bakerstreet | Mistletoe Meme

Mistletoe Meme

Huh... There's a mistletoe right above you... Well, I guess it is less than a month away from Christmas. And it looks like you got stuck right under that mistletoe with someone else. And you both can't move until you kiss one another (~~Of course, not specifying where that kiss needs to happen~~).

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[ It's not so much that he doesn't want to be there as it is that Ronan has no idea what a normal Christmas is supposed to be. Christmases at the Barns were never the same from year to year, which shouldn't come as too big of a shock to anyone in the know about who (and what) they were. When his dad was killed, things were completely derailed for daily life, nevermind holidays. But at least Gansey was there to pick up the pieces, where he could, and to put up a shitty but enormous tree in the middle of the first floor of Monmouth Manufacturing.

Then again, from where he's sprawled in his tacky new pajamas - covered in some black and white bird that's making a variety of stupid faces - he's pretty sure the residents and guests of Fox Way have no damn idea what a normal Christmas is supposed to be. Blue's family apparently has some tradition about Christmas Eve and new pajamas, and Gansey had been charmed by it, to the point that even Ronan was wearing the ones that Blue had shoved at him with a contradicting sly-yet-tentative look.

But, again. He's wearing them.

His eyes track his friends and the various psychics around the house before he gets up, aiming to slip out of the sitting room and head into the kitchen. He can hear Chainsaw's familiar kerah calling for him from the room, so he doesn't think twice about a leisurely stroll away from the main festivities - and, (un)fortunately, stepping into the doorway the same moment Adam does. ]

Not fleeing already, are you Parrish?

[ christmas is a near laughable idea for adam parrish, though perhaps that's not that unusual amongst his group of friends. or, at least it is for gansey, for blue, even for ronan for a time. they had love, and maybe that had been what adam was really jealous of all along. his family was these three other boys and blue, now. as fragmented as it could be (as it had been, while adam struggled with cabeswater, while ronan struggled with himself) adam loved them fiercely. he wouldn't trade them for anything. not an ivy league scholarship. nothing.

he just worked hard enough to be like them, to continue being involved instead of a moon outside of their orbit. self-made, self-styled, that was adam parrish, and christmas was not usually involved in those plans. he never asked for gifts and no one got him any for fear of upsetting him (upsetting him? walking on tiptoes, like gansey had said, more like.) but he couldn't seem to say no to blue.

he could never say no to blue.

besides, the gesture was so meaningful and so...giftlike, so unneccessary that he accepted, bashfully, even if the joke among her family would never die. still, this christmas has left him feeling a little awkward, so he'd gone to make his escape and.

got caught under the door with ronan.

adam pauses to answer him, gaze flicking up and down the ridiculous pajama pants before he starts to open his mouth, easy, calm. ] Just thirsty. [ but, when adam tries to take a step out of the doorway, he realizes he can't.

he glances up over their heads and mutters a swear. seriously? seriously? ]

Sure, yeah. [ Where the others tiptoe - because that's what it is, that's always what it's been - Ronan just heads on through, admittedly a little more calm than usual but still not gentle. Like the concept of Christmas at 300 Fox Way, it's not that he doesn't care about Adam's feelings. (Hilarious!) It's not that he's insensitive. (Although, he is a dick in Gansey's stead.) It's just that he doesn't see much of a point, a lot of the time. Adam's a big boy, what with the weight of a leyline on his shoulders and the choices he's made from day one.

Are they stupid choices, sometimes? Oh, yeah. They all made those choices. Ronan's a goddamn expert. But the days of being delicate with Adam and his pride or his own dumbass ideas are over.

Chainsaw calls for him again in his familiar name, and he moves to answer her, a hard yeah yeah starting to leave his mouth until he realizes that he's effectively stuck. This has only ever happened after he's left a dream, and a quick flash of alarm washes over him, head to toe.

Until Adam is swearing, and looking up, and his gaze slowly lifts to follow.

He barks out a harsh laugh, but whether it's amused or not is up in the air. ] Well, of fucking course, right?

