#adrian chase x black!femalecharacter

[vigilante-chase]

Summary: Part 4 of Every Rose Has its Thorn. Adrian has a misunderstanding about Rose and her "Team Bonding".

Word count: 1.8K Words

Warning: None, other than a few changes to the chapter

Pairing: Adrian Chase x Black!Rose Wilson

AO3, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

4. Let's Hang Out

The next day, the team gathered at HQ to get more intel on the venom that Governor Robinson had acquired. Everyone except Vigilante was present. Adrian, ever-determined to hide his secret identity while also attempting to befriend Rose, had swapped for an earlier shift at his real job. His plan was foolproof in theory, but as usual, reality had other plans.

When Rose and Leota walked in, Chris, Emilia, and Economos were already seated, with Eagly perched comfortably on a table.

“Um, is that legal?” Rose asked, pointing at the eagle.

“What, Eagly?” Leota replied casually. “Nope, but apparently he’s Chris’s best friend.”

“There should be nothing illegal about having Eagly as a best friend,” Chris interjected, looking offended. “What’s more American than an eagle sidekick?”

Rose gave him a skeptical look. “I’m sorry, did you say Eagly? The eagle’s name is Eagly?”

“Yup, we asked the same thing and he’s proud of it,” Economos added with a shrug, clearly resigned to the absurdity.

“Jesus Christ, can we start this meeting already?” Harcourt cut in, exasperated. “And where the hell is Chase?”

“Oh yeah,” Chris said, snapping his fingers as though just remembering. “He had to work an early shift. Weird time for him to have responsibilities.”

Rose raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “What kind of job does a guy like him even have?” she muttered to Leota, imagining some obscure, weirdo gig.

The team moved on to planning their next steps. Economos detailed the logistics of the venom shipments while Harcourt assigned roles for the upcoming stakeout. The meeting wrapped up smoothly, leaving the team to part ways for the day. Leota asked Rose if she needed a ride back to her hotel as she was going to visit her wife anyways. Rose declined, wanting to walk around for a bit.  Going into the back of the office, she found her wig still laying where she left it, putting her hair into a bun and placing it on her head. She had enough time to herself to walk around Evergreen and what little it had. So much for transportation being covered, fucking Waller, she thought.

After browsing through a few antique shops and grabbing coffee, Rose decided to grab dinner at a small restaurant called Fennel Fields. It looked like a low-key, knockoff Olive Garden, but she wasn’t picky after a long day.

Inside, the vibe was relaxed, with dim lighting and quiet chatter filling the air. The hostess, a bubbly teenager, greeted her cheerfully.

“How many in your party?”

“Just one,” Rose replied politely, following her to a booth near the back.

After placing her order, Rose absentmindedly scrolled through her phone while waiting for her food. The eggplant parmesan and garden salad were nothing to write home about, but she scarfed them down quickly.

That’s when she heard a loud crash. Looking up, she saw a familiar figure hunched over a pile of broken plates. Adrian Chase, clad in an apron and busboy uniform, looked up at her with wide eyes.

Rose smirked, taking her time as she waved at him. The awkward wave he gave in return was priceless.

Oh god, she saw him. Adrian caught a glimpse of her, dropping a plate by accident, and gaining the attention of the other patrons. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say she was following him. She’s definitely following me, Adrian thought, stacking the broken shards into his bin with trembling hands. Or maybe she wasn’t? He thought they had hit it off at the bar last night.   But what if it was all just an elaborate ruse to find out his identity and kill him? UGH! Adebayo was right, she is hella smart. How could they be sure she really was on their side? He’d be completely devastated if she really were going to kill him. Maybe this “Team bonding” thing was really just a ploy to kill them off one-by-one. Who was next? Adebayo? CHRIS!? He wouldn’t let that happen. Poor Adebayo, she doesn’t know “Best friend” was sent to murder her.

As he stacked the dishes, his thoughts spiraled. She’s definitely trying to kill me. She even has a disguise. That wig is too obvious. That’s such a rookie move. He snuck a glance at her, only to see her staring directly at him with an amused expression. She lifted her water glass in a mock toast, sending him into full-on panic mode.

Rose couldn’t help but be amused by Adrian’s deer-in-headlights reaction. He was a hot mess, stumbling over himself with the shattered plates. She snapped a quick picture and sent it to Leota.

RW: Didn’t know Vigilante worked as a busboy 🤯

LA: Oh god, is he being weird? Want me to pick you up?

RW: Nope. I’ve got a plan. TTYL.

Rose watched as Adrian shuffled around the restaurant, keeping an obvious eye on her. When her waiter, Taylor, brought her the bill and tried to make small talk by lightly flirting, she caught Adrian glaring from the kitchen.

She paid and left a generous tip before walking out, deciding to wait by the back exit where she’d noticed his car parked. Leaning casually against it, she scrolled through her phone while waiting for him to clock out.

