mila (listentoteeth) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2021-08-27 08:00:00 |
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Entry tags: | #june 2018, adrian, adrian x mila, mila |
Who: Mila and Adrian
When: Morning-ish, Sunday, June 17th
Where: Home
Status: Complete
After a fun night with Aaron, Adrian, and Kat, Mila had been able to fall asleep quite easily. She got through the night without any nightmares, so she was feeling good when she woke on Sunday morning. Aaron had to help open the bar, so after he left, Mila poured herself a cup of decaf and wandered out onto the back deck to sit and think for a bit. As far as she knew, Adrian was still sleeping, but now that they were alone in the house, she wanted to talk to him a bit. There were things on her mind that she didn’t want to tell Aaron about, mainly because she didn’t want to worry him when she wasn’t entirely worried herself. Aaron was just so happy these days and Mila wanted to keep it that way for as long as she could.
She left the back door open to keep an ear out for her brother, hoping he wouldn’t mind spending a bit outside with her before he got on with his day.
Adrian was still plagued by nightmares though admittedly they weren't as frequent now that he felt safer. It had still become a daily ritual almost to seek his sister out once he woke up, just to reassure himself that whatever horrors had happened in his dreams weren't real. It wasn't too effective when she was at work, but finding Aaron sleeping soundly was good enough. He hadn't had one of the bad ones today but it still felt right to track Mila down when he had dressed and brushed his teeth. Making sure his family was safe was instinct now, especially when he could no longer hear their heartbeats as frequently as before the ritual.
She was easy to find with the back door open and he stepped outside with a little smile, that small nagging worry quieted at the sight of her. "Morning," he murmured. "Can I get you anything from the kitchen?"
Mila looked up at Adrian as he came outside and smiled. "No, I'm good." She held up her coffee mug. "There's coffee in there if you want some. Will you sit out here with me for a minute? I want to talk to you about something." Knowing that sounded worrisome, Mila wanted to say something to reassure him that it wasn't, but she had no idea if that was really true or not. Mostly she wanted an ear to listen and she trusted Adrian more than anyone else in her life, save for Aaron.
It wasn't too worrisome, not when there were about a thousand things for them to talk about. Adrian was working on getting his job back so he wasn't about to get his own place yet but if Mila wanted him to move in with their parents for a short time, he would. If she had some other problems, he'd try to fix them too. There were so many things wrong but he didn't feel too bad about it because it actually felt like he could dig his way out this time. "I'm good," he said in reply to her offer of coffee, then moved to sit down next to her. "What's on your mind?"
Mila took another sip of coffee, mostly to buy some time as she sorted out her thoughts. She didn't want Adrian to think she was crazy. Then again, if anyone would believe her, he would. So she settle her coffee cup on the arm of her chair and focused. "You know how I can... tell when someone isn't quite human? How I was able to sense that in you, and then Caius D'Onofrio?" And many others, if she was being honest, although none of them had been terribly scary. Maybe because she knew so many people in this town and after what she had been through, it took a lot to terrify her now. "Well... I'm feeling that now. With the baby." Her hand moved to her stomach to rest protectively.
The way she said it was almost casual, no discernable worry or sadness. It made Adrian entirely unsure how to react and he frowned softly in confusion. "Okay?" he said, hesitant to really comment. The only reasons her baby could be something other than human were dark, but either she wasn't scared or she was doing a hell of a job covering it up. "What do you- do you have any idea what that means?" He glanced down at her hand on her stomach, another indicator that she was not too upset about it, but then again she was a mother to be and mothers could be a little crazy about their kids.
"Well," Mila said slowly, glancing down at her stomach. "It means she's not fully human. But I don't know what else she is. I changed when I went into that tunnel and I guess I should have known that it would affect whatever kids I had. I was just hoping..." She trailed off, squinting thoughtfully for a moment before refocusing on Adrian. "It's not just the tunnel either. I lost the first baby because of dark magic. Maybe that affected me too. This probably sounds like a lot and I'm not trying to overwhelm you or anything. I'm just scared and I don't really know what to do." There was probably nothing to be done at all, but just saying these things out loud was helping a little. It was becoming too difficult to keep everything bottled up.
That was a lot at once and Adrian shifted a little closer to her, resting his hand on her stomach, right above hers as if he could maybe pick up on something from the tiny fetus within. "What dark magic?" he asked first and it was troubling to hear she was afraid though he tried to tell himself she could be afraid of the unknown, not because she was doing some Rosemary's Baby stint here. "Can you tell how she's not human?" The thought that he might have infected her somehow crossed his mind, but he really was just one of many strange things in Mila's life and her experiences had been supernatural and life altering before he even got home.
