I'm Glad You're Not Dead -- [[Adam]]

[Lareina Darcy]

She didn't get it. The Lioano female just did not get it. Everything was so confusing nowadays. It had been a while since the dance, and Adam disappearing and everything that happened before just wasn't getting any clearer. She couldn't understand what had been going on then. The escape from the dance, the freaky talk, the kiss... oh yes, that. That had been... odd.

Lareina would have sworn that she had imagined the whole night, that it had been one of those weird dreams that you can never explain what's going on in it properly when you wake, had Adam been seen around the school or at the Shaded Nights bar the day after. She'd have gone and hung around with him, jokingly mentioning that she'd had the most stupid dream ever the night before, and everything would have been fine. No confusion, no annoyance, no unanswered questions.

But she hadn't been able to find him. Which had, despite her general personality and the way she felt about people, worried her a little. Then she happened to have bumped into Ana, who she knew by name and relation to Adam but not much else, and the girl had mentioned that Adam actually was around, that he was back.

And boy, did she want some answers.

As Lareina hurried down to Shaded Nights, she wondered what she was going to say. Probably lots of 'what the fuck?'s and 'where the fuck?'s and 'how the fuck's, as well as maybe a hint of 'yeah, I'm glad you're not dead'. Because really. She was glad he wasn't dead; he'd made her think that he could possibly be by the way he'd been phrasing things before he left. 'If I don't come back...' It had really quite scared the shit out of her, even if she wouldn't willingly admit it.

He was a decent friend. In fact, one of her only decent friends. Maybe even only? She barely knew anymore. But people tended to not like her. It was no big surprise, really, as she'd never had proper friends before, but now that she might have actually lost one... well. It was then that she kind of started to care.

So, by the time she reached his door, she was feeling quite irritated and indignant. She raised a tanned fist and, not bothering to do it quietly or politely, banged on it several times. Then, letting her eyebrows knot together in a fashion that made her look more angry than she actually was, she put her hands on her hips and waited for Adam to open the door. He'd better- if he was trying to avoid her, she'd blast the door down.

This was Lareina Darcy, and he'd better remember that.

[Adam MacKeltar]

It had been a long couple of weeks for Adam. Once he had received the message from his ex, he had left rather quickly. Unfortunately, Lareina had come after him, and he knew he couldn't tell her. It was for her own good, afterall. He wanted her to remain safe and sound; for if they knew that she knew something (and they would; they always did), she would be in danger. He couldn't bear if she were hurt because of him. But it was okay now. He was okay, and Ana, Cal, and the others assured him she was safe. He had been back for a few days now, but he had yet to go and see her. He had run into Cal getting some things from his room, and Cal had told Ana he was back and not hurt.

He possibly had not visited Lareina because he didn't yet know what to say. He had not yet figured out what his feelings were for her, but he knew that there was something there, and truthfully, it scared the living shit out of him. He had never truly fallen for a girl, never truly been in love. A brotherly love, a family love, a love for his daughter... all were so much easier than opening your heart fully for one person with no guarantees. Bottom line? He didn't want to get hurt. Period. End of story. Adam MacKeltar, Mr. Ex-Death Eater, killer and bar owner, was afraid of getting hurt. He was afraid to fall in love. Go figure. It may seem pathetic to some, but for someone like Adam, it made absolute perfect sense.

Which is why, when someone started banging on the door, it took everything he had to open it. He was met with the face of Lareina Darcy, and for the first time in his life, words utterly failed him. In that moment, she seemed more beautiful than anything he had ever seen before (and more pissed, of course), and he could not explain or describe it. He just stood there, blue eyes looking into her dark ones. His brown hair was tousled, spiked up and going in every which direction, yet it still looked styled, as if it were supposed to be that way. He just looked at her for a moment, resisting the urge to pull her close and just hold her; it was hard to do. Was she real? He needed to know, but if she wasn't, he didn't want the dream to end. Instead, he spoke, his voice soft and almost... timid. "Hey." It was all he said, and it was probably all he could say.

[Lareina Darcy]

Lareina was shocked that he opened the door at all. She knew for a fact that most people, when faced with the choice of 'angry-sounding person banging in a threatening way on the door' or 'sitting on the sofa calmly watching TV or doing something else normal' would choose to go on doing whatever they were doing and completely ignore the person waiting outside to rip chunks out of them. So, when Adam opened his door and she laid eyes on him, she blinked for a second and her mouth opened and then closed.

But the Lioano girl only stayed in the same silent, shocked position for a moment before she went back to her normal self. "Ugh!" Moving forward, she made the noise of frustration and put her hands on Adam's chest, pushing him backwards angrily. "All I get is a bloody 'hey'?" Now would have been a good time to spew out all those sentimental 'do you know how fucking worried I've been's that any normal person would have blurted out the moment they got in the door, but that would have been too easy. This was Lareina Darcy, after all, and she needed to get that stupid confusion lifted before she spewed out any sentimental crap.

Because she really should; as it were, Adam might start thinking that she actually was really, really angry and that she hated him, or something. Which would have been incredibly stupid, because she wouldn't have spent the last God knows how long thinking about him all day, everyday and wondering if he was still a living, breathing human being. "Where the fuck have you been?" was what she said instead.

[Adam MacKeltar]

She seemed a little unsure of what to say at first, but that seemed to pass rather quickly. Because not too long after his initial appearance, she had shoved him backwards and started ranting at him. He nearly smiled, knowing that she wasn't just a dream now. She was real, very much so, and she was pissed as hell. He didn't mind, though. He deserved it, the way he had left her without even saying a word as to what was going on. Once she had finished, he decided he would speak up now. He had some explaining to do, and though it probably wouldn't make it better, it still needed to be said and touched on. She needed to know the gist of what had went on when he had disappeared right before her eyes...

So his lips parted, intending to tell her what had happened. "Well-" he began, but he was cut off by a sudden large mass colliding with his leg. Looking down, his eyes fell on his daughter, who was crying. He glanced up at Lareina for a split second, unsure of her take on this, before kneeling down to look at her. Naomi let go of his leg to wrap her fingers around his own, and as he was on her level now, she looked into his eyes. He gently wiped her tears away and whispered,"Hey, it's okay. It's okay... What's wrong, baby?" She sniffled and pointed back the way she had come and said,"I broke it... I broke the glass, Daddy... I'm sorry." His face completely softened for her, and he pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay, sweetie. We'll clean it up. It's okay. I'm not mad. Come on... Why don't you go find Cian?" She sniffed and pulled back and muttered,"Okay, Daddy." She smiled at him and ran back inside. He stood up and looked at Lareina. "You wanted to know where I was? I was with her. Her mother got me a message telling me that they were in danger. When I arrived, her mother was laying on the floor. She died in my arms. Our daughter, Naomi, was hidden in a room with a wolf I had left to protect her..." He opened the door all the way and said,"Maybe you should come inside so we can talk more... I'm sure you have questions." He looked at her once more before turning away.

He walked into the kitchen, as he had recently magically expanded this place so as to accomodate a small family. Pulling out his wand, he repaired the glass, cleaned up the spilled milk, washed the glass in the sink, dried it off, and placed it in the cabinet. He then turned to see if Lareina had followed, knowing he had a lot to explain to her. Especially with this new discovery. I mean, it wasn't every day that you found out that one of your friends was a father of a four-year-old, beautiful little girl. The hint of a smile touched his lips as he thought of her. Even though her mother had died, she had been strong. She was a fiery little thing, she was, full of so much energy and love. She was so bubbly, he couldn't help but smile when he thought of her.

But he had to wonder what Lareina's take on all of this was.