"Anyone ever tell you patience was a virtue?" Adrien tied off the thread and then grabbed some medical tape and gauze from the first aid kit to patch up the shallower cuts. He tapped Alex on the shoulder once he'd finished, sitting back to give the world walker some space. "Now I'm done. How's it feel?"
Alex moved around a little, testing to see how far he could go, “Feel’s good. Thanks.” He stood from the couch, rolling his shoulders, “Come on then. The quicker we start training the better.”
"Oh my god, you're impossible." Adrien closed the first aid kit with a snap and plopped down on the couch with his face buried in the kitchen. "Give me a minute to bask in the miracle of your life before you make me want to murder you."
Alex rolled his eyes, “Come on, stop being dramatic. You need to train and the quicker we get going the better,” He crossed his arms and raised a brow, “Come on Adrieeeen.”
"Don't whine at me you oaf!" Adrien peeked out of the cushions to glare at him, even though there was a thread of fondness in his gaze. "I'm exhausted. I just stitched up your sorry ass, why don't you show your appreciation by leaving me alone for a nice long nap?"
“You can nap later. Half an hour, just train for half an hour and then I’ll leave you alone to nap,” Alex’s face seemed to soften the tiniest bit, almost as if he was trying to beg, “Please…”
Adrien sighed, but there was something almost cute about Alex when he tried to be nice and he'd never been able to resist a cute boy for long. "You promise it won't go longer than half an hour?"
“I promise. Half an hour and then you can come back and nap.” His face softened just a tad bit more, and he wasn’t even faking it, either, “Besides, you might like where we’re going.”
Adrien sighed a little harder but Alex sounded so earnest. He shoved himself up off the couch, slapping on as real a scowl as he could manage to at least pretend to resist. "Fine. But only 'cause I know you're not gonna shut up about it if I don't."
Alex grinned, a real, proper grin for the first time in a while, “You’re not wrong there,” He held out his hand, “Come on then.” He was excited, actually excited and he couldn’t quite place why and he didn’t think he wanted to.
Adrien inwardly decided that he really liked Alex's smile and he'd like to see it again and outwardly slapped his hand into Alex's with a yawn. "Yeah yeah, I'm coming. Let's hit the road before I change my mind."
Alex tugged Adrien close to his body before jumping, darkness constricting the both of them for a moment before they came out on the other side.
When they arrived on the other side, it was bright, warm and sunny. If one looked up there wasn’t one sun, but two, only one of them was surrounded by a set of rings. They’d landed by a river, the water so clear that you could see to the bottom easily. And the water seemed slightly green. There was a set of cliffs on the other side with over hanging trees, in the distance a set of bright green mountains ranges. A little further down the river was a bridge of all stone but it still seemed pretty steady.
Alex’s grin widened, taking in a deep breath of fresh air, “Here we are.”
Adrien blinked the brightness out of his eyes and then did his best to blink the surprise out of them too. Green water? And two suns? What was this, fucking StarTrek? He stood still for a bit longer than he probably should've considering he was still wrapped up in Alex's arms, taking in the cliffs and the mountains and the bridge. It was almost sickeningly idyllic. He could see why Alex liked it. "Why's it got green water?"
Alex shrugged a shoulder, not letting go of Adrian just yet even though a part of him knew he should, “No idea and I don’t care, it’s pretty anyways,” He hyaena visited in years, too busy to do so but was glad he could come back, even if they were here to train, “Come on, time to start training.” He finally let go of Adrien.
Adrien leaned back against Alex's chest, enjoying the way his voice rumbled through it when he talked and then bitting his lip to keep in a sigh when he pulled away. "Alright, Mr. Drill Sargent. Let's get this over with. Are we gonna practice right here, or do you have some kind of top-secret magic training ground?"
“Here’s fine,” Alex went and sat on a boulder a coupe meters away, “We know your magic interactions with your emotions. When you’ve been scared or anxious you’ve created thunder and lighting. I’m guessing you’re relaxed right now, so maybe try controlling the clouds, try and do something that isn’t destructive.”
Adrien bit his lip, looking up at the sky for a little help. The suns shone down into his eyes, cloudless and bright and perfectly fucking annoying. "And how exactly should I do that, magic man? It's not like I think about it, it just… happens."
Alex leaned forwards slightly, “Try… thinking about things that make you happy. Focus, think about what you want to happen, harness those feelings and see what comes of it.”
It seemed pretty cliche but Adrien was happy to give it a try. He started with one of his brother, smiling, laughing, joking with him on the walk to school. It was almost… nice. He didn't like to think about him often, but now going through the memories was like paging through an old picturebook and pointing out memories. Fluffy clouds gathered, white and idylic.
Alex smiled, gaze flicking between the clouds and Adrien. He didn’t want to say anything to distract him, so he kept quiet, watching. He knew it would work, Adrien just had to keep going and not doubt his skill.
Adrien had a dreamy sort of smile on his face as more and more clouds gathered above them, casting the trees in a cool patch of shade. For a few glorious minutes, everything was perfect, and then the grief started to creep in. The clouds darkened, growing restless and green as they amassed above. Adrien's smile slipped into a frown and then, just as his eyes started to flutter open, the first drops of rain hit his head.
Alex’s smile dropped when Adrien’s did, head tilting to the side slightly as he watched the rain fall, “Hey, you okay? You were doing so well.” He stood, walking over to him. He guessed the other had found an unhappy memory or something of the sort.
It started to come down faster, fat little drops of green water pattering down around them. "What?" Adrien winced as he finally snapped out of his daze and felt the rain, trying his best to focus on Alex. lex was warm. Safe. Big. It was all Adrien could do to keep from burying his face in his nack and holding him close until he felt better. "Oh! Um… yeah. I'm fine."
Alex shook his head, “No, you’re not,” He said softly. He didn’t know why, but Adrien was bringing a side of him out he hand’t shown for years, “I can tell by the rain you’re not okay so there’s no need to lie, Adrien.”
"I…" Adrien opened his mouth and closed it again, turning his gaze towards the ground as the rain continued to pour. Alex was right. He didn't feel okay. He missed his brother dearly but more than that he missed the life he'd had while his brother was still around. When dad was happy and Adrien felt like more than a kid made of glass. "I just picked a bad thing to focus on, is all. I'll be okay."