authenticity [c]

"... You've got to be kidding," she retorted with an unenthusiastic glare. Some part of her knew that he wasn't and he was sure to get a laugh if he ever caught glimpse of her in a dress. The mere thought of it embarrassed her to the point it felt like her face was heating up. "In your dreams. Get me something else that isn't a dress." She'd say that but would not drop the dress back into its bag lest her threat to leave would be taken less serious. The offer to fetch something else later was one that she would take without hesitation. If nothing else was brought then Adrian would actually have be forced into the dress to her utter dismay and heavens forbid that happened.

Nevertheless something about this interaction was somewhat refreshing. Looking over at him, the stupid grin that he had on his face was infinitely better than that somber expression etched on his features. Even back in Canalave, she recalled wishing for Arkwright to return to himself as it was better than watching him wallow in despair. It almost felt as if things between them had reverted back to normal. His flirty, lighthearted demeanor clashing with her short temper - arguing about menial things that would not matter. Until now that felt like a transient from long ago.

Adrian would not even notice that Arkwright was looking past her, her mind adjusting to the shift of atmosphere. Truly she didn't expect much. He had no obligation to stay with her aside from making sure that she got whatever treatment she needed, and honestly he didn't even have to do that. It felt as if she was grasping at straws out of her reach and setting herself up for disappointment. The silence that formed after her question almost affirmed this and she'd promptly shut her eyes with a huff.

'Do you want me to stay?'

The question made her eyes jolt open as she questioned if she actually heard what she thought she did. Fixating her gaze to meet with Arkwright's, she'd feel a warmth capture the hand that was not holding the dress. Instinctively she wanted to pull away but instead the tug would bring her closer. The distance between them lessened and rapidly the onset of unease would wash over the woman. "I... what?" From being simply embarrassed to downright flustered, Adrian did not know how to respond. What was it that she wanted? What had gotten into him?

The answer should have been easy. She wanted him not to run away and to let her help. To not push her away like she was some nuisance. Yet formulating those words became problematic as Adrien had lulled her latent anger with such gentle words. That he'd stay - for now - for her. "I can't tell if you're messing with me or not..." she would admit warily as the heat from before return to her face. She wanted to call him out for lying but she would recall that he promised he was telling the truth. She wanted to hit him because he shouldn't have been saying such things when he had a boyfriend but she would recall that the two had supposedly broken up.

So what was she to him? Why was he doing this?

If the redhead did not feel the burn before then she would have definitely felt it once Adrien leaned in closer towards her. Her obstinate attitude prevent her from backing down or away from him as he approached however it was obviously affecting her. Her cheeks flushed a vibrant hue of crimson that almost matched her hair as her heart began beating harder to cope with the anxiety. She didn't even know she could feel anxiety to begin with. Why was he this close!? While the sensation in her heart was a foreign one, it would also bring about brief spurts of burning pain at her chest to which the woman ignored over the fact that Adrien's face was so close to the point that she could practically hear him breathing. There was no way he was being serious. He had to be making fun of her. Teasing her for whatever reason and she was falling for it.

Which meant something was definitely wrong with her.

He'd question her words about messing around in what she perceived as an abnormally innocent manner. He was a flirt, she knew that much, so there was no way he could have not known what he was doing to her right? "What do I mean? You're not trying to c-" she stopped herself from finishing the last words, her gaze falling to the smile on his lips. He was so close. At this point she couldn't tell if this was moving forwards or backwards. While this entire time her eyes had locked onto Arkwright's face, her resilience would begin to waver as this time it was Adrian that tried to shift her eyes away momentarily for a reprieve. If she did finish her sentence then she did not know what would happen after that. She didn't know if she wanted to know his answer. "_Nevermind..." hardly a whisper rather than a faint thought in passing.

Not yet forcing herself to look back at Adrien, her mind would wander as he would ask for her answer. To her it felt like he had just wanted to hear her say that she wanted him to stay. It was the truth of course even if the ginger did not want to admit it herself. Plus this situation felt oddly familiar. The recollection of the day in Canalave that they spoke together was brought forth to the front of her mind. How stunned she felt - how he held her and told her 'I won't go' so delicately into her ear. That memory alone shook her, her nonexistent hold on his hand forming into one out of that apprehension. "If I told you to, would you actually stay this time?" Her gaze would remain unable to meet with Arkwright's as she asked the question. There was no telling that today was going to end any differently. And thus the issue with actually becoming attached.

Her eyes would find themselves landing on the dress and the sight of it still disgusted her. Or perhaps that was the feeling of disgust towards herself for letting this happen. By now he should have known her answer and if he didn't then she would try to make it as obvious as possible after piecing her mental state back together. Reminding herself that she could not let him win, she thought carefully on what she wanted to say. It took a moment but finally she'd redirect a passionate gaze back to the blue haired man. "I don't want you to disappear on me Adrien. If I wanted you to leave I wouldn't even consider putting on this... thing trying to go after you." Almost as if to create the necessary emphasis, she threw the dress down onto the ground and allowed it to form a pile on the floor. Taking her newly freed hand, she'd bring it back to cradle the hold between their hands as it was threatened to be broken.

