adam "now he's a spooky 10" lynch (parrish) (tamquam) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-03-31 09:54:00
Ronan Lynch
Adam Parrish
WHO Ronan Lynch, Adam Parrish, and a sleepy appearance by Opal WHERE The attic at the Barns WHEN A few days after the Vulture attack WHAT Opal is still clingy after the attacks, so inside the protective pillow fort, Ronan and Adam discuss being safe and protections for the future STATUS Complete! WARNINGS None!
The week had not been a particularly good one. There were always dangers that lurked in the forest that surrounded the Barns, but it was rare that they managed to cut through all the carefully crafted wards, barriers, and otherworldly security systems, dreamt or otherwise. Adam couldn't help but feel a little shaken by how close they could have lost everything because Vallo decided to bite back.
But Adam was not a person to sulk around in his feelings—not outwardly, not where people could catch him—and so he went to work; fixed the things that required his attention, and took care of the pieces that would make everyone feel safe again. He had told Persephone he didn't know how to be a protector, but there had been a part of him that hammered sharply with the need to protect after everything.
Not everyone was like Adam though. And Opal had not eased up with her clinginess since the attack. A strong sense of deja vu, from those first days she had stayed at the Barns after being taken from Ronan's dreams, consumed him. Adam was better equipped now, no longer awkward with his offered comfort.
So tonight he suggested that they build their own protective space. A new one, where Opal had control of when and where things went. This was how she and Adam ended up in the attic, using boxes and old chairs and an incredibly tall lamp, to build a blanket-pillow fort where Adam promised, no one can hurt you up here.
By the time Adam heard the soft creak of someone climbing up the ladder, Opal had fallen asleep against Adam's arm. He slowly put the book he (conveniently) brought upstairs down, and quietly ushered Ronan into the cozy-but-small makeshift tent.
"If she's not going to wake up now," Adam whispered, "then I think I might be stuck here for the night."
Ronan had actual to-do lists these days. It was completely fucking dumb. But when things like the Vultures came along and screwed everything up, he had to manage his time closer than he would’ve otherwise. It hadn’t made anything easier that Opal had been reluctant to leave his side all week. The only time he could convince her to ease off had been to send her Adam’s way. He might’ve felt bad about that if he didn’t know how good Adam was with her and how good she was for him.
He hadn’t seen her in at least an hour by the time he finally wrapped up the shit he had to get done today, no exceptions, and come to think of it, he hadn’t seen Adam either. He’d done them both a favor and showered before he’d come looking though. The attic was only the second place he looked, so he figured that counted as some kind of I know my boyfriend points.
Closing the attic door, Ronan crawled into the fort on his hands and knees. The sight he found, and Adam’s quiet comment, froze him in place for a moment. There wasn’t much light up here, but they’d never taken down the Christmas lights he’d hung up here for shits and giggles. Between that and the tall lamp, there was a soft, colorful glow to the space and Adam’s elegant features looked ethereal and utterly touchable at the same time.
“I don’t think she’s slept in days. Probably couldn’t wake her with a marching band,” he murmured. Carefully, he squeezed in next to Adam and brushed a hand over Opal’s tangled hair. “I shouldn’t be surprised you did this,” he gestured around them. “It’s smart.”
Adam's expression was soft, watching Ronan gently smooth down Opal's hair. She stirred but didn't wake. But it was enough so that Adam was able to extract his arm before it completely fell asleep. He squeezed Ronan's shoulder, then settled it back around Opal. It was such a caring gesture, one that didn't even cause Adam to have a hangup anymore—he just did it.
"I figured," Adam said slowly, his attention drifting from the slumbering Opal to his softly lit boyfriend beside him, "when you don't feel safe, you need something or someone you know is. It took her a long time to get into the pond to swim, this is just the same thing. Kind of." Adam had made similar promises to Opal then too—nothing could hurt her, he wasn't going anywhere, they would conquer her fear together. How many times had he wished for someone to whisper that same mantra to him when he had burrowed under his blankets as a kid?
"Couldn't let there be more insomniacs in the house, you and Gansey are enough," Adam teased, reaching for Ronan's hand. "There might be a couple of nights like this up here, until she feels like she's feeling tough enough to kick us both out."
Ronan’s memory drifted to the same moment at the same time, though he couldn’t know that. It was hard not to look at Adam with Opal and think of him lit in golden summer sun, shirtless and handsome and teaching a dream creature how to stay safe. Ronan had never been good at staying safe; it was the whole reason Opal existed in the first damn place. But Adam was a master at surviving. And he’d always made Ronan feel safe.
Ronan kissed Adam’s shoulder and settled back against a pile of pillows and boxes behind him. “She can stay as long as she wants. I don’t want her back out in Cabeswater until we’ve gone a few days without a Vulture attack anyway.” He’d had to keep Chainsaw even inside this week and the amount of dream creature stress at the house was at its peak. “Same for Chainsaw, who’s probably going to be more fucking annoying about it, let’s be honest.”
