Adrien Stops Pushing And Looks Up To See Someone Talking To Him From A Working Car. One Of The Few In

Lucas is surprised to see her still here, but he smiles when he takes it in.

"It's all okay," he responds. "I'm honestly back earlier than I thought I would be."

He hangs his coat in the closet near the door and carefully lines his shoes in it as well.

"My day was okay," he says, walking toward the kitchen. "There's always something to do and no way to actually do them."

He pulls a couple of beers out of his fridge. He really only drinks when he has company. He walks back and holds out a bottle to Jo.

𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝘧𝘵 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢

her hands smelt of cleaning product and bleach , the skin of her fingers dry and tight from the chemicals it had absorbed. her hair was an unruly tuft of brown mousse , ponytail having long since abandoned its post atop her head in favor of hanging in a flaccid rope down the length of her skin . josephine was grateful to him , for the kindness he had extended her two years ago upon her arrival ; the selfless extension of his security blanket , the nursing of her panic . as much as crossing into the threshold of purgatory had sent her into a spiral that carried over many months — josephine had accepted her circumstances , and expressed her gratitude to those who had spared her from the pendulum swing of the reaper's scythe .

" lucas , " jo greeted as the man walked through the front door , drying her hands on the towel hung from the waistband of her jeans . " i was just finishing up . wasn't supposed to take me this long but uh — something was wrong with the spray nozzle on one of the cleaners . " speech then halted , too many words coming from her lips resulting in a bashful flush crawling up her neck . " how — " josephine's gaze moved to his face , dark brows threading together as she tried to usurp the vocabulary she had stolen from the community in order to make small talk . " how was. . . your day ?? "

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"Ah." Adrien deflates a little though it's understandable. No real point to a phone without service. He shakes his head and smiles again. "Well, I'm sure we can find some good stuff from it, not just the battery. Thanks."

He takes it over to El's desk, certain that they already know of some use for the parts or can give Adrien some ideas on what he could do with it.

He turns back to Charlie. "Is there anything else I can help you with? I'm really only supposed to be cleaning up but I'm sure El and Noah won't mind me helping you out."

Honestly, he really just wants people to talk to. He's spent so much of his life not getting close to people, but now he kind of has no choice because he can't just not be a part of the community.

charlie walked inside the shop and glanced around. she knew it was useless to fix the phone, there was no point, there was no service here, no internet. it was just a broke brick at this point. it was weird, she spent so much of her time on her phone back home and now it was nothing. "well, i threw it at a tree so i don't think it's really worth fixing even if we had service here. but you might be able to use the battery or something. i don't really know. just thought it was better than going in the trash."

He briefly considers putting her into a headlock just to show how easy it would be to catch her, but he's honestly too tired to put in the effort. And she's right about the rationing. He's probably just using it as an excuse to avoid his personal problems rattling in his head right now.

"By that logic, we all worry too much," he replies. "It's our jobs to worry too much. So the people who can't do our jobs don't have to."

He sees and even feels the edge in her smile.

"This was an unexpected event. By all accounts, they broke the rules we thought were in place."

He leans against a table, crossing his arms to show he's in serious mode now. Not ready for the emotional talk quite yet. At least not until Ana is.

Anastasia lets out a quiet huff, the corners of her mouth twitching into a smirk. "A nap sounds nice, but you’d have to catch me first." She rolls her neck, feeling the tension stretch and settle, then flicks her gaze to the horizon as if sleep is a luxury meant for someone else.

"I’ll sleep when things stop breaking." She exhales through her nose, the humor slipping just slightly. "Besides, if you lock me up, who’s gonna keep you from rationing those supplies into oblivion?"

Her smile softens, but there’s an edge to it—one Lucas would recognize instantly. "I’m fine, Lu. You worry too much." But they both know that’s not exactly true. Not anymore.

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Lucas let's her talk, seeing what kind of mood or topic she'll settle on.

"I'm not really in the mood for a lot of company," he says. "Just company. Plus I'm hungry."

