"No, no I really didn't do much at all." Adrien laughed, a touch bitter, and squeezed Alex a little more tightly. "I should've gotten a gun. Or called the police. Or run over to my neighbor, I know he has a shotgun. All I did was fuck around with my hoodoo and let you stab it to death."
“Do you think of you called the police they’d believe you? And if you told your neighbour why you needed the gun he’d give it to you? You did more then you think you did,” Alex poked him in the side gently, “Trust me on that.”
Adrien whined softly at the poke, scootching away as much as he could without shaking Alex's hold. "Fine, you made some good points. But… I'm still nowhere near the level I need to be. Not… Not if I really wanna make difference."
Alex smirked slightly, contemplating poking him again but deciding against it, “We should get back to training, then, if you want to make a difference.”
"But it's still…" He looked up at the sky, realizing the clouds were light and fluffy once again. "… raining." He scowled up at them for a second before he was turning back to Alex. "Alright, what did you have in mind?"
Alex tried not to chuckle at Adrien’s reaction, finding him somewhat cute, “Hurricanes. We know you can do lighting, rain and clouds so let’s try something bigger.”
Adrien still whacked him on the arm lightly when he grinned, trying and failing to repress a light smile of his own. It was far from bright, but it was sweet and sincere and the sun seemed to shine down on the clearing a little more brightly when he turned it on Alex. "Oh hush, what're you getting all smiley at? This here is very serious business, summoning hurricanes and the like."
“Smiley? I’m not smiley why would I be smiley?” Alex just winked. He couldn’t admit he was smiling because of Adrien, he’d never hear the end of it if he did, “Come on then, let’s see if your hoodoo or whatever you called it can create a hurricane.”
Adrien narrowed his eyes teasingly, but he got snapped out of his little assessment when Alex told him to get going. "It's not exactly that easy, Alex! I don't know how to just…." He waved his hands in front of himself vaguely, as if it helped explain his point. "I have to feel it. And I have no fucking clue what kind of feeling makes wind."
Alex shrugged a shoulder, poking his other side, "Try going through different emotions. Anger might be a good place to start." He pulled out of the hold, somewhat reluctantly, but knew if he didn't they wouldn't get anywhere with this training.
"Hey!" Adrien scooted away again and smacked his hand, pursing his lips a bit when Alex pulled away. Goosebumps sprung up on his arms, beckoned by the slight chill in the air that only seemed colder without someone to hold him. He sighed. "Alright, make me angry then."
Alex raised a brow, scratching at the back of his neck, "I mean, I know I've pissed you off before but that was an accident. I don't quite want to make you angry myself… can't you think of something?"
Adrien sighed and nodded, though he knew he wasn't going to leave this more bitter than angry. But who knew, bitterness could be just perfect for what he wanted to do. "Alright, stand back," he warned, and then he was pulling up all the memories he could think of. It was easy at first, bitchy nurses and dad's constant working and the way he flinched whenever he looked himself in the mirror, and then it got harder. That was when the wind started blowing in.
Alex took a few steps back. He hoped Adrien could at least learn how to control the wind when he needed it to stop. If Adrien managed to form the hurricane Alex knew that would have to be the end of training, considering how much effort it would probably take to form one of decent size.
Adrien's eyebrows pressed together and it was hard to tell if he was angry or trying to concentrate with his eyes closed. His mouth was still in that deft little frown, only growing sharper as the wind picked up and the beginnings of a hurricane began to take shape. Something was leaving him as the wind whirled faster and faster, leaching from his chest and whirling around in the swirling depths of the growing storm.
Alex held his hands up against the wind. Okay, he knew this was his head, but it had to stop. As long as he knew Adrien could do this that was all that matters, "Adrien! You can stop now!" He called out, stumbling back a step from the force of the wind.
Adrien could only hear him distantly, Alex's voice drowned out by the howling of the wind. The wind blew harder, pelting everything around them with twigs and rocks picked up from the ground, and the trees which had once been rustling peacefully were now having their leaves torn off and tossed into the air.
Alex stumbled back a bit more, trying to get to Adrien. This would be the end of their training session for today, he decided. The wind was blowing too harshly for Alex to get close enough by walking or running… so he jumped, short jumps were probably more dangerous then longer jumpers but he did it and landed right behind Adrien, placing his hands on his hips to let him know he was there.
Adrien jolted and for a second the wind picked up, pelting both of them with twigs and pebbles. He turned back hurriedly, fear alight in his eyes, but as soon as he saw Alex he seemed to calm down, and the wind faded to a light breeze once more. He was quiet for a long time, just looking back at Alex thoughtfully until he reached down to set his hands on top of the worldwalker's. "So I'm guessing we're done with today's little training session?"
Alex offered a small smile, "You guessed correctly," He was getting ready to go himself, to be honest, his chest beginning to hurt from the gashes, "Ready to go back to your home then?" He asked, pulling Adrien closer and getting ready to make the jump.
Adrien laughed dryly and settled against Alex's chest, doing his best to avoid the gashes even though he knew he had to be backed into at least one. He'd make it up to Alex when they got home. "I'm always ready to head back home. Beam us up, Scotty."
Alex raised an eyebrow, "I have no idea what that means." He replied, shaking his head before making the jump back home. In a few seconds, they were in one place and then landing in Adrien's living room. Alex stumbled but didn't fall, steadying them both.
Adrien grimaced as they made the jump, sitting heavily on the couch while his stomach pitched a full-scale revolution to escape up his throat. "It's from a show," he explained, when his stomach was no longer trying to muscle past his gag reflex and it felt relatively safe to talk. "A very good show. One you should watch with me when my internal organs aren't trying to escape because of your hoodoo."
Alex ran a hand through his hair, biting his lip, "So you're just gonna refer to it as hoodoo now? Like for however long we're stuck with each other?" He raised a brow, looking from the ground to Adrien with a small smile.
Adrien rolled his eyes. "It's what it is, Alex. And besides, calling it hoodoo makes it less…" He paused, wondering when he'd decided he could get all mushy around Alex. "It makes it more approachable, is all. If I called it magic I'd never be comfortable with it."
Alex shrugged a shoulder, rubbing at his chest before taking a seat on the coffee table, "Fairs fair. How you feeling, though? After using your hoodoo like you did?" He leaned forwards, resting his arms on his knees. He figured that using his talents would be quite draining, like how he felt after he jumped.
Adrien's lips quirked up into a dry smile when Alex called it hoodoo. "Really fucking tired. And also kind of empty, like… I don't have the energy for emotions right now so I'm just running a blank slate." He slumped down, making himself comfortable as he sprawled out on the couch. "How about you? How's your chest feeling?"
Alex sighed softly, watching Adrien for a moment before looking down at his chest, "Sore, but not unbearable. Kinda tired but it's probably nothing like what you're feeling." He rubbing at his eyes with his thumb and middle finger, scrunching up his face.
"Lemme see." Adrien flopped onto his back and then made grabby hands at Alex until he came over so Adrien could check his bandages. Or… tried to. His shirt was proving to be quite the challenge and eventually Adrien gave up on trying to push it out of the way and tugged on the hem to get Alex's attention. "This needs to come off."
"Yes sir." He replied, grabbing the back of the neck line and pulling the shirt over his head with minimal pain. The bandages didn't look too bad, but would probably need changing in a couple hours if Adrien didn't decide to take them off now.
