authenticity [c]

Adrian truly was an idiot, not responding to his declaration. Her attempts would place herself and Adrien in a terrible position as his demands to release him were left unanswered. She wouldn't let go and the two were sent falling onto the floor with a thud that was sure to alert one of the nurses patrolling around outside. Adrian was feeling the after effects of her actions as her muscles became rigid, temporarily refusing to act as she wanted. Her eyes would shut tight having to endure the throbbing agony she felt. How it became this way would be lost to the ranger. They were two grown adults looking no better than five year old children. The fact that Arkwright was displaying displeasure at her actions barely affected her.

Once everything settled, her eyes opened slowly and to her surprise met Adrien's gaze. Now that she saw him like this with a clear head and not filled with rage, she could honestly say he looked like shit. It made her feel no better that she literally dragged him down with her. Watching him wearily, her lips pressed into a thin line as he spoke. "Fine..." she murmured without turning away. Finally he was giving her some leeway and she'd take that as a small win. He was reluctant and she knew that he still wanted to leave but he didn't shoot her. That had to have meant something.

She was going to get her answers.

Watching as he put away the gun and move towards her, she'd release his clothes from her grasp. Her pride already took a hit and so when Adrien moved to wrap an arm around her there was no resistance. In actuality it was the opposite as doing anything else might reverse any progress she had made. With some struggles and assistance, with no lack of pain that followed, Adrian would return to her feet. "Thanks..." she said begrudgingly. She'd attempt to help Arkwright as well so they could both make it to the bed and maybe think about letting the nurses resume their treatment. Maybe.

Her mind still couldn't get the question out of her mind of why he didn't shoot her. It consumed her in some respects. For some reason though the woman didn't want to ask it. As the two would relocate to the bed, she'd collapse back onto the bed for the umpteenth time, but would make sure that Adrien wouldn't try to find a way out. Instead of asking the question she wanted to ask, she blurted out a different one. "Tell me the truth... do you really not know why Liam is targeting you?" It was a question that she recalled him saying no to however since it was a question she asked before it was the first that came to mind instead of the main one.

Galactic related, of course. If he and Liam were both in galactic and fighting each other, then internal issues were apparent. It suddenly made sense why Adrien had kept his mouth shut when she asked about it back in Jubilife City. After she made it obvious that she was a ranger at the time, it was natural. That said, his words did not change anything. There was no clarity or substance and was left with the suggestion to drop it. At this her brows furrowed inwards to display her displeasure. After all she's done so far, did he really think she would? "At this point you have to know better than to tell me that. T-" The sound at the door would interrupt the beginning of the rant. A glare meant for the blue haired man was instead sent towards the unsuspecting nurse that peeked in innocently.

Much to her dismay the male took that as an out and directed the nurse to her injuries almost immediately. His tone of voice shifted the instant that the nurse walked in and the ginger wondered how he was able to do that so fluidly and without remorse. This wonder would continue as her glare returned to where it belonged. "Oh you m-" she cut herself off from cursing at him as the nurse took to her side and began trying to reattach the IV drip into her arm. It was tempting to struggle however the knowledge that doing so would prolong the nurse's stay made her reevaluate. As long as Arkwright was sticking around a complying then she might as well comply too. Taking a long and deep sigh of annoyance as the nurse took up her right arm, Adrian would return to her train of thought albeit with less anger in her voice. "What do you take me for Arkwright? Do you really believe that I'd be satisfied by being left in the dark?"

It did not take long for the IV needle to get stuck back into her veins. The process was not particularly painful in the slightest. The next step was the actual restitching of her side which involved her undressing slightly. The nurse looked as if she was about to attempt to kick Adrien out of the room to which she would speak out against, taking note of the man already looking towards the door. "Don't even think about leaving or I'll refuse treatment to go after you," she warned. It was not as if she cared, and if Arkwright had some issue then it wasn't like he couldn't look away himself. With the nurse in the room, the woman was limited to inconspicuous questions to ask. For now she'd keep hush about the fact he was Galactic out of respect for him saving her life. Similarly for the same reason, she couldn't ask why he didn't shoot her either.

