoulder sin a tiny hint of a shrug. She couldn't do more since she was all but hanging off of Adam with her arms looped around his neck. "Like I said, I don't mind." Her voice was light and flirting as she slowly released her arms. Her palms traveled down his shoulders and then came to rest on his biceps.
"But I'm okay with your place too." A low amused laugh rumbled through her chest. "You have to put me down first."
He was still hugging her, holding her a few inches off of the ground. She could probably wiggle free of his arms but Freya didn't want to pass up the moment that easily. They were in a stalemate, both a little reluctant to let the other go. Even now, Freya kept her hands on him, as if he'd disappear if she stopped touching him.
"Unless you want to carry me all the way to your house. I'm good with that too."
Adam & Freya - Medietas History + COS Setting
Date: 2017-01-12 08:04 pm (UTC)Lorna had her baby and Freya had slowly begun to open to those around her. It was all because of Adam, he'd been her first real friend and she couldn't stop worrying about him. He was probably somewhere safe but there was no way to know. She always wore the belt that he'd made and her usual black punk pants were now covered in bike grease. Her arms were bare with smears of black while her tank top had a cat in a top hat riding a bicycle on it. Freya felt as if it fit the shop more than she did most days. Her long hair continued to grow longer and she began to tie it back when she was working.
She pushed herself up and looked over at the clock. It was getting late and she should probably head out but she felt more comfortable here. It was one of the few places on the island that she felt comfortable. With a bit of a puff Freya turned and walked to the back of the store and laid down on the couch. She was just going to sleep for a few minutes and then she'll get back to working.
Freya felt a shift, jolting her awake. She's on her feet and suddenly in a different room. Her eyes narrowed at the room around her. "What the fuck?" This wasn't Medietas, she could tell instantly, which meant that she had to figure out where she was... again.
She didn't have her backpack, which pissed her off but she'd deal with that later. She walked from the room and tried to find someone that she knew.
As she walked it felt like the city was pressing down on her, digging it's claws into her. She didn't like it. A familiar scent crossed her path and Freya paused. She pivoted sharply and ran towards the scents owner. It was Adam, it had to be Adam. She didn't know how long she ran but she ran as fast as she could. Given her natural speed it didn't take her that long to find him. When she did she slowed to a normal run and threw her arms around his shoulders.
"It's you! It's really you. You were here. I've missed you so much." She pressed her face to his shoulder and inhaled. She noticed a small difference in him but she didn't care. It was Adam.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-12 08:35 pm (UTC)(Though, admittedly, Adam was good at a lot of things. Exploring was just up there. He had the observational skills that it begged for.)
He didn't have the same skills of pinpointing scent the way Freya did, so he had no warning when Freya ran at him and pulled him into a tight hug. All he knew was that there was an exceedingly familiar voice, and the hug was weirdly comfortable; his hands came up automatically to return it, pulling her in against him. It took another moment, but Adam's brain finally caught up to what was happening, registering that Freya was here. This wasn't Medietas, but Freya was here. Someone who, he realised, he'd thought he'd never see again. The thought only made him pull her in a little closer, as he exhaled softly.
"Hey," he breathed, all intentions of exploring the outer edge of the City now gone. "Hey. Yeah, I'm here. I was on the islands, then I woke up back home, and then- Then I woke up here. When'd you get here?"
no subject
Date: 2017-01-12 08:50 pm (UTC)She didn't want him to vanish again.
"You left. I went looking when you didn't come to my birthday. I knew that something was wrong. I didn't know where you went. You've been gone for the last month. I've missed you so much." There was pain in her voice, the sort of weakness that she wouldn't have admitted a few weeks before. She didn't have that many people she was close too. Adam was the first. He was someone that she couldn't ever forget.
"You're not allow to leave again. I'm not letting you go." Now she just sounded childish but Freya gave no fucks.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-12 09:22 pm (UTC)He missed her too, he decided. It was sort of an inexplicable dull ache in his chest, somewhere behind his ribs, in one of those most tender bits of him. The ribs were there to protect it, but that hadn't stopped her from worming her way under there anyway.
