Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It all started with finding out that there was a vigilante in Evergreen, appropriately named Vigilante. It scared the shit out of you knowing that there was some murderous person out there who seemed to be killing anyone who broke even the smallest law. Some jaywalker had been found cut to ribbons one morning, and another day someone the traffic cameras had picked up speeding through a red light was found shot in their car. You didn't realize how bad it was until you went into the Italian restaurant, Fennel something, next to your laundromat to break a $20 when you overheard the staff gossiping about the latest death. Some bank manager who was on trial for embezzlement was found dead in his home, along with his partners in crime. "It was another Vigilante job, apparently. The security cameras were cut before the murder." The hostess squeaked out, sounding almost panicked when she said that, almost like she was guilty of the crime herself. She looked barely older than sixteen, so there was no way in hell she could even commit that sort of crime. Not if she was working at a restaurant for her first job.

"Maybe the bank guy killed someone, Madison. Personally, I'm glad Vigilante got rid of him so now we're all safe." Your head whipped around to find out exactly who had said that & your eyes settled on who appeared to be a busser, based on the half-full dish tub in his hands, standing there and looking directly at the hostess, Madison, with what looked to you like anger and disbelief. Vigilante had a fanboy, who knew? "The less scummy people the better if you ask me" Fanboy chimed in before Madison could get another word in "But what if I accidentally run a red light like that guy last week? I'm only seventeen, Adrian!" This was going to get interesting fast. Sitting down silently to watch the two argue for a few minutes before clearing your throat to finally get your change so you could do your laundry.

Both of them jumped at the sound of your voice, Madison hastily apologizing for making you wait. "It's okay, promise" You assured her with a genuine smile "I was just wondering if you could break this $20, the change machine at the laundromat only takes fives and ones." You were semi-new to Evergreen, you needed a fresh start after ending a long-term relationship that hadn't made you happy since the beginning. Leaving that loser behind was the best thing you had ever done for your mental health. But now you had to make new friends and create new experiences. Thankfully you were a writer and could work just about anywhere since you always got to work from home.

"Sure thing!" Madison chirped, counting out loud as she counted the change a little slowly, but who could blame her? Numbers suck. You couldn't help looking around as you waited, noticing the fanboy busser, Adrian as you recalled hearing Madison call him. You definitely admired the guy for being able to work semi-peacefully with a teenager. You'd never really liked teenagers, even when you were one. He had to be around your age, roughly late twenties.

Trying to not stare when he heaved the full bus tub up with ease, you turned your attention back to Madison, fairly certain that Adrian had seen you looking at him. “I appreciate it. Hopefully, I won’t be back to break a bill again & actually remember to get what bills I need for laundry. Or save for a washer & dryer so I don’t have to go to the laundromat anymore.” You rambled. Now you had to actually leave before they started to judge you for not being able to shut up. "Anyhoo, see you guys around" Raising your fingers in a salute, you turned and left, hearing Madison mumble "Old people are so weird" on your way out the door.
Shoving the change in your pocket while you went back to the car to get your laundry and headed into the laundromat with your airpod knock offs connected, portable charger ready to go, you put on a podcast to listen to while you passed the time between loads being switched over, thinking about the weirdo from the restaurant. Why had he defended Vigilante so eagerly? And why had you been so impressed by the way he lifted that full bus tub onto his shoulder? You couldn't get that image out of your mind for some reason and it was driving you insane. So much so, that your Fitbit picked up your heart rate increase while you were sitting there, listening to two strangers talk about American Girl dolls or whatever.

Little did you realize that Vigilante fanboy, Adrian, had noticed you too, and had heard everything you told Madison about the laundromat. After his shift ended, he made his way to his car, conveniently parked close to yours without him even realizing it. He could see everything through the big window, watch everything you were doing. That was creepy. But he couldn't bring himself to look away while you sat on top of the laundry counter, singing along to some song he couldn't hear, swinging your legs and aggressively pointing your finger like you were at some punk show and not doing errands.

This wouldn't be the last time he'd see you, he decided. It couldn't be. Not when you were so intriguing.

Chapter Text

That same night you’d encountered Adrian, he sat in his car watching you sing along to your music, fascinated by the way you got into the energy of whatever was in your ears. Intrigued by the weird way you folded towels, and the fact you made sure your socks were perfectly lined up before you rolled them into a ball. He’d almost been tempted to offer to help you take the over filled laundry basket to the car about two and a half hours after he’d started watching you, deciding that it probably wasn’t a good idea. But you had gotten in your car without noticing he was there, connecting your car bluetooth while putting the earbuds in their charging case and he couldn’t take his eyes off you and how you moved in your space.

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing when you turned the volume up and you were listening to Chemicals React (A&A version). Based on your little performance inside, it didn’t seem like the kind of music you’d like. It was so soft and gentle sounding and you had seemed angry while listening to music. Shaking the surprise off when you started to pull out of the parking lot, he decided to follow a safe distance behind to make sure you got home and inside okay.

