Lucas Returns The Look And Squeeze. Rae Looks Better Than He Did At The Infirmary. Maybe It's The Setting

Adrien smiles at El.

"Exactly. It's kinda beautiful to think about it like that. Tragic, but beautiful."

He moves back to the engine.

"So, you've been doing this as long as you've been here? Working in the shop?"

Ellington leans against the truck frame, wiping a bit of grease onto their already stained jeans as they watch Adrien pull out the valves. There’s a gleam of appreciation in their eyes as they examine the truck—it’s a solid piece of machinery, the kind that’s endured decades without much fuss.

“Yeah, it does feel a little wrong to rip her apart,” Ellington replies, giving the truck a gentle pat. “I mean, they just don’t make ‘em like this anymore, right? Sturdy, reliable… might’ve had a few more years left in her.” They shift, gesturing to the growing piles of parts. “But hey, every bit we pull is something that keeps this town running a little longer. Bet these valves can patch up at least two or three motors around town.”

There’s a sense of pride in their voice, and they flash Adrien a quick grin. “Besides, something about finding new life for the old stuff? Kinda feels like we’re doing right by her, even if she won’t be on the road again.”

@fromcamadams

Lucas barges into Cameron's office, breathing heavy like an enraged bull.

"You'll never believe what those motherfucking monsters just pulled on me," he says, voice quivering with rage that's he's trying to contain. He drops the remains of the rotary phone onto Cam's desk.

"They think they can get away with this shit any longer? Well, I'm this close to just barging into those woods, guns blazing."

He paces the room, not wanting his anger to be directed at her.

@patroclusblossom (lucas)

You're sitting in the sheriff's station like you do most days, you sure do take your job seriously. It feels like any other day, just make it through and survive, that's what you've been doing for seven years now. Only something is different today; the phone rings. It's been sitting on the desk since before you came here but has never once rang, yet today it is. Do you answer it? Are you hearing things and just hoping that it would finally ring and give some sign of an outside world? If you answer the phone, you hear a voice you thought you would never hear again. "Hey Lu," the voice that sounds suspiciously like your brother says. But your brother has been dead for seven years, it was impossible. Yet it sounds just like him. "Miss me?" He asks through the phone. "You're doing a good job of watching everyone, making sure they're safe. Why couldn't you do that for me? Why couldn't you protect me?" Then the line goes silent. No matter how hard you try, you can't make the voice come back. What just happened? Was that really your brother? Or are you finally starting to lose it?

Lucas is surprised to see her still here, but he smiles when he takes it in.

"It's all okay," he responds. "I'm honestly back earlier than I thought I would be."

He hangs his coat in the closet near the door and carefully lines his shoes in it as well.

"My day was okay," he says, walking toward the kitchen. "There's always something to do and no way to actually do them."

He pulls a couple of beers out of his fridge. He really only drinks when he has company. He walks back and holds out a bottle to Jo.

𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝘧𝘵 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢

her hands smelt of cleaning product and bleach , the skin of her fingers dry and tight from the chemicals it had absorbed. her hair was an unruly tuft of brown mousse , ponytail having long since abandoned its post atop her head in favor of hanging in a flaccid rope down the length of her skin . josephine was grateful to him , for the kindness he had extended her two years ago upon her arrival ; the selfless extension of his security blanket , the nursing of her panic . as much as crossing into the threshold of purgatory had sent her into a spiral that carried over many months — josephine had accepted her circumstances , and expressed her gratitude to those who had spared her from the pendulum swing of the reaper's scythe .

" lucas , " jo greeted as the man walked through the front door , drying her hands on the towel hung from the waistband of her jeans . " i was just finishing up . wasn't supposed to take me this long but uh — something was wrong with the spray nozzle on one of the cleaners . " speech then halted , too many words coming from her lips resulting in a bashful flush crawling up her neck . " how — " josephine's gaze moved to his face , dark brows threading together as she tried to usurp the vocabulary she had stolen from the community in order to make small talk . " how was. . . your day ?? "

@patroclusblossom

Lucas relaxes once he sees it's Marama. He walks to stand beside her, tilting his head up to join her in basking in the sun.

"Really makes you appreciate the little things, doesn't it," he says after a few silent beats.

He's aware of Marama's situation. It's sad and while he tries not to let it affect how he interacts with her, it does color everything about her in specific colors and light.

He can't help but ask, "How are you after last night?"

standing in the middle of the road, looking up at the sky, marama drops her head to the side when she hears lucas call out to her. always so serious. "all good officer," she calls back. "just enjoying the sunlight while i can." in her sixteen years here, she has never seen a storm or a night as long as the last, if this was going to become a regular thing, she wanted to get as much sun as she can.