[ God, he's gonna place so much money on Calla being the one behind this bullshit. ]

[ idly, he mutters: ] Seems like a bad idea for a house with a person who can't kiss anybody.

[ because, sure enough, dangling innocently over their heads is a bundle of mistletoe. adam is sure this has all sorts of psychic meaning that blue's mom hadn't shared with them yet. maybe it just picks its targets or something, decides that people don't look happy enough and makes them start kissing. all adam knows is this is about to be his first real kiss, since he didn't--

well, he doesn't think about that now. he can't. can't dwell on it.

chainsaw's calling is loud but adam's learned to mostly drown the odd noise out. he's mostly busy dealing with the mental crisis of what's about to happen. the ley line diviner--the magician--and the greywaren who takes his powers from the ley line. seems oddly appropriate, the kind of thing a house full of psychics would find convenient, universal, necessary.

he's weirdly aware of people staring at him, in the way that as soon as he looks over his shoulder, everyone is mysteriously focusing on other things.

adam sighs. he still has his hot chocolate in his hands; ronan still has six inches of height on him.

when he stands on his tiptoes to press a quick, fleeting peck to his cheek, adam doesn't put much time or thought into it. it's just an escape method, quick as anything, but when he tries to move forward again, he can't. ]

[ If Ronan catches Adam's muttering to himself, he doesn't comment on it. Instead, his sharp eyes are seeking out the likely culprit of their current position, arm raised so he can chew on one of the gasoline-soaked leather strips around his wrist. It's only for a moment, until he narrows his gaze on a few too innocent looking psychics, Gansey pretending to not notice his friends and said position for Ronan's benefit. He doesn't call them out on it, but it does occur to him to slip into a dream later and leave something nasty for them to find in the morning just to be vindictive.

There's no way they don't know, no matter how close he holds that secret to his fractured heart.

His attention gets drawn away from them when he notices his poor, hapless friend moving out of his peripheral. The concept of kissing isn't a particularly foreign thing to him, though there's always been an absence of meaning to it. (Like, honestly, much of the time spent after Niall Lynch's death.)

It's not just Gansey he's terrified of ruining things with. What had been just him and Gansey turned into him, Gansey, Noah, Adam, and Blue, a group inseparable. This is his family, the one that didn't quite fill the void that his father's death, mother's sleep, and brother's disgust had left, but made it a little easier some days.

He goes completely still as Adam goes up onto his toes, and everything in him hopes that it's enough. Which is exactly why it's not, probably, and so he heaves out a heavy noise - almost a sigh, almost a groan, almost a laugh - and reaches forward. ]

C'mon, don't be a pussy about it. We'll wind up stuck here all day.

[ Hand hooking around the back of Adam's tanned neck, he ducks down and hauls him in at the same time, the kiss sudden but not necessarily unkind. ]

[ adam was going to say something in response, but, he eventually realized that ronan was right and they might as well get it over with--he has enough time to roll his eyes before there's a mouth pressed up against his. adam has always thought your first kiss should be important (should have been with blue) but this'll give him a story to tell. yeah, the angry kid? i kissed him because we were stuck under magic mistletoe. just another day in the life of adam parrish.

aside from the angle, where adam's had to crane his neck backwards in order to actually reach him, it's...not really that bad. he's not sure what constitutes long enough in order to be released, but adam's hands kind of dart around before they end up settling in the front of those stupid pajamas and holding on, staying up on his toes in order to kiss him back. ronan tastes like sweat and the remainders of breakfast, and there's stubble rubbing at his chin. it's a little slow, a little awkward, maybe a little rough around the edges, but not...not bad.

a good combination of the both of them, maybe.

it's probably quiet for too long, considering. nosy psychics (and friends, corporeal or otherwise) will be noticing, soon, if they haven't already, but when adam tips forward a little to try and remove himself (or that's what he'll claim, later, not that he was chasing the kiss) he stumbles forward and drops down on his flat feet and basically into ronan's chest.

must have been good enough. ]

Edited 2014-12-18 06:01 (UTC)

[ It almost seems like even Chainsaw has gone quiet in the moment, like it's some monumental thing. It's not, really, in Ronan's mind. Because Adam is still hung up on Blue, probably will be for ages, and this is just an escape from a prank because his focus is always going to be on the girl that got away, or some girl beyond Henrietta in that great, wild wander that Adam yearns so desperately for.