"A witch," Mila said simply, trying not to shift uncomfortably in her chair. She couldn't give Adrian details, but it had been hard, holding all of that inside of her while still dealing with healing from what she had been through. There were things she wanted to shut away in her mind forever, but they kept picking those locks and finding their way back in. Mila knew she would be able to move on from it eventually. It just took time. "I don't know exactly what she is," she admitted, slipping her hand over Adrian's. "But it's not demonic. I know what that feels like. I just..." Mila licked her lips and took a breath. "What if something from the tunnel is still lingering inside of me? And now it's inside of her too?"
That did not sound good at all and Adrian found himself using the same expression he used with patients all those year ago, where he had to look calm even when the situation was anything but. "If it's lingering inside of you, it hasn't really affected you," he said quietly. "Do you think it could be the same for her? Like it's just a piece of shrapnel you can't get out but it doesn't really change you? Maybe she'll just be able to tell humans from non-humans like you. That wouldn't be so bad."
It was something Mila had considered but hearing Adrian say it too made her feel a little more confident that it could be true. She relaxed and huffed a soft breath through her lips even as she smiled at him. "Yeah, maybe that's it. I don't think I'm going to know until she's born. But I'm just... a little nervous, I guess. I don't want to tell Aaron. He would spend the rest of the pregnancy worrying, you know?" Adrian's hand was still on her stomach and she glanced down at it. "You can't... tell anything, can you? Her heartbeat still sounds normal and everything?"
"Yeah," Adrian said because he didn't have the heart to tell her he couldn't hear it anymore. "But you're the one with the gift." He thought about the nightmares he'd been having and how easy it would be to give in to fear that some of them were going to come true. He had to remind himself that he didn't have the gift of prophecy, he was just traumatized and his brain was being a jackass. "And you'll get regular sonograms and you'll see she's perfect." He moved his hand on top of Mila's and gave her a little rub. "Does it feel like anything you've felt before? Anyone else? At least she'll fit right into the family." The last bit he said with a little roll of his eyes; they really were a messed up little bunch.
Mila didn't think what she could do now was a gift. She didn't want to know that her boss had demonic blood, or that the woman taking her money at the grocery store was a witch. She just wanted to be normal again, even though she had long accepted that was never going to happen. Laughing softly, Mila shook her head. "It doesn't feel like anything, or anyone, I've felt before, no. But I don't know if that's because she's different, or because she's still growing inside of me." Mila's smile grew softer. "How are you feeling?" He seemed to be in much better spirits since Caius helped him and it seemed like he'd had a lot of fun the night before at the marina and then dinner. It thrilled her that he seemed happy again and she wanted that to continue.
Adrian was more than okay with the subject change and maybe in some way it could help her feel better too, knowing that even a lost case like him could do better. "I'm amazing," he said with a growing smile. "Just... I've been starving for years and now I'm not. I feel human. That boss of yours could charge a lot more for what he does." He'd hated the price when Caius put it up, but now it made sense. He just wished he could easily pay it and more. "So I'm gonna drive up to Portland tomorrow night, dad's friend has an apartment I can stay in for a couple of nights, gonna meet my old boss again and get my papers sorted." He sighed contently and gave her a warm smile. "So we're both doing good now. It's possible."
Hearing that Adrian felt human brought a broader smile to Mila's lips. She would have hugged Caius had he been there, despite knowing that he wouldn't have enjoyed or appreciated it. Adrian's words reminded her that Caius would expect payment, so she made a mental note to stop by his office on Monday and give him some money. Adrian wouldn't want her to, but he needed to get his footing again, and owing someone a large sum of money wasn't the way to start a new life. "Do you want me to go with you?" Mila asked, taking her hand in his and giving it a squeeze. "It makes me nervous, thinking of you driving to Portland alone."
"Why?" Adrian tittered. "I'm not a shitty driver, you know." He did appreciate the offer, it could even be nice having company, but he was trying to imagine Mila hanging around in waiting rooms or somebody else's apartment while he met with people and that did not sound like a good time for her. "I don't mind being alone," he told her a bit more seriously. "Then I don't have to worry about you while I'm in there talking to my old boss and paperwork people." He gave her hand a little squeeze back. "I'll be back in no time, promise. Might go visit Simon's sister while I'm there, Josh's widow lives in Portland too." That was going to be hard and he had a bad feeling he'd chicken out before he got there but it was something he wanted to do, eventually. "Well, girlfriend. They weren't married yet."
