chiseler | Adam Parrish

I guess it is. Now it's just us and... whoever's unlucky enough to get killed next. [ There's a pause and he makes a face. ] I really hope we don't have to see the annoying ones soon.

[ Please let them live. It takes him a bit to notice that Luke is staring and longer to notice that he's staring because he apparently thinks Adam is weird. It makes him frown. How is Luke not fascinated by that? ] If I was the only one who thought about that, cars wouldn't exist and continue to be improved. [ He shoves at Luke's shoulder but then leans over so they're not actually any farther apart. ] I guess we need a garage, too, then. That holds a ton of different cars and everything needed to work on them. Is there anything you find interesting?

I hate to say it? But probably. The science team went after Franziska immediately didn't they? [Just a thought.

But no it's not that he's not fascinated, it's that he's not sure what's real and what isn't, not to mention he's never had a huge interest in cars in the first place.] You're getting ahead of yourself, man. I never said I didn't find anything interesting, I just don't see the big deal about how cars are put together. But that sounds more like a mechanic's shop than anything.

...you really wanna know what I think is interesting?

[ Adam just makes a noise of distaste. Oh well. He can avoid them in the giant library he's thinking about. He'll probably drag Luke along too just in case. ]

And I'm saying you'll understand once you get in a car and think about it. [ He sounds pretty sure of it. But then he seems to forget about that, eyes flashing in interest when Luke offers him a bone. Luke is still a mystery to him, one that he very much wants to solve. ] Yeah, I do. Then we can build something for that too.

[They can hide among the books together. He doesn't seem entirely convinced about the car thing, but he lets Adam talk. In a weird way this is enjoyable, just sitting outside under a tree talking about ridiculous things.]

We'll see. [He takes a breath.] I miss sparring if you really wanna know. Swordfighting, stuff like that. I was an instructor at camp. Been a while since I've held a real blade.

[ That makes sense. In some way he can't imagine why Luke would miss fighting, but if it's an interest like cars are for Adam then it's more understandable. Either way, he's not going to question it. So he nods. ]

Okay. So you'd need swords and a wide space, right? Have you found any swords lying around? [ He notes it to himself for requests. ] Until we can figure out how to build a swordfighting robot AI, I guess you could practice on me.

Just like an arena, yeah. [Even now he can picture it in his head which is funny since he knows it's not a real memory at all.] An arena with space and I don't really need anything to fight back. We used to train with straw dummies. But this place is way too…Pleasantville. I don't think there's anything even remotely resembling a weapon around here. [He looks briefly scandalized though.] How about I don't practice on you? You'd have to know how to fight back.

[ He raises his eyebrows. ] You think I don't know how to fight back? [ ... Which is mostly true. It's a skill he never actually needed to develop. In fact, it was better that he didn't know. ]

So we'll build our own weapons. We could always combine it with a park. To really enjoy these nice days you seem so fond of. [ Now he smiles teasingly. ] We're making this into a right town. Anything else you miss?

Of course I think that. You had a gun, Parrish. You can fight back differently but not the way I'd trust you to in an arena.

[He rolls his eyes though and sits up a little then, stretching his back and shoulders.] A park…would be kind of cool I guess. I never thought I'd be constructing my own town. I think I miss a lot but…we can talk about it another time. This is still kind of a lot to process.

[A pause.] Considering. You know. We can see everything in here. [So he watched the trial, watched Adam die, has been sorting through memories for the last couple of days and now…well. It's still a lot.]

[ He opens his mouth to fight but truthfully he has no desire to prove that he can fight back. So instead he scoffs like it's not worth his time. ] Whatever. Stick with your straw dummies then. See if I take interest in your hobbies again. [ Not that Luke ever asked him to. Whatever! ]

Do you think I could run for mayor? [ He's just trying to joke even as his smile fades when Luke mentions being able to see everything. He assumed that was the case although he hadn't tried the TV out. ] Did you watch me? [ He means even before the trial when he hid away in the sauna get out his emotions, when he laid in bed uselessly for hours, when he reacted poorly to the email. ]

[Adam…don't pull the tsundere act on him it's too early in their friendship for this!!!] Or I could teach you if you actually asked, jackass. But maybe I'll stick with the straw dummies since they're interested.

Running for mayor would mean having to listen to you. Think that'd work? [But he pauses.] …I checked in on you from time to time, yeah. [A lot. Oops.] On more than one occasion. I couldn't see you with Franziska and I couldn't see you at night, but otherwise yeah.

[ Good thing he doesn't like Luke or anything :\ ] Do you really want to teach something to a jackass? [ They will get absolutely nowhere like this. ]

I could bribe you into listening. That's how politics usually work anyway, right? [ He sighs and leans back against the grass in order to close his eyes. That's embarrassing. ]

So some things are secret. That's interesting. [ He pauses. ] What did you see?

That depends, is the jackass going to be stubborn about it? [There's a small smile though that says he might actually consider it. Why not?]

You're not a politician, Parrish, you're too nice and angry for that. [He looks down at Adam's face now that his eyes are closed, taking his time to study his features for himself.] ...I saw that nobody else could see my email to you, so that's something new. [A pause. Annnnd casually:] Annnd I might've noticed you went back to our place without me.