If he wanted an answer then so be it. She'd swallow her pride and say it.

"Don't go."

Leaving herself to do most of the talking, the ranger found herself uncomfortable after all that was said and done. Throughout it all, Arkwright didn't move away from her but his expression had changed. Not that it particularly meant that the woman could suddenly read into them. Even from the start the blue haired man had thrown her off so much from what he said to each and every action. As another hush would befall the duo as this time Adrian was the one awaiting an answer, one that was sure to pain her one way or another.

Then it came. He gave his word - whatever much his word meant. There felt like there was such conviction in his voice that urged her to believe him. This wasn't the first time he had tried to assure her of something yet somehow this time felt like it was enough to sate the ginger for now. Some of the tension in her shoulders were released and after looking him in the eye for awhile she would release a breath of what could have been relief. "... Good." Hints of a smile would tease at the corner of her lips and she could not tell why. The change of heart somehow gave her so much solace that she had forgotten her qualms with the proximity of Arkwright's face. And why was that? Was it because he had finally listened to her?

Before she knew it Adrien would take another step forward and if that wasn't enough to garner the attention of the woman that had previously been lost, then his next action did. Leaning his head closer her's, the heat that had somewhat faded from her cheeks returned once again as she defiantly refused to back away. She wasn't sure what she should have been expecting here. Why it made her heart race. His lips would part and words would be said that initially held no meaning to her, her focus being elsewhere. Slowly would his words gain meaning and sink in. "Oh for the-" Exasperation filled her bones once again and the heat in her face was beaten backwards with a stick.

And suddenly they were back to how they were.

Had it not been for the fact their hands were intertwined, Adrian would have collapsed her face into the palms of her hands for actually falling for it - then maybe pinched him on the cheek for the reasoning. Instead the grip of her hand intensified around Arkwright's as she would scoff herself. "You never learn do you?" she mumbled to herself. She was too fatigued to do much else and had it been said is some other scenario then she might have punched him too. But she had no right to complain. He was listening to her and this was infinitely better than how he was acting days... no minutes ago. "Next you'll be asking for a kiss or something."

"Oh I'm the bold one?" she'd question apprehensively at the statement. Considering he was the one that was being forward and leaning his face in towards her own like he was about to do something, Adrian felt that there was no way he was not messing with her. When he got like this it was difficult for her to take him seriously. But he was laughing again. Smiling again. Adrian should have been satisfied with that alone, forgetting how much his flaunting infuriated her. It was almost at her own expense but perhaps that was a small price to pay. At the same time Arkwright appeared to be enjoying himself and anticipating her normal actions at this rate, noticing his brief pause as if bracing for an attack. She couldn't tell if he was actually learning and not giving a damn or if he was just used to getting hit by her. In either case she would shake her head to indicate her disappointment.

He was taunting her and the ginger knew it the moment he started talking again. Taking note of his shift in tone that compared to when they had first met. Honestly it was astounding how he could shift gears without skipping a beat, displaying such skills earlier as well. Yet this was hardly the time to highlight such attributes. Recalling the time that Adrien has set her on fire in Amity Square and ask if she wanted a kiss, somehow things were reversing as it was him that now requested the kiss. She could tell straight from the get-go he wasn't serious and was mocking her. At that the woman rolled her eyes. "Your hopeless," she'd state directly without breaking eye contact. Truly it was unfortunate that Adrian did not take well to being challenged and by the way Adrien was acting, that was exactly what he was doing. Thus with her pride already swallowed and suffering a grievous wound, the ginger raised her left hand up to Arkwright's shoulder and held it there momentarily. "If it will shut you up."

Swiftly without giving him a chance to respond, she'd lean in herself and swing her head to his blinded side to give the man a small peck on the cheek. Whether he would recoil back to prevent this from happening or not wouldn't matter as she would return to her original position. "Think the hospital would let me order not hospital food?"

As Arkwright took up her shift in topics, the woman would feel internally relieved. No part of her wanted to field any questions on what she had done or even think about it. Even now the ginger was holding back the surge of embarrassment by acting as if nothing had happened. On the other hand it worked. Between the blank expression on his face and his failure to say much of anything afterwards, it was a major success. That said as he moved away from her, her eyes would attempt to seek some indication of his thoughts on the matter. The lack of one made her wonder if she had perhaps did it wrong. Then again there was no way he would have actually wanted her to do that, right?

Wait what was she even thinking?

Shaking her head, the woman forced her attention to her own topic that was commented on. He'll see what he can do? The woman would tilt her head as her eyes narrowed attempting to discern what he meant by that. After all that was said between them she hoped that it did not mean what she thought it did. "What do you mean?" she would voice skeptically. "You said you wouldn't-" before she could even finish the sentence, Arkwright would clarify himself. Fifteen to twenty minutes. Adrian had her own reservations on this claim but refrained herself from blocking his way to the door. He said he needed to make arrangements and she wondered if that meant he would check into the hospital himself. Or perhaps he merely wanted to leave the room period and even the redhead herself felt she needed some time to breathe all that was said and done.

