Work Text:
"So Parrish, what does the nerd have planned?"
They were studying in St. Agnes when Ronan asked Adam what his plans were for summer vacation, he probably could've predicted the answers, "Studying of course, for the early acceptance courses."
Without glancing up from his book, "Nothing, no travelling if that's what you meant."
After he saw that flash of worry that talking about finances always brought Adam, Ronan let it drop, and Adam didn't give their conversation a second thought. He was too busy fretting the corner of his calculus textbook, and thinking about how he could barely afford to go to college.
Ronan threw his pen at the wall in a way that made it seem like he expected it to bounce back at him, it didn't. When he got up to retrieve it and stole a glance at Adam, he didn't see the way Ronan's eyes softened and his mouth turned up with a clever thought.
It had been no less than week after finals when school had ended and Gansey had been whisked away to attend his mother's political campaigns. The more time Ronan spent driving with Adam, studying at his apartment, and staying over, the less time Noah spent in Monmouth and more time at 300 Fox Way. Of course this is the reason why he had been able to pop into the moving BMW when they were heading back from the Barns, and almost causing Ronan to swerve into a ravine.
"Fucking hell Noah," he hissed after he righted the car.
Noah flickered, is that what ghost do when they are embarrassed? and gave the back of Ronan's headrest an apologetic look.
"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." He pouted and put a cold hand on Adam's shoulder.
"I just wanted to make sure I got to say good bye before you left."
Ronan stared ahead easing into a turn and when the road narrowed out, he glanced into the back seat, "Not even sure if I'm going, certainly not tonight," Ronan shrugged, "I've been playing nice with Declan, but when I comes down to it, the property is mine so-"
"You'll ignore him and go anyways," interrupted Adam, he didn't add and jeopardize your trust fund but it was implied.
Ronan wore a smug look in Adam's general direction.
"And to piss off that dick wad even more, I'm going to invite someone," Ronan unknowingly replicated the jagged smile he'd flash Declan when he'd tell him no. Adam's own self-depreciating habits made his thoughts immediately shoot to the handsome mug shot of Henrietta's most infamous Russian bad boy, Kavinsky.
However it was hard to picture Kavinsky and Ronan alone on a rural island with no cars to race or fires to burn.
Adam shifted, something strange pinched at his insides and it most certainly wasn't jealousy.
Noah nodded and both of them didn't notice when he faded out and left.
It was no more than two days after that, when Adam lifted his head off his desk in a start, bleary eyes with a worksheet stuck to his cheek. The pounding at his door, was pounding on the door, which already told him it was Ronan.
The candle he was using to replace the burnt out bulbs in the ceiling had extinguished sometime in the night and he couldn't see anything. Save for the digital clock, a gift from Gansey, on his desk, which told him that it was exactly 3:28 am.
"Parrish, open the fuck up."
"S'minute," he fumbled for the door nob, and unlocked it.
In the darkness he could see they way Ronan's shoulders were wet from rain and his breath was heaving, no doubly from running from his car all the way up the stairs to his room.
"Pack a bag, we're leaving."
Ronan was surprised by how easily Adam accepted this, and begun to grab clothes from drawers and sleepily putting it into a worn out duffle.
Ronan was folding his jackets, and made a face when he saw Adam reach to grab his textbooks.
"Wait, hold on," he stopped folding on of Adam's sweaters, "you're ok with this, right? You're not gonna freak out on me afterwards when you're on the plane?"
Adam shrugged and continued folding, "You already bought the tickets right?"
Ronan, shouldering Adam's duffle, opened the BMW's car door and threw it in the back. The hours past rain had made the driveway shine in the streetlight.
Adam clumsily dropped into the passenger seat and used the controls to relax the chair back. He brought a knitted throw blanket and now used it to cover himself, snuggle up against the seat and fall asleep before they even left the church parking lot.