So the next best question would be the why he even decided to reach out to her. "Why even contact me? What am I to you?" He had contacted her to help Leah and Jason because he was desperate, she got that much from the initial text. That said, he was already friends with Rory at the time and any ranger might have been able to do what she had - perhaps not as fast and without questions but he didn't know that. She really hoped he wouldn't say something along the lines of being a convenient pawn however that might have been the most sensible answer in her opinion. Made sense why he didn't shoot her then. If there was one thing that Adrian hated aside from failure, it was being used.

The words he spoke were barely audible, spoken so lowly that it felt akin to depression. Was Adrian supposed to feel bad for him? There was some vague reassurance that he was not leaving however with all the lies that the woman had to deal with from the man, it was difficult to judge whether this was true. Again the woman's reluctance to believe kicked in as the nurse moved to help her with the hospital gown to actually reveal the area in need of patching. For a moment there was a fleeting moment of wondering if the nurse was qualified to restitch her side as the lady applied some numbing agent onto the ginger. The extended burning sensation faded to nothing which also partially helped Adrian's mood not turn into more shit.

Thus while the nurse worked on her side, the ranger would work on trying to understand the Galactic in front of her. From her position laying on her side, she'd be able to keep her eyes glued to the galactic's back. He wouldn't turn to look at her rather than keeping his sights on the door which provided her with mixed feelings that she'd ignore. As long as she kept her eye on him then he wouldn't leave. He repeated that he needed help. The impulse to roll her eyes was strong and if not for the fact she refused to let the man our of her sight then she would have. That was obvious and she'd wait for him to provide more detail without the prompt. Once again the mention of him expecting only a location was brought up and a scoff surfaced from her throat. No decent ranger worth half a damn would have tracked a number of a known criminal and then handed off that information to a civilian. Their job was to protect and when she learned of the incident, that was exactly what she went to do. It baffled her that Arkwright expected otherwise.

Her lips parted to retort on the subject once again but was stopped by his next words. Regret. He thought that what happened to her was his fault. The statement stunned her and almost sent her on a guilt trip of her own. If only she had succeeded. If only she had been stronger then he would not have been poisoned with regret. "You're a fucking idiot." Her inflection shifted to stress how much she actually thought that. How self-centered could someone be that they believed everything revolved around themselves? That the results of her decisions were because of something he said? Un-fucking-believable. "I'm in the hospital because I chose to go after him on my own. I chose to and I wasn't strong enough to arrest him." She already said she was sorry for failing him and did not want to repeat the apology a second time even though it felt like she needed to.

Laying there, the woman expected him to tell her that her brash impulsiveness was convenient. That she was worth more to him alive than dead. The silence after asking the question was unsettling to say the least. Leaving her to draw her own conclusions, Adrian would sigh then be met with something else entirely. He was murmuring again and the words would be caught due solely to the silence in the room. He's sorry.

What?

Her brows twitched as they furrowed at the words. That wasn't what she wanted in the slightest and as he rambled on about the reasons he was sorry, it would confuse the ginger further. "Don't," she would say in falsified anger in hopes of interrupting. She wanted him to stop. To stop apologizing for nothing. The admission that he was not using her in the midst of the apologies settled her wild assumptions on the matter yet would hardly make her feel better. The final few words caught the headstrong ranger off guard though and her eyes would widen somewhat considerably. There was a pause for the woman to think and she'd speak after considering that for a moment. "... that's a first."

The thought was hard to contextualize from the defeat that was dripping from his voice. What had she done to earn such a response? The first time they met she could not stand him and punched him in the face after dealing with his lies. Was it because she helped him save Leah and Jason that single time? That would hardly constitute him caring about her in any capacity, did it? Maybe he actually was an idiot? Or she was the idiot? Regardless, knowing this, the woman could hardly get mad at him. Somehow the woman didn't think that was actually possible from anyone aside from her blood relatives. The explanation made some sense... which left to question why he had pulled a gun out on her in the first place.

