somnioergosum | IC Inbox (Riverview)

I'm not fighting for your honor. I'm proving a point. He needs to stay away from you.

[Ronan starts to glare at the puppy for taking Adam away from him, but even he can't resist that cute face.]

If he wanted to kill me, he would've.

I don't think he wants to kill you. [ He picks up the puppy and cradles him in his arms for ease. ]

I think he likes to see you hurt. I think he likes seeing people hurt in general, but it might appeal to him more when it's someone who trusts him. [ That's all that makes sense to him. ] Besides, I can handle myself. You don't need to protect me.

[Being pissed off versus cuddling a puppy, only Ronan can find that decision difficult.

Fine. He'll do both. If Adam needs to pet a dog, then they'll pet the dog. He'll just have this be the ultimate test of his rage. He crouches next to Adam and scratches the puppy behind the ears as another comes up to nudge him with its nose. Now both of his hands are occupied petting dogs instead of punching something. Damn it.]

I told you, he's got a crush on me or something. He's taking it out on you and it's going to fucking stop.

[He avoids mentioning protecting Adam entirely. He knows Adam doesn't need or want it, but it's one of the prices to pay for dating Ronan.]

[ Adam manages a smile when he sees that Ronan is petting two puppies at once. The one in Adam's arms struggles to lick Ronan's cheek. ]

You thought a lot of things about him that were wrong. [ Which is to say, they're going with Adam's interpretation now. ] He admitted he doesn't feel empathy. If anything, it's like Kavinsky's feelings. He doesn't care about you, he just wants to use you.

[ He lets the puppy go, and it tries to jump on the other puppy. ] So, what made Kavinsky end it?

[Even the puppies can't calm him down after that. He presses his finger to the dog's nose as a warning bop. All that happens is his finger gets licked instead.]

You saw.

[He already relived that with Adam. They don't need to trot that dead horse out just to beat it one more time.]

He feels some empathy. He cares about his dad. There's some things you can't fake.

Why are you arguing about something that he's admitted to and shown? [ His tone is snappish and the puppies seem to register it because they whine.

He's reminded of the few family gatherings with Ronan and Declan, and Matthew in the middle trying to calm them. ]

Just stop defending him. You said he has a daughter, too, right?

Why does that matter?

[Now Ronan is the one who's snappish.]

[ Adam stands, abandoning the puppies. He doesn't know why Ronan is trying to pick a fight with him over this. ]

I'm figuring him out. What he does, things he has, his motivations.

[ He gives Ronan an unimpressed look. ] Even though I don't think someone like that should be raising a kid, I'm not going to involve her. [ Not unless he has to. ]

[Ronan exhales through his teeth. Thinking about kids in association with this sort of plotting does not bring back warm, fuzzy memories. But like Adam said, they're not doing that again.

Anyway, he's not taking this bait. He's staying on the floor with the puppies for now.]

I don't know. He's a Viking. He's protective of the people he loves-- yeah, I know, he doesn't. I'm just saying what I thought I knew. He likes chariot racing, fighting... so he's an adrenaline junkie psychopath in a wheelchair.

[ Take out the wheelchair part and they have Kavinsky. He gives Ronan a Look for a moment but decides he's had enough scolding. ]

I can work with that. For now, I think you should make some defenses for the house. Get creative. I'll make sure there's as little retaliation as possible, but he doesn't seem very rational.

[Ronan's thoughts first go to an impenetrable forest, but there's no leyline and no Cabeswater. But his subconscious has come up with many ways to kill himself over the years.

Get creative.]

If you want that, we'll have to keep the pets inside for now.

[ Adam frowns down at the puppies, who are still seem to have a lot of energy considering they're trying to attack Ronan's shoe. ]

Just when you're dreaming, right? The dogs need to be walked, at least.

[Ronan snaps his fingers to try and distract the puppies. Too single-minded.]

No, they can be out with us. But I don't want any defenses backfiring on them.

[He takes a moment to consider both how much control he has and how much he can pull out of a dream at a single time.]

A fence would work. Then we can dig a wheelchair proof trench. [That's a joke.]

[ He feels bad making their house into a war-zone, but it's probably for the best no matter what. There's always something strange going on, and when their house is separated from the rest of town, it can either be good or bad. ]

I was hoping for a little more of a deathtrap. Bombs, giant rocks, a poison-electric wire fence. [ That's probably a joke. ]

Or you could just dream up some giant monster guard.

Right. The giant monster guard that's gonna break into our house and claw me to death. But what the hell, at least the puppies will be safe.

[Ronan picks up one of the aforementioned puppies and stands.

It's O.K., Thorpedo. He won't let a monster or a psychopath hurt you.]

[ Adam reaches over to pet Thorpedo. ] Chainsaw hasn't tried to claw you to death yet.

[ It's possible. After a pause: ] You're right, it's a little too soon to try that. I'll look into some history and see what stopped the Vikings before. I mean, they had to fail somewhere.

Assimilation.

[What? It doesn't have to directly involve Wales, Rome, or Greece for him to know history.]

Good luck making this guy a Christian. The two men living in sin are really gonna sell it.

[ Adam rolls his eyes. ] Sorry to break it to you, but Christianity didn't exactly make everyone less violent. I'm pretty sure they lost a few battles—didn't Gansey ever tell you about Alfred the Great?

[ That probably marks the end of the planning session. Adam has research to do and Ronan has death traps to come up with. But he knows letting Ronan go right now is a bad idea, so he wraps an arm around his shoulder, nudging him toward the stairs. ]

What does living in sin even mean?

Never said it did. I had to listen to Gansey's obsessions way before you.

[Ronan takes Thorpedo up the stairs with him. He'd follow anyway. The rest of the puppies are.]

You know. Living together before getting married. [Possibly living together after they got married as well but he thinks they only call that one sodomy.]

[ Adam is careful not to step on any puppies as they race up the stairs with them. ]

So you were living in sin with Gansey? [ His smile is cheeky. Ronan walked into that one.

The puppies have found their way onto the bed before they get there, which is probably Adam's fault. ] I don't see how this is in sin. [ Look at the cute puppies. ]

[Ronan lightly punches Adam's shoulder for that one.]

It's an expression. Don't take it personal.

[Ronan sets Thorpedo down on the floor. He soon joins his siblings, prompting Ronan to wonder why he ever let Adam talk him into allowing the dogs on the bed.]

[ Adam gives Ronan a half-shrug when the puppies decide to take up the middle of the bed. They can probably still fit. ]

I've heard it before. [ Never in ways that weren't personal, but he's not going to argue about that. ] I just think there's a better expression for it. Living in...

[ He goes to one side of the bed and cuddles up with the puppies as best he can. ] Virtue? Bliss?

Ronan Lynch living in virtue. We'll go with bliss.

[He sits down on the other side of the bed. Before he can lie down, Thorpedo dives onto his lap.]

Enjoy it while you still can, mutt.

[Those paws are way too big. Ronan pokes one of them before rubbing the dog's belly. But there's only so much the dog can do. It can't take away his anger, and it can't distract him from Adam. He holds his hand out to the man he's living in bliss with.]

[ Adam grins fondly at Thorpedo, thoughts of revenge not forgotten but put to the side. Anger still simmers inside him, but it's fading, particularly once he takes Ronan's hand.

He leans over the puppies to press his knuckles to Ronan's lips, an action that would be odd to anyone but them. Bliss is right. ]

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