Mila's smile faded when Adrian explained his intentions and she realized that sometimes she forgot that Adrian hadn't been the only life lost in the woods that weekend. The others were truly gone. They weren't coming back the way Adrian had. "I think that sounds like a good idea," she murmured. "I think they would be happy to see you." It made her want to go with him even more than before, but Mila knew there were some things Adrian probably felt that he had to do on his own. "Promise you'll text me when you get there, at least? I know I sound like mom, but I'm just... I want to make sure you're okay."
"I guess you need to practice your mom voice," Adrian teased her with a glance at her stomach. "Might not work if she's psychic though. You'll say one thing and mean another, like you don't really care that she has cookies before dinner but you gotta be a mom about it. You'll give her all these mixed messages. Me though? I won't have to worry about that, I'm gonna spoil the shit out of her." There were other things he'd need to worry about a psychic kid picking up on in his brain but since he was joking he wasn't going to fret about that now. Maybe she'd just be like Mila, picking out humans versus non-humans. It would make her dating years safer, at least.
Mila couldn't help but laugh a bit, imagining her kid calling her out for saying one thing but thinking another. As funny as it was, she really didn't want a psychic child! At least not one who could read her thoughts or feelings. But she also knew that Adrian would be an amazing uncle. Probably much more attentive and loving than her other uncles. It was a sad fact, but a true one. "You didn't promise," Mila pointed out with an arch of her brow. "Text me to let me know you're okay while you're there. Please."
"I'll text you every day," Adrian said with a roll of his eyes. "And you can text me whenever you want." She wasn't being irrational, that was the problem. He'd already gone missing, leaving her traumatized and terrified, wanting to know where he was at all times was the rational response to that so he gave her hand another squeeze and leaned in against her momentarily. "I'll be back before you know it and you'll wish I'd stayed away longer." Not that there was a lot of privacy in the house for her and Aaron, not with both him and Roxy sleeping over.
Mila knew she was being overprotective, but she couldn't help it. She had spent five years thinking her brother was dead and now he was back and she was terrified of losing him again, especially after he had gone missing and needed rescuing from that horrible facility. What if people were still after him? What if he disappeared again? The panic had begun to rise in her chest and Mila immediately inhaled deeply to try and calm herself before she completely lost it. She hadn't had an attack in a while now and the last thing Adrian needed before he left for Portland wad for his sister to have a meltdown. Tightening her grip on his hand, she let the physical touch ground her before finding her voice again. "I just want you to be okay," she managed, forcing a small smile to her lips. "When are you leaving?"
"Sometime tomorrow night," Adrian replied. "I like driving at night, less traffic." He wondered if it would be different now, if he wouldn't see as well in the dark as he had before the ritual. Oh well, headlights were there for a reason and he remembered liking being out and about at night well before the incident. "I'll be okay," he promised. "I won't take any stupid chances or go any bad places. Just straight to Portland and back. Now traipsing about in the woods or picking up strange hitchhikers. Promise."
Mila nodded, telling herself that Adrian was capable of handling a simple drive to Portland. If he was going to get his life back on track, he didn't need her smothering him with worry. "Okay," she conceded finally. "I'll just apologize in advance for how many texts I send you." Smiling, she squeezed his hand. "We'll have dinner tonight. A pre-celebratory thing. I promise I won't cook. Maybe Aaron can grill some steaks or something." She considered inviting their parents, but it might be less-stressful for Adrian if it was just the three of them, and Roxy, assuming her friend would want to eat with them.
"You can text non-stop if you want, just don't freak out if I don't reply right away," Adrian said with a little titter, hoping she knew he didn't mind it at all. If anything it was grounding to have that connection, a constant reminder that he was home, that he was safe and he was loved. "I might be driving or in a meeting so keep that in mind, please." Or sleeping or showering or a number of things, he just didn't want her staring at the phone and imagining all the terrible things that might be happening to him. "And I can cook - or make side dishes if Aaron fires up the grill. It sounds good."
Mila laughed. He knew her too well. It was likely that if she texted Adrian and he didn't respond swiftly enough, she would probably panic. But Adrian was right. There were reasons why he may not be able to reply right away and she needed to remember that instead of letting her mind shift to the worst case scenario. "I won't freak out, I promise. I'll text Aaron and see if he wants to grill tonight. You can be in charge of the sides and I'll pour the drinks." She could do that much, at least. Mila wanted to try and learn how to cook so she could feed her daughter something edible. "Do you have any other plans for the day?"
