Chapter Text
Adam
As always, Adam had been looking forward to his fake date with Olive at Starbucks on Wednesday.
It had quickly become the highlight of his week. Even if it was only twenty minutes with her—drinking coffee, talking, and Olive usually doing most of the talking while he simply listened.
Except Olive seemed different today.
Quieter than usual. More withdrawn.
And it worried him.
He missed her cheerful personality. Her smile. Even the way she was constantly teasing him, always with that little grin on her lips.
Instead, she was staring down at the chocolate chip muffin he’d bought her earlier, looking distracted.
Adam watched her for another moment before finally asking,
“So… how are you?”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
She gave him a small smile.
But it didn’t reach her eyes.
Adam reached for his coffee, a little nervously.
He wasn’t particularly good at this sort of thing.
Usually, Olive was the one who did the talking. She could fill even the smallest silence without any trouble, telling him about her day, her lab, or some completely random thought that had just popped into her head.
Today, though, she barely seemed to want to say anything at all.
Eventually, he let out a quiet sigh.
“What’s wrong, Olive?”
“What? Nothing. I’m fine.”
For a brief moment, there was something almost panicked in her eyes.
Adam noticed it immediately.
“Hey.” His voice softened. “It’s okay, Olive.”
She looked at him.
“You don’t have to tell me,” he added. “I just wanted to know if you were okay.”
He paused.
“You seem… distracted.”
“I—”
Olive stopped herself.
Her gaze dropped back to the muffin, and she started nervously picking at the paper wrapper.
“I’m sorry, Adam.”
Adam watched her blink rapidly.
And then he saw them.
Tears.
Only the slightest hint of them, but enough to make something tighten in his chest.
Seeing her like this felt like a punch to the gut.
God, he hated seeing her sad.
He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and hold her until that expression disappeared from her face and she was smiling again.
But he didn’t know if she wanted that, so he held himself back.
Instead, he leaned forward slightly and brushed his fingertips over her hand.
“Hey, Olive. It’s okay.”
She looked down at their hands.
“You don’t have to tell me anything.”
Olive nodded slowly.
Adam watched her worriedly.
Maybe she needed someone she could really talk to.
Maybe he just wasn’t that person.
He didn’t like that thought at all.
“But if you want to, you can always talk to me,” he added quietly.
Olive sighed.
“I’m sorry, Adam. I’m ruining our date.”
She made a face.
“Fake date.”
“I don’t even know why I can’t pull myself together. I—”
She stopped.
For a moment, she looked at him before her gaze drifted back to her coffee.
“Maybe it’s because I don’t have a Pumpkin Spice Latte,” she mused.
Adam glanced at her drink.
For once, she’d actually ordered a fairly normal coffee.
Which had already surprised him.
“You know,” Olive continued, “I really appreciate this drink. But unfortunately, it’s missing that certain something.”
“You mean the sugary pumpkin sludge.”
“Oh, definitely.”
She smiled.
Not much.
But this time, it was a real smile.
Adam considered that a win.
“Maybe that’s why you’re always in such a bad mood.”
“Maybe you should try adding a little more pumpkin spice to your life.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“I promise it’ll make everything better.”
“Smart-ass.”
Olive grinned.
The smile still didn’t quite reach her eyes, but at least it was there again.
“Well,” Adam said, doing his best to keep the conversation going, “how about I make it up to you and get you your pumpkin thing?”
“You already bought me one.”
“A second one wouldn’t be too much, would it?”
“Considering how much candy you always order with it, I don’t think it’ll make much of a difference.”
She giggled.
And Adam couldn’t help smiling.
He’d missed that sound.
“I’ll get you one,” he said firmly. He would give her whatever she needed.
He was just about to get up when Olive stopped him.
“No, really. I’m fine, Adam.”
She pushed her chair back.
“I need to get back to the lab anyway.”
Adam was a little disappointed.
He would have liked to know more. To figure out what was bothering her and whether there was anything he could do to make it better.
But she clearly didn’t want to talk about it.
So he didn’t push.
“Of course.”
As they left, he held the door open for her while she put on her jacket.
Outside, Olive stopped one more time and turned back to him.
“Thanks, Adam. I’ll see you?”
“Of course.”
She smiled.
But Adam could still see the sadness behind her eyes.
And he stayed in the doorway for another moment, watching her walk away.
He wished he could help her.
He just didn’t know how.
_______________
Olive
Today had been a terrible day.
It was the anniversary of her mother’s death.
And even though it had been so long ago, even though Olive was an adult now and usually managed just fine on her own, this day was hard every single year.
It reminded her of everything she had lost.
Her mother.
The time they’d had together.
And how much she still missed her.
Today, that longing felt particularly painful.
She just felt lonely.
So Olive had decided to distract herself.
Work usually helped.
At least a little.
If she stayed in the lab long enough, she didn’t have time to think about anything. She could focus on her experiments, analyze her results, and pretend today was just another ordinary day.
Just like every year.
Except today, it wasn’t really working.
She hadn’t even felt like having pumpkin spice.
Which, if you knew Olive, was probably a pretty clear sign that something was wrong.
And of course Adam had noticed too.
She’d noticed his concerned looks during their coffee date. The way he kept glancing at her, as if he were trying to figure out what was wrong.