He watched you get out at your apartment complex, grab your laundry out of the backseat and sigh at the sight of laundry detergent sitting on the floor that you decided you could take it up tomorrow when you finished work. You situated your keys between your fingers for safety’s sake after locking the door and walked as briskly as possible to the door, thankful your neighbor was leaving and holding the door open for you. Damn. He was half tempted to go look and see what your name could be on the intercom. Maybe later. He had other things to do tonight.

Days had gone by since your little outing. Done with work for the week just after one pm, you decided to try that Fennel whatever place. Partly because you liked Italian food, partly because you couldn’t stop thinking about Adrian. You decided you’d go for dinner, that way you would have time to take a little nap and then shower with enough time to wash your hair and put makeup on. Closing the blinds & your blackout curtains, you got under the blankets and fell asleep as soon as you got comfy.

After you woke up, showered, and blow-dried your hair, you picked out an outfit that wouldn’t bring you too much attention. A black long-sleeved dress, with black knee highs & boots would do, you decided. Subtle makeup, black eyeliner, and your favorite red lipstick, and your hair in a half-updo. Double-checking everything was in your bag before heading out, you couldn’t help the butterflies in your stomach. This was a busboy you were getting worked up about, for fucks sake. One you’d seen in passing no less. But a crush was a crush.

You pulled up in front of the restaurant, hands shaking a little while you touched up your makeup with a little light setting spray, ignoring your phone screen lighting with a text that simply said

“I miss you, can we talk?”

You were inside before you knew it, making your way to the host stand and praying to whatever powers that be that the host was NOT Madison and some kid you’d never encountered. “Just one?” They asked, looking over your shoulder in case someone else was going to join you. “Just one.” you confirmed, keeping your eyes fixed on them & looking at their name tag with a quick glance. You followed them, keeping your gaze fixed at the back of their head so you wouldn’t be noticed looking around for Adrian. “Your server will be right with you.” You sat, nodded and glanced at their name tag for a refresher

“Thank you, Jess. I appreciate it”

Now that you were seated and completely alone in this section, you had to stop yourself from having flashbacks from when you worked in a restaurant for a very short time. The gum under the tables was enough to make you want to pass out. But you were here on a mission. Well, not a mission. You just wanted to look for the person you couldn’t get out of your head, with his goofy little busboy hat that you definitely didn’t notice brown curls peeking out from the hat. And his wire-rimmed glasses were reminiscent of a serial killer from the seventies or an accountant who hadn’t left the time period. Really, you were infatuated with someone you didn’t even speak to. And there wasn’t really a chance he’d come by your table if he was working this evening, because your section was empty.

Adrian was definitely working tonight, and he definitely saw you come in. He had no reason to be in your section once you were sat though. No one else had been sat there in an hour and there was nothing to do there. So he’d bide his time and wait for you to need a refill of whatever you were drinking. You seemed like a pink lemonade kind of girl to him, based on what he’d noticed about you. You shocked him once again when your server brought you an unsweetened iced tea with a lemon wedge. First the pop song, now this drink. What other things about you were complete surprises?

You’d gulped down your drink, not realizing how thirsty you were, in more ways than one. “Can I top that off for ya?” A familiar voice broke you out of your thoughts. You had been extremely focused on fishing the lemon out of your tea to eat the sour fruit “Oh! Yes please, thank you. Let me just get this lemon out.” Giving it a final stab with your straw, you finally took the lemon & placed it on a napkin before placing your glass back down for him to fill

“You’re the laundromat girl from the other day, right? You sound like her so if I’m wrong, honestly I’m gonna be fucking annoyed. Not with you though! With me because I’m trying to get better at recognizing voices that aren’t my BFFs.” He talked fast. You decided it was cute and you liked it. He had green eyes, you noticed. “Yeah, I’m laundromat girl. You’re Adrian right?” You weren’t even looking at his name tag when you asked, looking at his face with intrigue. Trying not to stare at his strong jaw, you looked back at the table and poked at your lemon wedge with a fork.

He decided you were pretty. And a little weird for wanting to keep your lemon. Most people didn’t even acknowledge the lemon in their tea. “Yeah, I’m Adrian. What’s your name? I can’t keep calling you Laundromat Girl. Even if Madison does and she thinks you’re weird. I don’t though.” He was definitely talking too much, so much that even Adrian, who usually didn’t realize he said too much, noticed. A dark flush crossed his cheeks “Well, I guess I’ll see you around!” He started to walk away, stopping and turning around to smile a wide smile at you when you told him your name. That smile was going to get you in so much trouble one day. You didn’t care though. You liked this guy and it had been a while since you’d liked anyone.

