-rainbow cookie, tracob

11,

-

There's a look of mixed fear and admiration on Jed's face as he watches Jacob pass him and start leading the way to the stairs. "What did you say to him, Jay? Jesus."

"Don't worry about it."

"But you got up in his face and he just gave in, just like that-"

"I said don't worry about it, Jed," Jacob repeats, but it isn't unkind. It's just better that Jed doesn't know what it looks like when Jacob uses his powers for evil. He still believes Jacob's a superhero, after all.

Jack had managed to get Adam all the way to the bottom of the stairs when Jed and Jacob caught up. "Everything good here?" Jacob asked tentatively, taking in Adam's stormy expression and Jack's sympathetic one.

"I think we're good," Jack replied. "Yeah, Adam? You good?"

It looked to Jacob like he was far from it. "You guys go ahead," he suggested to Jack and Jed, who took one look at Jacob's appraising face and made their exit. Jacob just continued to search Adam's face. "You going to be alright?"

"Fucking pissed."

"Yeah, I noticed. You should be. I am, too."

"Really? Because you look like you're really chill about all of this."

The words are meant to bite, but Jacob laughs instead. "Yeah, well, I've got a face for theatre. And you weren't there to hear me threatening to make his insides outsides."

Adam's eyes meet hazel ones with grudging amusement. "You seriously said that?"

"Well, that wasn't the exact threat, but that was the general idea." That even got a laugh, and the anger started draining out of Adam's body faster than he could plug up the leaks and keep it in. Jacob started again, gently. "We're going back to my place. We dropping you off first, or you want to come along and hang with us and Troye?"

"With you," Adam says quickly. "If that's okay."

"Yeah, that's fine, man, but you're going to have to cool it. You know it'll stress Troye out if you're all keyed up. So. Think you can be chill?"

"Yeah, yeah," Adam said, then nodded to himself. "I can be chill. Just. Pissed. You know."

"I know."

"I'm going to have a quick smoke, to calm me down. You uh, you want one?"

He offers up the cigarette like it's nothing, but Jacob knows far better. It wasn't that long ago that Troye was telling him how Adam doesn't let anybody smoke with him. Ever. He has a thing about it. It also wasn't that long ago that Adam looked at him with a lot less fondness- or at least respect- than he does now, though.

"Yeah, I'd like that," he simply replies.

When they return to the car, Jack and Jed are laid out on the hood, howling the lyrics to a song on the radio into the midday sky. "Uh, get off!" scolded Jacob, shoving each off in turn. "Don't think I won't make you walk home."

Jed snorted. "You promised Troye you'd pick up food on the way home, and you don't have any money. You're not leaving me anywhere."

"Excellent point. Can we get a move on, please?"

At the market, Adam helps them pick out all of Troye's favorites and Jacob and Jed buy them all- even the ones that Jacob's sure will only be eaten when Troye's around ("Whole grain spaghetti? But don't you have to, like, cook that?"). It was almost a little embarrassing, how openly they were all trying to make this a good day for Troye, except that he wasn't at all ashamed.