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open | we always are together

WHO: Kamala Khan
WHERE: House 6
WHEN: Dec. 13th; late afternoon aka KAMALA'S BIRTHDAY PARTY
OPEN TO: residents of house six, assorted cr of Kamala and the other house six residents - basically everyone who knows Kamala, Frank, and Jessica and is on good terms with them. It's basically everyone.
WARNINGS: Possible mentions of horror settings or past trauma since Kamala does live with Frank Castle and Jessica Jones who are their own warning. Honestly this is a rated G birthday log.

She wakes up super stoked to be alive. It's not unusual for her honestly. Kamala is more excited than usual if only because it's not every day you get superheroes coming over for your birthday. Granted she's seeing them more as ordinary people who do incredible things sometimes. That's a positive change as far as she's concerned. It doesn't change the fact that Kamala from like age seven and up would have seen this as a dream come true. Who is she to question the wisdom of tiny Kamala?

She spends a decent portion of the day (following breakfast) getting ready for guests. She styles her new, shorter hair cut as elegantly as she can, dresses in the hunter green dress and pants outfit given to her by the Observers because screw them it's pretty and they can't ruin it with what they pulled after.

By the time she finishes, it's time to greet guests and see what Frank's done with the rest of the house while she's been hiding out in her room to obsess over her appearance. She'll go around greeting whoever shows up, shoving food at them, and generally be grateful they came. It's her seventeenth birthday. She's away from her home, childhood friends, and family. Having anyone here today means a lot more than she lets on. It's about the only thing allowing her to feel happiness instead dwelling on what she's missing.

(ooc; ~~top levels will be posted by Frank in like five minutes for setting info. please hold for those!~~ feel free to tag those or make your own starter ~~once they're posted~~. I'm flexible.)

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[ Ah, that old chestnut. Jess scoffs wanly, wondering what he means this time. No harm in asking, not unlike how she's finally clued in that there's no harm in being asked. It has zero affect on her ability to go anywhere. And on her desire to go anywhere. The case is pretty strong for her not being the woodsy type. If she were fighting it, she'd be sticking it out in house 60 tonight. ]

To my house? [ When it warms back up? Or to New York, where she might nothing but a knock-off with no family of her own? Jess has a second toke, deeper than the first now that she knows what to expect. Exhaling is rocky, the initial outpouring of smoke so smooth it starts to burn. Jess coughs out the last of it and keeps on coughing, passing the joint back to him. ]

[ he scoffs back at her answer, near-silent, and shakes his head. could be an answer or just 'nevermind, you asshole.' when she starts to cough, the mittened hand closest to her rubs at her shoulder without thinking much of it. he leaves his other mitten behind so he can reach across himself and rescue the joint though he just holds it aloft a minute, letting it burn. his skin is buzzing and he's not sure how close or far away anything is - he's pretty sure he's in the right spot. ]

It's really nice. [ frank says out of nowhere, then laughs a bit. ] Having you around— for Winter, for Winter.

[ his hand tightens on her shoulder in a gentle squeeze though he hasn't noticed he's still holding onto her as he laughs again, a fond, low noise from his throat. ]

[ Jess didn't feel the need to rub his back when he was hacking up ganja smoke buuut she's been starved for contact lately so she lets him patronize her. The warmth of his hand won't make it through her leather jacket so she leans into his side a bit to compensate. Blocks some of that wind as well, which picks up intermittently before settling again. Thankfully the snow isn't light or dry enough to be swept up with every gust and come cutting at their faces. ]

It's been a couple years since I lived with anyone. Trish stayed with me in Reims but I was never around. [ She was, as he knows, at the prison. ]

[ when he feels her settle against his side, it's like the wind knocks out of him, not even noticing that the kickup of snow and wind blows the joint right out of his hand. it's frozen numb anyway. ]

Yeah. I mean, you know my deal.

[ doesn't she? whatever. point is, it's just good to have her close. and to know that she's safe. his bemittened hand makes it down her arm some to brace her against the cold, tucking his chin down against it himself so that his long beard grazes her shoulder. ]

I know you can take care of yourself, you know I just... [ care too damn much? no matter how many times she told him not to? ] Didn't like the thought of you bein' alone out there in the cold, is all.

[ Jess watches the joint fly and then tumble away as if tugged on an invisible string. The white paper vanishes against the snow that's a mix of dirty and fresh. As the cherry fades and dies, a thin line of flaky black ash strewn behind it like a scar is all there is to suggest its existence, and in a couple minutes that'll be gone. That's deep, man. Fuck, is she high? ]

I was getting a bit sick of it too. [ Jess admits. He's aware, having been at the starting decline of her most recent low. Without looking, she searches by hand through the bag at her side until it emerges with a bottle. ] Not that you should get your hopes up or anything.

