Chapter Text
When she knocked on his office door, Olive patiently waited for his typically annoyed “Come in” before opening it with a grin.
“There I am.”
Adam, who had been focused on his laptop just moments ago, looked up in surprise. For a brief moment, he almost looked as though he’d forgotten that anyone might actually be standing outside his door.
But as soon as he saw Olive, his expression immediately softened into that familiar, slightly crooked smile she knew so well.
“Olive.”
“Hey.”
She closed the door behind her and walked over to his desk. Carefully, she set the coffee she’d brought and her Starbucks bag down.
“Am I interrupting you or…?”
“No, not at all,” Adam said quickly.
“Great. Because I brought reinforcements.”
She held her Rainbow Coffee out toward him with a pleased grin.
“Look what they have now!”
Adam eyed the colorful drink as though Olive had just placed something potentially dangerous directly in front of him.
“I don’t know how they can still call something like that coffee,” he muttered.
Olive laughed.
“It’s coffee.”
“It’s colorful.”
“That’s not an argument.”
Adam looked at the cup again.
“It is.”
Olive rolled her eyes.
“You know, now that I think about it…” Adam leaned back slightly. “I actually think I have a lot of work to do.”
He gently pushed her hand and the drink away from him.
Olive laughed.
“Such a shame. I specifically got you the blandest, most colorless coffee I could find. We wouldn’t want your Lord of Darkness personality to suffer.”
Adam rolled his eyes, but he still reached for the cup.
He took a large sip before setting it back down on his desk.
“Thank you.”
Olive grinned.
“You’re welcome.”
Adam glanced at the coffee.
“I could really use this right now.”
“Oh, really?”
“Is there a reason for the bad mood, or is that just your personality?”
“I’m not in a bad mood,” he protested immediately.
Olive couldn’t help grinning.
“Of course not.”
Adam gave her a brief look before turning his attention back to his laptop.
“Although it is genuinely difficult to understand how some people can’t even manage to proofread their papers.”
He shook his head slightly.
“It’s terrible.”
“Oh.”
Olive glanced at his screen and then back at him.
“Should I leave?”
She really didn’t want to interrupt him if he had important work to do, just because she wanted some company during lunch. She could always sit somewhere else and eat her sandwich by herself.
But before she could step away, Adam wrapped his hands around her waist.
Olive barely had time to react before he pulled her onto his lap.
She let out a surprised laugh, automatically placing one hand on his shoulder.
“No. Come here.”
His arms closed around her, and for a moment he said nothing.
Then his shoulders relaxed slightly as he pulled her a little closer.
He actually looked a little worn out.
“I could really use some comfort with all this.”
Olive smiled.
So much for his supposedly nonexistent bad mood.
Adam let out a quiet sigh before burying his face against her neck and taking a deep breath.
Olive felt the warmth of his breath against her skin.
“I missed you,” he murmured.
Her smile immediately widened.
“I was only gone for a few hours.”
Adam didn’t answer.
Instead, he simply stayed like that for another moment, his arms wrapped firmly around her.
Olive giggled softly and slipped one arm around his shoulders. With her other hand, she slowly ran her fingers through his hair.
Almost immediately, he relaxed a little more.
She could feel the tension that had been sitting in his body slowly ease away.
“Better?” she asked quietly.
Adam lifted his head.
His eyes met hers, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
“Mhm.”
Then he leaned in again and began pressing soft kisses along her neck and cheek.
Olive smiled before turning her head and kissing him.
A quiet sound escaped him against her lips.
His arms automatically pulled her a little closer.
Olive smiled against his mouth.
Adam deepened the kiss, and Olive let out a soft sigh when his tongue lightly brushed over her lower lip.
For a moment, the laptop, his desk, and probably the entire university disappeared from her mind.
She melted into his arms as they simply lost themselves in the kiss.
When they finally pulled apart, Olive was slightly breathless.
Adam’s lips were a little flushed, and for a moment his eyes looked almost hazy.
Olive smiled warmly at him.
And that was probably why she stayed there just a little longer than she’d originally intended.
Then she remembered that she was supposed to eat at some point.