"I didn't want to miss it. I wanted to surprise you with that gift, and then-" He trailed off quietly, exhaling softly. So rarely did people tell him they missed him. Briefly, he found it hard to breathe. "I'm not going anywhere. Or if I do, I'll give you warning - you can come with next time. Instead of us meeting up like this." As a surprise, unexpected.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-12 09:35 pm (UTC)"I still have it. I haven't stopped wearing it." It was one of the few things that came with her from Medietas. "I found it when I went to look for you. It's how I knew you were gone." Her voice choked a bit but she steadied herself. He was here now and that's all that mattered.
Freya felt the knot in her chest loosened some. A soft laugh escaped her lips and she nuzzled against his collar bone. "Damn straight. If you go anywhere you need to take me with you, or else I'll find you and kick you instead of hug you."
no subject
Date: 2017-01-23 01:33 am (UTC)"Good," he mumbled quietly, a faint smile curving his lips. "I'm sorry you found it that way, but I'm glad you found it anyway." At least it hadn't just sat there, untouched and ignored. He didn't have enough customers or clients back at the shop for someone to notice his immediate disappearance, anyway.
He tipped his head a little to one side, resting his cheek against her hair as she nuzzled against him. "I'd like to avoid getting kicked, thanks. But now I know. Can't misstep if I know what to avoid, right?
"You want to get out of here?"
no subject
Date: 2017-01-23 07:43 pm (UTC)After a few moments Freya moved her chin to look up at Adam. "I went looking for you. I would have found it no matter where it was." Since it was the last thing that he'd been touching before placing it down, it was there that his scent had been strongest.
"I'll find other reasons to kick you." Her voice slowly became less tense and she began to tease him. Just happy that he was here. "Yeah, we probably should." She slowly dropped herself back to the ground but kept her arms resting gently on his chest.
"I always forget how tall you are." Freya wasn't short, she was fun sized.
no subject
Date: 2017-03-20 09:18 pm (UTC)So when Adam chuckled, it was soft and relieved and weirdly reassured. Even he hesitated to let her go immediately, instead lowering her down to the ground and holding her still, almost as though he refused to let go entirely. "Yeah? Maybe it's a good thing you showed up when you did, then. Before you started thinking of me as short or something."
no subject
Date: 2017-03-22 02:27 pm (UTC)"I generally thing that everyone is bigger than me." Her tone was light and teasing. "But I'm glad I didn't forget. I don't like short guys." Freya stuck out her tongue momentarily to show her obvious distaste for those who are shorter than her. She was at a height that she expected most of the world to be taller.
Her hands stayed on him as well and as much as she enjoyed touching Adam and being close to him, it didn't seem all that productive. She wondered if she could embarrass him. "If you want to keep holding me we can go back to your place. Or we can keep standing here. I don't really mind either." Her tone was suggestive but light and easy. Teasing was fun and Adam was always a good sport.
She'd never forget the sight of his legs on Halloween.
no subject
Date: 2018-07-13 06:33 pm (UTC)Her ideas fit into his own, somewhat. She always had a more teasing tone about her, regardless of what it was, and Adam had always kind of loved that; she made him laugh more often than most people he knew. Even still, it always surprised him, like he didn't quite expect it until it happened. He didn't think he'd ever get used to it.
So his chuckle now was light and surprised, his eyebrows creeping slightly upward. "What, no exhibitionism for you?" A beat; only a beat. It was almost remarkable how quick he was to agree: "Sure. Let's go back to mine. It's not far."
no subject
Date: 2018-07-13 10:49 pm (UTC)"But I'm okay with your place too." A low amused laugh rumbled through her chest. "You have to put me down first."
He was still hugging her, holding her a few inches off of the ground. She could probably wiggle free of his arms but Freya didn't want to pass up the moment that easily. They were in a stalemate, both a little reluctant to let the other go. Even now, Freya kept her hands on him, as if he'd disappear if she stopped touching him.
"Unless you want to carry me all the way to your house. I'm good with that too."