This was not a situation that Adrian knew how to deal with and there was some noticeable hesitance in how to respond afterwards. While Arkwright had interrupted himself for the final part, the woman could imagine what he wanted to say. "I appreciate the concern. Believe me, I do, but that isn't your decision to make." Regressing her tone to something soft and neutral, she began to extend her hand to grab hold of Adrien only to stop herself midway. Did she have any right in attempting to comfort him? He felt so far away and the woman could barely come to terms with the information herself. Instead her hand would drop limply on the bed and lay next to Arkwright's leg.

"I won't stop. Not until you're safe. Even if you come to hate me for that, I'll make sure you won't be endangered by him again or die trying." In retrospect it shouldn't have happened. A week ago Adrian would have arrested him for being a Galactic, not extending him words of protection. Now that changed and whether that was because she had a debt to repay or otherwise she wouldn't try to find out. One large breath would be inhaled. She had to make sure no mater how futile the question would truly be. "...Promise me you aren't lying to me again." By now the ginger had fully been patched up and her hospital gown covering her once again. It had been this way for some time and the ranger was too engrossed with what was being said to notice. She had forgotten the nurse was there to begin with and as such hardly paid her expression much mind. If she had then Adrian would have shooed her off long ago instead of letting her stay watching their interaction like it was some live action soap opera.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand just like that the sentimental moment was over.

The sudden outburst was unexpected even for the fiery redhead. With widened eyes Adrian would look over at the source of the outburst, watching as he had snapped back at her. The expression he held was not one that the ranger recognized easily and he had turned away quicker than she could attempt her measly attempts decipher it. The hand that laid on the bed would ball up in response and in the process end up grabbing a fistful of the sheets. "Why!?" she'd repeat as if appalled by the words. "I need a reason!?" The ranger did not take well to being yelled at for what she saw as no reason, the volume of her own voice amplifying to match that of the male. She had tried to be composed and tactful but that clearly wasn't working. If he wanted to argue with her then she was not going to hold back.

His actions of threatening her moments ago was brought up again and the memory of it hardly impacted the decision she had made to protect him. Logically he was right in some respects, being that she shouldn't have been so adamant to protect him after that, and desperately the ranger wanted to answer him. Yet there was hesitance as she thought on how to answer which alone infuriated her. There should have been an immediate one. Her obligation as a ranger no longer could be used to justify her actions as their code to protect scarcely applied to criminals. Assault and attempted murder? Clear cut charges even if he was not Galactic. She should have hated him - she had hated him - yet for some reason she could not locate that resentment at this time. Only anger at herself to which she would take out on Arkwright himself as she began spouting the first thing that came to her mind.

The woman would sit up on the bed as the nurse promptly exited the room. There Adrian would finally take notice and would leave her the freedom to lash back as her eyes returned to Adrien in an intense glare. "Have you ever realized that people might ACTUALLY care about you Arkwright? Do you have any idea how people would react if they learned something happened to you!?" Whether she was talking about herself, the woman did not know, merely dumping her thoughts of the situation out into the open. Despite her passionate disposition about displaying her anger, delving into her other emotions and coming to terms with them were foreign to her. All she could process were the facts and the fact she saw right now was that Adrien was being ridiculous. "Stop being so selfish and look around." He had a sister, a family that had already suffered a loss. He had an ex that she was sure still cared for him dearly and would have stayed with him through it all. He had friends who would constantly text him judging from the frequency he had his phone out. All of it.

So why the fuck didn't he get it?

