With Adam on his road to recovery; Opal had no problem putting him to work.
--
Adam leaned back in the recliner, staring out the window. It wasn't snowing today- for once. The sound of the woman's foot falls pattering back and forth behind him had grown normal at this point. It had been a few days since the day she'd visited Argus, and she seemed for the most part, back to normal. Neither of them mentioned the events of that day, both satisfied with brushing it aside.
Over the few days, Adam was finally told her name; though somehow she must have known he was too bullheaded to ask himself. Opal; no last name, no middle. It was fitting for her, and it made sense with how strange her eye color was. He'd begun freely wandering around the small home, but he hadn't tested his luck with the outdoors. He didn't want to admit he was paranoid, but he was.
Constantly being assaulted with old nightmares wasn't helping his case. Even though she never mentioned it, he knew Opal noticed. How shaky he got some mornings; how he'd jump and flinch away when she brushed over old scars. He took note of when he began to act out of sorts, she'd make her motions more telegraphed than usual. He never made the effort to thank her, but it was appreciated.
"So!"
Adam jumped, turning his attention to the woman now standing next to him. He looked at her quizzically, raising a brow,
"What?"
Opal placed a hand on her hip, pointing at him,
"We're going out today!"
He looked at her blankly, brows furrowing,
"What?"
She threw a coat on him, leaning to the side,
"Well I was thinking- you're recuperating here, I have daily chores and needs," Opal poked at him, "So you're going to be helping me with chores!"
He frowned folding the coat over on his lap. It was fair; she'd housed him, fed him, and tended to his wounds. A couple chores weren't going to kill him.
--
Adam let out a huff, his boots crunching against the snow. Opal was waiting for him at the bottom of the cliff face, motioning with her hands,
"Come on! You're almost there!"
"Fuck off!" He snapped, blowing hair out of his face.
This woman had an ungodly amount things. Her backpack probably weighed as much as her, not counting the fish basket he was currently fumbling with. Finally making his way down, he dropped the basket, letting out a grunt,
"So did you do all this just to fuck with me?"
"What? No, this is what I always take with me." She mused, resting a hand on her hip, "You know, when I found you I had to carry all this plus you up that cliff face. And you're no limp noodle let me tell you."
Adam stared at her in disbelief, wide eyed. He knew he was weaker since his confrontation, but this was ridiculous. Maybe getting hit by her would sting a bit after all. Opal picked up the basket, slinging it over her shoulder,
"I'll get this for you, you've suffered enough- for now."
She smirked at him, brows raised. He fumed a bit, adjusting the backpack. Loose dirt and gravel shifted to pebbles and sand as they made their way to the water. Opal motioned for him to put the bag down, placing the basket on the sand next to her,
"Alright! Time to get to business. Ever fished before?"
Adam frowned, rolling his shoulders,
"No. I enjoy eating fish, not catching. I prefer hunting," he deadpanned.
She playfully punched his shoulder, a bit harder than the average individual usually would. Adam spent a majority of his life growing on an island, and to be honest he hated the ocean. He hated the humidity, the smell, the sand. He liked eating fish, nothing else. Pulling a collapsed rod from the backpack Adam had put down, she began snapping it together, handing it to the faunus,
"Well time to learn! New experiences! Right?"
He didn't look amused with her enthusiasm. Taking the pole with a grunt, the woman began to assembling her own. Minutes passed by, full of knot tying and Adam almost hooking his fingers. His frustration was mostly smoothed over by Opal's clear direction. It wasn't the worst experience he'd ever had, however he wasn't thrilled about the sheer humiliation of almost casting the tail of his coat out to sea.
Opal laughed at him while he attempted to unhook his coat, a colorful string of curses coming from him.
"See doing that, you almost look cute."
"Fuck you."
She rolled her eyes, quirking a brow,
"And then you have to open your mouth."
She watched him struggle a bit more before intervening,
"Okay okay, I'll get it. Stop squirming."
He begrudgingly stood still, letting the woman pull the hook from the fabric,
"You can't just rip it out, there's barbs for a reason."
Adam frowned, shifting his grip on the fishing rod. She began walking him through how to cast, practicing with him to get the motion down.
"Okay, ready?" She looked to him.
