deercountry | will you be there up on the shore

Entry tags:

will you be there up on the shore

Who: Shiro (

shiro2hero ) & Adam (

saltyadam )
What: A beachside Reunion
When: Early November
Where: The Shores

Content Warnings: Squid-related nudity

Today is one of those days he would have preferred to spend in the Orphanage. It's bitter cold, the sky a solid slab of steel grey, hanging low toward the buildings. Sure, he'd graduated to one of the heavier coats sold around town - but the wing keeps howling through the fabric. Cutting into it off the ocean.

Should have guessed it'd be brutal out here today.

Regardless, Shiro is once again patrolling the shores. He's seen new faces crop up on the network lately. It's that time of the month. He'd promised more than a few people he'd keep an eye out for their loved ones. It's the least he can do, considering he'd failed to bring his own across. Those thoughts aren't going anywhere any time soon. Not even after Vyng yanked him out of the surf and out of his head.

Or out of potential Return Of The Squid anyway.

He stops for a moment, pulling his hands out of his pockets to try and blow some warmth into his left hand. Maybe he should turn around. Maybe he should go back to the Orphanage and play jungle gym for the kids for a while. That'd help.

It looked as if there weren't many new arrivals today. Maybe even the squids were too cold.

One more failure of a day to add to the list, looked like.

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Bewildered would be a mild word to describe how Adam felt as he came to. Boggled, perhaps. Confused. Unmoored.

Salty, he determined, lacking his lips with a grimace.

He seemed to be on a strange beach, a step up from the last time he came to after death seemed certain. Was this the same place or somewhere new?

What was different was a coolness in the pit of his stomach. A seed, just planted, still unsteady, that perhaps this place would be alright. This was where he was supposed to be, it told him. Inexplicable. This was nowhere near where he was supposed to be. He was supposed to be dead.

It's then that he spots movement on the shore. He doesn't register the biting cold as he slides his glasses, blessedly still perched if askew, back down on his nose.

He certainly doesn't feel the harsh grit of the sand against his skin as the figure comes into focus.

Ah.

The seed sprouts, pushing tentatively upward.

His voice is a cracked, rusted thing, but he uses it none the less. Hopes it isn't lost to the wind.

"Takashi... ?"

He almost curses when a sudden, sharp gust of wind blows sand and salt water into his face. It's as if the weather is shooting ice into his eyes. How nice. He has to turn his head, close his eyes, and throw up an arm to shield himself. Does this mean there's a storm coming in?

Heck if he knows. Atmospheric conditions over the ocean weren't something he'd really studied.

When he lowers his arm, it seems as if it actually was a good thing he'd come out here. There's a shape in the surf. One that wasn't there a moment ago. So he squares his shoulders, steps forward...

... and stops dead.

The ice from the wind feels as if it's worked its way into his blood, pooling to pinpricks in his chest. It - has to be a hallucination. Right? It's a new month, so, new horrors? That was their life now, right? It... No, that's his voice. No one else would call him by that name, and none of the visions yet had spoken.

For a long, unsteady moment of silence, Shiro's fairly sure he's stopped breathing.

"... Adam?"

Adam lets out a breath that's at least half of a relieved laugh. They made it. They made it. Together.

"Takashi!" He's more sure if no less steady, something quickly proven as he attempts to stand.

He's wobbly on his feet, but he manages. One foot in front of the other, his body reminding him how muscles work in conjunction with demands from his brain. And he's running, running towards his anchor.

What is his heart doing? It's stuttering, vibrating in his chest and slamming him into inactivity. This would be the cruelest trick of Trench yet. Holding out something he's wanted since he woke, something he'd berated himself for wanting, for losing. But there it is.

There he is.

Covered in sand and salt and running on legs that look fit to give out. Say something, his brain is screaming, his heart is screeching. But all he can do is take a step forward.

Step forward and catch that familiar weight in his arms and hold on with every ounce of strength left in him. The sobbing relief in his voice almost too cracked to identify as a name.

Adam flings himself at Takashi, wrapping his arms around him, burying his face in his neck. Beneath the salt and the sea he'd still recognize the smell of him anywhere.

"We-- did we make it?" He's winded, a little breathless. "Are we both here?"

