"I Mean, There Aren't Many Good Men Out There, So It's Not Your Fault For Only Finding The Bad Ones."

Rafa via Instagram Stories (August 5, 2024)

They slipped briskly into an intimacy from which they never recovered.

F. Scott Fitzgerald / This Side of Paradise

Adrien chuckles weakly, still pushing.

"No treehouse, and if someone does figure out a way out, I'll help them build it, but I'm not the one coming up with it."

He pauses for a moment to get the truck over a small hump in the road.

"Nah, more just trying to make life here suck less, I suppose. There aren't a lot of cars that work here. This is fully electric, so I figured I'd see if I can get it working. If not then I'll strip it for parts."

He chuckles again.

"Not fate. I'm just not as bothered as some people are."

mira chuckled under her breath, the sound dry but not unkind. "impatient and dumb? well, at least you're self-aware. that's a good start." she braced herself against the car, her boots digging into the asphalt as they worked together to push it forward. her muscles protested immediately, a reminder that she'd been running on adrenaline and not much else these past few weeks. "interrupt? please." she rolled her eyes, the corner of her mouth twitching up in a smirk. "you think i had something better to do in this place? trust me, you’re doing me a favor. beats pacing around colony house trying to avoid everyone's drama or sulking." her gaze flicked over to him, studying his profile for a moment as they trudged along. "so, adrien, right? what kind of 'projects' are we talking about here? you building a treehouse for the end of the world, or are you one of those people who actually think they can science their way out of this nightmare?" she huffed a little as they hit a slight incline, her smirk deepening. "or maybe you’re just hoarding random junk to keep busy. i’ve seen a few people try that trick. spoiler alert: it doesn’t work." she adjusted her grip on the car and added, her tone light but tinged with a hint of sincerity, "and for the record, you’re not annoying. yet. but if you start talking about how this is all fate or some crap like that, i might change my mind."

Adrien listens as he works, El's voice very soothing in contrast to the familiar sounds of work.

"Yeah, Cameron's cool. She's lives at the colony house with me."

Then Adrien lifts his head to look toward El. Cherry? Complicated? "She's seems like good folk, though. Don't see what could be so complicated." He ends with a smirk on his face, teasing El a bit.

Then he turns back to the work as he talks.

"I'm trying. There's some really interesting people around. Like that, Muz guy. He seems cool."

Ellington’s hands paused over the engine, the faint grin on their face softening at Adrien’s words. The moment felt lighter, somehow, despite the heavy things they’d both touched on. They tilted their head, giving Adrien a sidelong glance.

“Solid people make all the difference,” El said, their voice low but warm. “Sounds like you’ve had a few of those in your corner. That’s not nothing.”

Adrien’s question brought a small chuckle out of El as they leaned back against the workbench, arms crossed loosely. “Friends? Well, I wouldn’t say I’m drowning in them, but I’ve got my people. Cameron’s one—she’s good at grounding me when I start thinking too much. Low-key but solid, like the kind of friend who can share a drink in silence and it still feels like a conversation.”

They glanced at Adrien with a knowing smile. “And there’s Cherry. She’s… complicated. Keeps me on my toes, though, which might be why I stick around. Or why she sticks around me—hard to say.”

El shrugged, their grin turning a little self-deprecating. “But I think you’re underestimating my loner tendencies. I have my people, I'm a friend to everyone, but I also spend a lot of time alone or... I used to. Seems like that might be changing nowadays,” in their minds-eye, Cherry's face appears and they can't help the little grin that appears on their lips.

They picked up a wrench, turning it idly in their hands. Their eyes flicked back to Adrien, their tone a little softer, more thoughtful. “So what about you? Got your people here yet?”

Lucas nods and steps up to the headstone.

His mouth twitches into a sort of smile.

"Yeah. Super quiet. Almost feels wrong."

He places the fresh bouquet down sobit rests in the middle, covering part of the "Brother. Protector" portion. He feels a few tears run down his face.

"Do you have someone here?"

He doesn't look up. He's not quiet ready to look at someone else yet.

Hollis pauses, mid-motion, holding the dried bouquet like it's something delicate. His eyes dart to Lucas, noticing the tremor in his voice. "I could stick around." Hollis offers, voice still quiet but sensing that the other might be experiencing something they might not want to be alone for. It happened often enough to feel part of the job. "It's quiet out today. The storm... I'll just...be here." He's not sure how to offer comfort in words, but, his presence lingers. A quiet, watchful stillness.

"With a lot of practice," Adrien says. Then adds, "Unfortunately."

He unconsciously matches her tapping fingers with his own on his knees.

"I know it sounds a little naive, but trust me, it's taken a lot of experience to think like that. Experience I wish I didn't have."

Catie stares at him. Free? She lets out a short, hard laugh, but it fades quickly as she considers the honesty behind what he’s saying. 'So, that’s it?' she asks. Her fingers drum against the plastic cup, her mind racing against a wall she’s only just realising might never come down.

She looks away, biting the inside of her cheek. The idea that everyone here had already gone through these thoughts, that they’d all made peace with something that to her felt like an endless cage—it’s unsettling. 'I don't know how you do that,' she mutters finally, almost to herself.

RAFAEL SILVA as CARLOS REYES 9-1-1: LONE STAR (2020-)

Adrien shrugs it off.

"You're probably the least scariest thing I've seen in the past 24 hours."

He steps aside and let's the woman — Erin — in.

"So how can I help you, Miss Erin? I'm not fully trained in where everything is yet, but I do know how to fix things."

He moves to a desk and tries to look all official, even with his ear-to-ear grin.

seeing someone she doesn't immediately recognize sets her on edge. maybe because of the storm, or because it just spells newcomer - neither of which she's particularly thrilled about. more people meant more people to potentially loose to them. so her face isn't exactly one of cheer when he answers the door for her; instead, its probably the exact opposite, stuck in some kind of look of sympathy and pained. "sorry for scaring you," her voice is quiet, as it is most often, and remains sympathetic to his plight. she was plenty scared her first days here too... doesn't like to think of it. "i'm erin."

Adrien laughs. "I doubt I could if you can't, but I'll still take a look. You more of a big machinery person?"

Adrien grunts as he tries to rachet a bolt loose.

"It's alright, I guess. It's not exactly what I thought when I first heard the options, but it's not bad."

He finally gets it loose.

"It's not so much the space as it is the... I don't know, vibes? It's just not always my favorite. There's cool people there, but we're not always in the mood to hang out with each other. At least they're not sometimes."

He shrugs.

Ellington leaned back slightly on their stool, their lips curling into a smile as they caught Adrien’s enthusiasm about the watch. “Still got it,” they said, nodding toward a nearby workbench. “Haven’t cracked the mystery yet, though. It’s a tough one. Maybe you can fix it?”

They took a moment to let Adrien’s words about calling this place home sink in, their gaze softening. “That’s good to hear. Feeling at home here, even just a little, is no small thing.”

After a beat, El shifted gears. “Speaking of, how’s it been at Colony House for you? I know it’s got its charms, but it can get... crowded over there. Everyone finding their space okay?” Their tone was curious but gentle, a genuine question wrapped in the easygoing demeanor they always wore. “If you ever need a break from it, you know where to find me.”

he's the loml 🤍