"I hate crowds." Adam mumbled, pulling his jacket closer to himself and Marcy stared, awestruck at the scene around her.
The square was lit up theatrically, as the moments to New Years dwindled down. The crowd was bustling, moving to and from their destinations noisily, as the two out place on lookers searched for their Greek companion.
Marcy smiled at him. "Like I said, we don't have to stay long. Just long enough to meet Stella's new beau and be on our way."
She gently pulled on the front of his jacket, bringing him closer to her. She adjusted his beanie and clapped her hands down on his shoulders. "I promise."
Adam gave her reddened cheek a quick peck. "Swear on Jim Henson?"
There was a hesitance.
"Marcy…"
"Fine, I swear on Jim Henson." The brunette sighed, wrapping her arms around his burly frame. "But it should be noted I do it with great-"
"Hey!"
The two jumped apart. Stella chuckled, "scare ya?"
Marcy smirked, turning to embrace the woman, "maybe a little."
Adam gave the man a once over. Tall, dark and handsome, just Stella's type. Instant dislike. The men shook hands.
"You must be Adam." He flashed him a 500 watt smile, and the lab tech returned it, stiffly.
"You must be…" Adam blinked. Marcy never told him the guy's name.
"Jonathan," Stella supplied, taking the man's hand as Marcy wrapped her arms around Adam's waist in a affectionate effort to keep the two warm.
Jonathan turned his eyes to the Kiwi, "and you must be Marcy."
She nodded in his general direction, "uh huh. Well, this was fun-"
"Marcy…" Stella warned, "Why don't we head down to Puffs? It's just up the block, Eric'll probably have coffee or something-"
"Eric doesn't serve coffee. He has this thing about caffeine and its affects on the mind." Marcy shrugged, "something about how it's a low level, legal, narcotic or something."
Jonathan stared at her, "is he fucking re-"
"Watch it." Adam said, his tone breezy but his eyes containing a hint of authority that Marcy, or Stella, hadn't seen before. In all honesty- Marcy tightened her hold on him, and his face flushed for reasons that had nothing to do with the cold.
Marcy continued to smile up at him, with the slightest hint of suggestion on her pale pink lips as she nodded. "I think we go now."
"Me too." Stella nodded, ignoring the glare she received from Adam, but the girl's annoyance would not be silenced.
"Why do you always cock block me, Stella? That's not very stellar." The future anthropologist clicked her tongue as her peers blushed.
-
And so they arrived at Puffs. The atmosphere was relaxed and still quite loud, from both the music blaring behind the counter, and of course, the crowds outside.
"Kitten!" Erica threw her arms open, hopping off Eric's lap. Adam glanced between the two; they did look freakishly alike. He made a mental note to question Eric on his stance on incest.
Marcy grinned, ushering Stella up to the counter. "This is-"
"Stellar Stella." Eric nodded, moving his head in a way reminiscent of Pauly Shore. "Marce talks about you all the time-and Danny, and Flack, and Sid, but mostly Adam."
"I'm Jonathan," He flashed that smile again, to which the two bohemians simply stared.
"Great." Eric dropped his tone, pulling his girlfriend back into his lap, "more cops. Just what I need."
The Kiwi ruffled his shaggy hair, reaching popping the door to the counter up. "Got anything to eat, Male Erica?"
"Just cereal?"
"Well, where's the real food?" Jonathan asked. He received no response. Just an understanding pat on the hand from his girlfriend.
Adam took a seat on the awaiting stool and pulled off his winter wear. Setting the beanie and gloves on the light pink counter top, he watched Marcy take off her own. Her dark hair whipped out and she shook it out with her fingers, flashing him a soft smile.
"So, how long have you two been together?" Stella asked, accepting the cup of hot chocolate Erica had offered her.
The two looked at each other and the man shrugged, "define together."
"In a relationship?" Erica asked, "About four years."
"And you?" Jonathan had turned his attention to Adam and Marcy who were quietly eating cereal, Adam-his special mix, and Marcy-Apple Jacks.
Marcy glanced up at him, warily, "we're not."
"Oh."
Adam bowed his head and stirred his cereal, which was slowly getting mushy. He spun it, staring at it intently, not noticing the concern stare from the dark blue eyes behind the counter.
-
"I hate crowds." Adam repeated, as the giddy young woman pulled him from the warmness of Puffs, into the harsh unforgiving New York wintertime. No that sounded to fluffy-winter. Just winter.
Marcy pulled him toward the square, Jonathan in the back of her mind-or more frankly, Jonathan's question.
What the hell were they anyway? She looked at him, his face was blistered from the wind and he was glancing around nervously. She suppressed a grin, taking his cold face in her gloves.
"10!" The crowds began to echo. Cheering and laughing as the couple stood in the middle of the street.
"What are we Adam?"
"9!" He looked down at her twinkling eyes and smiled.
"Well, what do you want to be?"
"8!"
She wrapped her arms around him, looking him in the eyes.
"7!"
"Come on, Adam-"
"Seriously. Name it."
"6!"
"You know I'm-" A man bumped into her, forcing her even closer to him.
"5!"
"Know you're what?" Adam asked resting his forehead on hers as she grinned up at him.
"4!"
"That I'm totally into you, hook, line and sinker, Beak." Marcy watched the grin creep over his features.
"3!"
"You mean that?" He asked, pulling her slight frame tight against him.
"2!"
"Uh-huh."
"You wanna be my girlfriend?" He teased.
"1!"
"I'm already yours, Adam you know-"
He pressed his cold lips firmly against her own in a heated kiss. She smiled as warmth flooded through her and she slipped her hand up to the back of his neck.