Would that really stop you? [ Maybe he's a little too confident now. After all, Luke clearly likes him enough to keep him around. ]

I don't see what that has to do with anything, anyway. [ He's not nice but he is angry. Aren't politicians angry? Somewhere on the inside probably. His face twitches when Luke mentions what he's seen, the particularly embarrassing moments of his grief. ] It's not like you were there to go back with me. [ It's upsetting to think about. ]

... I didn't want anyone to see. That's why I went there. I thought you were really, actually gone and... it was only four days but I felt like I lost something important that I could never get back.

Guess you'll have to ask and find out, won't you? [He's not letting him off that easily but signs seem to point to "no." He shakes his head even if Adam can't really see him, but he lets that thread of conversation go, too.]

...make me feel even more guilty than I already did. [He didn't want Adam to feel bad for what had happened. That wasn't the point at all.] ...you really think what you and I had was that important? [He doesn't sound like he disagrees. It's more like he has trouble understanding they feel the same way about it.]

[ He lets out a huff because he knows what Luke is trying to do and he doesn't reply. He'll probably ending up asking at some point but right now it's a matter of pride.

His hand moves over his face because he's embarrassed. It's hard to talk about this, and weird. He's not entirely sure where Luke's feelings lie and he doesn't want to go too far. ] Why would you feel guilty about dying? [ It's a genuine question. It's not like Luke did anything more than speak out in trials. He takes a deep breath. ]

That was the feeling I had. Feelings aren't typically rational. Maybe it makes no sense, but I guess so. When you said you meant everything... I hadn't realized what was there until it was too late. And I was never going to stop regretting that.

Do you really not know, or are you asking me to say it out loud? Think carefully on that just in case. And anyway you just said it. Feelings aren't really rational. I just...maybe I felt bad about leaving you behind when I knew it meant something. Whatever that means.

[There's a harsh inhale.] This is weird to talk about. [He doesn't like it.] I don't think we were supposed to mean anything.

[ Adam is quiet because he's not going to ask Luke to say it out loud. Neither of them need more reminders of their deaths at the moment. ] You felt bad because of me. [ He hadn't expected that. He's still not going to move his hand to look at him, though. ]

... That wasn't the intention, no. I thought you'd be good to have on my side. I guess I liked you more than some others, but... I don't know, I don't dislike it. It felt nice, actually. That's why I want to continue instead of starting over. I want to keep feeling it.

I wasn't alive long enough to put some things into place. When you and I made our deal, I knew it was more about me protecting you for a while. It wasn't supposed to be for long. If the science team felt like you would be useful, I might have considered it. And then we started talking and...I don't know.

[There's a shift suddenly and then Luke's laying on the ground next to him, more or less mirroring his stance.] It's like...we can still be friends here, can't we? Even without having to protect ourselves from getting killed.

[ Adam nods because that's fair. He couldn't expect Luke to keep him alive but at least it might have been a decent alliance because killing Adam off could have brought suspicion onto Luke. When he feels Luke lie down next to him, he moves his hand to look over at him. ]

Like you said, here we can do whatever we want. I've always wanted to just... have something normal. [ He reaches over slowly to touch carefully at Luke's cheek. ] Do you want that too?

[Is this normal? He doesn't pull away from Adam's hand but he doesn't quite respond either.]

I think...[He doesn't finish the sentence. "I think I might have had that once." This means something to Adam. Luke knows that. It means something to him, too, but he isn't sure what yet.] Normal. After everything? Normal sounds pretty good right about now. What's the first step?

[ Adam considers him quietly. It's not an exact answer. It sounds good right now and maybe it won't sound good later, is how Adam takes it. But Adam can be normal while Luke isn't normal and it's not going to ruin anything; they can both do whatever they want.

He pulls his hand away and looks up at the sky. ] How should I know? I imagined something like this. A house and a car and a nice job. I guess I can scratch that last one off. I think I wanted to go to movies and restaurants and whatever people our age should be doing.

... But we can start off with getting used to it. Getting used to... each other now?

[There's another long pause.]

One of these things is probably going to be harder than the other. But with nothing else to do, we can start figuring out what people our age should be doing and would be doing if they were alive.

What happens if we decide after spending enough time together we actually don't want to get used to each other or be around each other? Got a plan for that?

[ There's a pause and then a slightly nervous laugh. ]

Nice, Castellan. If it turns out you don't like spending time with me when we're not in constant danger of being killed, it's not a big deal. Just let me know and you can have the movie theater and I'll take the library.

[There's a slight deprecating huff of laughter then.] That's not the part I'm worried about, Adam. [But he sits up and opens his eyes, looking down the street again.] We should head in. Lara'll want to see you, I'm sure.

[ He doesn't believe him. There's no other reason to ask a question like that. It makes Adam leave his defenses up but he nods, not wanting to fight since he also wants to see Lara. ]

Sure. We'll see what she wants to build. [ He wonders whose house this is and if this means they're staying together, but he'd prefer to ask Lara than Luke at the moment. ]

Adam Parrish

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