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The view was a pleasant thing to stare off at; small pond gingerly swaying with the petite breeze, the few trees that lay about sniffling from the fall season as their leaves blew away. It was something Cory came to cherish after the mess the Wastelands brought so suddenly to his life. Though, he couldn’t be sure that previous life was even his..he had experienced it, gone through it, but none of it felt like it was his own. This life, the one after the fallout of everything he so quietly hid from, this was Cory’s life, not whoever he was before.
And just as suddenly as those bombs had dropped on his home town, a huge slap to the back hunched him forwards and into himself. The reason behind it? A ghoul standing too tall for anyone’s liking, smiling deviously at his unimpressed face.
“Just the man I was looking for!” Strangling the blonde in a quick hug, the ghoul dropped him back to where he had sat and took in the scenery. Head swiveling from side to side as he observed life and nature as one, nothing compared to what the Wastelands could be like. Humans, ghouls, dickhead vampires, and the whole lot of others that went about hurting others instead of living near one another—they could learn a thing or two from their roots.
Giving a content huff and nod, he turned his attention back to the big man at hand. “What’s got you all the way out here? I know this Green Place has got everyone feeling sentimental and all, but-” clicking his tongue, Adam cocked his head to the side, “You have that look in your eye.”
“Pssh, what look?” Cory retorted, raising an eyebrow..somehow, Cory doesn’t bend to the rules, they do. “I’m just relaxing, it’s been a tough couple of months.” He answered, going back into his earlier curled in posture before realizing, “Wait, why were you even looking for me?”
“C’mon now, Cor. Why I gotta have a reason to talk to you, I was simply—”
“Worried about me?”
“What?? No, why would you even think that?” Looking anywhere but where the camera sat, Cory could only roll his eye and sigh at the others telltale sign of lying.. horribly.
“You literally just said ‘you have this look in your eye’. And you’re a huge worrying sap.”
“Nah. I think you must of hit your head or something, kid. Anyways..” The ghoul sidetracked, testing to see if Cory would follow or put more of a fight into things. When all the blonde did was nod with a look of doneness in his eye, Adam continued. “That loook. What’s bothering you, pana.”
“Adam, I’m fine.” He insisted, going into a semi-stare off that didn’t last more than a few seconds, because Adam always gave in. “The ‘look’ is nothing more than me thinking, okay?”
The ghoul clicked his tongue yet again, bingo.
“Sooo, what were you thinking of?” Adam poked, sitting down near the other to show his intentions on hearing him out. Listening to whatever Cory might have to say.
Deadpanning at the larger man, Cory looked off to the side in hesitancy. He’s brought up so much wonder and curiosity about his vexatious thought that to speak it out loud now would be..it could go so many possible ways and every one of them seemed terrible in his mind. Well, they could go poorly; however, the Adam—sitting patiently waiting for a reply—in front of him would only retort with some witty jab at the camera face. So, steadying himself, Cory begins.
“Do.. Do you think anyone can be redeemed?” Taking a glance at the other, the blonde tensed at his expression. Though not red in the face or objectively enraged, Adam looked perturbed in a way. Directing his gaze from where it had been on Cory to to stagnant pond in front of the duo. “Like, could someone who’s done terrible—and I mean heinous shit—be taken back or something. Could anyone be absolved of past actions?”
“Alright, alright,” With a heavy sigh between his words, Adam pinched the bridge of his abstracted nose, “Ya gotta give me a second with that question, Cory.”
Flinching inwardly at the seriousness Adam showed, Cory nodded before answering with a quick ‘sure’. He continued to observe the ghoul for a while longer, taking in the wardrobe change he—and the others—had with the new free life style they begun to have. Adam had layered down a lot more since they first met, he’d never say it out loud but he definitely grew more confident in himself, from the once big warm scarf and jacket was now just a simple shirt and flannel—never beating the dad allegations. His signature fedora sat atop his head, even with the shit they’d been through it still held strong, but one or two stitches had to be done to it. The ghoul’s wardrobe change made Cory’s look abysmal. The vault jumpsuit obviously had to go, he’d move past the part of himself now and couldn’t really feel as though he’d ever identified with being a ‘vault dweller’; however, the camera was never one for fashion and only wore what he could find lying around. A simple white tank top with shorts sufficed and would continue to until he got tired of it. Cory was just glad the fashion from his time got blown away with the bomb drop. No more suits and fuck ass dresses for him.
Cory snapped out of his fashion coma when he heard shuffling from beside him, the green ghoul still in thought but seemed to have come to a good enough spot to continue the conversation. The two made eye contact before the taller held up a finger.
“Can I ask what brought this up?” Adam began, leaning back onto his hands but still giving Cory his full attention.
“..Fake answer: I’ve always been confused on whether or not it’s right to befriend an asshole.” They continued staring at one another, Adam clearly trying to indicate Cory keep speaking yet the blonde didn’t. Stupid stare offs.
“And the real answer?”
“You don’t need to know that.” Silence hung in the air, a dagger on a teetering string hung between the two. Adam changed his relaxed position into a more forward one, sitting up and holding the same sharp stare Cory gave him. One of them had to break the silence, yet neither made a move to.
