Mingle Event

[caffeinified]

The County Fair has come to Itinere! It just magically appeared overnight. Such fun, right? Absolutely. Here, you'll find every rickety ride you can think of from ferris wheels, water rides, pendulum rides and roller coasters to the horrifying Drop Tower ride, a reverse bungee experience and tilt-a-whirl. Pretty much if you can dream an amusement ride, it's here. Don't even think about going hungry. They fry everything at this event. And of course there are the old staples of any Fair, funnel cakes, corn dogs and shaved ice in every flavor. Careful, you just might get pulled into a massive tent to judge anything from pies to barbecue to pickles to jams. Oh, but it isn't all food. You might get pulled into a tent to judge livestock. Sheep, cattle, pigs and llamas are the name of the game. Who has the best of the best? Did anyone say horse races? Feel free to bet at the makeshift track where horses will be racing all day! The promenade has several live bands cycling through on and off all day. Grab someone and dance before you, yourself get pulled into a two-step.

Everything isn't entirely on the up and up though. Did that sheep just whisper to you? What is it telling you to do? Is that paint on that clowns face or is that just his face? No smile should be naturally that large. In the hall of mirrors, you might not see yourself looking back at you. One of the mirrors might even be empty. Anyone who goes through the tunnel of love will feel compelled to kiss no matter who they're with. The acrobats do death defying acts that seem far too unreal. And the animals in their cages, the lions and the panthers... they look at you with a sentient, knowing eye that would give anyone the heebie-jeebies. The music in the promenade might force you to dance, with or without a partner. The fortune tellers know far too much about you and your life past, present and future.

But hey! It's a Fair! Everyone loves a Fair, don't they? Have fun while the fun lasts!


ooc: This is a very stereotypical fair. Feel free to create your own adventures, good or bad. Want to play with some of the not quite right stuff in the Fair? Have at it! Basically, create your own muses storyline here, let your imagination run wild, mingle, and have fun! Want to plot with others? Comment to THIS post!

Comments

[fictor]

"Yeah, I noticed," Ronan finished. His eyes narrowed as he caught up to Adam, watching him as they walked. He was trying to figure out what the hell was going on with Adam. In some ways, he had taken advantage of Ronan's guard being down, but what Adam didn't realize yet was that Ronan would have kissed him back regardless of whether his guard had been down or not.

"I'm not pissed. Just don't fuckin' tell anyone you kissed me on the ferris wheel. Make it the god dam roller coaster, or something." Honestly, that was it. That was all the riding he was going to get. "Hell, we could do it on the roller coaster and you wouldn't have to lie."

There you go, but he wasn't expecting Adam to agree. He was joking with him, trying to make him realize that he wasn't angry, that he didn't care.

When he mentions 'them' Ronan sobers again, looking down at the grass, nodding a little. "Yeah. That the only reason behind it?" He bites the inside of his cheek hard, rare insecurities bursting out in what might look like anger to someone who didn't know Ronan. "I'm not Blue, and missing her won't change that."

Figuratively, of course.

[adamparrish]

Ronan said he wasn't pissed. But strangely enough, it was harder for Adam to tell the difference between pissed off Ronan and everyday Ronan when Adam himself was worked up about something too. So actually hearing Ronan say that he wasn't pissed off went a long way with him.

Adam relaxed a bit, smirking when Ronan mentioned the ferris wheel, the roller coaster. He really didn't mind telling people it was on a roller coaster. But in his mind, Adam would never forget that the first time he had initiated a kiss with Ronan, it had been on a ferris wheel. And he would never forget how that kiss had felt up there in that car until they had quite literally come back down to earth and been so rudely interrupted by the fair worker.

He flushed at the memory of being called 'lovebirds'. Then he looked up at Ronan and shook his head. "You can't kiss on a roller coaster, can you? It moves too fast and it's all... unstable." And terrifying considering the way people screamed on it.