Sure gonna be interesting for the magician to figure out how that'll work out with the ley line practically thrumming in his veins, like they're the course the roads take and set in a human skin.

Almost against his will, his thumb brushes against the spot beneath Adam's ear where it's settled as he kisses him, tilting the slightest bit as he starts to draw back as if he wants to fix the angle and make it less awkward. Not that it could ever be less awkward, all things considered, but it's a fleeting thought that he tucks away.

Instead, Ronan focuses on the silence and how the room seems to go still around them. It's motivation to pull away, even as he realizes he's stolen Adam's mug in some idle bid to make sure no mugs are harmed in a stupid prank that he's going to be bitter about for the next month. He looks down at Adam, rather than completely backing away from him, keen eyes regarding him, trying to ignore the lingering taste of familiar power and the sweetness of chocolate and sugar.

A moment goes by, and someone clears their throat. Ronan doesn't visibly react. ]

That's how you do it.

[ adam vaguely realizes after that his mouth's tingling, a curious sensation he's never felt before. there are suddenly a few things going on he's never felt before, and the soft stroke of ronan's thumb under his deaf ear is practically leaving echoes on him, a timestamp of something that reminds him of a different ronan entirely. it's hard to reconcile the same boy who beat the shit out of adam's dad with the one who held a tiny mouse to his cheek to hear its heartbeat, the one who gripped hard and punched more who brushed his thumb across adam's ear like he was something precious, to be treasured.

it's weird like the kiss was. weird, enjoyable, nice.

(did he ever notice that ronan had nice eyelashes before?)

there's something hanging in the air that crackles between them and adam isn't dumb. no one else in this room is either, and it's with that thought that he reaches forward to take his mug back from ronan, to wrap his hands around the cup and over his. despite their watchers and the silence that's fallen over the room since, he doesn't take his eyes off of him, coolly intense, lips still parted, mouth still tingling. ] Was that supposed to be some kinda lesson?

[ they could move, now, but he hasn't. ]

[ They aren't moving, and that fact isn't lost on Ronan. He cocks his head, quite like his dream raven does, and keeps his eyes locked on Adam. There are people watching them - there are always people watching him, though, so he simply ignores it - and probably a slew of comments and jokes and questions that they're all bound to throw their way. Hell, even he could make a joke to return this moment to the real world, away from something that almost feels like it touches the magic of unrealness of Cabeswater.

But, he doesn't. Because he's going to selfishly hold onto it for a while longer, the warmth still lingering on his lips that slowly spreads to the rest of him. Maybe he's a thief for taking this from Adam, maybe he's worse than that.

Adam hasn't moved, either, though. He hasn't pulled away from the hand that Ronan hasn't moved. And so he stays there, in that close space, not even batting an eye when he feels his calloused fingers curl over worn knuckles when he encloses his hands around the mug. ]

Could make it a lesson.

[ ronan's hands feel hot underneath adam's, and he wonders if that's a trick of his mind or the cocoa underneath him. whatever it is, h can feel it in his fingertips and straight down into his chest, burying its way under layers and layers of insecurity and self-hatred. ronan--adam isn't sure if it makes him feel good for thinking it, but he knows. he knows the secret ronan claims he can keep because he's not dumb. he can see the looks ronan throws his way when he thinks adam isn't looking. knows the gestures he does--the lotion was something he couldn't pin to anyone but their dreamer, who left his signature in latin at the bottom of the container.

that same strange warm feeling is the one he's feeling now.

adam's expression pinches just faintly, but if you knew him well enough (and of course, ronan did--something adam often tried to fight and avoid, but he could never seem to just become unknowable) it might be faintly amused. his mouth is still tingling like cabeswater calling him but he knows--this is something different. cabeswater is quiet, now, and that's only the thrumming of his heart in his ears. ] Didn't take you for much of a teacher.