Adam took up where Ronan left off, running his hand over Opal's hair. He nodded in agreement, before adding, "They are both going to be at each other's throats unless you bribe them with trash." He grinned at Ronan, knowing that was just rewarding bad habits.
He continued, a little more serious, "But Opal understands what's going on. This fort might even help take off some of the stress. Somewhere she can hide away while still inside." Adam knew instinctively that despite Opal's current moods and fears, there was still a feralness to her that would grow restless of the attic and the beds and the normality of them. She couldn't stay forever, but she couldn't truly leave if they didn't have a plan.
He took a moment to rub at the bridge of his nose, trying to gather his thoughts. Adam spent so much time trying to think through the worst-case scenarios—he hadn't been prepared for monsters to break through their layers of security.
"I'm going to ask Cabeswater to keep the wards up. It already protects itself and us, why not the whole property? I worry it might be draining but I think—" Adam said, flicking his hand half-heartedly, dismissively. "Being here? In Vallo? I don't think it will. I think it wants something to do." Adam's expression went somber, looking at Ronan, his brows creasing in concern. "I need to make sure you're safe too."
Ronan snorted and rolled his eyes. “So I can have Gansey ride my ass about encouraging their bad habits?” He tipped his head, like he was mulling that thought over a second time. “Okay, maybe. We’ll see how stubborn I feel.”
Listening to Adam talk about Cabeswater and the Barns in a protective way was one of Ronan’s favorite fucking things. He watched him with a soft stare until he reached out to catch Adam’s dismissive hand and pulled it to his mouth.
“We can give it a shot.” He kissed Adam’s hand between sentences. “Just don’t fucking forget you and Gansey are tied into it too and I need you to be safe, not stretched too thin or getting all kinds of weird magic feedback.” He fit Adam’s hand between his, massaging the roughened pads of his palm. You’d never mistake Adam Parrish as someone who didn’t work for a living, even with regular dreamt lotion involved. “Just saying, I think we did okay this time. It was chaotic but we handled it, right?”
Once his hand was captured between Ronan's, Adam quieted, watching him with both intense heat and gentle fondness. It should have been frustrating, the way Ronan tended to throw the same worries and concerns Adam had right back at him. Adam's self-preservation skills were still something to be desired, but his stubbornness often made it a battle—only one could win.
"A test, a little piece outside to make sure there's not magic feedback, but I can do it, without harming anyone, I'm sure of it," Adam conceded, which would not have been so easy a few years ago. He would have taken it as a slight, as a way to tell him he wasn't good enough or strong enough or capable enough. But he knew Ronan, and Adam knew that was not what he meant.
"And we did. You did. You and Gansey did. I'm not going to be swinging a sword like that any time soon," Adam said, curling his fingers around Ronan's as he continued his massage. Adam added softly, "I was scared. I don't do well with chaos so close to our home."
“Sounds smart,” Ronan agreed plainly. But then Adam could’ve said he had a complicated test in mind and Ronan likely would’ve said the same. He had no intentions of stopping a magician from working his magic with the forest he was bound to; he only wanted to make sure his overachiever boyfriend didn’t push too hard at the expense of his own health.
“I didn’t love it either.” His eyes rolled and he threaded their fingers together. “Okay, maybe I loved a little of it, but I’d have preferred it wasn’t here.” There was no denying that Ronan Lynch needed a little chaos in his life. Chopping off monster heads was a little high on the scale and Blue and Noah had gotten hurt, so this was far from fucking perfect as far as sating his need for reckless abandon. He hated that Adam had been scared though. The Barns was always meant to be a place where he felt safest. He looped his free arm around Adam’s shoulder and pulled him in close.
“We try some new shit. We’ll figure it out,” Ronan vowed.
Adam went easily into Ronan, wishing he could curl up closer to him, and stay safe in this fort too. It was a ridiculous thought, one bred of giving into childish things that he had often denied himself when he was younger, but he still wanted. And Adam still had difficulty voicing his wants. Instead, he laid his head down, deaf ear against Ronan's shoulder, and took in the hazy comfort that had swallowed them up by blankets and pillows. Opal made a sleepy noise and rolled over, but still didn't wake.
"Aren't I supposed to be saying that to you? We'll figure it out?" Adam asked, not unkindly. He reached his hand around to Ronan's cheek, dragging his head down so he could kiss his other cheek without lifting his head. After the Vulture attacks, it felt like forever since they had some true time alone. Granted Opal was between them but this was the best they were going to get for now.
"The new shit might be dangerous though," Adam reminded, nosing at the underside of Ronan's jaw, the length of his neck. "It's getting to be a lot, and I'm willing to take some risks. We're going to have to. We can't rest on other people to always do the work." He frowned, but it was hidden away against Ronan's shirt.
"I'm going to start training with Toph with the totem. I have Cabeswater running through me—" The forest seemed to perk up behind his chest at the mention, "—it might be easy to have the two things work in tandem. Be offensive, not just the wards." Adam did not sound as certain about this as he wanted to when he said this.