Ronan drove the long drive in silence; with the occasional kraw from Chainsaw, showing her distain for her cage, and the radio was on but it was quiet enough that he could hear Adam breathing.
He mumbled, still drowsy, "Where are we going exactly?"
"My father's island."
Ah yes, the island, Adam recalled many enthusiastic conversations about the misty, fog covered isolated island somewhere in the archipelago of Alaska.
Adam touched Ronan's hand on the shift to get his attention, "Tell me about it."
Adam's own relaxed nature about accepting the trip and leaving unexpectedly surprised even Adam, but he had good reasons. Reasons that Ronan made Adam tell him because "I just want to make sure you're not gonna be pain in the ass while were there when you get upset over missing your shifts."
The scholarship he received from one of Gansey's mother's friends certainly eased the pressure of finding summer jobs, and since those were in high demand, he could easily drop his shifts at the garage.
By the time they got to the airport and were shuffled onto a plane, all Adam knew was that the trip was for 3 weeks or whenever Adam wanted to leave, the island was found during a family trip, Niall bought it because it reminded him of the moors, the house there was built by Niall himself, and that there were wolves.
Adam slept clear through the 6 hour flight, when he woke up his body was curled up in his seat with his pillow and head on Ronan's lap.
From there it was a small watercraft plane to the island with a population of 3, plus 2.
From the airstrip they then walked over a very small boat port, and got on a small motorboat to the beach down the hill from the house.
By this time Adam was livid. The cold air nipped at his nose turning it red and sniffy. He marveled over every breath of the crisp clean air. He leaned so far over the edge of the craft staring at the clear dark water that Ronan jumped forward to pull the hood of the parka back.
He bundled himself in Ronan's parka, between two other jackets over his blanket, while Ronan wore a sweatshirt and jeans. He was in his element; you'd never hear him bitching about the cold.
When they neared the island, it was like someone pushed a small opening in where the horizon met the sea and put a rock in it. The fog covered 80% of it so Adam couldn't tell how big it was. They neared the dock, which Ronan said was closest to the house.
Ronan leapt over the side and moored it, with his bag and Adam's slug over his shoulder he strode down the small boardwalk to a wooden shack and rummaged through it.
Adam was breathless, the air smelled so strongly of pine that he was reminded of the time Gansey wanted to get a real tree for Christmas and sent Ronan and Adam to get it.
Ronan went straight to the biggest tree, insisting that they have it, despite having to haul it up the stairs, shove it in the doorway and sweep up the needles constantly, they all loved it.
They tasked Ronan to take it to the dump but that only happened in late February when the tree had long been dry and brown.
When Adam pulled himself out the boat and wandered over to Ronan, he had fished out two baseball bats, swinging one in his right hand.
He shoved the second on into Adam's hands, "Here."
Adam was puzzled, "What's this for?"
"The wolves," Ronan looked up the hill, trying to spot something between the trees, "they mind their business but," he shook his head, "we've been carrying these around since Matt got jumped once."
Adam felt slightly chilled, Ronan continued "He was really young and small, perfect prey. They are cowards in that way, only go for the weak."
Adam nodded, "Opportunists."
"You ready to take a walk?" Ronan nodded to the trail.
The walk there was quiet, and they walked along to the methodical crunches of pines under their shoes. Adam saw something run between some trees a good distance away but never caught sight of it.
Ronan lead a tour through the wooden house. It was quaint, similar to the Barns but with darker tones coloring everything.
Ronan pointed out a few dream things, like a Morse code light with no bulb or cord, the refrigerator wasn't plugged in, the lamp, and a loaf of bread that had been sitting on the counter for who knows how long but was still fresh.
While Ronan was unpacking, Adam spent the hour inspecting every vase and picture frame.
Ronan couldn't stop making things. It was too easy here.
First, it was a room full of flowers and bouquets, and Ronan stayed in bed till ten.
Second day was a breakfast in bed and they both stayed in bed till noon.
