[open]

[silent_key]

Adam has been in Siren Cove for four days now and in those four days he's heard a lot of stories circulating around town about the current state of the Matriarch and the situation the sirens now find themselves in. For Adam, it works in his favour. His family has never belonged to any enclave, has never answered to any Matriarch and the problems going on now give him the opportunity to slip into town unnoticed.

It won't last, he's sure of that, but that doesn't mean he's not enjoying the chance to move into his new condo without worrying about how he's going to present himself.

Rather, he'd be enjoying himself if it didn't seem like the movers were going to drop ever second box. A year ago and Adam would have done it himself. A year ago he would have talked some friends into helping him, bugged his little brother until he agreed to drive the van, and they would have unloaded together. He would have bought beer and pizza -- or convinced someone to give him beer and pizza anyway -- and it would have been an experience, even if it hadn't been fun.

But now his brother is dead. Most of his friends don't call anymore. And Adam's scars prevent him from doing much of anything when it comes to moving boxes.

"Jesus Christ, I'm going to have a heart attack before this is over," he says loud enough for the movers to hear as they manhandle another box off the truck, nearly dropping it in the process. "Please don't kill all my things before they even make it inside."

[Adam's in front of his new condo, a lovely building near the beach. Dry run tags can be considered canon if you'd like, or if you want to start fresh, I'm okay with that, too. :D]

Comments

[coopdetat]

Coop is admiring Adam too closely not to notice the way his new friend seems to strain a bit when he bends down to open the box, though he doesn't make a comment about it one way or another because he supposes it could be due to anything. Maybe he'd had one hell of a night last night and is still feeling it, that's not something Coop is entirely unfamiliar with himself, but once Adam smiles up at him with a mug extended in his direction, he's brought back to the moment.

"Hey, I know I'd rather not drink with my head under the drip so yeah, I'd say we're doing well so far," he teases, taking the mug then reaching down to grab another so Adam doesn't have to. It's not something he wants to make a big deal of, and he doesn't think it's obvious why he's doing it, but he drifts away from the box as casually as he can, looking around the room with a stern expression on his face.

"Now, if I were a Keurig, where would I be? If it turns out it's in one of the bedroom boxes, I'm really going to think you only invited me in here to seduce me. Well, seduce me into helping you unpack maybe but still, it's already working."

[silent_key]

Adam laughs again, though he flushes faintly, and he feels like it should be easier to remember the last time he actively tried to seduce anyone, but he can't quite make it there. Leigh had been the one to pursue him and he'd never looked for anyone in the entirety of their relationship, though she had certainly enjoyed involving a third member now and then. Before her, Adam had gotten around a fair bit, but he'd also never had to work particularly hard for it. Even without his siren powers -- which he's never once used to get someone in bed -- he's had a relatively charmed life and working in the fashion industry had made things easy enough for him.

"I mean, I'd rather watch you unpack the boxes than the movers I hired," he says, surprised by the words as they come out of his mouth. He's said them, though, and he doesn't regret them, even if he does glance down at his feet quickly and then begin to open another box. It's filled with dishes, which isn't quite what he wants, but there in the corner, just past Coop, is a box marked appliances and he distinctly remembers packing the kettle and the Keurig in there.

He doesn't regret what he's said, but he does realize he needs to watch himself. It's fine to flirt, he takes no issue with that, and he's rather flattered that Coop seems at all interested in talking to him, but Adam knows how he'll feel if anything progresses to a point where he can't hide his scars. The thought of showing someone what's under his clothes makes him feel sick and he thinks he should just admit what's happened to him before it ever gets that far. He should just tell people now, he should just let them know what a mess his body has become.

"That box," he says instead, pointing at it with a small smile. "That's the one."

[coopdetat]

Coop blinks at him in surprise before letting out a sharp laugh that makes him throw his head back, one hand coming down hard on his belly before he's shaking a finger at Adam with a mischievous glint in his eye. He can't quite figure this guy out, but Coop is confident in saying that he already likes him, likes this kind of weird energy that's crackling between them. He likes it all enough to see where it's going to go.

"I'm going to have to watch you for you," he teases, bending down to scoop up the box Adam points out in the crook of his elbow, the mugs he'd taken still dangling from the thumb of his other hand. "But by all means, I'll help you out if it means I know you'll be watching, I'm not shy."

