Disclaimer: I don't own any of Marvel's characters or anything else you may recognize as belonging to anybody but me. Anything you don't recognize...yeah, that's most likely mine.
Chapter One
"Are you sure you really want to go through with this?"
I unbuckled my seatbelt as I looked at the airport that spread out in front of us, ignoring Adrian's eyes on me. The skies were a light grey, not a speck of blue could be seen behind the thick layer of clouds. The forecast had shown no signs of storms each of the near twenty times I'd checked in the last hour, but what my eyes saw here and now was easily working its way to taking over my rational and logical sense of mind that I'd worked myself into only half an hour before. Already I could feel the pressure and tension building in my chest.
"Hello? Earth to Mos? Am I talking to myself here?" Sighing, I finally glanced over at Adrian, whose worried tone matched his expression perfectly.
"I'll be fine," I said quietly, then louder, "I am fine. Don't worry about me."
"I don't worry ab—"
"Adrian, you do. You've done nothing but worry and hover over me for the past year. I'm okay, really."
He ran a calloused hand through his short, light-colored hair. Lately it was getting hard to tell if his hair was more bleach blonde or a really light silver. While he was only thirty-nine years old, the stress of the past year or so had been weighing heavily on him.
"I know, and I know how important this trip is for you, but…" He gave me a weak little smile. "I'm not ready to say goodbye yet."
I rolled my eyes at him and punched his arm playfully. "You can't get rid of me that easy. Now come on, I don't want to miss my flight."
As we were toting my few bags through the airport and through security Adrian was running through a mental checklist he had with me.
"You have your card and the extra cash?"
"Of course I do. I don't want to have to beg as soon as I set foot over there."
"What about your license? Passport?"
"Shit… I think I left my passport back at the house!"
Adrian stopped dead in his tracks. "That's not good at all. The house is at least a couple of hours away from here and with your flight leaving in twenty…" he trailed off upon noticing my grin. "Mihaela, that is not funny. Don't cause my heart any more grief than need be."
I gave him a sheepish look. "Sorry. Check, check. I have both. What's next on your list?" We sat down near the gate that I'd have to pass through to board my plane.
"Do you have your address book? Have you already made arrangements with them? Do you have your phone so you can let me know when you get there?"
"Yes, Adrian. Everything's in place. Just relax."
"Speaking of relaxing…" He took my hand in his. "How are you feeling? Do you have plenty of things to do to keep you occupied?"
"I'm fine. I'm all set."
"Are you fine or are you fine?"
"Adrian. Stop. I'm perfectly fine. Just wait, we'll see that you were worried about nothing. It'll turn out that I actually love flying. Believe me." Although at that moment I wasn't sure who I was trying to convince: him or me. I was barely keeping it at bay, and I knew he could tell, even without the slight tremor in my hands.
"Just do me one favor," he said gently as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small orange bottle.
"No."
"Mos—"
"Adrian I can't. You know how I want to do this."
"I realize that. I really do. But kiddo you're going to be going through a lot of new changes and experiences and surely stress. And after what happened…" he trailed off. "Please. Take them. If nothing else take them with you just to ease an old man's mind and heart."
"You're not old."
"I know. But still. Make this separation a little easier on me."
"I'm not sure about this."
"You're not your mother, Mihaela." He locked eyes with me, not seeming at all sorry for bringing her up.
"We don't know that. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, after all." I hated that my voice had turned stiff and cold with him, especially since I was so close to leaving and we wouldn't be seeing each other for quite awhile. But I couldn't help it. Just the thought of her sent me into instant bitch-mode. Maybe in time my feelings towards her would change. But if that were the case, that time was not now. It was still too soon.
"Some day we need to talk about this, Mos."
"Today's not the day. Not now. I don't want to leave like this."
"Neither do I," he agreed. And because I loved him and didn't want him to worry about me more than he was already going to, I didn't move to stop him or protest when he tucked the bottle away inside my carry-on
Just then the first call for boarding the flight I was to get on rang out over the speakers. Adrian and I stood as one and turned to face each other.
"Tell the family I said hello and give them my love. And you better pay mine a visit at least once. My parents are looking forward to meeting you."
"Won't they be together anyways?" I had thought he'd told me the two families were really close friends and were practically inseparable.
"Yes, well, you know what I mean. They'll want to spend some time with you too."
"I will, I promise." The second call sounded out over the speakers. "I guess I should get going."
"I suppose you should." But neither of us made any effort to move.
"You'll love it there," he promised. "Make sure you try anything and everything you can while you're there. Especially this one little shop that serves as a café during the day and a bar at night. It might be small, but it's the best place in town. We used to spend more time than you can imagine there while we were growing up."
I laughed, despite the sad pang in my heart at the image. "It's not hard to imagine at all." The third and final warning seemed to scream at us. It was now or never.
I stepped forward into his arms and hugged him as tight as I could, letting his warmth and the comfort of his presence seep into me.
"I wish I could go with you," he said quietly into my hair.
"I wish you could too," I said, squeezing him tighter. But I had to do it now before I lost my nerve.
I stepped back and picked up my bags, giving him a smile. "I love you Adrian. I'll letcha know when I get there."
"You better." He gave me a warm smile in return. "I love you too. Take care of yourself, kiddo."
And take care of myself I would.
As I sat back in my seat (by the window, wouldn't you know it) I tried to calm myself. I tried to think happy, positive thoughts, the way I used to be able to before all hell broke loose. I thought of Adrian, I thought of all the stories he'd been telling me. But with those thoughts came the thoughts of another who was dear to me, and thinking of him didn't help matters at all. Because with the thought of him came all the other nasty doubts and anxious thoughts, plus the history of what had happened. And, before I knew it, I'd lost control once again.
Just as it began to wrap its hard, smothering hand around my chest, heart and, more importantly, my mind, I quickly dug through my bag until I pulled the little bottle free.
The woman sitting next to me gave me a sympathetic smile, which I hated. But there was nothing I could do. It had already sunk its teeth into me. I'd already lost, and the damage was done.
As I had done for the past year, I vowed to myself that the next day would be better. That the next day I really could do it on my own. Tomorrow would be the day that I would take a step back and be on my own path, and not be closer to following in my mother's dark footsteps.
I shakily popped it into my mouth and swallowed it down, trying desperately to relax back into my seat as I waited for the aided relief to wash over me.
A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks for giving this Fic a shot! While it's not my first FanFic, it is my first Marvel Fic, so hopefully I won't screw it up too bad, right? Anyways, I know this will start of slow, but I promise we'll get to what you're wanting before too long. Just stay with me please! Hopefully it'll be worth it! :)
Alrighty, please review! Reviews, whether they're good, bad, or constructive always make me happy. After all, how are we supposed to improve if nobody tells us what we're doing wrong?
Nike