some fluffy adamkate for @neilusgrey because this ship is adorable <3
i used some prompts from this post while writing. it fit them too well!
word count: 3320
Adam X Kate: Turn your face to the sun
“So? What do you think?” Kate asked.
Adam looked around their surroundings. They were attending a folk concert held in Kate’s hometown, and even though it wasn’t Adam’s usual scene, he’d been quick to accept when Kate had invited him.
The sun was shining bright in the sky and nearly everyone was smiling, the sound of music getting louder but nowhere near unbearable as they approached the small stage in the middle of the park. There weren’t as many people as Adam had feared, only a small crowd forming in front of the stage.
“It looks nice,” Adam said. “I’m glad you asked me to come.”
“Of course!” Kate said. “It’s about time we—”
“Kate! Over here!” someone shouted from behind them, effectively interrupting their conversation.
Adam watched as Kate turned around to face a group of people, her face cracking into a brilliant smile once she seemed to recognize them.
“Hey, y’all!” Kate beamed, hugging one of the women. “Long time, no see.”
It was strange to see Kate so in her element. Just walking across the park and to the event area, they’d been stopped several times as people wanted to catch up with Kate and a few even asked for her autograph.
“It’s so good to see you! Where have you been?” one of Kate’s current admirers asked.
“Oh, I did a bit of soul-searching,” Kate explained. “Kinda needed to drop off the grid for a while.”
Adam could tell Kate was struggling with the lie. It had been a couple months since their escape from the Entity and they were only just now getting used to the normalcy of the real world. Standing here, being alive and well and surrounded by happy people with the sun shining down on them was almost too good to be true.
“This is my date, Adam!” Kate introduced him.
But the best thing about the situation was that Adam was here with the most incredible woman he’d ever had the pleasure of knowing.
“Nice to meet you,” Adam said, giving a polite nod to the group.
“Likewise!” one of Kate’s friends said. “We’ll leave you to it, but let’s catch up sometime, okay?”
“That sounds lovely!” Kate agreed, before turning to Adam. “Come on, let’s find a good spot!”
Adam followed Kate closer to the stage, almost transfixed on the way her long dress swayed in the gentle breeze. With her flowy sundress and the daisies in her hair, Kate looked like a personification of summer, and Adam was honored to be allowed to bask in her warmth.
It also reminded Adam how overdressed he was for the occasion. He’d chosen to wear a suffocating button-up and stiff chinos that already felt too warm for the weather. Hopefully he’d manage a few hours in the Pennsylvanian summer.
“You wanna stay farther away from the stage?” Kate asked.
“Yes, please,” Adam said with a grateful smile.
Kate knew how much of an introvert he was and she had never appeared to see it as a big deal. The concert was already out of Adam’s comfort zone, so getting some relative privacy would be very welcome.
They found a spot away from the commotion but with a relatively unobstructed view of the stage and Adam pulled out the picnic blanket he’d packed earlier and spread it over the soft grass. All the while Kate kept looking at him in intrigue, making Adam wonder whether he’d done something wrong.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“You have a really good smile, you know that?” Kate said, making Adam realize he’d been smiling the entire time.
“Oh. Thank you,” Adam said, scratching at his neck self-consciously. “I guess I don’t tend to smile that much. Especially after…”
He didn’t need to explain further. Kate nodded in understanding, knowing they all had their own demons to battle after their capture and subsequent escape from the creature that still haunted their nightmares.
“Let’s make some better memories together,” Kate said with an adorable, soft smile.
Adam felt his face heat up and he merely offered a stiff “yes” as they started unpacking their bags.
They’d never officially decided what this was between them. For what felt like years, they’d been closer than friends but not quite lovers. None of the other survivors had batted an eye when Kate sought comfort in Adam’s arms by the campfire every time the trials became too much. There were jokes about them being a couple, sure, but to this day nothing had actually happened between them. Adam had never wanted to push and regardless, a world of violence and death wasn’t exactly the best setting for romance.
But now they were free and Kate had wasted no time in asking him on a date. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but he was certain that it had to mean something.
“I brought snacks!” Kate's triumphant grin snapped Adam out of his thoughts.