He has to brace himself. He has to hold on because one of them, at least, has to be sturdy on their feet. Otherwise both of them are going to topple back into the sand. As much as he wants to collapse under the sheer weight of relief, of something dangerously close to happiness, he has to hold his partner up.

Support him until he's got his legs back under him.

"We - we're here," he manages, his voice strangled, aching. His arms are shaking. He's pretty sure the dampness on his face has nothing to do with the spray of the sea. "You came back..."

He presses a kiss to the exposed skin of his neck.

"Of course I did. I told you I was more stubborn than that place, didn't I?"

Adam nearly laughs with relief. He can't remember the last time he felt this much joy. They'd really done it. Both of them here and whole.

But of course for Adam the end had been moments ago. They hadn't been separated for long. All the same the relief gives him more energy than his body has any right to hold.

He pulls back a bit at the dampness, Takashi's tears bringing reality a little closer. Adam cups his face, wedding ring cold against his skin.

"It's alright. We're here. We've got this." No matter what this is, they're together. They can handle anything.

His legs do go weak then. Shaking under him. He'd been so resigned, hadn't he? Resigned to memories, nothing more. Resigned to having lost something they'd finally put back together again. So much so, the one single act of affection makes his legs want to give out. The wall he'd flung up and shoved himself desperately against start to crack down.

"You... you're really here."

He meant to make it more of a statement than a question. But the weariness in his voice makes him sound like a desperate man, begging for the answer to be yes. Even the chill metal against his face isn't enough. He needs to hear the answer.

The circles under his eyes are even darker, the scar over his nose fresh again, as if something had reopened it a third time now. While Adam... Adam looks like those last moments together in the dream.

"I've been waiting... I thought - "

I thought I left you again

Something was wrong. This was his Takashi, Adam knew it in his bones. Undoubtedly the man he'd married at the end of the world.

But he wasn't naked on a beach like Adam was. He was clothed, wearing a coat in fact. Adam's fingers brushed under his eyes like the dark circles were grime he could wipe away.

"I'm here. We're both here. But.." He hesitates, eyes searching Takashi's. "Something happened, didn't it? To you?"

His free hand tightens in the fabric of Takashi's coat. "We were there, then the end, and then I woke up... here. But that's not what happened for you."

Those fingers tightening in the fabric is a stark reminder of their situation. It's not just a reunion, it's one that could turn troublesome very quickly, if measures aren't taken. So Shiro gently steps back, only enough to shrug the heavy coat off, and wrap it around Adam's shoulders. He's got one of those familiar hoodies on underneath - because of course he does.

Something happened, didn't it?

It's only when he's sure he's got the coat in place, that it's some barrier from the wind and chill, that he finds his voice again. That he can lift his gaze again.

"It's - been almost three months..." he manages, hoarse. "I thought - I thought you weren't going to make it."

And it's only when that coat settles around him that he shivers, huddling against Takashi. Sandwiched between him and the coat.

Any comment he might have made about the hoodie dies at his admission.

"Three..." He swallows, tries again. "It's been three months? Takashi, you've--"

-- been here alone for three months. Not friendless surely, but Adam knows this man better than he knows himself. Knows how much he puts on his own shoulders and how reluctant he is to share any burden.

Knows that he would have blamed himself for Adam not being here no matter how nonsensical it was.

He leans forward and presses a kiss to his lips. Sure, steady. Here.

"I made it. It's alright, Takashi."

been here alone

With Lance and Hunk moved out. With Pidge not here. With Allura and Keith gone. Him alone in a house full of ghosts and a city that rendered him next to helpless too many times. He wants to say it's okay. He got through it, but he doubts his face will be believable. Even Vyng had seen it.

He does almost apologize. Right then and there. For not being able to bring Adam across the sea. For not holding on tight enough, not being strong enough - but then his mouth is otherwise occupied. It's warm, it's familiar, and it's real. And it's all it takes to get the cracks to widen, to crumble. While he gathers the one he loves, coat and all, to hold on with everything he can.

He doesn't remember the last time he'd really, genuinely let himself cry. Not like this. Relief, gratitude, the loneliness thrust on him by the Patrons last month... it's spilling out like blood.

Adam presses closer, arms tightening around him. The image of him wearing only a coat while wrapped around him, fiercely protective, should have been absurd.

But that warm rage has settled in his lungs now. No matter what else this place made him feel it had also done this. It had hurt the only person he'd let the world burn for. Now he knew. And he had a long memory.