Adrian had never been so giddy, not since Chris got out of prison to work on Task Force X.
He knew your name, now he could stop calling you Laundromat Girl in his head. He decided he’d cut out early for the night, timing his clocking out with when you left and claiming it was some sort of emergency with his made-up girlfriend Sharon Osbourne, not the one married to Ozzy though. That usually worked. No one seemed to want to talk about her, for some reason. Oh well, now he just had to tell his manager and then he’d be out as soon as you were ready to go.

You checked your phone before you got up to leave, ignoring the text you had gotten when you pulled up earlier. That was a problem for tomorrow after you’d have a strong coffee, preferably with a little Irish Cream in it. On your way out, you felt someone else’s presence next to you. A comfortable presence. “Hi!” Adrian chirped, hands in his pants pockets as he walked next to you. “Hi again, off early?” You had gotten to Fennel Fields around when dinner should have been busy, and you hadn’t been there more than an hour, an hour and a half max. Alarm bells went off in your head, telling you that maybe, just maybe, this guy was a little off.

“Yeah, it’s kinda slow and we’re overstaffed tonight.” He was lying, hoping to get you outside before you noticed how not slow and understaffed the place actually was. But he had to. He wasn’t going to let you go without at least having a conversation with you. You made him feel things, things he didn’t like admitting to feeling. He liked being detached, it made his life easier. But there was just something about you that threatened his detachment and you got to him in all the right ways.

“Oh yeah, I get it. I used to work in restaurants and my god, being understaffed was horrible. I had to do everyone’s jobs and didn’t get the pay for it” You laughed, shaking your head at the memory of your shit restaurant jobs. Adrian didn’t laugh, however. Just looked at the way you laughed. It was a genuine laugh, you had to laugh because if you didn’t laugh at the time, you would have cried.

You looked at your phone, sighing with exasperation at the missed calls and unread texts on your screen. “Who’s that?” Adrian raised an eyebrow at your reaction. Did you need to tell him it was your ex? No. “No one important, it’s nothing. Just someone I left behind who can’t accept it.” And like that, you changed the subject and found yourself having a long conversation about everything and nothing with Adrian in front of your car.

“Shit, it’s getting late. I need to get home & feed my cat. She’s probably pissed at me.” You’d been talking for almost two hours and it felt like five minutes. “Give me your phone, I’ll give you my number in case you ever want to hang out and chat when we’re both off work.” You extended your hand, fully waiting for him to give you his phone. Shocked at how assertive you were, he unlocked his phone, pulled up the keypad, and watched as you tapped away at his phone & called yourself to save his phone number. You were fascinating to him. “I’ll see you later, Adrian. Have a good night.” you flashed a smile before getting in your car

“You too!” He called before the door shut, hands back in his pocket to fish for his own car keys.

He was definitely going to make sure you got home safe tonight. Why risk that someone like you could get harmed on the way home, or anywhere? He had to keep an eye on you from here on out. And now that he knew your name, it made it easier to know which apartment was yours. Just in case.

Chapter Text

"Dude shut the fuck up about this girl! You met her, what, one time? Put that shit in your spank bank so we don't have to hear about it." Chris almost yelled, interrupting Adrian mid-sentence. Adrian hadn't stopped talking about you since that night outside Fennel Fields, driving everyone around him off the wall. It had been tolerable at first, meaning the first hour. It had been two weeks since that day and he would always find a way to bring you into the conversation, based solely on your text conversations. He'd been bummed that you hadn't been able to hang out since that night but your schedules conflicted so much that neither of you had the time. Not that it stopped him from doing patrol in your neighborhood immediately after he got off work. If you didn't have such an early work schedule, you might have noticed the masked weirdo in a kevlar suit lurking around your complex and occasionally, climbing a tree to see into your apartment window. To make sure you were safe, of course. He'd noticed your cat, and your cat had definitely noticed him sitting in that tree.

"Bold of you to assume I haven't already done that," Adrian replied, grinning when everyone voiced their disgust at the thought. "Besides, we're supposed to hang out tonight since I told Sylvia that I'd report her for coming to work high if she didn't switch shifts with me tonight." Weed wasn't illegal anymore so Vigilante couldn't do anything about Sylvia, but not coming to work high had to be some sort of corporate rule. Ignoring Chris' vocal disdain for hearing about you, Adrian went right back to texting you while on his way out for the day.

I just have to go home and shower, workout was really intense today. I'll see you there!

Replying to his text with a soft smile, you went back to focusing on your hair. You'd slept with braids in your damp hair after you showered last night and now your long hair had a controllable wave to it but you didn't want to leave it hanging around your face. Another half-updo would have to do. You were only supposed to be going to the arcade, there was no need to be dressed up. But here you were in a cute little dress, sweater, and your cutest shoes. Your phone screen lit up again, unfortunately, a text from the very same person who had caused you to move to Evergreen. Once again, asking you if you could talk. Normally, you'd have blocked him since you weren't answering. But the desperation was kind of hilarious in the most pathetic way. Swinging your bag over your shoulder on your way out, making sure your keys were in hand before locking your apartment door and heading out to the arcade.