And then Ronan asked if the only reason he had kissed him was because of those who weren't here. Adam started to shake his head, the word 'no' on his lips until Ronan added the last bit about Blue. Everything in him went hard and cold and detached. Was that really what Ronan thought about his kiss? Was that really what Ronan though Adam wanted?

"Fuck you, Ronan." He said, the words harsh and angry before he turned to walk away.

[fictor]

Yeah, well there was a reason he said that he wasn't pissed. It was important to him that Adam know he wasn't pissed over this, over the kiss regardless of how cliched it had been.

Oh, Ronan wouldn't forget it either. It was a big step for Adam, which was why it was so important that he know that Adam had kissed him because he'd wanted to kiss him, not because he was sad or because he missed the others.

"Fuck yeah you can kiss on a roller coaster. There's a damn incline that seems to take forever to go up." Ronan was pretty sure that you could kiss on a roller coaster. He hadn't ever tried it, but he was more than willing to give it a shot.

Except that he then went and put his foot in his mouth, destroying the moment, self destructing in a way that was classic Ronan. He wasn't doing it to destroy anything. He was doing it because he needed Adam to want him. He needed Adam to want to kiss him, rather than simply wanting to comfort him, or even worse, wanting someone else.

"Not in public, Parrish," Ronan tossed back then stormed after him, reaching out to grab Adam's arm.

[adamparrish]

He felt that hand on his arm and started to shake it off but then thought better of it because it was Ronan Lynch and when Ronan wanted something, he took it. Adam whirled around to glare at him. Yes, he was pissed off. He was hurt. He was rethinking everything he had done up there and was starting to really regret it. Not because of the act itself, but because Ronan thought he was wishing it was Blue.

Fuck. That.

"Let go." He said plainly. "I'm going back to the room." Fairs were stupid, frivolous events anyway. Adam should have known that he and Ronan couldn't get through on without exploding all over each other. He wasn't eating anymore fried foods. And he was definitely not getting on a damn roller coaster.

[fictor]

Oh Ronan knew he was pissed off. That much was obvious. He also knew that Adam didn't get pissed off often.

Use your words, Adam. Ronan can't read minds, though he has figured out what Adam is pissed off about.

"No. Screw that. We're at the fucking fair and we're going to have a good damn time." He wasn't letting go of Adam's arm either.

"I'm not a god damn mind reader, Adam."

[adamparrish]

Adam stood there staring hard at Ronan and trying to figure out what exactly to say to Ronan to not embarrass himself any further. He couldn't really think of anything that wasn't embarrassing. And he sucked at saying what was on his mind where relationships were concerned. But Ronan was right. He was not a mind reader.

"Why'd you have to ruin it? I mean I know it was bad timing. B-... but why ruin it?" Because yes, he should have waited for a better moment and the fair worker's 'lovebirds' comment had thrown a wet blanket on it but Ronan had gone there to Blue. "Was it that bad?"

[fictor]

Ronan didn't know who he was worried about being embarrassed in front of. As far as he was concerned, he and Adam were the only two that mattered and since Ronan was pushing him to talk he didn't think he ought to feel embarrassed by whatever he said. As far as sucking at saying what was on one's mind, it was obvious Ronan was in that club as well.

"Oh Christ," Ronan started. See the above disclaimer about sucking at saying what was on one's mind. "For once in my damn life I wasn't trying to ruin shit. I was trying to figure out where the hell your mind is with this whole damn thing." He shook his head a little, jaw clenching. There was a part of him that didn't even want to dignify the 'bad' question with a response because he was pretty sure his near complete loss of control was evidence of how bad it wasn't.

"Yeah. I didn't notice the goddamn ferris wheel moving because it was bad." Said in a 'don't be stupid' tone of voice.

[adamparrish]

Both comments were harsh, just as Ronan always was, but they helped. Adam knew Ronan. He expected him to be this way. But Adam could be so insecure where it looked to him like Ronan wasn't. Feeling these things for Ronan was so new for him. Confusing. Ronan's reaction only added to that confusion.