He offered a small nod, looking back at her. Opal smiled, flicking the pole over her shoulder. Adam followed suit, attempting to push his past failures out of the picture.
"Alright; one, two- three!"
They both flicked the lines into the water, landing a decently far distance away. Opal smiled, patting him on the shoulder,
"Good job! See you just needed a little practice!"
He let out a grunt, placing the rod in the holder,
"Now what?"
"Now we wait."
She plopped down on a rock, placing her rod in her own holder. Adam found a rock of his own, shifting uncomfortably. They sat for silence in a while, Opal's eyes closed as the cool sea air ruffled her hair. He usually enjoyed peace and quiet, but his racing mind wouldn't let him rest.
"Opal,"
She looked up, surprised to hear her name,
"Hm?"
Adam's fingers were tightly knit together as he stared at the sand, brows knit,
"Why did you really save me?"
They'd become relatively familiar with each other by now, at least he thought so. While he was still difficult, he did view her as an exception compared to most humans. He knew she'd been patient with him, but now he genuinely wanted an answer. Before he pegged it off as another human looking to take more from him. He wanted to throw her in with everyone else; he just couldn't deny how genuine she was.
Adam was still stubborn, bull headed, and he wouldn't be letting go of his judgements anytime soon- but she really was different. He wasn't born yesterday either. From her first brushed off explanation of her actions, he was desperate for her to want something, anything from him. Something to reinforce his anger, something to justify his aggressive nature. Even if it was as petty as being too rough with his wounds or giving him a stale meal.
Opal blinked, before offering a sad smile. She looked down at the sand, twiddling her thumbs,
"So you really didn't buy into it, did you? I'm not surprised. I knew you were too smart for that."
Adam's brows furrowed as he watched her, head tilting to the side,
"Well?"
She leaned back, letting out a breath,
"When I was little, my family had a hard time making ends meet. Animals were sparse, there were so many Grimm our family had to pay for huntsman every month or so." Opal rested her chin against her knee, "When my family was in Argus, someone approached them with a job opportunity."
Her body stiffened, shoulders tensing,
"The SDC offered my parents a job in the dust mines. They offered to everyone who they knew were desperate."
Adam raised a brow, looking at her,
"Why would the SDC have humans work in mines? They took advantage of faunus why would they even use humans?"
She looked at him, brows knit,
"Do you really think that the SDC only exploited faunus?"
He was a bit taken back, frowning as he looked away. The idea never occurred to him. He knew they exploited faunus, they treated them like animals. It never came to his mind others they'd effected.
"My parents were desperate; so they took the job," Opal's hands clenched as she continued, "They worked everyone into the ground, horrible hours, terrible conditions, because-"
"They knew they couldn't leave."
She nodded, looking out at the water,
"One night my father was talking about how horrible the conditions were, how he tried to talk to the superiors about the workers concerns- how they ignored him."
Looking down at her feet, he could see her beginning to tear up, her lips pursing,
"It was the last night I saw them."
Adam's jaw clenched at her words, anger bubbling inside him. She looked at him, a sad smile on her face,
"I didn't save you out of pity, Adam Taurus," She murmured, "I know you've had your fill of that, just as I have."
"Then what reason would you have to save someone like me?"
Opal stared at him for a moment before looking away,
"Because after seeing you… As foolish as it may be, I saw someone like me," he went to retort, only for her to continue, "Someone who looked at something that caused so many people misery but received nothing but prayers and pity."
Her voice began to shake, brows furrowing,
"Someone who watched the guilty feign ignorance; Someone who had been through so much and just wanted someone to pay."
Adam didn't know what to say. He wanted to spit venom, snap at her about how he didn't need her kindness nor understanding, how she'd never experience what he went through; but he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, how much he wanted to fall into his arrogance, shout any vile thing he could at her- he couldn't. She looked at him, her hands resting on her lap,
"I'll never know what you've been through, Adam- but I know the feeling of being treated like nothing more than a victim to the world; we just chose different paths to handle it. You fought and I-" Opal turned her hand over, her fingertips becoming translucent, "Hid."
The sat in silence for a long while, but not the comfortable silence he'd grown use to. It felt thick and heavy, as if someone had thrown a quilt over them. What was he supposed to say? She'd told him something so personal, and he wasn't about to suffocate her with apologizes and pity.