Adam watched as she retrieved a small box of strawberries as well as a packet of cookies from her beach bag.
“I wanted to have a picnic but didn’t know what you liked, so…” Kate explained.
“That was very thoughtful of you,” Adam said. “I didn’t realize to bring anything…”
“And I didn’t expect you to!” Kate reassured. “Come on, have some!”
They sat down to enjoy the snacks together, catching up on the brief period of time they’d been apart. Adam had been busy with a pile of paperwork about his disappearance in Japan and Kate had temporarily moved in with her parents. It became clear that neither of them were certain what the future would bring.
“There’s so many opportunities!” Kate said. “We can do whatever we want. The freedom is amazing.”
“It is,” Adam agreed. “But also a little overwhelming.”
He had no idea what he would do or where he would even go. All he knew was that he wanted to be near Kate; she was his rock and no matter what happened, he was sure he’d be okay as long as they were together.
Of course, he couldn’t say that out loud. They weren’t a couple and it was a little too intense to place so much importance on their friendship.
“We’ll figure something out,” Kate said, and just her smile was almost enough to reassure Adam.
They sat together and finished the snacks while enjoying the music, until the crowd seemed to get even more invigorated as people got up to dance. Adam watched a small group form in front of the stage with people twirling, jumping and laughing as they danced to the upbeat music.
"Let's join them!" Kate suggested almost immediately.
Adam shouldn’t have been surprised. Kate’s love for music knew no bounds, and even now she was nearly shaking with the boundless energy she always seemed to possess.
"We can't just leave our things," Adam tried to reason. "You go on, I'll stay here."
"Aw, you can’t get rid of me that easily! I wanna dance with you!” Kate said. “Nobody's gonna take anything.”
"I'm not much of a dancer," Adam protested, abruptly feeling the nervousness start to kick in.
"You'll be fine, hun—I promise!" Kate smiled at him and extended her bracelet-clad hand.
Before the fog had swallowed him all those years ago, Adam would have declined in a heartbeat. But he wanted to believe he had changed. During the last few years, he’d learned he was much more capable than he could have ever imagined—a little dancing surely wouldn’t kill him.
So he grabbed Kate’s hand and let himself be briefly pulled into her world of sunshine and spontaneity.
While they approached the stage, Adam tried his best to learn the choreography by observing people dancing. To his mortification, there didn’t seem to be choreography, all of the dancers seemingly able to effortlessly improvise a professional-looking routine.
By the time they reached their destination, Adam’s hand was sweating where it was holding Kate’s. She didn’t seem to care, only turning to him with a bright smile before settling closer to him in a dance position.
"Don't worry hun, just follow my lead!" Kate said.
Kate started leading him into a dance and Adam followed the best he could. He stared at her feet to try to get the hang of her movements, focusing too hard and completely ignoring the beat—
It was only a matter of time before his foot landed on Kate’s much smaller sandal-covered one.
"Sorry!" Adam apologized, embarrassed over his mistake. “Did I hurt you?”
"Don't worry so much," Kate said. "Look at me and just go with the flow."
Adam lifted his gaze to Kate's face and some of his tension melted away under her familiar smile.
Gradually, he got the hang of it. The song changed but the rhythm of Kate's movements stayed the same, and eventually Adam's clumsy steps got more confident and mirrored the spring in Kate's. He learned to read her ques, changing directions when she did and twirling her around when she wanted to. Kate laughed and giggled while they danced, the smile never leaving her face, like this is what she was made to do.
Adam realized she might not have gotten the chance to dance with anyone before this, not since their escape. Kate was never meant for the dull grey world of the Entity; she was meant for this, sun and music and dancing without a care in the world. And Adam was honored to be able to give it to her.
He lost count of how many songs they danced to. Previously, he might have been embarrassed of letting Kate lead, but any worries about arbitrary gender roles had disappeared during the years where their lives were nothing but survival.
Worrying about the past was the last thing on Adam’s mind as he followed his ray of sunshine into another dance. He was sweating something fierce but he didn't care, absently popping a few buttons on his shirt and rolling up the sleeves to try to cool down. Kate seemingly didn’t tire of dancing, but Adam spotted the redness on her cheeks and the more pronounced breaths she took as they picked up the pace and the exertion started to kick in.