Ronan grunted wordlessly but the way his body sagged against Adam’s said the words his mouth hadn’t managed yet. I trust you. I believe in you. “I suppose you should get a turn being offensive,” he joked.
Opal stirred in her sleep and reached with a small hand, curling it over Ronan’s shin. She mumbled something about ‘stupid birds’ and started snoring in practically the next breath. Ronan snorted. God, this shit was domestic. He wondered if his parents had ever sat up here with one of them, like this. They must’ve but he couldn’t remember. His childhood memories were such a mess sometimes. It was nice adding this one here though. Between wrapping Christmas presents with Gansey and tucking away inside a pillow fort with Adam, Ronan was starting to think the attic was made for hallmark moments.
“Can’t wait to see what shit you pull off, Parrish,” he smiled. “Don’t let Toph boss you around too much. I’m sure she’s been itching for the chance.”
Adam nipped playfully back at him about being offensive. "I could start swearing more. Tell more people to fuck off—" He said the last part quieter, feeling Opal adjust herself in between, then fall promptly back asleep. Adam had lifted his head to watch, ready to soothe away any of that momentary confusion of where they were. But it was unnecessary, and his attention drifted to that soft look Ronan had instead.
Domestic was a good word for what they were doing, but it was more than that. Somehow bigger than Adam could comprehend. His words were all tangled in his throat, this swell of emotion that Adam had difficulty voicing. He wanted to say a million things, but then realized nothing would feel right, and before he even managed out Ronan—his boyfriend was beating him back to the conversation. The moment wasn't lost, but Adam didn't know when it would come again.
"Like I would let anyone boss me around," Adam said, matching Ronan's smile back. "Depending on where we practice, you can come watch if you want. But if you start heckling me from the sidelines, I'm going to get Toph to teach me how to put you in a sinkhole."
“Swearing and a sinkhole? Sounds like a hot date.” Ronan flashed a shithead grin. There’d been a look in Adam’s eye for a moment that felt heavy - meaningful - and he worried he’d missed a step but everything still felt easy and safe. Felt them. He rested his head on Adam’s shoulder and stared at a sagging pillow fort wall opposite them. It let some of the Christmas light glow through so he didn’t feel any need to fuck with it.
“You’re not allowed to tell me you’re not good with kids ever again, just so you know,” he whispered. “I know she’s different, but...still. Look at this shit.” He gestured around them and stretched out his legs to get more comfortable. It was a little impossible at his height but he was stubborn enough to try anyway. “Might fucking fall asleep here myself.”
The unspoken rules of the fort, and sleeping Opal, wouldn't allow Adam to argue with Ronan despite the counterpoint on the tip of his tongue. Ronan had been the one to say it—Opal was different. She arrived nearly fully-formed, and these lapses in agency (being scared, being lost, being trapped in a barn when it was snowing) were just the same situations any adults could get into. Adam was simply teaching Opal better coping techniques. It did not make him good with kids.
But Adam sighed instead, signaling that Ronan was wrong, but he wrapped an arm around him as he laid on his shoulder and decided this was better.
"Don't mess with my fort. We worked for a long time on this. I told her you'd be jealous because we made it small enough to have one other person, her choice," Adam teased, re-inspecting their work. Quilts and sheets and pillows with childhood pillowcases on them. Soft and gently used, telling a story of a childhood Ronan had, and maybe another child in this house would have again. Adam leaned in, pressing his lips against Ronan's temple.
"I'll help you make one too. You'll just have to share with other people. And there's storytime involved, which is technically just my sociology homework. But it will put you right to sleep. I think it's something we all need after the other day."
“Hm,” Ronan hummed, pleased and mock-wounded all at once. He didn’t move away from Adam’s mouth close to his temple. “Seems like there’s plenty of room for me in this one. Just might have to...squeeze,” he said, purposefully timing the word to manhandling Adam and Opal to laying down. His psychopomp grumbled wordlessly and flung a skinny little arm over Ronan’s neck. He, in turn, looped one over her shoulders and around Adam’s neck.
“You can bore me to sleep with your homework anyway, if you want,” he smirked. He’d never admit, but he was tired. The Vultures and Easter prep had left their mark. Now that he’d laid down, there wasn’t a chance in hell he was getting back up again. He yawned and his eyes shut for a long moment. “I’ll still love you,” he mumbled sleepily.
Before Adam could even be surprised by the sudden movement, he was laying down, facing Ronan with Opal squished between them. This was not the first time they had ever been in this position, but it was the first time Ronan was falling asleep faster than him. Adam reached across to run a reassuring hand down Ronan's cheek, before slipping around to fit his hand over his ribs. It was a tangled mess of limbs, but Adam felt safe. And that was the whole point of this, right?
His whole expression warmed at Ronan's words, and Adam let his eyes close too. If they were sleeping up here, he might as well give in. "And because I love you," he mumbled right back, "I'll spare you having to listen to the three paradigms of sociology. You're already good at understanding conflict theory."