"...Fine. You better." There was an obvious tone of reluctance in that single word as Adrian would turn away from the door. Fifteen to twenty minutes was not a lot of time if he had intended to run. The option to leave herself still existed if that was indeed the case. It baffled her how much effort and energy this ordeal was taking out of her. The rapping sounds from his cane would alert her that Arkwright was leaving and she would not turn to look at him. That is until he had called out her name.

Finding herself drawn to back by the mention of it, the subsequent words that were said left the ranger speechless. This time it would be her stare that was blank as her mind attempted to process what he was saying. He said thanks so many times for reasons that she didn't comprehend. "..." Normally she would have retorted somehow but this time around she was left speechless. He would reassure her that he would not leave her but that hardly gave her any comfort when she was about to watch him do the opposite and walk out the door. In the end his parting words placed her on edge for despite what they were meant to be, they sounded like words given from someone that intended to leave.

Forever.

Subconsciously her hand would reach out in an attempt to stop him, however her conscious mind recalled her hand back before it could grasp anything except air. No words would escape her throat as the door would shut behind the blue haired man and once again the ginger was left alone in the hospital room. She'd grant him the time he requested and begrudgingly brought her aching form back to the bed. In that time she needed to gather her thoughts. To remember herself. And as she tried, her hands would move to cover her heart.

Her chest hurt.

Late he said. By the time that knocking would be heard at the hospital door, Adrian was about ready to throw on that overly expensive dress and escaping out the window on the back of her Salamance. In fact the IV had once again been taken out of her arm by force as if evidence that the woman was preparing to do just that. The first fifteen minutes the woman remained patient, keeping silent to herself as she thought over today's events. Had she not conveniently gotten a phone call from the ranger association inquiring about the details of her whereabouts, much to the woman's dismay, she might have already left. Instead she was met with somewhat frequent beeps from her phone that indicated the tracking signal was flickering again and fielding ranger related questions.

Regardless, it served as a good distraction for the woman who now glared up from the screen of her phone. "Yeah, I'm sure that was the only reason and not you taking your sweet fucking time," the woman would speak riddled with sarcasm and bitterness. Adrian figured if he had wanted to, Arkwright could have asked one of his maids or butlers that he was bound to have do all these things for him since he was so stupidly rich. She refrained from doing so, keeping the thought to herself as she eyed the man standing in front of her. As he so promptly turned around, her attention would forcibly shift to the two new people entering the room whilst wheeling in another bed. The sight of it puzzled her and that surely should have showed on her expression. "Hey, what the fuck?" she'd prompt loudly to the two attendants who took the liberty of ducking out of the room as soon as possible after that. Receiving no answer provided the fiery redhead with more ire as she shifted her attention back to Adrien, "Wait. Are you actually going to be sleeping in here?" There was no reason for another bed to be brought into the room otherwise and she'd wait for him to acknowledge her query as he began listing all the things he had gathered on his little trip.

The mention of a different change of clothes piqued her interest. This time she demanded it not to be a dress so whatever was picked out had to have been an improvement. A t-shirt and inexpensive jeans would have sufficed as Adrian was not particularly picky nor did she have any interest in fashion - not that she'd trust Adrien with women's fashion if she was. Of course when the clothing in the bag was vaguely described by the male, she was quick to assume that he had bought something expensive and formfitting to which she would release a sigh. Anything was probably better than a dress but fucking rich people. She would not decline the new clothes however and now it became a matter of whether he had actually bought the correct sizes somehow.

The next bag he would label as food and judging from the appearance, it reminded her of her days as a cadet where she didn't have the luxury of sitting down to eat;; fast food was the only food she could easily grab on the go. It was ironic as at the rate things were going thus far. The ginger somewhat expected him to attempt to bring fancy rich people food without the knowledge that fast food existed. Not that she minded this. Since he didn't, it would serve to remind her that Adrien was actually a real person that exists.

While she remained somewhat peeved about his tardiness, she did note his general outward appearance and tone of voice, considering them as she formulated what to say. Arkwright spoke as if him coming back was so obvious, his chuckle almost feeling like he was laughing at any potential doubt saying otherwise. But the fact was that he could have chosen not to. Breaking his word and run off again. Adrian knew that - and with his statement from before lingering in the back of her head, she wondered how long this would last. Taking a hand and running it through her longer locks of hair, she released a breath "You're going to give me an aneurysm," she'd complain as her fingers combed through a few strands. Yet his features expressed some sort of pride and for a moment the woman's resistance would crumble at the sight. While her initial abrasive tone did not completely break down, sincerity would hide a majority of it. "But at least you came back..." and done more than she had expected him to do for her. He had kept his word so what more could she ask for? "Thanks."