She pulled away from him and stood up.
Adam made a quiet, displeased sound.
“Olive.”
She grinned.
“What?”
He looked at her for a moment but didn’t say anything else.
Apparently, even he knew he couldn’t exactly make her sit on his lap forever.
So he let her go.
Olive dropped into the chair across from him and started unpacking her lunch.
She took a satisfied bite of her sandwich and watched Adam, whose expression had now settled into one of mild suffering.
She grinned.
“You should work.”
Adam’s expression immediately grew more irritated.
“I have been working.”
“Before.”
“Now, too.”
Olive raised an eyebrow.
She took another bite and leaned back comfortably.
“So, how was your day?”
“Wonderful,” Adam grumbled.
Her grin widened.
“Oh, really?”
“Mhm.”
“Sounds convincing.”
Adam gave her a look that probably would have made it very clear to anyone else that the conversation was over.
Olive knew him well enough to know that it didn’t necessarily work on her.
They talked about their days for a while. Olive told him about a few things from her own day, while Adam occasionally complained about his students and the papers he was currently grading.
And even though he still looked grumpy, Olive had the feeling that his mood was slowly improving.
Maybe it was the coffee.
Probably not.
“By the way,” Olive said eventually as she took the last bite of her sandwich, “the semester break is coming up soon, right?”
Adam nodded.
“In a few weeks.”
“So that means you actually have a few days off.”
“In theory.”
Olive looked at him.
“What does that mean in practice?”
“That I’ll probably work anyway.”
She sighed dramatically.
“Oh, what a shame. I thought you’d have more time for us.”
Adam didn’t say anything at first.
He glanced down at his desk and then back at her.
Olive noticed the slight hesitation.
“What?”
“Actually…”
He paused for a moment.
“I’ve been thinking that maybe we could go somewhere.”
Olive looked at him in surprise.
“What? Go somewhere?”
“Yes.”
Adam leaned back slightly.
“For a few days, maybe.”
“Where?”
He shrugged lightly.
“I was thinking about a national park.”
Olive blinked.
She really hadn’t expected that.
“A national park?”
“Mhm.”
“With you?”
A small, amused expression appeared on Adam’s face.
“That was the idea.”
“No, I mean…”
She trailed off and smiled.
She liked the idea far too much.
A few days with Adam. No university. No students. No papers. No constantly checking the time because one of them had somewhere else to be.
She had always wanted to visit one.
“I’ve never been to one.”
Adam nodded.
“I know.”
She looked at him for a moment, slightly surprised.
Of course he knew.
He somehow seemed to remember more of the little things she mentioned in passing than she did herself.
“I’ve always wanted to see one.”
His expression softened a little.
“Then we could.”
Olive’s heart gave a little, happy leap.
She beamed at him.
The thought of spending a few days with Adam somewhere surrounded by nature suddenly felt incredibly wonderful.
And then she thought about the night sky.
The stars.
The Milky Way.
Maybe they could sit somewhere far away from all the city lights, and she could finally see a sky filled with more than just a handful of scattered stars.
Olive blinked quickly.
She wasn’t entirely sure why the thought suddenly made her so emotional.
Maybe it was the idea itself.
Maybe it was Adam.
Probably both.
She swallowed and smiled at him.
“I’d really love to go away with you, Adam.”
Her voice came out a little shaky.
Adam smiled back at her.
But before he could say anything, there was a knock at the door.
The warmth disappeared from his expression almost instantly.
“Dr. Carlsen?”
A muffled voice came from outside.
Adam looked toward the door.
His expression made it fairly clear what he thought of the interruption.
Olive laughed.
“Well. I guess that’s my cue to leave, huh?”
Adam let out an audible sigh.
“Probably.”
Olive stood up and walked around his desk.
She leaned down and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
“See you later.”
Adam looked up at her.
“See you later.”
Olive picked up her bag and gave him one last little smile before heading for the door.
When she opened it, the impatient graduate student was already waiting outside.
Olive glanced back at Adam one last time.
He watched her go with a faintly wistful look in his eyes.
She smiled at him again.
Then she closed the door behind her.