Adrian had beat you to the arcade even with his shower and almost tripped over his own feet when he went to greet you. You were even prettier than he remembered you being and you’d definitely sent a selfie or two during the last two weeks. “Are you ready to get your ass kicked by the arcade master? I sure hope you prepared cuz I’m really good at like, all the games,” He started to ramble again but you didn’t mind it. You didn’t really talk a lot anyway. “I’ve beaten all the claw machines. Those are totes rigged but you gotta know how they’re rigged so you can beat the system.”

You nodded. That made sense, in a way. “But how are you at Dance Dance Revolution? Because I’m actually the queen of that game.” now you were lying. You hadn’t played that game since sixth grade at a birthday party. That was like saying you were good at mini golf, a total lie. “How about whoever has the least amount of tickets at the end of the night has to use them to buy the other person whatever they want with their measly tickets? Like an eraser or one of those dorky little alien things you put on your fingers?” You noticed how he tensed up at the brief mention of aliens, shaking it off like it was just an aversion to them. After all, you were still creeped out by the ones from X-Files.

“Deal, I can’t wait to see what kind of fucking lame eraser you pick out.” He laughed, leading the way to the token machine so you two could play games to your heart's content, all the while hoping you weren’t as good at Dance Dance Revolution as you claimed to be.

The pair of you had been playing for hours, not even close to bored when your phone rang. “Sorry, I thought I turned my do not disturb on when I got here…fucking fuck…I gotta take this.” you were pissed. Your ex had decided to call you and since everyone could hear your loud ass ringtone, you couldn’t ignore it. “I’ll be right back” Rushing outside to talk so you didn’t disturb anyone any further than you had.

Adrian followed, frowning deeply at the way you seemed so distressed by this phone call. “I told you, leave me alone. I don’t want anything from you. Ever again…yes I’m serious!!!! I left for a reason??? You were a dick to me, why would I stay??? Go to hell.” You snapped into the phone before hanging up, shocked to see Adrian standing in front of you looking concerned.

“Everything okay? Don’t lie.” He seemed like he cared. So you told him everything, everything about the shitty relationship you’d left behind you and hoped would have stayed behind when you moved here. About how your ex was bothering you for the last month about getting back together and begging you to come back home. How you’d ignored him until he got pissed off and called. Adrian nodded along while he listened to you vent, calculating a plan in his head to make this guy pay for this. “But don’t worry about him, he doesn’t know where I live now and I’m changing my number soon.”

Biting his tongue to stop himself from saying that he’d kill anyone who ever made you this distressed again, he nodded once more “Cool beans, let’s go back and play some games cuz I’m kicking your ass.” He put his hands on your shoulders, turning you and directing you back inside. Not before noticing your ex’s name on your phone and giving himself a mental reminder to look the guy up. A visit from Vigilante might make him leave you alone. It wasn't like he didn't have a perfectly good reason.

That fucker would pay for making you upset

Chapter Text

Much to Adrian’s chagrin after you’d both gone home for the night, your ex didn’t seem to have a digital footprint. He considered shelling out some money for one of those background check websites but the rent was due soon and he’d rather not be homeless. So the creep was put on the back burner for now. The fact he was trying to find someone who hadn’t committed a crime, that he knew of, solely for the sake of that person hurting a girl he had met twice had him a little concerned. This wasn’t normal Vigilante behavior. He only killed people who committed crimes. Usually. Unless he and Peacemaker accidentally killed the wrong person. It happened more than Peacemaker liked to admit. But that was part of being a hero! No one cared when Superman was responsible for multiple civilians dying. He’d put a pin in this and come back to it.

On the other hand, you were doing everything you could to pretend that the phone call had never happened. Aside from that moment when Adrian took you back inside to help you forget. That had given you butterflies in your stomach. But it had worked wonders. You’d played games for hours, getting burgers after. The whole night felt like a dream aside from those five terrible minutes. You didn’t make immediate plans to see each other again but it was definitely up in the air. After all, you still couldn’t get that image of Adrian lifting that bus tub with ease out of your mind. You had to find out just what else he could lift that easily. But in all honesty, it kind of bummed you out that he wore a sweater when you saw him outside work. You knew he had nice arms, and you liked nice arms. The weather wasn’t exactly warm in the Pacific Northwest so it’s not like he had a summer wardrobe to your absolute dismay. But there was also a new concern on your mind. Your cat had a new habit of staring out your window at the tree outside every night, and she’d never done it until a few weeks ago. Maybe she was adjusting in some weird cat way to a new environment. And she was doing it again, making you squirm with discomfort. “Come on, Parsnip. Knock it off.” Picking up the black ball of fluff off her cat tree, you carried her off to the bedroom where you hoped the two of you could relax and watch some Criminal Minds before bed. But the moment you settled down under the covers with Parsnip on her pillow next to you, she immediately turned to stare at your bedroom curtains.