"Where my mind's at? It's with you." Ronan was all he thought about when he let himself sit down and think. Sometimes all he thought about was that kiss in the Barns. And he had no clue what to do with that train of thought. "It's always with you." That was the truth of it. Since that first kiss, Ronan was his obsession, at least privately in the deep and dark recesses of his mind where no one could see.

He glared up at Ronan, still angry that he had said what he said, brought Blue up when he had. Although some of that anger had seeped out of him. Adam couldn't stay angry at Ronan for long.

[fictor]

It would scare the both of them if Ronan weren't this way. Romantic relationships were hard and Adam actually had more practice with that than Ronan did. He was working entirely on instinct and emotion, which was how Ronan did everything. He knew that Adam was the exact opposite where that was concerned. He though too much, analyzed everything. Ronan tried not to do that. It never worked out very well for him.

Adam's confession prompted a crooked, sly smirk from Ronan. He couldn't even begin to contain the sheer joy and satisfaction that came from hearing Adam's words, from knowing that Adam thought about him, obsessed over him.

The glare didn't even remotely phase Ronan. In fact, it might have encouraged him. In any case, he gave no warning, tugging on Adam's arm hard, tugging him toward him. His other hand came up to grasp the back of Adam's neck and pull him into another kiss. Obviously Ronan could give a damn what anyone else thought, especially now.

[adamparrish]

Adam would have thought that his anger would have thwarted anymore kissing. And he supposed he should have known that his anger would be like foreplay to Ronan. Needless to say, he was surprised by the hand at the back of his neck and subsequently finding his lips pressed to Ronan's again. For a moment, he was stiff and uncertain. They were in public still, after all. And Adam was still angry. Bit then...

...then there was Ronan.

It was hard to focus when Ronan was kissing him. Ever so briefly Adam's busy mind was emptied of everything but that kiss. He closed his eyes, the tenseness in his entire self relaxed and his hands gripped at Ronan's tee at his sides and they kissed, each of them jockeying for the one doing the kissing and the one being kissed. Adam knew that ultimately Ronan would win. He always did.

"Not fair..." He finally spoke quietly against Ronan's lips in between kisses.

[fictor]

Anger is the one thing that Ronan understands. He's lived with it entwined in his life for so long that it's intimate and familiar. Of course it's an aphrodisiac. Ronan didn't let Adam's stiffness or uncertainty dissuade him.

Kissing Adam made Ronan hyper focused on Adam. He was aware of every single breath, every heartbeat. The way Adam smelled and taste was bigger and more consuming than the world around them. Yes, Ronan was vying to be the one doing the kissing, but it was also incredibly important that he was the one being kissed. It was a thing he didn't take lightly, a thing he reveled in, one that he was intimately aware of.

He grinned against the kiss at Adam's word, finally breaking the kiss breathless, chest heaving. His hand was still at the back of Adam's neck, keeping him close. "Who the fuck wants to play fair?"

His hand slid from the back Adam's neck, along his shoulder and down his back before falling away.

"Come on. Let's go ride the roller coaster."

[adamparrish]

That grin could be felt against his lips even before Ronan pulled back enough for Adam to see it. He couldn't say he had ever felt a smile before. He wanted to feel it again. Adam shrugged at Ronan's question. Maybe that was what Ronan had in his favor. He was find with not playing fair and often didn't. Adam was used to playing by the rules and within certain guidelines.

And then they were no longer touching and Adam tried to remember why he was mad again.

The minute Ronan mentions a roller coaster though, Adam's eyes go wide and he shakes his head. "Ronan. No. Maybe... I'll wait here for you."

[fictor]

It wasn't often that Ronan smiled large enough for anyone to see it, much less feel it. Of course, he didn't often kiss people either. As far as Ronan was concerned, that was an advantage that should be exploited. The world wasn't fair. Adam knew that as well as anyone, perhaps more than most. Ronan had said fuck the rules years ago.

He wasn't mad. Not at all. Nope.

"Nope. Not acceptable. You're getting on the roller coaster. Don't worry, Parrish. I won't let you fall out," he smirked. It was the same sort of reassurance he'd offered when they'd gotten on the ferris wheel.