At some point, people started forming a ring in some sort of group dance, and Kate didn’t hesitate to guide them to join in. The choreography was easy to understand this time, Adam effortlessly keeping up as everyone danced in a ring, before partnering up and switching every so often. Even though he stumbled a few times, Adam had always prided himself on being a fast learner.
When Kate twirled herself into being his partner for the finale, Adam found himself laughing. He was having fun.
"See? I knew you'd like it!" Kate said.
“Only you could convince me to do something like this,” Adam said.
Kate laughed with him, the sound radiant and inviting. She was beautiful and so full of light, turning heads even on the makeshift dance floor. He didn’t think he’d ever quite understand what she saw in a nerd like him.
Once the song ended, Kate let out a sigh.
"Whew, I'm beat!" she said.
Adam couldn't agree more. No matter how much he enjoyed the dancing, he was starting to get winded and his shirt was now drenched in sweat.
"Let's go drink some water," Adam suggested.
They returned to their spot and, to Adam's surprise, everything seemed to be exactly the way they left it. He'd completely forgotten about his worries while they danced.
Adam got out his water bottle from his backpack, when Kate's voice interrupted him.
"Aww, no!" Kate said, clearly disappointed when she peered into her bag.
"What's wrong?" Adam asked.
"I didn't close my bottle properly," Kate said, pulling out her wet, empty water bottle. "It's leaked all over."
She showed her bag that contained some now-soaked cookie crumbs and her keys bathing in water.
"I'm so sorry," Adam said. "We should hang it to dry somewhere—"
"It's not a big deal," Kate said with a smile. "It's just gonna smell like soggy cookies for a bit. That's what I get for being a klutz."
Adam's full water bottle felt heavy in his hands.
"Here, have some of mine," he said, extending the item.
"Are you sure?" Kate asked.
"Absolutely," Adam said. "We need to stay hydrated in this weather."
"You're the sweetest," Kate said and Adam felt his face heat up from the compliment.
Kate accepted the bottle, and only took one prim, small sip before holding it out for him.
"Come on, take a proper drink," Adam encouraged. "We’ll split it in half."
Kate gave him a sheepish smile, before tipping her head back and taking big gulps of the beverage, drinking nearly half of the bottle.
"Whew, that was refreshing," Kate said with a happy sigh. "Thanks, doll."
"My pleasure," Adam said.
He followed Kate's lead and emptied the bottle with similar gusto. The water felt heavenly in his dry throat and overheated body.
Afterwards, Adam insisted on setting up Kate's bag to dry in the sun.
"It should dry in no time," Adam said. "It's really hot today. I wish I was dressed for the weather."
"But you look so snazzy," Kate smiled. "Feels like I'm with royalty."
"I don't know about that. You look incredible today. I mean—err, you always do, but..." Adam floundered. "Your dress is beautiful."
"Thank you," Kate said with a shy smile, doing a little twirl. "It's good for dancing."
"I still can't believe you got me to dance," Adam said, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Admit it. You had fun back there!” Kate was positively beaming at him.
"I did," Adam admitted. "And I never would have tried it on my own. Thank you."
"Thank you for doing it for me," Kate said. “I know this ain’t your thing, and I didn’t wanna push too hard. But I knew you’d be great, and…”
Kate trailed off, and Adam followed her gaze to an ice cream booth at the foot of the hill.
"Do you want to get ice cream?" Adam asked.
"I was just about to ask!" Kate grinned.
They walked to the kiosk, only standing in a short line as most people were still busy dancing. Adam took some time to browse the list of available flavors while they waited.
"Do you know what you're getting?" Adam asked.
"Not yet—there's so many to choose from!" Kate said, almost as in awe.
Adam hummed in agreement and focused back on the list. He was a little disappointed to not find matcha flavor on the menu, as it was his favorite from his time in Japan. Most of the options looked sickly sweet, and Adam skimmed over the cookie and candy flavors until eventually settling onto pistachio.
He glanced over at Kate who was still staring at the menu. If Adam had to guess, she was choosing between some of the more strange flavors—maybe even thinking about mixing them into a daring combination.
