It's hard to remember everything, especially when you travel as often as wrestlers do. Even with Adam on the shelf still for awhile longer, he's traveled more in the last month than he would've at all ordinarily. Add in that he has crutches to juggle too, and yeah. it's not easy. But still, realizing that he's forgotten his current favorite handheld back in Florida is kind of grim. He chews on his bottom lip and looks up from where he's lounging in bed, shaking his head. He has to leave soon, but the thought of spending hours on an airplane with nothing to entertain himself with, well...

His eyes trail around the bedroom anxiously before resting on a pile of books that Max's mom had dropped off in an attempt to keep him occupied while he's rehabbing his arm. Adam taps his fingers against his luggage before scooting over to Max's side of the bed and searching through them. One of the books sounds interesting so he collects his crutches and makes his way slowly out to the living room, smiling a little at the visual in front of him: Max drifting on the couch, fingers trailing lazily through Piper's fur as she purrs against his chest.

It's kind of awful to interrupt, but the uber will arrive soon to take Adam to the airport, he can't really wait. "Hey, Max," he calls over. "I was looking through those books your mom brought over, is it ok if I borrow one? I left my handheld back home, and it looks interesting."

Max blinks, looking over at the arm rest at him. "Oh. Yeah, sure, brochacho. I haven't gotten around to really looking at them yet, so take whatever you want."

Adam smiles and makes it around the couch as best as he can to quickly kiss Max. "Thanks. I gotta go catch my flight soon, but I'll see you in a couple of days."

"Ok." Max's smile is a little forced, a lot tired, but all Adam can do is offer him another kiss before taking his leave, hating having to leave him behind. Again.

Travel is rough, as he expected, between the weather and Adam's ankle aching a little more than usual, probably because of the cold as he travels north to make it for Dynamite. Between flight delays and canceled Ubers, Adam finds himself halfway through the book before he fully realizes it. It's a good book, and there's a romance subplot between two men that intrigues him, although something about it feels foreboding. There's something wistful, almost sad, in the details, and Adam can't figure it out.

He ends up putting the book aside once he finally arrives at the arena, not wanting to have to explain over and over again what he's reading. It's too loud and busy for him to fully focus anyway, Adam quickly getting swept away in the general cacophony of a taping. His plan is to spend a few days in Florida anyway, checking out some storm damage, visiting a few people, then traveling out to spend a couple of days with Max before having to make his way to the next Dynamite. He'll have plenty of time to finish the book off before returning it to Long Island.

Or, well, that's his plan, anyway, except that Wardlow never hangs out in the Undisputed Kingdom's locker room, and Taven, Bennett and Roddy leave as well, saying something about wanting to get something from catering. Adam could've gone with them, he knows, but his ankle is still aching from the changes in weather and all the walking he's had to do, so he opts to stay, finally having gotten comfortable again after Roddy's match. The empty locker room and his own curiosity has him reaching into his luggage and he has the book out and is lost within its words once more within minutes. It's an easy read, despite some of the heavier plot lines within, and Adam's surprised when he looks up what feels like a short while later just to realize Dynamite is all but over. He hates having to cliffhanger himself with less than a hundred pages left to read, but he doesn't really have a choice.

He grimaces and collects his crutches, stuffing the book back into his bag, before getting to his feet and looping the straps of his luggage around his crutches before slowly making his way to catering. Roddy and the others are still there, laughing and sipping at hot cocoa. For a minute, Adam pauses, missing Max's presence, but he shakes it off and continues on over to them.

"Adam!" Roddy exclaims, only slightly less loudly than he would for TV. Still enough to make Adam flinch a little. "We were about to come get you, show's about over so we're gonna be heading out soon."

"Great," he says. "You guys don't mind dropping me off at the house, do you?"

"Nope, that was the plan."

"Great, thanks." To his relief, the drive is relatively short and within the next hour, he finds himself settled in his bed, foot elevated, book in hand, eagerly reading through the final few chapters of the book. The further he gets, the more the foreboding sensation grows, and he can't look away, desperate to be wrong, hoping beyond hope that there'll be some sort of a happy ending for the characters coming to life on these pages.

Before too long, he finishes the book and stares at the final page with a dazed look on his face, shaking his head. He had seen the final reveal coming, but had tried to deny it to himself, and now all he can do is try to accept the tragic ending of the novel. Setting the book aside, he stares at the opposite wall and rubs a hand over his face. Something about it, the relationship that had come to vibrant life and found a horrible ending all within a very short period of time within the pages of that book, makes him think of Max.

He looks around his bedroom with a distressed grimace and grabs for his phone, swiping through to look at the ticket to the flight that would take him back to Long Island in a couple of days. It feels too far away, he feels unsettled and anxious with that novel's conclusion still haunting his thoughts, so he makes a kneejerk decision. Cancels one flight, books another, and exhales deeply as he puts his phone down. Some of his anxiety easing almost immediately as he lays back against his pillows, he knows that this was the right choice.

-x

All in all, Long Island looks no different from when he'd left it 36 hours earlier. But he knows he won't feel the same until he's back at Max's and sees with his own eyes that everything's ok. Waiting for a car is torturous, and if not for his ankle, he thinks he would've leaped into the first waiting car. The drive over, the slow, laborious walk to the elevators, the wait, it all wears at him until finally he's letting himself inside, pushing Max's door shut behind him.

The penthouse is quiet. Dark. An almost subdued feeling about it, and Adam swallows hard, some of that old foreboding from the novel creeping back over him. "Max?" he calls, his voice failing him. He clears his throat, tries again. "Max?" No answer. He starts to panic, dropping his bag and hurrying past the empty living room, peering into the dark kitchen, down the quiet hallway, and then... he stops short in Max's bedroom doorway, exhaling sharply as he finally finds him, deep asleep in bed, face at ease and body relaxed as he breathes steadily, undisturbed by Adam's worry. Piper is laying by him on the pillow, staring at Adam in the judgmental way only a cat can.

He almost wants to laugh at himself, but it's such a relief to see Max fine, peacefully asleep. He takes a shuddering breath before making his way slowly over, easing down onto the bed next to Max. Despite his best efforts, Max stirs and squints over at him. "Adam?" he mumbles. "Thought you were gonna stay in Florida a few days."

"I was," Adam whispers, just the sound of Max's voice easing even more of the tension that had corded around his chest while reading that book. "Changed my mind, though. Just wanted to see you."

"Oh." Max stares at him. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah," he whispers. "It is now."

"Hmm." Max carefully presses against him, resting his head against his chest as he takes care not to put weight on his arm or get too close to Adam's leg. "Well, y'know I'm always happy to see you," he says groggily.

Adam smiles, leaning in to press a kiss to the top of Max's head. "Same here," he says. "Same here."

As Max dozes back off in his arms, Adam tucks in even closer to him and sighs, thinking about that book. Despite some vaguely familiar circumstances, he knows that their ending won't be like that. Not now, not ever.