[adamparrish]

"You could promise that in a Ferris Wheel. But..." As if on cue, screams came from the roller coaster as the cars reached their pinnacle and slid down over the edge at break neck speed. Adam swung an arm out in the direction of the screams. "That's too fast for you to stop anyone from flying out and falling to their death."

So descriptive, but Adam couldn't help it. His eyes were wide with fear over getting on the roller coaster. But also there was a hint of understanding that in fighting with Ronan, Adam Parrish would not win. He was getting on that roller coaster.

[fictor]

Ronan quirked his scarred eyebrow at Adam, clearly unimpressed with his descriptive, hypothetical death.

"The shit we've gone through and you think we're gonna die on a roller coaster?"

Yes. Adam Parris was getting on that roller coaster.

[adamparrish]

"You don't think it could happen? Irony happens all the time, Ronan. Look at us." He could mean them individually. He could mean them as a couple couple. He could mean the situation at hand. He could mean a lot of things. No matter how you looked at it, irony seemed to follow them everywhere.

He stared at Ronan stubbornly. His boyfriend was going to have to work a lot harder to get him on that death trap. "There's lots of other stuff to do here. And I've never done any of it either."

[fictor]

Ronan cocked that scarred eyebrow up at Adam's comment about irony and 'us'. He was trying for a moment to decide how Adam meant that because yeah, he could see the irony in them individually and together, in the situation at hand, in Adam's life, in his own life.

Oh? He wanted him to work harder did he? Perhaps he realized that the only thing Ronan did work hard at was annoying the ever living fuck out of people. That sort of applied to this situation. "I think the odds of us dying on the damn rollercoaster are so fucking low that if it's going to happen then we've got a fuck load more to worry about than dying on the rollercoaster. Full on Final Destination fucked."

A mischivous smirk made one corner of Ronan's mouth tilt up. "But hey, you don't wanna kiss me on the rollercoaster, I'll just go by myself." He shrugged and started to turn toward that death trap.

[adamparrish]

Ronan Lynch did the one thing that Adam Parrish had not expected him to do. He gave up. Adam watched him walking away with words ringing in his ears about Final Destination and kissing. Kissing. Kissing Ronan. His mind always tripped over that like a needle on a scratched vinyl record. He was stunned. And damn Ronan Lynch for how good his ass looked in those jeans.

Adam exhaled a heavy, breathy sigh and rolled his eyes up to the sky. Finally, he jogged to catch up with his friend. His hand reached out to grab his arm, not to stop him, just to let him know he was there. They kept walking side by side.

"But you're not gonna kiss someone else, right?" He was still highly doubtful that anyone could kiss on a roller coaster. But he still felt the need to clarify this one bit.

[fictor]

Oh, he wasn't giving up. He was baiting Adam, tempting him he hoped. He knew sometimes when Chainsaw refused to listen, when she refused to pay attention to him, if he got up and left the room she would come see what he was doing. He hoped if he walked away, Adam would follow especially with that sort of bait left for him. Any other time he wouldn't mention that, wouldn't say that, but they'd just been kissing. The elephant was in the room so to speak so he hoped that Adam would be intrigued by him pointing it out rather than scared. He still hadn't figured out Adam and his feelings on them in a romantic sort of way.

It worked like a charm. He knew exactly when Adam had started jogging to catch up with him,when he had decided to follow him, but the hand on his arm was good. He didn't pull away from it.

At Adam's question, Ronan scowled giving him a black look. "I told you I wasn't like Declan. I don't kiss anyone but you."

Not anymore and he hadn't really ever kissed Kavinsky and he certainly hadn't been sober.

[adamparrish]

In spite of the scowl, Adam continued to walk alongside Ronan with his hand on his arm. As if he could stop Ronan from going anywhere. Nevertheless, he kept his hand there in case he decided to try.