Fuck. The cat had spotted him AGAIN. She stared and stared at him, freaking him out with the way she didn’t blink. Did this cat get the fact Adrian was only trying to keep you safe? Cats could read minds, he was sure. That was a known fact in the animal community, or so Peacemaker said. But why would he lie to Adrian about that? No, it had to be a fact. Praying you couldn’t see him through your slightly open curtains while you bickered one-sided with said cat. Maybe you could read the cat's mind, and that’s why you were arguing with it. Or you were crazy but you hadn’t seemed crazy the times you’d hung out or texted. That couldn’t be it. But he couldn’t stay here all night, he had other places to patrol. Thank fuck you fell asleep watching tv within the hour. But you left the lights on, which would let just about anyone know that you were home, more than likely by yourself. There had to be a way for him to let himself into your building just to turn off the lights so you were safe. That’s it! He’d buzz a random apartment number and say he was the pizza delivery guy until someone let him in. With all these apartments, there was no way that someone wasn’t ordering pizza. After about twelve or thirteen tries, he was in. Quietly making his way up to your door, praying to whatever God or gods might exist that no one would see him all decked out in his Vigilante suit. He didn’t want to have to kill anyone to keep his identity safe, at least not in your building. Thankfully he made it up to your apartment unseen and stood at the door for a moment, opening a compartment on his utility belt where he had lock-picking supplies. He never knew when he’d need them, they’d worked wonders in the past. That bank guy had been the last target of his lock-picking skills.

Fuck, fuck FUCK. He’d forgotten about the stupid cat in his mission to get inside. Parsnip was sitting at the end of the hallway, glaring at him. Only glowing green eyes were visible in the mass of black fur. Adrian silently shut the front door, lifting his finger to his lips as if to tell Parsnip to keep quiet and not give him away. She looked like one of those soot things from Spirited Away, if he remembered that movie correctly. Walking slowly, just in case the floor creaked, he made his way through the apartment, looking at the way you had everything organized in your spaces. The coffee table was covered in magazines and catalogs, the couch was draped with blankets for when you wanted to work in the living room and couldn’t be bothered to not be comfy. No tv, you had said you watched shows on your laptop so why get a tv? Who needed this many mugs?? It looked like you had every seasonal mug from Target as well as a stash of reusable cups with cartoon characters on them. The one that caught his eye was a custom Harry Styles cup. Your taste was all over the place, and you were confusing him at every turn. “Stop staring at me.” He hissed at Parsnip, who followed him in every room he went in, her fur bristling when he finally made his way to your room. You were fast asleep, curled up with the blankets pulled up to your face. It was fucking adorable. Getting his phone from yet another compartment in his belt, he took a picture of you sleeping, something he didn’t even consider to be weird, creepy, or stalkerish. Careful not to move anything as he looked around your room, he couldn’t quite understand the appeal of the sun & moon tapestry above the bed. But your space was your space, it didn’t have to make sense. Finally, he closed the curtains all the way, shut your laptop before putting it on the bedside table, and turned your lights off, making a point not to let the cat out when he left and to not be seen on the way out.

If stealing wasn’t a crime, Adrian knew he would have stolen something from your apartment as a little memento of you for the days that you wouldn’t see each other. It had been a few days, and he missed you. Maybe he’d come inside and keep an eye on you from now on. That would probably work, but he needed to know when you got up in the mornings on work days and when you went to sleep if you didn’t work the next day. That way he couldn’t get caught and you wouldn’t have to worry about being safe. You lived alone, you needed protection. It only made sense that he would want to keep you safe. It was fine, honestly. He’d have Peacemaker take the later patrols so he could learn your schedules. BFFs have to help each other after all.

You woke up the next morning, confused as hell. If you remembered correctly, you’d fallen asleep watching tv on your laptop, with the lights on. The lights were off and your laptop was put away somewhere you never put it. Had you done all that in your sleep? Or in a 2 am haze? But when you went to the kitchen to make coffee, something was off. Your mugs were disorganized from how you had put them away the night before. And the front door was unlocked?? Rushing to lock the door, you started to check every closet in case some rando was hanging out, waiting to attack you. But the closets were empty, everything was moved, but they were empty. Checking your purse for your wallet, all your cards and ID were there. Checking the bank and your credit card apps, nothing was charged either. Who the fuck broke in just to move your shit around??? Of course, there weren’t cameras to see who had been in and out of the building overnight. But you were gonna be late to log on to work if you didn’t make coffee, and you needed coffee. And fast, something to distract from this creepy-as-hell situation. Once the coffee was made and you had a quick breakfast, you got your computer and started working for the day, almost completely forgetting that someone, some stranger, had been in your home.