Carrying the box pretty much seems like an invitation to make himself at home, so Coop heads straight to the kitchen so he can set the mugs down on the counter before reaching into the box. With a triumphant yelp, he pulls out the Keurig, peering into the box with a satisfied nod when he notes that there's a box of K-cups in there, too. "We're one step closer to a successful coffee date, my friend, and you know what comes after that, don't you?" He pauses, just to give it dramatic effect, and shoots Adam a wink. "Usually more coffee."

[silent_key]

The chairs have already been set up around the dining room table and Adam nudges one out for Coop, then takes hold of the cord for the Keurig and plugs it into the wall just behind the table. It's not going to be the final place he leaves it, but given how much of a disaster everything is at the moment, it's good enough. Adam is more focused on Coop than on where his coffee maker is going to go anyway and he knows this is treading dangerous ground, especially with someone who seems so happy to flirt and make suggestive comments, but he can't seem to help it. It's so familiar and it makes him feel like maybe it won't be impossible to get back to who he used to be.

"No, you don't seem shy," Adam agrees, doing his best not to wince as he takes the jug out of the machine and takes it to the sink to fill with water. Even the smallest movements hurt some days and he hates that he can't just do the sorts of things he used to take for granted. "I've never been known for being particularly shy either. I, uh... sort of worked in the fashion industry for a few years. It's hard to be shy when you have people dressing and undressing you like their own personal doll."

But then he returns to the table and sets the water into the machine and flashes Coop a smile. "More coffee, though," he says with a nod as he eases himself into the other chair. "I like how that sounds."

[coopdetat]

"Dude, you were a model?"

It's not that Adam isn't attractive enough to be one, quite the opposite. The guy is stupidly handsome to the point that Coop can't help glancing over at him every two seconds, as if Adam might disappear if he looks away long enough, not to mention those eyes that are blue enough that they're probably visible from a mile away; but Adam also doesn't quite seem like the model type.

Maybe that's because his largest exposure to someone in an industry like that is Corrine Flynn and well... as far as Coop can tell, Adam isn't at all like Corrine Flynn.

He watches as Adam lowers himself into his chair, noticing that though his new friend hides it pretty well, there's still strain in even those small movements, the kinds of movements that most people don't think twice about. Maybe that's why Adam isn't a model anymore, he thinks. Or maybe he should mind his own business when it comes to someone he's only just met.

"Well, you're hot enough to be one, that's for sure," Coop says, broadening his smile before turning his attention back to the machine. He pushes a button to brew, brushing his other hand through his hair. "And I don't say that to all the boys, I swear. Only some of them."

[silent_key]

"I did it for a few years, yeah," he says and he's somehow both pleased and embarrassed by Coop's reaction at the same time. It's not a job he's ashamed of having had, even though he knows he talked his way into most of his jobs, but at the same time it's also not the sort of thing most people look at as a genuine career. Even while he'd been doing it, Adam had been aware that there was a time limit on what he had, that not all that far into the future, he wouldn't be able to get work anymore, no matter how smooth he was at convincing people they wanted to hire him. He just hadn't expected it to be so soon.

But the accident had changed a lot of things.

His smile grows and he's clearly pleased by the compliment, not embarrassed by that at all. He can't remember the last time someone called him hot and he knows it's partly because he really hasn't met many people since the accident and those who would have once praised his looks know what lurks under his clothing. That reality is always right at the edge of any flirtatious conversation he might have and he tries not to let it bring him down, not now, but he can't pretend it doesn't exist. Times like these he wonders if it wouldn't be better just to admit what's happened to him. People are bound to find out anyway.

"You seemed surprised that I was a model, so I'm guessing you're not one, but you have to tell me what a town like this has a guy who looks like you doing for them," he answers. "If it's not something shirtless, I'm going to say they're probably missing out. It could be anything. Shirtless doctor. Shirtless lawyer?"

[coopdetat]

"Shirtless vet, actually," Coop tells him, wiggling his eyebrows. "Well, some of the time, anyway. Naked morning yoga is a real thing, but I'm sure you sexy model types know all about that, don't you? You'll have to join me one day. I promise I'll go easy on you the first couple times but after that, all bets are off."