But she just hadn’t had the energy to talk about it today.
Things didn’t get any better in the lab.
Her first Western blot had failed.
So had the second.
Eventually, she’d had enough and went to the break room, where she used the last of her change to buy a bag of salt-and-vinegar chips from the vending machine.
Her favorite kind.
It had seemed like a pretty good plan.
Until, of course, the bag got stuck in the vending machine at exactly the moment it was supposed to drop.
Olive stared at the bag.
Then at the display.
Then back at the bag.
She was hungry.
Her experiment had failed.
And now she couldn’t even have her chips.
“Oh, come on,” she muttered through clenched teeth.
She glared at the vending machine.
Did everything really have to go wrong today?
Olive sighed and leaned back against the machine.
Her eyes were burning again.
No.
She didn’t want to cry again.
She was stronger than this.
Wasn’t she?
She had no idea how long she’d been standing there when she suddenly heard a concerned voice.
“Hey, Olive. What happened?”
She looked up.
Adam was walking toward her.
The concerned expression was already on his face.
He stopped right in front of her, trying to catch her eye.
Olive only met his gaze for a second before quickly wiping away her tears.
Great.
That was exactly what she needed.
“I’m fine,” she said quickly. “Sorry, Adam.”
She gave him a small smile, hoping it would reassure him.
It didn’t.
If anything, the crease between his brows deepened.
Olive tried to distract him.
“You know, I was just trying to get some chips.”
She pointed at the vending machine behind her.
“With the last of my money. And then they got stuck.”
Adam looked at the machine.
Then back at her.
His expression grew even more concerned.
“And that’s why you’re crying?”
“Um…”
Olive sniffed and gave an embarrassed little laugh.
“Not just because of that.”
For a moment, Adam seemed unsure what to do.
Then he suddenly turned toward the vending machine.
He pressed a button, carefully shook the side, and finally tried to reach the stuck bag.
A few seconds later, it came loose.
Adam pulled it out and held it out to her.
“Here.”
Olive looked at the bag.
Then at him.
“Don’t cry,” he said softly.
And somehow, that only made everything worse.
Not because he sounded annoyed.
He just looked at her so sincerely.
A sob escaped her.
“Adam?”
“Yeah?” he asked gently, a faintly panicked look crossing his face.
“C-can I hug you?”
He looked briefly confused, but nodded immediately.
“Yeah, of course, but—”
She didn’t let him finish.
Instead, she wrapped her arms tightly around him and pressed her face against his black Henley.
For a moment, she didn’t care if it was too much.
She just needed this.
She felt Adam freeze for a second.
Then his arms slowly came around her.
Not tightly.
Almost as if he wanted to give her the chance to pull away whenever she wanted.
She didn’t.
She took a deep breath.
His familiar scent.
His warmth.
“It’s okay, Olive,” he murmured against her hair.
She could feel some of the tension she’d been carrying all day slowly beginning to ease.
She didn’t know how long they stood there like that.
But for the first time that day, she didn’t feel quite so alone.
When she finally pulled away, she immediately missed his warmth.
Adam looked at her.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
He let out a quiet sigh.
Then he lifted a hand and gently brushed a single tear from her cheek.
“Olive,” he said softly, “like I said, you don’t have to talk to me.”
He hesitated.
His eyes stayed on her face.
“But I really would like to know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
Olive looked at him.
She didn’t want to talk about it.
She just wanted to forget the entire day.
But it was Adam.
And she trusted him.
He started apologizing again, and she almost wanted to hug him all over again.
“Olive, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“You know…”
She interrupted him.
Her voice grew quieter.
“It’s the anniversary of my mom’s death.”
Adam fell silent.
Olive looked down.
And then the words suddenly came pouring out.
“So… I know it’s ridiculous, and I’m usually pretty good at handling things on my own, but it still makes me sad every year, and I just feel so alone, and normally I try to distract myself with work, but that’s not really working today, and then my Western blot—”
She stopped and took a breath.
Adam simply looked at her.
Then he carefully drew her a little closer again and gently pulled her against his chest, leaving her enough room to pull away whenever she wanted.
She closed her eyes.
She didn’t know how long they stood there. She simply enjoyed being close to him until he finally eased back and looked at her seriously.
“Olive,” he said quietly. “It’s not ridiculous.”
She looked at him.
Adam hesitated for a moment before brushing another tear from her cheek with his thumb.
“Do you have anything important to do today?”
Olive shook her head.
“No. Not really.”
She grimaced.
“I don’t think the Western blot is going to happen anyway.”
Adam nodded.
“Good.”
Olive frowned slightly.
“Why?”
A small, crooked smile appeared on his face.
“Because I have some time in about half an hour.”
Olive looked at him in surprise.
“Adam—”
“We can meet up then.”
“What? Why?”
His smile grew a little wider.
“We’ll do something nice.”
Olive blinked.
“You don’t have to,” she protested immediately. “You probably have something much more important to do. I—”
“No, I don’t,” he interrupted, still smiling.
“I can’t think of anything I’d rather do. So… is that a yes?”
Olive blinked, then finally laughed.
Adam’s smile deepened slightly, and he looked at her so warmly and sincerely that her heart felt a little lighter.
Maybe this was exactly what she needed.
“Okay,” she finally said. “Then I’d like that.”
She smiled.