Flopping on your bed at the end of the day with your phone in hand, ready for a nap as you pulled up a sleep playlist on your phone to help you drift off, the screen lit up with a text from Adrian.

Got the night off tonight, are you free later?

Beaming as you replied, fighting back sleep to respond to this text before you fell asleep and left him on read.

I just got off work, I’m definitely free later. Gonna nap and shower first but I’ll let you know when I’m up and ready ☺️

Okay, so the cat hadn’t snitched on him. You hadn’t said a word about Vigilante being in your apartment last night, so either you didn’t know or you were waiting to hang out to mention it. Clearly, you could talk to cats based on what he’d seen last night so the cat doing him a solid mean he owned the damn animal. So be it. But Adrian wasn’t going to chicken out on seeing you tonight. Normally he’d go ghost, not risk getting closer. But you were special. He had been drawn to you since that night you had first walked into Fennel Fields. Was it fate? Was fate real? He sure didn’t fucking know but it was worth a shot. You were going to be in his life regardless. Nothing was going to change that, not even Chris insisting that it was weird that it was outside your apartment most nights until you went to bed. He was protecting you from any randos who might try to hurt you. A preemptive strike, you could call it. The thought of you, along with the thought of killing someone who had tried to mess with you made his cheeks flush bright red. Maybe he needed a cold shower. It wouldn’t hurt, that’s for sure. And hopefully, you’d reply by the time he’d get out of the shower.

You woke up about two hours later, warm & slightly grumpy but rested. You needed a cup of coffee after you got in the shower to help keep you awake. You were done with work for the next few days, your job needed people to take a few days off while it was in the slow season and you had unlimited PTO, thank god. Maybe you’d extend this little vacation to a week or so you could really thrive. That was an email for tomorrow though, no more work thoughts for the day. Grabbing fresh clothes from the dresser, you hopped in the shower, curating the perfect playlist while the hot water warmed up. Once you were fresh, clean, moisturized, and half-dressed, hair wrapped in a towel, you put on a pot of coffee and continued getting ready while you waited for it to be ready. Not sure what the plans for the night construed of, you went with light makeup, leaving lip color off until you finished your coffee. But you looked good, wiggling into an oversized Soundgarden t-shirt without messing up your face and letting your mostly dry hair down. Looking in the mirror before taking a mirror selfie, an idea pops into your head.

Would it be okay if you pick me up? I completely forgot to get gas and I don’t get paid until tomorrow. I’ll venmo you gas money when my check hits, cross my heart. Here’s my address if you can, just buzz and I’ll let you in

You sent your address in a separate text with your apartment number in it, tossing your phone aside while you sip your coffee. The phone screen lit up almost immediately after you tossed it aside, but you resisted the urge to pick it up immediately. A minute or two passed before you picked up, smiling like an idiot at the reply to your request

Of course! I’ll be there in like, half an hour, forty-five minutes TOPS. You don’t need to send any money, but hey I can’t stop you from sending it

🧜

Was the invite to pick you up genuine or a ruse? Thoughts were racing around Adrian’s head like crazy. Had you figured out that he was the one who came into your apartment? Why else would you invite him over?? Who doesn’t fill their car with gas before going home anyway? But he’d answered and given you a timeframe of when he’d be over so he couldn’t, no, wouldn’t bail on you. His heart wouldn’t let him bail on you but his head was screaming to stop being so stupid and potentially risk everything. It was a good thing for you that he never listened to his head outside a mission or patrol. Maybe I’ll get lucky tonight was the last thought he paid attention to before taking a quick shower and getting changed to go pick you up for whatever he had planned.

You’d finally finished getting ready and spent the last ten minutes before Adrian was supposed to be over tidying up like crazy, while also making sure your apartment would be safe while you were out, in case the creep who broke in decided to try again. You weren’t going to risk it.

Topping off Parsnip’s dry food and swapping out her water dish for a clean one, giving her fresh water from the filter because she was as particular about her water as you were. Filtered or nothing. You sat at the dining room table so you wouldn’t get cat hairs on your clothes, waiting patiently for the buzz & Adrian’s familiar voice saying he was here, reading some bullshit article on your phone. Another few minutes passed and you almost jumped out of your skin when the buzz finally went off. “Hey! It’s me!” he chirped from downstairs. Buzzing him in almost immediately, you smoothed your clothes, hurrying to put on your favorite nude lipstick before he came up. You were moving things from your purse into a more casual mini backpack when he knocked on the door. Don’t rush to the door, don’t look desperate you told yourself as you finished moving your wallet and blotting tissues. After a minute or two, you opened the door, giving Adrian your most dazzling smile. “Hey there stranger”