With both mugs full now, Coop carefully walks them over to where Adam's sitting, holding one out as he lifts the other to his lips to blow softly at the hot coffee inside. He's only teasing about the model thing, which he hopes Adam will find obvious, and it's not like Siren Cove has any shortage of ridiculously attractive people running around; but Coop is always happy to welcome another one who's actually friendly. Some of the people who've moved here recently simply don't run in his circle and that's totally cool, just kind of a bummer for someone who likes to get to know everyone under the sun.

Taking a sip of the coffee once he deems it cool enough, Coop lets out a satisfied moan that's maybe a bit exaggerated for Adam's benefit, he will neither confirm nor deny it. "So okay, what, model world wasn't doing it for you anymore, you decided to come here, of all places? This a reclusive thing for you? Because we've got this author here, Caden Carter, don't know if you've heard of him. Showed up to get some peace and quiet, work on another book. Fair enough, I guess."

He's not quite sure how Caden had managed to write anything at all with all the bullshit that's gone on in this town, but Coop thinks it's probably best not to scare off Adam when he's still so fresh.

[silent_key]

Yoga has actually been recommended to him several times by his physical therapist and while Adam knows he would balk at naked yoga, especially with someone as good looking as Coop, he wonders if, once he's explained himself a little, being able to have someone to help him with that wouldn't be such a terrible thing. His therapist has told him time and again how it would be good for his muscles and the skin, both of them still in a state of repair, both still needing to be stretched regularly, but he's been too shy to seek out the proper places in which to engage in something like that. She had suggested a class, but Adam knows he's not ready for that. He's not ready for the questions that strangers will inevitably ask.

"Thank you," he says as he takes the mug from Coop and sets it down on the table, giving a little grin when Coop moans like that. Somehow the way Coop behaves, the way he seems completely at ease with anything, it gives Adam another little surge of confidence, the kind of thinks he needs to talk about what had happened.

"I grew up about three hours from here," he admits. "I was sort of forced into retirement after a... after a car accident. It turns out not many people are willing to book a model when he has disfiguring scars from burns. My first physical therapist suggested I find somewhere familiar and yet not at all related to New York to spend some time and recover, so here I am." He tries for a smile and actually manages it, but it's nervous as he finds himself wondering how Coop might react.

[coopdetat]

"Oh, shit."

Coop sets his cup down on the nearest surface, which really just turns out to be another box, and leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees to give Adam his full attention.

"The people who weren't willing to book you are assholes, just to get that out of the way. I'm sorry about your accident, man, that's-- That's beyond rough." So many of his friends have been through hell, over and over again to the point that Coop barely understands how they're still standing but in those cases, the scars are mostly of the internal variety. Obviously, that doesn't make the trauma any less traumatizing but to have a physical burden like Adam's is, Coop imagines, doubly difficult. Especially considering his career had pretty much been built on such a small-minded view of what makes a person attractive.

Biting down on his lip, he straightens back up in his chair, torn between not wanting to make Adam feel uncomfortable and wanting to ask all the questions that keep popping up in his mind. He settles for something in between. "Is Siren Cove still familiar? I mean, do you know a lot of people here? Because I'm volunteering as tour guide before anyone else can, just for the record. I know all the most relaxing places to be, my backyard included. I've got a hammock back there, an infinity pool, the beach. I'm good for more than popping coffee pods into a machine, I promise."

[silent_key]

That's easy enough to say when Coop hasn't actually seen the scars on Adam's body, but he smiles anyway, oddly grateful for the comment. The industry is filled with assholes, that's certainly true enough, and there's so much that's wrong with it, so much that really could do with being fixed, but Adam is far from an activist. The only thing he really wants now is just to heal. To find some kind of life where he doesn't always hurt, where he doesn't worry about what people might think when they see him.

"It's familiar, but I don't really know anyone," he says, shaking his head. "We'd come into town maybe once a year when I was a kid, but we never really stayed long enough for me to meet anyone or make friends. Everyone here is more or less a stranger to me, though I've met a few people who've been kind enough." He smiles then, oddly relieved by the response Coop has given him. He hasn't reacted negatively, he hasn't acted as if he might be disgusted by Adam's body. That doesn't necessarily mean he's going to go out of his way to show his scars off any time soon, but he feels relieved all the same. He actually feels rather nice. "Although I have to say, you're probably my favourite new person I've met with that offer you just laid out."

His condo is nice enough, he has the money to keep a beautiful place, but it's nothing like what Coop has just described.