It is hard to deal with so much loss all the time. He knows theoretically that people die all the time. But seeing it on a daily basis is a different story.

He gives her an encouraging smile when she talks about Charlie and El.

"Yeah, I checked up on El earlier. They seem to be doing okay, but I get it. If Rae or Ana got hurt like that..."

He let's the silence finish the sentence for him.

"Anyway, uh, my first day was rough. Kind of like what these new people had to deal with, I guess. My brother and I rolled in before sunrise, and we were getting chased. He managed to hold them off from me while somebody let me inside their house."

He blinks away the tears threatening to spill. Thinking about Carlos always made him cry.

"Colony house has plenty of company, if that's your vibe. I don't know, it gets little loud there for me sometimes. Don't get me wrong I like...I like the noise it's just...after last night..." she lets her words trail off there, she was certain he'd know what that meant. "Uh, I got lost in work, lots of cooking and -- onions cover up for the crying. Lost a lot of good people last night, I just...it's hard isn't it? Having to deal with loss...all the fucking time..." lighting another cigarette she'll smile at the question, almost forcing herself in an attempt to feel better, to be better company. "New people are cool. There's this girl Charlie I think...I think she and I will be good friends. El got hurt though, which...it's kind of all I can think about." a small shrug passes her shoulder. "You? You never told me what your first time was like...arriving here?"

Lucas is tempted to take the bottle, but he has things he needs to do today. Things he needs to be sober for.

"Yeah, not this time."

He lifts a foot to stretch while he talks.

"It helps me focus on things I need to do," he replies. "So yeah, I do it a lot. Probably more than I really need to, but it is what it is."

He let's his gaze travel over Adam's relaxed state, lying out, acting (if not feeling) careless and free. He's jealous that even if it's not 100% real, it still clearly helps the man. Is that the source of his unease with Adam?

If anything could make a man feel like shit, it was seeing another man be more of a man than himself. And going for a healthy morning jog was the epitome of fitness and health in Adams books. He doubted he'd ever become that person. "Time is just a concept, at the end of the day. 'Sides, I think I deserve a treat -- you know, after all the shit that went down." shit he had to see. Bodies he had to bury. He processed in his own way. "Guessin' that's a no to my offer?" he puts the bottle aside for now, almost uncomfortable at the fact other was standing and not sitting down beside him. "Running? That something you do a lot?"

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Lucas listens intently, making sure Elm knows he's really listening to her, giving her space to talk about anything.

He quirks an eye up. If she felt the need to mention it, then it must be something to consider important.

"What was notable about the tree?"

ELM TAKES A MOMENT TO THINK ABOUT IT . " i was with bruna in the community kitchen ." elm shrugs . " we were doing chores together to keep busy during the storm ." a beat before elm admits, " i don't remember why i left . i don't remember leaving ... but i know they were there ." they wrap their fingers around their laces again and again, eyes on the motion before, " after that i woke up in the forest and walked back . my shoes were gone ." a pause before they tilt their head, meet lucas' eyes and add, " ... i remember a tree ."

"Nice to meet you," Adrien says with a smile and shaking Noah's hand. "El sent me over to check on things for them."

Adam shrugs and giggles.

"I guess it could be worse. Could definitely be better but could be worse."

Adrien walks in and looks around. There's a car already up on the lift. He walks up and studies what's going on under.

"This your project or El's?"

"Easy there!" Noah smiled, raising his hands in a 'no harm done' gesture. "Didn't mean to give you a heart attack."

He eyed the newcomer for a moment , giving him a friendly smile. "Noah Adler. Mechanic. Well -" He shrugged his shoulders. "I fix things, anyway." He stepped forward, offering a handshake, a big of oil still smudged on his hand from earlier.

"So you're new in town... I don't know whether to say welcome or apologise," he laughed. He hadn't been here long himself, so who was he really to say anyway. "Welcome, I guess." he tipped an imaginary hat.

Mary Oliver, from a poem titled "Six Recognitions of the Lord," featured in Devotions: Poems