“You act like a five year old, pana.” Was what caught the dagger in the air and broke the two’s demeanor; breaking out into a fit of hushed giggles and hollering laughter, the two took a second to catch their breathes. It was by no means hilarious, yet it diverted the heavy topic at hand to something menial. Steering the two back to remembering the importance of one another and to not have petty arguments over nothing. They had let the scar of their first meeting heal and would continue to let it until it was only a grim reminder of their shortcomings.
Wiping an imaginary tear off his face, Adam gave the other a quick glance before bringing up the topic again. Weighing in his mind the right way to put it, with pieces of the equation at the ready but having no idea what the hell the equation even is... or something Nick would say that was similar to that. He was hanging around the salesman too much.
“Redemption is a pretty big thing to hold. I.. I think the best way to put it is like with how we met,” The ghoul motioned between the two, giving a smile that said ‘stick with me’, “You were just a curious and scared kid looking for shelter with a dog and robot looking towards you as some sort of leader. But you didn’t want that role nor were you prepared to take on that sort of responsibility. I didn’t see that when I found you snooping in my territory. I had assumed you were some raider coming to steal my shit and leave, so I didn’t hear you out. I didn’t give you a chance.”
“You had a good reason though, Adam. Like you said I—I just practically barged in, you were protecting your stuff.”
“But I knew you were scared.”
“..I.” Adam held a hand up, halting the others objections that only tried to defend the ghoul and not himself.
“When I saw how you looked—as soon as I yelled at you, as soon as I shouted what I did—I wanted to make you feel that again..tenfold.” He meekishly said, the guilt in his words oozing their way out of the cut he reopened and let hang unprotected. Vulnerable. Taking a deep breath, he elaborated. “And yet I didn’t. Or—well! I tried not to be an asshole but you’re a stubborn kid with an even stubborner mutt.
Heh, the point is: I could have kept being the ghoul that had a shotgun pointed straight at you. But I changed. And wanted to change and be better in your eyes. You have weird ideas in that brain of yours and yet, with time, I found myself seeing the good in those ideas. I saw the error of my ways and knew I should stop with that bull and do some renovations in the ol’ noggin.” He finished, giving a small knock to his head.
The blonde sat quietly, taking in what the other said and piecing together what it had to do with his question. Sure Adam had been cruel when they first met, but he changed like he had just said. Did he mean to say that redemption changes with the person? Then why do some people still not change? Are they just—.
“Kiddo, you’re going to another fucking planet up there.”
Stuttering out of his thoughts, Cory flickered back to Adam, “Wh- oh, um. I just.. I get what you’re saying but I feel like I have even more questions now.”
“Well, care to share? We’re already talking about this whole thing, might as well keep the ball rolling.” The other egged on, smiling that wide grin he always wore nowadays. Letting the blonde know that sharing ideas was more than fine to do.
“Right. Why do some people still choose not to change then? If redemption is based on their choice to, why wouldn’t they?”
“First things first, redemption isn’t really something that can change that easily. I was redeemed in your eyes because I stopped my bullshit and used my actions to show that,” Adam elaborated, “I see redemption as something everyone has from the get go.”
“Like always, always?”
“In a way.” He muttered before sitting up further to continue, “You’re usually respectful to someone you just meet, it’s how most first encounters go—or used to. Redemption is similar. You keep a middle ground respect for someone and it’s on their actions and such to see where that respect goes.”
“Oh. So, say they did something to wrong you?”
“Then that respect is taken, and with it their chance at redemption. They keep that chance the longer they continue to ignore what they’ve done.”
Taking a second to let that information sink in, Cory nodded before shrugging, “Huh, that makes sense. It just.. I don’t know. Why not try to redeem yourself? Why be an asshole, y’know?”
“People are just like that. Assholes who don’t see a point in changing. It’s not on you to try to find something redeemable about them, they made their choice and now they have to live with it.”
Staring at the ghoul, Cory felt conflicted and knew he would always be. Change may be difficult, but why give it up to try and not better yourself? He wanted to keep giving out hope for others, but with the world’s once colourful life, there too went the idea of being a good person.
Adam sighed, “I know you’ve always tried to see the good in people since day one, but things don’t always work in our favor. We just have to accept those chances and move on.” Realistically he knew Cory would have trouble getting behind his way of thinking. He didn’t want him to follow it, yet he at least wanted the other to acknowledge that the world he’s in now is different. For better or for worse, things changed.”
“Yeah, I know. I still just wish that we could all just.. figure something out.” Motioning with his hands, Cory understood Adam’s reasoning and could learn to agree with it. Except, that just wasn’t him. Yes, he’s been betrayed, fooled, and bruised for trusting in others he shouldn’t have. Yet sitting on his side was someone he lent that trust to, someone who saw it and changed because of it. The Wastelands has others who may never change themselves, yet, at the same time, it also has those who would give up and change everything they knew to be that better them.
“That’s why you’re too good for this place, kid. I’m glad to have met you though, I wouldn’t be who I am today if I never found you snooping around.” Adam ushered, letting a gentle smile pass his lips before taking a glance at the radiant pool in front of them.
“It wasn’t even my idea.” Cory mumbled, but reflected that same smile “but you’re welcome.”
"And thank you too."