[ it's taking everything in him right now not to just curl up against her and stay that way. but even through the weed-addled haze his mind is under right now, he knows they don't do that even if he can't remember why. he does stuff his other hand in his pocket to find his other mitten, realizing he's cold before his fingers start to fall off at least. high hopes is suddenly playing through his mind on a loop, well, the chorus anyway. and it makes him have to stifle a chuckle under his breath, not fully aware of his cold nose bumping her cheek. ]

That doesn't mean I can't like having you around while you're here.

[ he knows she'll leave eventually. it might be in the spring, it might be next week, it could be years from now. but she will and he accepts that. it's just who she is. ]

[ Better his nose than his beard, though part of her is glad he's still got it. Not for any practical reason. It gives her an idea of how strong her influence is on him, after months of relative separation and peace. Honestly, she used to hope he'd glom onto one of the other women here. Because she hasn't seen it doesn't mean he didn't make an effort. But Jess is strangely grateful for things as they are right now. She can keep a beat on them. Accounting for Frank and Kamala every day isn't as exhausting as she anticipated it would be. ]

So you still wanna sleep on the couch? [ She concentrates on unscrewing her bottle, set on top of her lap. He'll probably say yes or some inelegant equivalent to it so she's not really taking a risk by asking. Unless he takes it to mean or include sex, but she kept her tone as innuendo-free as she could. But then, it is Jess talking, so he might still assume that. That's good to take stock of too, she tells herself. It'll help get her back on the bitch wagon so they don't tumble into these cozy traps as much while the season wears on. ]

[ the truth is: he did try so she can't really fault him there. as usual, they're both undesirables and maybe it's better to keep those together. it's not like he's a good judge anymore, shivering once before setting his thigh against hers and warming up some again. logically, he knows if they just started walking again it wouldn't be so cold. but this reminds him of how things used to be in a way that doesn't make him itch for a change. maybe that's just the weed, but right now it doesn't suck. ]

Uh. [ inelegant is right, his brain stalling as he works through possible scenarios. he actually doesn't assume she means for sex, if only because kamala lives with them, but there's still a lot of baggage there. even if she used to be the only way he could sleep half the time once the mayor gig took over his life. ] Not really.

[ It merits thinking about and while he does that, Jess has a swig from her half-empty bottle. The two of them seat together doesn't remind her of anything, blissfully. She resented being his balm back in Reims because no one could ever be hers. She got what she could from him anyway. Here she doesn't need to use anyone like that yet sometimes she misses him. Still can't tell if it's really him she misses or just how, very occasionally, he could distract her from the pain of living, but the fact that none of her one night stands here have been repeats is sufficiently telling. Maybe she wouldn't obfuscate it this aggressively if he weren't here. If he got out, like Trish and Poe and Luke. All no doubt leading better lives, even that kooky one that thought he was from outer space. ]

Then don't. [ Just for tonight. Or play it by ear. Jess's expectation of a no hasn't gone anywhere and she's able to look him full in the face, his beard scraping her chin with the slight turn of her head. ]

[ he wants to say 'no' for a lot of reasons, but then she's turning towards him and his heart climbs up into his throat. he licks his lips like he can taste the whiskey she's drinking, the scent of it carrying through the crisp air and making his tummy do flips. it should be simple, but it isn't. it never is when it's jess. she makes him feel sad and lonely sometimes even when she's this close, but it doesn't negate the brighter feelings. the swell of his chest when he gets to do something as simple as make her a sandwich or give her a place to sleep that isn't freezing cold. ]

Okay.

[ that same raspy voice as when she'd asked him to run away with her. he can kid himself all he wants, but if he leaned forward even an inch he could kiss her right now. of course he can't think straight. to say nothing of the thc currently teeming through his veins. ]

Once Kam is asleep.

[ he doesn't want her getting any ideas about them being together. it isn't something she should have to worry about, either way. they're a family no matter what happens (or doesn't) as far as frank's concerned. they all survived that place and came here to the land of the eternally dumb. that alone makes them champions. ]

Mmm... [ Jess hums approvingly. That's the best idea he's had in... yeah, ever. They won't be concealing anything in particular from Kamala. Even an affair is too normal for people like them. They're just two adults with an agreement to share the bed. Jess doesn't think there's a teenage translation for that. ] 'kay.