"Jesus, Mila," Adrian snickered, his thoughts going in a similar direction as hers. "I'm gonna have to try to teach you how to cook if I'm not gonna live with you when your baby starts eating solids." He crinkled at her then shook his head. "No solid plans. Gonna mow the lawn for mom and dad, and yours if it's not stepping on Aaron's toes." The last thing he wanted was to take on some jobs Aaron felt were his responsibilities, he knew damn well how that could go over. "How about you? Other than growing a whole human being, you got plans?"
Mila rolled her eyes, but huffed out a small laugh. "I can mush up vegetables just fine," she said, even though she wasn't entirely sure she could even do that right. But she would try! And she wouldn't say no if Adrian wanted to try and teach her some basics. Their mom was such an excellent cook and Mila couldn't quite understand how she hadn't inherited any of Maria Moretti's skills in the kitchen. "Aaron won't mind if you mow the lawn," she added, her gaze drifting over the grass. "And even if he did, he wouldn't say so. I need to do some laundry and I might take Roxy out for lunch, just to see if that helps her get her mind off of things. I know it's late in year for it already but maybe I'll buy some flowers and seeds or something and make a garden out here. I might not be a good cook but I can grow things, right?"
Adrian could easily imagine this garden in bloom with all sorts of pretty things, maybe even a little vegetable patch or some spices. Fresh basil to cook with? That didn't sound bad at all. "I support that idea," he said as he looked around. "I can help you set it all up when I get back, before I start working." It would give him something to do and it was another way to repay her for everything she'd done for him so far. These days he felt like he owed everyone a lot and it weighed him down as much as it made him feel loved. "You should start planning it, let me know what we're working with."
Mila brought her coffee back up to her lips, her gaze still on the back yard. She would have to find the right place to put a garden. It would need a spot with plenty of sunshine. "I can do that," she said, smiling now. She doubted Aaron would mind them digging up the yard, especially if it gave Mila and Adrian something to do together. "Right now though, I think I'm going to go take a bath. Relax a bit before I get started with... whatever I decide to do today."
"That sounds like a good start to the day," Adrian replied and got to his feet, leaning down to press a kiss in her hair. "You need anything and I'm over at mom and dad's, you just call me." It was nice not to have to rely on a beeper anymore, to just have a cell phone that wasn't in his name so he didn't feel as paranoid about some survivor out there tracking him down. On some level he was certain there were no survivors, that whatever that monster in the woods was had taken them all out, but that was probably wishful thinking. It wasn't something he wanted to think about now anyway because that line of thinking brought him down a dark path of worry and despair. "I'm gonna get some water, want me to bring you anything? Or are you heading straight up?"
Mila shook her head. "I'm going to finish my coffee out here." She was glad he was going to visit their parents, even if it was to mow their lawn. It felt like things were slowly shifting back into something that resembled normalcy. As a thought occurred to her, Mila reached up to grip Adrian's hand. "Oh! I meant to ask, did you enjoy yourself last night? You and Kat seemed to hit it off." Sure, she hadn't witnessed any sparks between the two herself, but Adrian seemed to have had a nice time. Mila hadn't wanted to interrogate him about it when they got home last night, since she had been tired, but now seemed as good a time as any to ask what he thought of Aaron's sister.
Adrian gave her an amused smile but for a second it was tempting to just flippantly tell her that he was into guys. Just like that, no big deal, no deep conversation. That's what a lot of people did these days because it shouldn't have to be a big deal in the year 2018, but apparently it still was for him and he couldn't bring himself to say it. "I like her," he said instead, though his smile said that that probably didn't mean he was going to date her. "She's good company."
Mila studied him, a very faint smile playing on her lips. She knew his smile well enough to understand. "She's great," Mila said, squeezing his hand. "And hopefully you two can become friends, as well as family." If Adrian hadn't felt that spark with Kat, then she wasn't going to push it. It was worth a shot though. Mila just wanted the people she loved to be happy and in love like she was. It was probably super annoying to everyone else, but she didn't care. She wouldn't have survived without Aaron loving her the way that he did and her healing had been easier because of it. Maybe she felt like Adrian needed the same. "Go mow," she said, releasing his hand. "Give mom and dad kisses for me."
Adrian wished he could build more on that friendship and sometimes he really thought that if he just focused enough, he'd find that spark he needed given time. Wasn't everyone a little bisexual? He shook it off and leaned down to kiss Mila's head again. "I've got my phone and I'll have the headphones in so you can call if you need anything, aight?" She wasn't the only one who fretted over her sibling's safety. He ruffled her hair a bit before leaving her there with a last little smile in her direction.