I'll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror [ peter + adam ]

[superchameleon]

it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

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[igodsend]

          Over time, if Peter peeked into Adam's thoughts long enough, he might notice the subtle disconnect between the relatively youthful physical side and the jaded, guarded wisdom of the centuries and how often they clashed. Spontaneous flights of fancy — such as hoping Peter was different than most people and desiring to wake up to him — were allowed to exist, but only in silence behind a poker face. At least until he felt comfortable enough around someone to allow his walls to come down. It was safer that way.

          But for now, with all he'd seen of the empath, Adam would humor his wishful thoughts and enjoy the moment, even if it might all turn to shit in time... As it seemed the coffee had, if Peter's reaction was anything to go by. A subtle smirk of amusement formed on his lips as he couldn't help thinking how adorable Peter could be.

          Shaking his head, Adam gave a soft laugh. ❝ But, you just said—you know what, alright, you have me curious... ❞ Putting his hand over his, he lifted the cup to his mouth for a sip. There was a pause. His eyes twitched before narrowing as he forced a swallow. Any trace of a grin was gone now. ❝ ...In all my years, my regeneration has never been put to such a test. ❞

          With restrained urgency, Adam took out the wine and gulped it to get the horrible taste out of his mouth before turning to Peter and offering the bottle. ❝ That simply won't do. I'm going to get you some decent coffee, love. Believe I saw a couple proper shops on the map, then we'll pick up a few things. I have enough money for us today, no worries. ❞ A grocery list began forming in his thoughts — tea, coffee, milk, sugar, whatever sort of styling product Peter needs for his hair...

[superchameleon]

"I think," Peter says solemnly, "that if we didn't have cellular regeneration, we'd be dead already. Dead from stomach necrosis or something."

He takes the wine bottle and has a generous few gulps, swishing the last mouthful around to chase the taste of rancid coffee out of his mouth. God, that was awful.

With that done, he hands the wine bottle back just incase Adam wants to get daydrunk -- hey, who is he to judge, the guy's like a few centuries old -- and very, very carefully does not remark on exactly what hair product he uses. He knows damn well it's really, really rude to be intruding on Adam's thoughts like this, and yet--

There's something pure about hearing his unguarded thoughts. Adam is a man that wears one face and hides another. His every sentence is cleverly chosen. Peter knows he's prone to being gullible about people, but even he can pick up that Adam only lets people see what he wants them to see. Telepathy is affording him a whole new perspective. He'll tell Adam soon, he resolves. Just... not quite yet.

"I'll go look for that safe, it shouldn't take long. I think I can differentiate between solid matter and empty space while I'm intangible, so it shouldn't be too hard to stick my hand through the floorboards and find something. Do you wanna go shopping alone, or should I come with?"

[igodsend]

          A nod of understanding was given. Death by coffee; how utterly embarrassing it would have been after surviving plagues and pandemics throughout the centuries. Once Peter handed him the wine bottle, Adam took a final swig before returning it to the cabinet so they'd have plenty to go with the leftover Italian food later.

          At Peter's agreement to look for the safe, Adam found a pencil and began taking the liberty of marking on the floor where the empath should check during his search. Luckily, these weren't totally blind guesses, as he always hid his treasures in the same few places throughout his different properties. That way, they were never truly lost. So far, there were places to check underneath the fridge and in the corners of the kitchen beside cabinets.

          As he stood back to observe the ability that had bought them both their freedom, Adam paused to look at Peter and slowly shook his head. ❝ Never underestimate your enemy. If they were to catch us apart, I... ❞ wouldn't be able to protect you. ❝ I would be a sitting duck without you, you know, ❞ he finished with a soft laugh as he gave Peter a pat on the shoulder. ❝ Besides, I believe the Italian restaurant has a cafe on the side. It'll be my treat. Least I can do considering my decades-old coffee made an attempt on your life. ❞

          Normally, Adam might have been worried about going out into town, but not here. One of the reasons he'd chosen this city was its lack of progressiveness, especially concerning technology. The only cameras would be in and around the bank, so as long as they kept their distance from that building, he was confident they would be fine.

[superchameleon]

"A sitting duck," Peter scoffs. "Yeah, you're a helpless little delicate flower without me."

Peter's pretty sure it's the other way around. Adam has been surviving for centuries; god only knows what he's had to do to survive. He'll know his own body down to the cellular level by now, he'll know everything it's capable of, every kind of wound he can get away with and how long it takes to heal. Peter, on the other hand, still can't activate half his abilities when he wants to.

Well, at least he's got decent coffee to look forward to once he finds the safe.

The first x that Adam marked is square in the middle of the kitchen. What happens next isn't exactly big on dignity; Peter gets down on his hands and knees, stares very intently at his hands for a long few seconds, and nearly clocks himself in the face when both hands fall straight through the floor. He recovers (somewhat), and pushes the power into just one arm so that he can lean on the floor with one forearm and shove the other arm through the floor, eyebrows furrowed as he tries to figure out what he's picking up on.

"There's a kind of... vibration," he narrates to Adam. "It makes sense that this kind of ability would come with a solid matter sensor, right? Otherwise you'd be feeling your way around in the dark. But I think I'm just picking up floorboards here."

He makes his way to the next spot, and the next. And eventually, finds a more solid mass right in front of the fireplace.

"Jackpot." He shoots a crooked grin at Adam. "Got any powertools lying around? We'll need a saw, at least."