He'd question why he would have lied in this situation however that did not provide the woman much faith that he was not. "You've lied to me before about less," she'd reply in an aggravated tone. There was no promise made to assure her of any more or any less than complete truth thus nothing was resolved. If she thought about it then the ranger could have easily counted more lies from him than number of wounds on her body. Then the thought crossed her mind about his family. The fact that she had a day or so previous arranged medical leave for his sister, a ranger. Further fanning the flames of her ire, Adrian's expression would wrinkle further as she slammed her fist into the bed. "Does Leah know?! Why the fuck are you in Galactic!?"

Too many questions. Too many lies.

He realized did he? A huff of disapproval sounded at the statement. There was no way in her mind that statement was the truth or else he would not have acted in such a manner. His attempt to reason with the ranger would be heard and as the commissioner she should have understood where he was coming from. And she did to some extent. To protect the majority over the needs of the few. If not for her own headstrong demeanor then that would have been enough, but Adrian was greedy and did not accept what was told. Why was it that it was now that Arkwright wanted to take responsibility for something? "So what? You plan on hurting them even more by distancing yourself? Disappearing?" Her voice was forceful in contrast to the blue haired man's. "Passing on your own regret to them?" To her, it did not sound like he was confronting anything. What it sounded like was that he was running away and hurting himself. She couldn't imagine this was for the good of the people he was trying to protect and this was the same as letting Liam win.

Because even if he managed to end things with Liam, kill him or otherwise, he was leaving himself nothing to go back to.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! That's all the more reason for me to associate with you!" The exclamation would have pained her to say weeks ago yet they were said with such fervor. Establishing eye contact once again, he'd confront her words by reflect her argument. Once again her commissioner status came into play and forced Adrian to bite her tongue. Suddenly everything was so different with that title appended to her name. No title was going to change who Adrian was as a person and the regret for even admitting to being the commissioner was being repeatedly beat into her head. Rage wove larger into her chest, her expression frozen in a stony glare. People cared? What was that supposed to mean?

As Arkwright continued to speak, it slowly dawned on her that he was talking about himself. How much of what happened to her affected him? The tension of her muscles would slack at that. The events of Misty Falls felt akin to a distant memory as the ginger could hardly recall what happened. A large blur. What little was recalled left a chill down her spine as a shiver shook her body. From what was being said, it sounded as if she was reason that Liam got away. She failed.... again. "So it was my fault..." a murmur compared her previous words. Mixed feelings would clash in her chest. Anger, disappointment, disgust - yet somewhere relief also lurked. Adrien had saved her, she knew that, and in the process he did not kill Liam. The choice to protect rather than destroy.

The woman exhaled a breath at his plea. It wasn't as if she didn't understand, it was that she didn't accept it. The ranger was becoming just as exhausted and the exasperation in her bones was not enough to muster more scolding. She couldn't tell if he wanted to argue with her or not anymore. Bring her right knee up to her chest, she'd leaned forward and wrap her arms around it as she spoke. "I understand you're asking me to stand by and watch as you become either a murderer or a corpse." Her hold around her leg would subconsciously tighten as she said those words, not liking the thought of either those scenarios. It went against everything she stood for and even acknowledging the possibility felt like she was allowing it to happen. "You can't expect me to agree to that."

Adrian was a hypocrite. In reality she was no different than Adrien who attempted to alienate himself to accomplish something. Two sides of a coin in some respect - something that she refused to acknowledge either. Going back to his argument, she'd speak again on her obligation. "If I had to set an example then going out making a difference rather than twiddling my thumbs behind a desk should be the best example I can set. I'm not going to use my title as commissioner as an excuse to keep myself safe." Most might have and she knew that. Without a commissioner, the rangers might have become disorganized and lost. Despite her attitude, the woman knew that some people looked to her for direction and as a powerful figurehead. To her it was all the more reason not to back down and hide like a bitch. That was simply who she was. Shaking her head and speaking with renewed determination, she'd make sure that Arkwright was paying attention to her when she spoke again. "Even if I didn't I doubt Liam would leave me be anyway. Like you said, I'm the commissioner. He'll come after me eventually, regardless of my involvement in your affairs. At least this way its on my own terms."