He’d been in your apartment before, sure. But not formally, not with you beaming at him in the doorway, inviting him and tugging him inside by the wrist, making his heart stop for half a second at the feeling of your hands touching his. What even was this feeling? He was giddy, insanely so. “I was thinking we could go bowling or laser tag or something. Is that okay? I mean it doesn’t have to be, Chris always says it’s kid shit but I don’t see why it has to be for kids cuz kids can’t shoot a laser gun for shi-” Stopping his rambling when you took his face in your hands, confusion clear in his eyes.
“I’d love to do either one, we can flip a coin for it when we get to the bowling alley, or we can do both since they’re in the same building?” you answered, keeping his face in your hands, taking in every detail of his face while you spoke. Smiling up at him, moving your hands from his face to grab your bag and keys “Let’s blow this popsicle stand and have some fun”

He took a moment to recover, nodding when he finally became unfrozen. “Both would be fucking sick. Ladies first” He ushered you out the door, casually slipping the spare key from the dish by the door into his jeans pocket. He was planning on making a copy so he could drop by again when he didn’t have the time to see you and return your spare unnoticed. Protecting you would be easier if he didn’t have to sneak in. And of course, he’d see what your code into the building was when you came home. It was all for your safety, of course. Obviously. This was all for your own good.

Chapter Text

The drive to the bowling alley had been fun, Adrian had given you control of the aux and you were playing your liked songs, exposing your taste in music. It varied from 2000s pop punk, 80s pop, ABBA, Disney songs, and some Fleetwood Mac. It wasn’t what anyone who saw you on the street would expect. Not with the Soundgarden t-shirt you were wearing. You were mainly chatting, catching up on life and what boring shit you’d both dealt with the last time you’d seen each other. “I don’t care if tipping isn’t a custom in England or wherever that guy was from, you shouldn’t stiff your server here! So I dumped a pitcher of water on him for being rude to Jessica.” Adrian shrugged it off like it was no big deal like anyone would have done the same. But you were impressed. When you had worked as a server, for those brief few months, you never had any of your coworkers stand up for you when a customer was rude or stiffed you on a tip. The staff at Fennel Fields had no clue how lucky they were to have someone willing to stand up for them. You were listening to him intently, eyes wide when he glanced over at you during a red light. “Is there something on my face? Oh my god, there’s something on my face isn’t there???” His hand moved from the steering wheel to his cheek, panic starting to set in, you had to grab his wrist and place his hand on the wheel “There’s nothing on you, I was just listening to you while you talked. I’m a good listener.” His cheeks turned bright red as the light changed, desperately hoping it wasn’t obvious that you made him blush by something as simple as listening to what he had to say. Chris & everyone else on the team, with the exception of Adebayo, always told him to shut up during a story. You listening to him shouldn’t have been so new to him.

“Thank you. We’re here.” He cleared his throat a few minutes later, after he’d fully processed the situation, and pulled into the parking lot. Once he’d parked, he practically jumped out of the car to get your door for you. He might be a little odd, but he was a gentleman. It was only good manners to open doors for a date, after all. You smoothed your shirt, extending your hand to him after.

His first instinct was to shake your hand, but you knew each other already. Why would you need to shake hands? That’s when it clicked, you wanted him to hold your hand. Duh, Adrian was his next thought. Why hadn’t that been the first thing he thought of? Damn him for being polite, he supposed. Taking your hand with a goofy smile, he led the way into the bowling alley, holding the door open for you. He’d already decided he was going to pay for everything, but you pulled out your wallet from your bag and paid for bowling and laser tag before he could even grab his wallet from his jeans pocket. “It’s the least I can do after you picked me up because I didn’t put gas in my car.” you shrugged, shoving the wallet back in your bag. That was when he noticed the cashier guy or whatever was looking at you a little too long for his liking. Creep. Hopefully, the jackass would realize and move on to the next person after you two, but Adrian, ever the surveillance expert, noticed that guy, Brandon or Brendon or some shit based on his name tag, kept his eye line on you after you walked away to go get your bowling shoes. Brendon Brandon was going to have a close eye kept on him for the rest of the night, that’s for sure.

You practically skipped back to Adrian after getting your shoes, tugging him along to get his shoes so you could actually play a few games before doing laser tag for the rest of the night. “You got serious all of a sudden, did something happen?” Snapping himself back to reality, he gave you a smile that you weren’t all too sure of. There was something off about him now, but if he didn’t tell you what was wrong, that was fine. He didn’t owe you an explanation “Just a little tired, I’m fine now. I had to turn my brain off for a little bit so I could have enough energy to kick your ass at bowling.”