There was furniture, trees, commodities that Adam forgot, and even parasailing gear.
Ronan didn't feel as wiped out as he used to when he took things out, but he found that it made for a better excuse to sleep in with Adam.
The next week, Adam called for radical change.
They got up earlier and used the parasailing gear, and Adam made plans to hike, fish, picnic, and organize a campfire.
The hiking went nearly without incident.
Time passed differently on the island. Slower?
Maybe. Days did feel longer when Adam wasn't working 3 jobs and just managing to fit time for homework in there. But yet, it also felt faster in the way that they fell into a sleepy, dream-like routine, and whenever Adam woke up next to Ronan he could nearly fool himself into thinking he's been doing that exact same thing for years. It was easy to believe that he'd been alone on this island with him cut off from the rest of the world.
Well Ronan, Chainsaw and the native wolf population.
Sleepy relaxed day after day, Adam dreaded when it would end. Adam was reading a book on the porch, every so often putting it down to watch Ronan chop firewood. Eventually Ronan ran out of wood and stalked back into the forest to go gather some more, swatting at branches as he went.
Adam put down the book and looked out at the tree line, on top of their hill he could just barely see the beach down below.
He yawned and stood, it was only around12:00 pm and he couldn't be getting tired now. He put on his flannel and took to the path between the trees the opposite of Ronan's wood trail.
The decline gave way to flat ground and he still couldn't shake the feeling of drowsiness.
Sucking in large breaths of earthy pine air, he shook out his limbs and sprinted down the winding path between the trees. The adrenaline really did get the job done, as he whipped past moss covered rocks and ducked under rouge branches.
He jogged for a while, going off the path when he would see a clearing.
Adam heard a kraw from above and looked up trying to distinguish Chainsaw from the trees, his attention diverted for a split second before he subsequently tripped and flung himself over a log. He landed harshly on a rock, with his back and leg aching. His breath was knock clear out of him and he struggled to sit up without his movements lancing a sharp pain up his spine.
That's not good.
With his back against the rock he inspected his hands and forearm which both bared the brunt of his fall with bloody scrapes and one jagged line.
He stood and pressed his ankle, and with that he was able to fine point the sources of his pain.
His ankle wasn't twisted but it sure hurt a hell of a lot.
Worst of all when he looked at where he ran from he couldn't see the path or a familiar sign before the massive log.
Panic seized Adam before he quelled it down and hobbled through in the general direction opposite of the beach, which was still barely visible from a small glimpse between some trees down a hill from him.
Up ahead of him, a dark low-lying figure darted between two staggeringly tall pines. It was large, and Adam was no idiot.
It was a wolf.
Reality hit him like a frying pan; here he was, alone, injured and weak. Isolated, and the perfect prey.
How could I let this happen? He would've slapped his forehead, but instead kept his eyes trained on the black mass lumbering around, silently dragging its feet from tree to tree.
Adam patted his pockets for the small radio communicator they used on the island.
It wasn't there.
He cursed silently, he had left it on the porch next to his book.
He briefly considered running to the dock to get bat but doubted he could get anywhere downhill before his ankle gave out.
He contemplated yelling for Ronan but that would attract more attention to him, and he already counted three black shadows no more than 20 feet away.
He heard a crunch under his foot, just to realize that he took a step back without knowing. That small twig was like a signal, there was a sudden and enveloping howl that ripped it's way out from one of the wolves.
The entire island and all it's wolves heard that howl.
Just like the unconscious step he took back, he took an unconscious sprint down the hill to the dock; he couldn't even stop if he wanted to.
He gratefully hit asphalt, flat ground, which lead him diagonal to the dock, to the garage and drive way.
He leapt up and knocked off the key from its secret perch on top of the light and knelt delicately on his right leg while he fumbled with the lock.
Right when he managed to twist the lock open, he was blinded sided by the creature.
He felt onto his back, with the wolf on top of him, thinking, this is it, this is it, this is it.