"Okay, I'm done!" Kate said once it was their turn to order. "You go first."
"One pistachio, please," Adam said.
"And for the lady?" the vendor asked.
"Chocolate," Kate said.
Adam turned to look at Kate in surprise.
"I ain't that adventurous with food," Kate explained with a sheepish grin.
After Kate's usual spontaneity and boldness, it was incredibly endearing to find out that she was a picky eater. Adam was suddenly eager for an opportunity to introduce her to Japanese and Jamaican flavors in the future.
"You can't go wrong with the classics," Adam assured.
"Here you go," the vendor said, handing over their orders. "That’s $3 a piece."
Kate started fishing out her wallet, but Adam beat her to it.
"It's on me," Adam said, already paying for their orders. “I owe you for the snacks.”
"Well, ain't you a gentleman," Kate said with a mischievous smirk.
Rather than stay closer to the stage, they returned to their spot to enjoy their ice creams.
"How is it?" Adam asked.
"Love it!" Kate beamed. "Do you wanna try?"
Butterflies danced in Adam's gut when Kate extended the treat to him. He nodded and carefully took a bite out of the ice cream. The chocolate flavor was not as rich as he'd normally like, but the texture was creamy and it didn’t taste too sweet.
"It's really good," Adam said. "Do you want to try mine?"
Kate regarded his green ice cream skeptically.
"Sure!" she eventually decided.
Kate hesitantly tasted the ice cream with the very tip of her tongue, before her face twisted into a grimace and Adam found himself laughing.
"Not for you, huh?" he teased.
"No, sorry, it's…" Kate said. "It tastes weird. Why is it salty?"
"Different strokes, I suppose," Adam smiled, digging back into his strange-tasting dessert.
They ate in companionable silence, watching the music performance and the people dancing to it.
"Thanks for coming with me today," Kate broke the silence.
"Thank you for inviting me," Adam said. "It's not my usual type of event, so I hope I didn't make too much of a fool of myself."
"What are you talking about? If anything, you're too cool for a place like this," Kate said.
"That's definitely not true," Adam protested. "I am not ‘cool’ in the slightest."
"Yeah you are," Kate insisted with a smile. "You're always so calm and polite and know exactly what to do. It feels like I'm just a dumb country girl in the presence of a prince or something."
Adam couldn't believe his ears. All this time, he’d thought Kate was too good for him, and she’d felt the exact same way about him?
"You are anything but dumb, Kate," Adam said. "To be honest, your charisma and talent sometimes overwhelms me. I often wonder what you see in me."
Kate laughed; not a mocking one, but a laugh that told Adam he was being absurd.
"Guess we're both kinda dumb, then," Kate smiled.
Adam returned the smile, feeling immense relief. He now knew that—for some crazy reason—Kate was just as fond of him as he was of her. Neither of them broke eye contact, and for a while they merely looked into each other’s eyes while their ice creams slowly melted.
"Can I kiss you?" Adam found himself asking.
It was barely above a whisper, finally having the courage to ask the words he hadn’t been able to during all these years.
"Thought you'd never ask," Kate said just as softly.
They both leaned into the kiss, and feelings of affection for this woman bloomed in Adam's chest when their lips met. Kate's lips were chilly from the ice cream but there was an underlying warmth in them that spread through Adam's body, like he was basking in the glow of the sun.
Their lips moved slowly against each other’s, hesitant at first and then finding a shared rhythm; just like when they danced together earlier.
When they pulled away, Adam was breathless, but it wasn’t not from a lack of air; it was from everything that was Kate.
"Hmm," Kate said conversationally.
"Hmm?” Adam repeated.
"Guess I don't mind pistachio flavor when it's mixed with Adam flavor," Kate smirked.
Adam threw his head back and laughed, and Kate did too.
They finished their half-melted ice creams while listening to the last songs of the concert. They talked about anything and everything, Adam no longer feeling like he had to hold back or keep up appearances. He placed his hand on Kate's and Kate insisted on trying some more ice cream from his lips.
It was the best date of Adam's life and he couldn't wait to see what their future might bring, knowing that Kate would be right by his side.
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