Adrien's smile twitches but stays in place. Honestly, he'd rather save the crying for at night when people are less likely to hear him.

The silence is awkward, but Adrien doesn't break it. If he's learned anything from the past few days is everyone here has their idiosyncrasies and just let them be themselves until they come back.

Adrien shakes his hand.

"Thanks. Muz? El mentioned you. You're one of the scavengers, right? What's that like?"

He walks further into the shop, looking around, eyes wide in excitement.

'New?' Muz asks. 'Bit smiley for new...You're working in here?' There was a beat of silence as Muz held Adrien’s gaze, letting his standoffish response to a simple introduction settle. Then, as if shrugging off a heavy thought, he jerks his head toward the row of beat-up cars and sighed, 'Well, you’re here now.' He gives Adrien a half-smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. 'Welcome shop, kid.' He moves forward a few steps, hand out. 'Muz.'

where: infirmary when: after the storm whom: @hcartcorruptcd

Adrien spends most of the morning after the storm at the town hall, getting the official rundown of where he is now and what the fuck they know.

Spoiler alert: not a whole lot.

Finally he's freed after his interview and led down the street to the infirmary. He's told that since he has mechanical skills he'll be working under someone named El at the Chop Shop. After a few months, he'll be allowed to apply for other jobs but for now, this is where he'll be.

He's led inside and to a room with lines of... beds? They don't look particularly comfortable but he supposes there aren't too many resources around.

He's pointed to a bed where a slightly older brown-haired person is laying. He shuffles over and tries to offer a comforting smile.

"Hi," he greets. "Sorry if this is a bad time but I was told I'm supposed to report to you for my assigned work."

Lucas shuts the book so Cherry can't read his notes.

"Can anyone vouch for your whereabouts then? It would've been between 10:30–11."

Honestly, Lucas does have bigger fish to fry, but it's his job to help everyone feel safe. If someone is burglarizing other people, that will just make a bad situation worse.

He's not sure if Cherry is the actual culprit. She just has the most priors involving theft, and they did accuse her, so he has to be thorough.

CHERRY SIGHS AS SHE LEANS A HIP AGAINST THE DOORFRAME . her expression scrunches with it . " i mean, yeah, you prolly definitely got bigger fish to fry than me ." charlie would imagine so at least but what the hell does she know about being a cop ? all she's sure about is that someone will probably try to rope her into helping in some way today, and as reluctant as she usually was she knew she'd probably give in for at least a little bit . after all, they all got royally fucked by the storm . so when lucas shoots her an unimpressed look her expression only twists . " who the fuck said that ?" she moves as if to peer at his notebook . " i was workin' yesterday morning !"

Lucas chuckles.

"So I should maintain my regular professionalism with the undertone of, 'You're not good enough for my best friend, but you're still good for her' level of amicability?"

He raises a questioning eyebrow with his smirk, continuing the light-hearted tone they've moved to.

Anastasia feels a swell of gratitude for Lucas; he’s been her steady anchor since they both took on the responsibility of leading this town. She manages a smile, nodding at his statement of hope. “You’re damn right we are.”

As she watches him idly sort through items on the table, she’s caught off guard when he brings up Cameron. She gives a casual shrug. “We’re alright. I just went over to check on her… you know I still care, even if we’re not together.” She knows he understands; they’ve spent more than a few nights drinking and hashing out the complexities of her and Cameron’s past.

With a bit of a wry smile, she adds, “I don’t think she’ll be coming to game night, though.” She tries to keep the tone light, hiding the small sting of disappointment behind a half-joke.

Lucas pulls his hand back with an eyebrow still raised.

"Ana isn't the only one going through shit," he says matter-of-factly. "But she knows her limits."

He leaves the "Do you?" unsaid.

He gets caught up in his own personal dramas and emotions, too. He's in no real position to judge or make assertions, but he's also more stubborn than most of the people he works with or even is friends with. So, making these judgments and assertions usually leads to people recognizing when he's right.

"oh, i don't mean lie to her or keep shit from her, she'd kill both of us if you did that. i just mean, like, come to santi or me first, see if we can find a solution before making her deal with more shit." she was sure anastasia would probably hate it if she knew cameron was doing this, but after everything she said the other night, she wasn't sure how much more ana could take. "no, no it's fine, i can handle it, don't worry lucas," she said as she put a hand on top of the folders.