[ She has a second swig of whiskey, absolving them of the temptation to kiss, if it really exists outside the drug's influence. For her it does, while he can be a deceptive read. Regardless, it's waaay too early in the arrangement for her to go fucking it up that way. And also that beard.

She angles her head to rest against his shoulder, shifting the bottle from her thigh to his. Her grip loosens, inviting him to take a sip if he feels like it. ]

[ he sighs, a tiny contented thing when she rests against him, his scruffed cheek resting against her temple. his hand comes back out of his pocket to accept the olive branch, as it were, the soft yarn of his mittens grazing her hand as he wraps it securely around the bottle and takes a swig, if only because he's cold. he knows he's going to regret mixing liquor, but as kamala would say: that's future frank's problem. ]

[ mixed liquor has gotten them here so it can't be all bad. Jess watches the snow fall over and over, tiny white glints and shimmers against the dark of the village. it's almost creepy but she's come to appreciate the subtler signs of life in the wilderness, trampled paths on the ground and hearth smoke in the sky. the complex layout of locked doors and broken stasis tubes deep, deep underneath them. ]

Maybe I could get why someone would stay here. [ Actually, that's totally false. Jess corrects herself, ] Why you would stay here.

[ that's what he's been saying, isn't it? it goes without saying that it can't replace New York but it's empirically better than looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life, and isn't that what's waiting for him at home? even disappearing into the mountains or mexico wouldn't be as off the grid as what they've got here. ]

[ he's always loved the snow. he'd been looking forward to this since he got here in the summer because somehow he knew that he'd still be here come winter time. frank takes a shallower swig before handing the bottle back, laying his hand over her wrist for a moment. his breathing stutters, holding back the you do? that wants to spring forward. he doesn't want to go back, but it's less about his quality of life than everyone else's. if he stays here then curtis and david won't have to look over their shoulders either - that is, unless he's already there. and if he is then it's even more futile to reprise a life that was never his to begin with. ]

It's not so bad sometimes.

[ a soft admittance. yes, he loves that dirty gritty city. he thinks they both do. but this place is... simple, in its way. it makes sense to him the way reims had, even if it took considerably longer for him to get there. ]

Like now.

[ Now's a moment, all right. Odd for them because they don't have to steal it and it will hold indefinitely for the night. From the size of the sigh she heaves, she expects a layer of snow to fall off her like a tree bough. Snow, dirt, something besides her ignorance of the unbearable lightness of being. In a small bid to warm up, Jess swings one of her cold legs back and forth, knocking gently her knee into his. ]

Do you remember one of the first things you said to me? Some dumbass comment about winter.

Yeah? [ he answers before thinking about it, then he snorts as he remembers what the first thing he actually said to her was. his knee presses solidly to her moving one in hopes of insulating her some, hand idly running up and down her arm through the jacket she's wearing. it's a good thing he's high or he would probably be complaining about her lack of winter gear. ] I guess. Why?

[ She's thought of it more than once, as winter has steadily moved in and taken over. Weird how things start, and weirder how they can stop and unravel and end up coming together again. Jess puts her liquor to the side, making a cupholder of the snow, and then tucks her hands into her pockets. ]

I don't know. Still makes me laugh, though. [ Or her low rent version of a laugh. Their initial exchange might be her fondest memory from that nightmare, before the terror really began. That and the dog that gave her booze. ]

[ he ducks his head, another stupid smile on his face that he effectively smothers in her hair. ]

Yeah, me too. At least you can count on me being a dick no matter how many places like this we end up at.

Edited (i forgot what was happening tbh ) 2018-12-20 04:46 (UTC)

[ Unlike his hand on her wrist or her arm, she can feel the warmth of his face against her head. It stokes a sudden shiver from the base of her spine, that Jess hides little shift to stretch her other leg. Truthfully she would rather be inside but that would mean separating, whether they took shelter at home or at the inn. With dedication and a little time, they could explain the current junction of their relationship to Kamala, but she wouldn't know where to start with anyone else. ]

Such a dick.

[ and for whatever reason, this group is a nosy sort. about things like this anyway. about actual matters of life and death, they seem unconcerned. but if jess and he were to canoodle in public it would be the talk of the town - literally. he never wanted to keep this a secret in reims, he wanted her at his side whenever he could. but here, here he wants this to be just theirs. whatever 'this' even is. if it's only holding one another as a comfort when things get to be too much or something more doesn't matter, he's not interested in analyzing it. ]

I had a good teacher.

[ it's murmured against her temple to try and keep the words from being snatched away by the wind, kicking up stronger still and sheering little pieces of icy snow to carry as projectiles through the air. they'll have to go inside soon, but it's the last thing he wants to do. ]

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