He presses soft kisses to any part of Takashi he could reach. His neck, the top of his head. Whispered over and over that he was here, it was okay. This wasn't his fault. They'd get through this. They're a team, now and always.

It's probably not the healthiest for either of them. It's too cold for a reunion like this. But it doesn't matter. Not in this moment. In this moment, he needs this too much. Selfishly needs the press of arms and the voice at his ear. Choked up on grief he'd never let out.

If he ever lets go, it'll be too soon.

It's too cold, finally, to keep standing here. The tide should be coming in soon... they should go. They should go. But he doesn't pull entirely away. Not yet.

"We... you - you should get some. Pants. Probably." Get things settled. Get him safe, then they can talk. Then he can explain. That should work, right?

He let's out a breathy laugh. "We've had stranger conversations without pants, but it is a little chilly."

Another kiss, to his mouth this time.

"I'm assuming people don't just walk around here naked because we landed here that way anyway."

"It's November..." he gasps out, exasperated, fond. Endlessly, painfully fond. Teasing like this feels like a dream. Like he's going to wake up, staring at the sky again, on the beach alone.

He'd love to draw out that kiss. To just keep holding him like this. But -

"Here. Button up... I'll get you home."

He's already buttoning up his jacket with a wry twist of his lips.

"I kind of feel like I'm on a dare back at the Garrison." He grabs Takashi's hand, twining his fingers as they walk. "Or like I lost a bet. Hope I don't run into any children while I'm wearing my flasher costume."

He helps, for a moment, making sure everything is properly fastened, that the collar is pulled up as far as possible. Wrapping the belt securely. It may not need to be - he probably doesn't need to be so thorough.

But he wants to be.

"That - we have to tell Will." It's like a revelation. It's finally having good news. His fingers tighten, gently guiding them off the sand, toward the boardwalk. "And Vyng. They've been worried about you."

"Will's here? And Vyng?" Adam brightens considerably at that. Not just because he's happy to see his friends -- of course he is. But these are also two people he trusts to look after Takashi. He knows they'd both always do what they could to keep an eye on him. Keeping him from his more dangerously self destructive urges.

Adam has to look away for a moment, blinking rapidly. He'd have to thank them.

He clears his throat, giving his hand a squeeze. "It'll be good to see them again."

"Will, Vyng, Lance, Hunk, Mako, Wu, Eddie, Varian, Fern..."

Honestly, Shiro might have walked into a pole right there, seeing the look on his partner's face. That lightness. The longer they walk, the more it's starting to sink in. This is real. It's really happening.

His thumb runs along the back of Adam's hand. "You can take your time, if you need to. This is a lot to get used to all at once. We don't need to throw a party or anything."

Edited 2021-11-08 05:23 (UTC)

Adam gives him a fond, knowing glance. "I don't know about a party, but it would be nice to have everyone over at the house for tea and catching up. Sounds like I'm a little behind."

He wasn't exactly the party type, but that was a long list of people Adam cared about. It'd be good to see them again.

He was also getting the feeling that Takashi could use an excuse to celebrate something.

"Just a bit." His shoulder leans in, resting there for a few steps. "Take your time. I know it's hard... waking up here. Harder than before."

In Deerington. In the dream world. The first time he'd woken up from being - well. It didn't bear thinking about. He didn't want to think about it any longer.

"Let's just get you home. Warmed up."

They could talk about what he'd missed later. He trusted Takashi. He'd tell him everything in his own time. But the fresh looking scar on his nose told Adam it wasn't going to be all gumdrops and lollipops. For now they could just enjoy each other's company.

He leaned back, briefly resting his head against Takashis.

"So what is home here? Haunted apartments again?"

"The house."

He lets that hang for a moment, before finally shooting him a smile. Warm, relieved, happy to deliver the news. A shake of his head, a tired little laugh. It feels like it's been ages since a real laugh.

"It followed me. I - Don't ask me how. I was staying at the Orphanage until I just... walked past it one day. Needs a little more work to keep it up, but it's there."

"The ... house from Deerington? Seriously?" If the actual news hadn't lifted his spirits, Takashi's expression would have done it all on its own. There he was. Unburdened, happy.

"Please tell me the air mattress didn't come along for the ride."

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