"You're stronger than you give yourself credit for," He muttered, "I wouldn't bother speaking to you if I thought you were weak."
'Way to sound like even more of an entitled prick, Adam.' He thought to himself, shoulders stiffening.
Opal glanced up at him, smiling,
"Thank you."
Adam relaxed a bit, seeing that she understood what he was trying to convey. She laughed a bit at his body language, covering her mouth,
"That's very sweet of you."
"Excuse me?" He grumbled, quirking a brow.
"That you're trying."
"I am not-"
Adam's fishing pole began to bounce, the holder rattling. Opal stood up, pointing to Adam,
"You got one! Quick quick!"
He blinked, getting up and grabbing the pole. To be honest, he really didn't know what to do. Opal stood next to him, glancing up at him,
"You'll want to reel in a bit, then give it some slack. You don't want to snap the line. Just take your time."
Adam did as instructed, resisting the urge to just resort to brute force to pull the fish in. Opal grabbed the net, her boots splashing into the shallow water of the coastline. Finally reeling the fish in close enough, Opal quickly netted it, looking back at him with a smile,
"You did it! Your first fish!"
"Must you insist on treating me like a child every time you talk to me?" He muttered, frowning.
Opal rested the net on her shoulder, smirking,
"You're no hero nor a tyrant here, Adam. You're just a person," she pointed at him, "So don't think you'll be getting the special treatment from me!"
Adam was a bit taken back, a chill running up his spine.
'Poor child; look what they did to him.'
'You're a hero!'
'Murderer! Monster!'
He didn't know how to feel about her words. He'd always been something. A monster, a murderer, a hero, a tyrant; a victim. Not just… A person. He looked away, tilting his head downward. Opal grabbed his cheek, the wet, cold leather of her gloves coming in contact with his skin.
Adam jumped, smacking her hand away,
"Would you keep your grubby little hands to yourself!"
"Maybe when you stop looking like a kicked puppy I will," she teased, "Now recast. We have more fishing to do."
He frowned, begrudgingly grabbing the pole. After casting without incident, he sat back down. He eyed her from the side, brows furrowing. She must have been use to disregarding her own feelings. Looking down at his hands, he closed his eyes. While the sounds of the ocean usually made him uptight and on edge, he felt strangely calm.
Though he learned Opal had that effect. As rough and tumble as she seemed, she was soothing to be around. Over the weeks their relationship shifted from constant arguments and aggression to comfortable silences. She never pressed him for more, only poking fun and his quirks and mannerisms innocently. While he knew she wasn't always genuinely cheery and happy, she did a damn good acting like it.
Opening his good eye, he glanced at her curiously. She had a solemn expression, her chin rested on her hand as she stared out at the ocean. Though he assumed she didn't feel the need to keep her act up in this setting, especially after what she told him. He clenched his hands together, the leather of his gloves crumpling under the pressure.
Adam wanted to say something. It felt like everytime he parted his lips, his voice caught in his throat. He'd given orders, he'd ruled, he killed people; why was this do hard.
"Your welcome."
He looked at her, a bit of surprise in his eye. She was still looking out at the water, a small smile on her lips.
"I didn't thank you," he spat, his tone coming out more venomous than intended.
Her lips pursed as she glanced at him,
"You didn't need to."
Opal looked back out to the water, softly humming to herself. Adam looked down at the water puddled at his feet, brows knit. He blew air out his nose, a small smile gracing his lips. They sat on the shoreline till nightfall, reeling in and recasting their lines for hours. There was once again a peaceful silence, only the sounds of waves crashing against the shore around them.
Opal watched Adam struggle back up the cliffside, quietly poking fun at his past status. Jeers there, curses here. He watched her lead the way back to the home with a skip in her step, the occasional silence followed by casual conversation. She'd occasionally look back and smirk at him, quirking a brow or sticking her tounge out to blunt responses. Her coily hair bounced as she walked, heeled boots deliberately crunching into fresh piles of snow.
Adam smiled, shaking his head loosely as he followed. Like hell he'd be caught openly enjoying her company, but her mood was obnoxiously contagious. He let out an airy breath, his voice too quiet to be heard from anyone but himself,
"Thank you."