Perhaps Adrian should have announced her promotion as commissioner and walked around with that giant target on her back to prove her point. If it lured out criminals faster than it was the best choice of action in her mind. By now his question to have her believe his words fell flat. "So you lied to her too." A mindless comment as the ranger gathered her thoughts. By now it was difficult for her to distinguish what were truth versus the lies. What was the possibility of Arkwright saying these things to get into her head? For some reason she doubted that Leah was in Galactic and that she knew anything about the group - or maybe that was what she wanted to believe.

Why was she such an fool? Her being commissioner for the rangers was such a joke.

In the end she would shake her head. "Forget it. Even if you can't promise me, I believe you," because it was better than wondering what to believe and going nowhere. It didn't matter anymore. After making up her mind, it was difficult to change persuade her. The facts were that Liam is a wanted criminal, she owed Arkwright her life, and nothing else mattered until the issue with Liam was settled. Dealing with the whirlwind of troubles and emotions would come after. There was no answer as to why he joined Galactic or why he remained with them which she noted. "So you aren't going to answer me?" The loyalty he held was admirable at least.

Ironic how their positions swapped from when they had first met. From throwing hands into the air to declaring forfeit, his actions felt reminiscent to the ginger. It was unbeknownst to her what he was supposedly giving up on. In her eyes, there was still something wrong to Arkwright and not herself. Normally she'd raise her voice and debate him but that was more effort than necessary to her. In her life she was called many things - abrasive, hotheaded, antisocial, a madwoman - and that might have all been true statements yet Adrian couldn't care less as long as she was able to get her point across. At this point it felt like she had. Thus she would merely shrug off his question without providing an answer.

As he fell backwards onto the lower part of the bed the woman instantly shifted her legs out of the way to grant him the space. She'd look over him as he laid there no doubt disgruntled. Another flickering thought passed on whether or not to attempt to comfort him after all that was said and done. There was no obligation to do so of course and he looked like he wanted nothing more than to sleep. With no experience on doing such a thing either, Adrian would allow that moment to pass as her eyes wandered away from Arkwright's visage and towards the window leading outside. Being told to shut up caught her attention but she'd merely spare the weary man an apathetic look. "..." He had some nerve to say that. For now she would comply, figuring he had his reasons that he eventually provided. At the words she couldn't tell if he was trying to make her feel better or not. If that was his goal then it was not very effective. "And I'd like to keep it that way," she replied softly to herself, futilely hoping that he would come to accept her wishes. Not that she expected him to.

Releasing another sigh she shook her head as Adrien spoke of Liam's status in Galactic, or lack thereof. There was no questioning whether this statement was true as the ginger automatically took his word for it. When it came to Liam she could hardly envision the man lying for him. "That doesn't change anything. He's a wanted criminal and if he's the type that wants revenge, which he clearly is, then he'll go after me too." She'd recall Liam's words at Misty Falls. She was useless. Shit even. And it was not Arkwright alone that was threatened that day - Liam also threatened and targeted her. She did shoot his leg. Highly doubting he'd forget that, she figured he would hold a grudge because of it. Not that she could leave the situation be with her job description anyway. With how the conversation had been going so far though, there was no desire for her to bring up being a ranger much less the commissioner again if she could help it.

His sister seemed to be the soft spot for Arkwright. The slightest mention of her would push the man to speak more from her observations. In another situation then it would have been cute. That was far from what it was right now though. Based on his words, it sounded like the subject never came up which was strange. Wouldn't Arkwright have questioned things when he learned Leah was a ranger? That he was might be going against his sister and face her at some point? Plus a lie of omission technically counted as a lie nonetheless. Humorously enough his statement to defend himself resulted in Adrian scoffing at him. "Good question. Why would you tell a ranger?" she'd question sarcastically. He didn't seem to have a problem telling her - repeatedly.