When Adrian finally clocked out, his heart dropped seeing Rose leaning against the Vigilante-mobile. She swiped on her phone, not sparing him a glance as he cautiously walked over to her.

“So, Adrian Chase, huh? And here I thought Vigilante had a weird and obscure job like teaching kids Karate or some shit.”

His blood ran cold. “Are you stalking me? Who put you up to this? Economos? It was Economos, wasn’t it? That motherfucker!” He knew Economos could be a dick sometimes, and he also knew Economos had connections, but this was such a new low! Then he thought it over for just a second, the gears turning exponentially fast. “Holy shit! That fucker is a genius!” Could Economos really have answered his prayers by giving him a nemesis?

“What the hell are you talking about?” She asked, looking up at him in confusion. Playing dumb would get her nowhere with him.

Adrian wasn’t convinced. Looking around nervously, Adrian lunged towards her, pushing her against the side of the car. A cold blade of a knife pressed lightly against her throat as he loomed over her, his mismatched energy equal parts menacing and awkward. He leaned in,“You know, I’ve always dreamed of having an arch-nemesis, I’m glad Economos set this up!” he said, almost giddy despite the tension and her confusion. “Ok, I’ll let you live, maybe we could have this epic rivalry. Like Batman and the Joker. Or Batman and Catwoman if we decide to date. Ooh or He-Man and Skeletor, they kinda have a homoerotic thing going on…”

Rose’s expression didn’t shift, even with the knife at her throat. She was more amused than anything. Calmly, she exhaled, and grabbed his wrist in a fluid motion, twisting it expertly until the knife clattered to the ground. She spun him around, pinning him against his own car with his arm bent awkwardly behind his back. He squirmed and whimpered weakly, trying to break out of her old, and almost making her laugh. She barely exhorted an ounce of energy.

“Jesus Christ, do you just jump to murder when someone eats at your crappy restaurant?” she asked, leaning in close to his ear.

He took slight offense to that, “First of all, Fennel Fields is a quality establishment…kinda! And second…Ow, ow, ow! Okay, fine, maybe I overreacted! But I was suspicious of what you were doing!”

Rose squeezed his hand tighter, “I was eating food! I mean sure, I thought it’d be fun to mess with you, and I was right.” Letting out a dry laugh, she finally released his arm. He spun around to face her, rubbing his wrist. 

He narrowed his eyes, “You’re really not here to kill my friends or here to by nemesis?”

Rose rolled her eyes and smiled, “You and your friends are safe. For now.”

Before Adrian could respond, Taylor and another coworker appeared. “Hey, is he bothering you?” Taylor asked.

Rose rolled her eyes. “We’re fine. Thanks.”

“You sure? We can walk you to your car,” Taylor pressed.

Rose, growing irritated, looped an arm around Adrian’s. “My boyfriend here has got me covered.”

“He’s your boyfriend?” Taylor asked incredulously as Rose nodded with a smirk.

“Yep,” Rose said sweetly, pulling him closer. She leaned in, planting a kiss on his lips, leaving Adrian completely flustered. “Take me home, babe.” She caressed his cheek, then sauntered to the passenger side of his car and waited for him to unlock the door.

Clearing his throat, he shuffled after her and grinning towards Taylor. “Yeah, that’s my girlfriend. She’s extremely tired from…from giving birth. We put it up for adoption…Hot girl bummer.” Despite being confused, Rose hid the confusion by nodding sadly.

“Dude, what’s up with you getting your girlfriend pregnant?” Taylor asked, shaking his head and walking away with the other coworker in tow.

“Do I even want to know?” Rose asked as he unlocked and opened her door.

“My coworkers ask a lot of questions, I usually just say the first thing that comes to my mind,” he said while getting into the car. “So where to, m’lady?”

“Anywhere is fine. This town is boring as fuck.” She replied.

Pulling out of the parking lot, he had a great idea, “We could watch Fargo at my place, I finally have season 4 on DVD.” He suggested.

“Um, sure, I’ve never seen it.” She told him honestly. She listened to him enthusiastically recite everything he knew about the show, every character that he loved, what nights it came on, and how excited he was when season 5 premiered. “I’ve never really met a lot of people that still watch cable or DVDs really.”

Confused, he looked towards her momentarily, “No one watches cable? How do they watch tv? Do you think Aliens secretly broadcast different shows to people? It’d be really awesome if aliens could broadcast every season of Fargo in one sitting.” Rose genuinely laughed, confused on how they got to the topic of aliens. Adrian was quite the conversationalist.

“There are aliens that do that, they’re called Netflix and Hulu!” Rose joked in a mock spooky voice. Wide eyed, Adrian looked at her in shock.

“Really?” He asked with hope in his voice.

Laughing at his naivete, “No, I’m joking,” she told him, looking out the window. Sulking at the realization of lack of alien communication through tv shows, he took this time to glance at her — mentally taking a note to understand her humor.