"No I know, I just..." He backpedaled. Then he forced out a question before he could stop himself from asking it. "Are you saying if I ride the roller coaster you'll kiss me?" Did that sound too much like he wanted Ronan to kiss him? He wasn't sure. So he tried to play it off like it was no big deal. "Not that I care, it's just... I'm curious." He felt like he was digging himself a hole here.

[fictor]

He wasn't going to go anywhere. Even if Adam pissed him off, he probably wasn't going anywhere.

Ronan quirked that scarred eyebrow of his up at Adam's backpedaling, watching him, letting him marinate in the silence between them for a moment. It was almost comical the hole that Adam was digging himself into. Yes, there was still a part of Ronan that wondered if he was who Adam really wanted to be kissing, but there was very little of him left that doubted whether Adam liked kissing him. "Depends on whether you want me to or not."

[adamparrish]

It was almost an unconscious movement when Adam licked his lips while giving that some thought. Did he want Ronan to kiss him? Yes, he did. Was he going to admit that out loud? Probably not without a whole lot of coercion. He felt that his kiss back on the ferris wheel had spoken volumes until Ronan had had to open his mouth and insert his foot by bring Blue into it. Yes, that still bothered him for a whole slew of reasons. Ronan didn't know whether Adam wanted to kiss him? Adam didn't know whether Ronan wanted him to kiss him either. Which was a crappy way to feel since he'd been so sure up on that ferris wheel.

So Adam didn't say anything, deep in thought, wheels obviously churning as they walked ever closer to the roller coaster. He had no idea what to say. He did realize his hand was still on Ronan's arm after a bit and pulled it away, embarrassed that he had left it there for so long. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Okay I'll ride the roller coaster." If just to save face in front of Ronan.

[fictor]

There was very little that Ronan missed and he didn't miss Adam's reaction, the way he licked his lips. That was enough answer for him. They still had a lot of issues between them, a lot of things to work out and a lot of emotions to confess to. There are a lot of words that need to be said, that likely won't get said without a curse.

Ronan let him keep his silence, all right with not saying anything until Adam pulled away from him and said he'd ride the roller coaster. A smirk slid across Ronan's lips, something sharp and triumphant.

"Front seat or backseat?" Yeah, he was actually going to let Adam pick. He shoved his own hands in his pockets as they got in line for the roller coaster.

[adamparrish]

If he weren't so distracted by the mere possibility of another kiss from Ronan, Adam might have called Ronan on the smugness that radiated off of him after Adam agreed to ride the coaster. As it was, Adam was desperately trying to understand why he liked kissing Ronan so much. He was desperately trying to understand why he thought about it so much, why he looked forward to it. And he desperately hoped that it wasn't just his own vanity that made him want those kisses. His own vanity, meaning that someone like Ronan Lynch could possibly want someone like Adam Parrish.

Adam Parrish wanted to be wanted by Ronan Lynch so badly. And that want was something that he had yet to be able to fully wrap his mind around. It was unsettling to not know his own mind in this matter.

He walked alongside Ronan, distracted by his own thought process. So his answer is an idle one, one that speaks toward Adam's need to know something from every angle before diving in but that is also vacant in light of his own distraction. "Which one is the safest?"

[fictor]

Oh, calling Ronan on his smugness wouldn't have affected said smugness. It might have turned into a fight (which was still par for the course with Ronan) but it wouldn't have made him less smug. In any case, it's probably best that Adam is distracted. Ronan notices that distraction, but hasn't any real idea of why he's distracted. It wasn't his own vanity. Ronan wanted Adam in a way that he hadn't ever really wanted a person. He'd spent most of the first year he'd known Adam figuring it out for himself.

As long as Adam didn't want to be wanted by him for the simple sake of being wanted by a generic somebody Ronan was okay with giving him some time to figure it out. After all, he'd taken some time to figure out his own wanting.

Ronan smirked at Adam's question. "The back, of course. Front is the most fun." He'd found that was true in most things, to be honest. Safest wasn't the most fun, but then Ronan hadn't ever really played it safe, not even before his father had been killed.