Finally some vague reasoning was provided to the ginger and the woman remained silent to process what little information he gave. To some extent she could understand how it might have been reasonable. "Didn't take you for someone so ambitious..." Change the world and help the future? If someone had told her that then perhaps she would have been swayed. If the rangers had not recruited her first, if certain people spoke to her first, then perhaps things would have been different. Maybe she would have found herself in Galactic too. Not that it mattered now. Team Galactics were criminals that wanted to destroy the world and create a new one. Sacrifice anyone or anything for their cause. Even if they meant well Adrian could not fathom how everything that Galactic had done, the damage they caused, was for some greater good. Even Arkwright himself was trying to frame himself up as a criminal so he must have known too. So wh-

Adrian paused her train of thought, thinking she heard something unbelievable. Once again her gaze moved to the Galactic's weary form and took a moment to dissect what he said. To make sure that it was not some phantom that said what she thought she wanted to hear. A promise that he wasn't lying. She had asked for one but why had he said that now after she said she believed him? It left her further perplexed than she already was. Nevertheless fleeting smile would appear Adrian's lips and would disappear long before a second would pass as if it never existed. It was appreciated whatever the reason and it helped ease her mentally in some capacity as well.

Arkwright might have been worth saving. He had to be. He knew that what Galactic was doing was wrong. So there must have been a reason for his decision to remain with galactic and Adrian decided to impulsively asked on a whim. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she worried he might have already begun drifting off when there were so many more questions. "Then why are you still with them Adrien? Why don't you leave? What's keeping you there?"

There was no way that Adrian could possible get it. No way that she could understand what the blue haired man was trying to accomplish. He'd apologize again and this time the ginger would ignore it completely. What she wanted was not apologies and she thought she made that clear when she told him not to. It felt wrong, especially when he did it while looking her in the eyes - not that his gaze would last long. On the other hand, the smile that replaced the eye contact was a welcome change of ambience. While Arkwright had once again provided her with the answers she asked for, albeit vaguely, a lump in her throat formed. The reasons he stayed in Galactic were ones she gave pause to. If he was easily swayed then this would be a different story however there was no reason for her to think that considering their conversation thus far.

"I see you wont listen to me but..." she started off the statement at a measured pace, her voice sounding spent from yelling so much. Her hand on his shoulder would tighten in grip as if earnestly trying to have him consider her next words as carefully as she was saying them. "You don't have to do this. You could join the rangers like your sister. Let me use the tools that I have within the rangers to track him." As the commissioner she could have done it, she knew she could. Arkwright hadn't done anything wrong so no one had to know he was Galactic in the first place. If he was going to continue chasing Liam despite her being against it then they might as well be on mutual ground if they both intended to track him. Joining the rangers to do so felt like the most logical solution.

Yet the doubt in her mind that he would accept was great. His motives were as clear as day. Loyalties lied with Galactic and he intended to overthrow their current leader. That would not be so bad if it did not mean that eventually the two would become enemies with no way out of it. The thought of it drained her. He claimed that he didn't want to hurt her but did he not think taking this route would d-

"Visiting hours are almost over,"

Of course.

"Then its a good thing I'm not a patient anymore," she blurted out as she turned her body to the side of the bed. She should have known this was going to happen. The bag that was brought in for her remained on the floor all this time and it was only now that Adrian would acknowledge its existence. The tiredness in her muscles remained prominent however the IV drip diluted enough of the pain that she was able to stand with less perceived difficulty. Whether or not Arkwright would notice her actions from his position on the bed was unknown to her as she used the stand that the IV was on as a support rather than going it on her own. Making a beeline for the bag before anyone could attempt to stop her, she'd reach into it and pull out the contents.

"The fuck is this?" Her brow would twitch as she brought it closer into view. Everything about what she saw did not leave a good taste in her mouth. The fabric was so soft and there was so much, yet so little of it. And why was there so much lace and straps? Did this even count as clothes? "I said clothes not a tablecloth"