Turn off his brain to conserve energy? That was a first. For a human, anyway. A kid you used to babysit had told you once that dolphins slept with half their brain awake or some shit like that. Kids always remember weird shit like that, who knew if it was even true. But who knows, maybe Adrian was genetically engineered to be part dolphin. You never know with capes & shit like that. “Okay, well I bet you can’t beat me at two games. And besides, there’s that saying about being good at bowling.” Playfully poking him in the chest before you continued “You’re either good at bowling or you’re good at sex.” Leaving him to take in exactly what you meant by that while you went to find a good bowling ball and going to your assigned lane, tapping in your display name into the system. You decided on PARSNIPSMOM because your brain shorted out on anything else, for some reason. Waiting for Adrian to come down to the lane, you looked around for him and saw he was taking his time with picking out a ball. Eventually, he made his way to your lane and punched in his own name ADRIAN1991. “Fuck you’re old.” You teased. You were only a couple of years younger than him, but calling him old was hilarious. “Oh like you’re so young. Not that you’re old, but there’s no fucking way you’re that much younger than me.” He retorted, green eyes glinting behind his glasses, a hint of mischief in his voice. “Besides, I’m not calling myself anyone’s mom.”

Oh, it was on. “Parsnip is my cat! I’m her adoptive mom, duh. Now who goes first?” You stood up, bowling ball in hand, and ready to go. “Ladies first.” He stepped aside, watching you as you swung and the ball almost immediately made it into the gutter. If what you had just said about being good at bowling was true, he was starting to hope you were terrible. And that he was even worse.

You ended up playing three rounds, the second round ending in a tie of 3 points each. You’d lost the first round and he’d lost the third. “Are you playing badly because of what I said about being bad at bowling?” You asked after you returned your balls and shoes and went to get an ice cream before going to play laser tag “What? No! I’m just competitive and hate losing, but I’m not a sore loser in case you didn’t notice.” He said after taking a bite of his ice cream bar. “So we’re going to be on the same team for laser tag? Because I’m competitive and a sore loser” You beamed over your own ice cream, keeping your eyes on his while you waited for a response. He nodded, wincing before he could say anything

“Brain freeze…” he forced out. Taking his ice cream from him with a swift movement while he rested his hand on his cheek, you had some good advice “Press your tongue to the top of your mouth, it helps” Waiting patiently for him to recover so you could hand him his own ice cream back, you extended your hand. “Better? I’m almost done so when you’re done, let’s get started for the best half of the night.”

You were bossy. He was used to bossiness from Chris & Harcourt. But your bossiness was different, more out of what seemed like concern rather than the chance of him fucking up a mission or something. You didn’t want him to shut up like they did. You enjoyed listening to him talk, you’d said so earlier in the evening. So when it was time for laser tag, he let you lead the way and decided on what color you’d be for your team. There was no teal, so green was the next best option, obviously.

Unsurprisingly to Adrian, your team won every game you played. You, on the other hand, were a little (okay, a lot) surprised by his skills with a laser gun. He never missed a single shot he made, even using one hand to pull off the winning shot of the last round. Almost like he was a trained marksman. But when you asked him, he just said that he had played laser tag for a really long time. And you didn’t press him because those alarms were going off in the back of your head when you thought about it too much. He took you home, walking you to the door of your building. “You can come up if you want to.” You offered, hiding a yawn behind your hand. “Not tonight, you’re yawning. And I have to make a late-night grocery run before the store closes.” He wanted to come up to your apartment, but he was going to do patrols after he went to the store. He wouldn’t be able to leave if he went with you. Watching you key in your code, memorizing those four numbers for the next time you fell asleep with the lights on. “Good night, Adrian. Let me know when you get home, okay?”

Those fucking butterflies in his stomach came back when you asked that of him. No one else ever asked him to let them know when he got home. “I will!” Frozen in his place, he watched you go inside, mentally kicking himself for not even giving you a kiss goodnight. He’d remedy that next time. Next time, he’d go up with you. But now he had to put the good of Evergreen first.

He was in the grocery store self-checkout line, waiting for the next available register when who did he see but Brendan Brandon from the bowling alley. That motherfucker was everywhere, wasn’t he? Glaring at the guy, Adrian noticed him put a few things in his grocery bags that definitely had not been scanned. And they weren’t exactly things that he might let slide as necessities, like toilet paper or bread. It was more like soda and cake. That was definitely a crime. Good thing Adrian kept the Vigilante suit in the trunk of the Sebring so he could change into it in a dark alley because Brendan Brandon had it coming. But he had to tail him first because Adrian had perishables that needed to be dropped off before going on patrol.

After tailing the thief, Adrian zoomed home to put his own groceries away, tell you he was home and change in the dark parking lot before going to where he’d been following Brendan Brandon. The fucker was leaving his apartment and going for a walk, it looked like. Turning on Hey Stephen (Taylor’s Version), Adrian picked up the speed when the thieving, leering perv was close to his destination and rammed into him at 85 miles per hour, making the guy scream and curse at the top of his lungs. 'Cause I can't help it if you look like an angel playing over the speakers while Adrian made the decision to back over this jackass, just for good measure. Can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain Driving off before his victim could get his plates, laughing with pure joy over Getaway Car coming on shuffle immediately after while he went about his night. He got his revenge, all thanks to the fact he saw the man he hated commit a minor crime. Now to check on you and make sure you were asleep.