A/N: And I just might love the Moss more than the Dantana. Admitting it is the first step I suppose. "Future Foe Scenarios" by Silversun Pickups. Thanks to the brother for this song.

"But where are we going?" Lindsay asked with a frustrated sigh as Adam pulled her down the street.

"If I tell you then it won't be a surprise."

"Does everything have to be a surprise with you?"

"Yes, it does."

"What about what's in the bag? Can you at least tell me that?"

"Part of the surprise."

She sighed again and used her free hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. She was tired and really would rather curl up on the couch with Adam and a big blanket, eat popcorn and watch Hope Floats. Of course, he was getting a pretty big kick out of this surprise, and who was she to deny him that? Smiling, she quickened her pace to keep up with him.

He stopped in front of a coffee shop that she had never seen before; a little hole in the wall that had character oozing from it. It was subdued on the outside, orange light coming from the sconces on either side of the door. The awning was purple and gold and there was even a welcome mat on the doorstep. He held the door for her and they stepped into the small shop, greeted by a perfectly fragranced marriage of coffee and cider, tea and pastries. The walls were all different colors, from a shimmering silver to a distressed yellow. Knick-knacks and odd sculptures stood on staggered shelves while unknown art adorned the rest of the walls. The tables stood at odd heights and were in no particular order. There were metal folding chairs, old wooden kitchen table chairs, upholstered chairs, unfinished chairs. Everything fit together while being so starkly unique that it couldn't have been a plan and it couldn't have been an accident.

She followed him to the back corner of the room, a cop table where they could see everyone entering and exiting the store. She took the emerald velour wingback chair while he chose a padded wood chair.

"What do you want to drink? Coffee?"

"Tea. Earl gray if they have it."

He nodded and went to the counter to order, coming back with two mugs steaming with hot liquid. He put them on the table then sat down, the chair squeaking under his weight. Lindsay giggled and Adam stood up again.

"I should get a different chair."

He swapped it out for a plain wooden one then sat down again.

"So now can I see what's in the bag?" she asked, taking a sip of the too-hot tea. He nodded and pulled out two coloring books and a huge box of crayons.

"Remember the other day," he started at her curious expression. "You told me that when you were a kid you used to hide out in your closet with a flashlight when you were supposed to be in bed, and you would write and draw and color until the wee hours of the morning. You said it was like you could shut your brain off and let your mind work. You just looked like you needed that tonight."

The smile that spread across her face rivaled any he had seen from her so far.

"I can't believe you remember that," she whispered, pulling her legs up under her.

"You said it, why shouldn't I remember it?"

She reached for his hand across the table and gave it a squeeze.

"Thanks for bein' perfect."

"I'm just a good actor. Oh, I almost forgot. Music."

He took his iPod out of his pocket and handed her one of the ear buds.

"Ooh yay! Do you have new stuff?"

"Yep, just for you."

"You win."

They cracked open their coloring books and selected crayons before setting to work. It was silly and childish, but it was relaxing and just what she had needed. She loved knowing that she could do these things, be this person with him, and he was there for the ride. He encouraged the parts of her that she had hidden away, loved even the bad parts of her because he saw her through them. She never had to hide from him, and he didn't have to hide from her. She didn't even know what it meant to love yourself until she felt how he loved her. She didn't know what she had been missing until it was offered to her so freely. It almost made her mourn the time she had wasted, but it also made her appreciate this even more.

They colored in relative silence, stopping occasionally to people watch or make comments about the music. Her brain had shut off, allowing her mind to run free and work over problems with relative peace. It wasn't that she lost her emotion, she was just more able to see clearly through it.

"Hey, go back and play that song again."

"The last one?"

"Yeah."

He turned the song back and she sat quietly, her eyes staring off somewhere else. She propped her chin on her hands and listened to the words of the song, hearing something in them that she wasn't expecting. She'd always loved music, especially the songs that told a story. She liked when she could picture something in her head, feel the emotion in her chest. But there was something about this song that struck her somewhere else.

"That line," she breathed, her brow furrowing. "Where bobby pins hold angel wings."

"Yeah?"

"It says something," she said, her eyes searching the ceiling for something to string her words together. "It's like when you're a kid and you realize that Peter Pan and Tinkerbell aren't really flying. You see the cables that hold them up and something inside you just dies. You lost something. But at the same time it's almost the opposite. Bobby pins might be holding your angel wings on, but it doesn't matter because the wings are still there and you can still feel magical, even if not all is right in the world."

"And what if it's not even about the bobby pins? Normally wouldn't you use a safety pin for something like that? So maybe it's about futility, the desperate desire to hold on to something good, no matter how weak and broken it is."

Their eyes met across the table and she smiled.

"We're deep tonight."

"I knew you needed a creative outlet. Next week, pottery."

"It's a plan."

"You're getting tired," Adam said a couple hours later. Lindsay glanced over at him and arched an eyebrow slightly.

"How do you know?"

"Your thumb is twitching. It always twitches when you're tired."

He went back to rubbing her feet, casually as if he had just told her that it was going to rain tomorrow. She stared at him for a minute, not sure what to say.

"You know, you have tells too," she said, sitting up a little bit on the couch.

"Oh do I?"

"When you're confused you scratch your ear."

"Well when you're mad you crack your neck."

"When you're hungry you bite your lip."

"When you're happy your eyes crinkle."

"When you're bored you suck your teeth."

"When you have nightmares you won't look me in the eye."

She fell into silence, looking down at her hands for a moment.

"I didn't mean to bring it up," he said finally.

"No, it's okay. I really don't look you in the eye?"

"It's how I know when you've had a bad night."

She was quiet while his fingers ran over her calf.

"Thank you for seeing me," she whispered. "No one else ever really has."

"I'll always see you, Lindsay."

She sat up and crawled across the couch, letting herself fall into his arms. It was the one place on earth where time slowed and everything was as it should be.

"I love you," he said, pressing his forehead to hers. "So, so much."

"I love you too."

"Thank you for trusting me enough to let yourself be seen."

She smiled as his fingers ran through her hair and his lips found hers in the TV-lit semi-darkness. It was a perfection that she had never been sure that she deserved, not until she saw him seeing her. He loved her in a way that no one else ever had and no one else ever could. It was the once in a lifetime, fate smiling at destiny, unbelievable stroke of luck and she would hold onto it like she had never held onto anything before.