[ Raising his eyebrows slowly, Ronan can't help the obvious amusement in response to Adam's, to his comment. Because both facts are true. They're both keen observers, watch those around them and learn them, but Ronan knows Adam down to his personal ley line, to what makes him Adam Parrish. There are still some parts that he's piecing together, associating one with another, with a cluster, with an idea, but he knows. He can feel the worn sensation of his palms over the top of his own, softened by lotion that he's sure he would need replacing by now if it weren't for the fact it was an unending supply.

Without Kavinsky around, he can abuse his power as a Greywaren a little. Especially if it means he can give to Adam. To Gansey. To Noah and Blue. ]

Now, see. Depends entirely on what you're asking me to teach. You and stick shift? Fuck, never again. [ His hand slides down from where it's settled at Adam's neck, tapping a long finger against where he knows Adam's heart rests. The same heart that's tied to Cabeswater, the same one that beats for Gansey, for Noah, for Blue. ] Sooner fucking eat the BMW's upholstery.

This, though. [ He bows his head forward a bit again and flashes one of his sharp grins at him, unrestrained and wild even in the safety of 300 Fox Way. It's one of the only two ways he knows how to be, when trying to accommodate for vulnerability: angry, or wild. And there is vulnerability, here, because his second secret is only a secret because no one talks about it. ] Wouldn't be a bad lesson.

[ the comment about the stick shift makes adam roll his eyes, but a twitch of a grin crosses his face--that had been a fun (if very stressful) afternoon. really, if he looks back on it, he's spent a lot of his free time with ronan lately. and that made sense, because even as they spent time as gansey and blue and ronan and adam and noah, they were splitting off into ganseyandblue and ronanandadam, and adam wasn't sure how he felt about that. would it hurt anyone in the group if he pursued this? what if something went wrong, like it did with blue? would a part of ronan splinter further if adam moved away, like he planned? how much romantic tension could this group take before it broke? adam's friends were so important to him he could hardly breathe with the importance of it, sometimes--they were the only four friends he'd ever need. and if he messed that up somehow, because of this, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself for it.

but ronan is wild where adam is not, and the way his hand touches against his chest like that screams the exact opposite. it says vulnerable. it says scared.

is adam scared?

he gives him a squinty look for a moment, lips just pursed as he considers, sharp brown eyes idling over his face as he comes closer. sharp angles, sharp lines, sharp words, those are the things that make up ronan lynch, but here he's wondering if he'd been sanded down around the edges, and if adam was the one who wielded the sander.

there's a noise from outside of them and adam jumps. he mutters, just loud enough for ronan to hear-- ] Later. [ it's a "we'll talk about this later," a "we'll kiss more later", but no matter what it is, it isn't a no. ]

[ The grin curls wider across his expression, and Ronan ignores the party around them for a moment longer. Because the world is narrowed down to this single point for just a second, where it's just the two of them - as it has been, pretty recently, while Gansey spends his time with Blue and they find their own rhythm while he and Adam find theirs - and no one else is there to witness this.

But he draws back from him, a little. His hand drops away as he straightens up, but he doesn't free his other hand from where they hold the mug together. He'll leave that one up to Adam to do, as he tucks away the sensation that one word and its underlying meaning gives him. ]

Sure. [ Because it's probably best to not do it in plain sight of a bunch of psychics and their friends. Not now, anyways. And even he needs a moment to process this, weigh the merits of it. Adam is free of his piece of shit father, still working so hard to set out on his own regardless of his ties to Cabeswater, and Ronan's plans will always coincide with Gansey's. Where he goes, Ronan follows. Where he stays, Ronan stays.

But Adam gives him pause, for a split second. If he leaves, what will happen? Even if this remains what it is, doesn't become more, it's still something that he should think about instead of going day-by-day as he does. ]

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Mistletoe Meme

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