We will never leave our lives.

[hostage]

Who: Jesse and Mary
When: 7 pm on Saturday, March 10
Where: Mary's apartment
Summary: Jesse admires some interior decorating.
Warnings: MILFs MILFs MILFs


[It's already past sirens, so Jesse's practically been bouncing off the walls just waiting for time to pass. He actually gets down to the second floor ten minutes early, then spends a little while pacing back and forth before finally knocking at Mary's door.]

Comments

here my brain... puked tl;dr at you 8(

[momchester]

[Mary's been working all day, but doesn't mind at all going straight into Jesse's visit. It's good, keeps her occupied. She's been intentionally taking night Greeting shifts the last several days, since the Network exploded in drama and she learned that another person in her life might be a complete psychopath.

Maybe getting a third job would be good. Perfect. Keep her busier.

So she's happy to open the door for Jesse, greeting him with a broad smile. The smell of something cooking permeates all the way out to the hallway, as well as the distinct acrid tang of recent cigarette smoke.]

Jesse? Nice to meet you in person. [Extending a hand~]

8D

[hostage]

[It's a little funny to shake hands with a woman, like they're about to have a business meeting or something. But he takes her hand anyway, smiling.]

Hey, yo. Yeah. Nice meeting you for real, Mary.

[He takes a whiff of the air. Cigarette smoke? Bad girl, breaking the rules. But also -]

Whoa, you cooking something?

[momchester]

What? Oh- yeah, I got some chili going.

[She steps back to let him in, smiling sunnily. Ignore the bottle of wine on the counter in the kitchen there, Jesse. Really.]

So, how're you settling in?

[hostage]

Right on.

[Chili sounds amazing right now. He's getting pretty sick of pizza. He takes a look around as he shuffles into the apartment, and he does notice the wine over there. It tells him he has a damn good chance of scoring tonight.]

I, uh... I'm doing pretty good, yeah.

[momchester]

[If only Mary had kept her wedding ring on this morning, huh? She hasn't had the balls to actually put it away yet, so every morning she looks at it on the nightstand and makes a decision about whether to be a married woman today.

Right now, though, she's making the decision to duck into the kitchen and give the chili a quick stir, calling back at Jesse as she does.]

Sorry about the mess. I've been working non-stop. You want something to drink?

[hostage]

Mess..?

[Doesn't look like a mess to him. Then again, he doesn't really have standards. He follows her about halfway to the kitchen.]

Yeah, uh... Whatever you got. Water?

[momchester]

[Mary becomes a neat freak as soon as somebody not-family walks in the door. It's like magic!]

Uh, yeah- water, soda, juice.. [Be real, Mary. Who are you talking to here.] Beer?

[hostage]

[A recovering addict, that's who!]

Soda's good.

[momchester]

Here- [And at that, a soda comes flying his way.] Think fast!

[She cracks open a soda of her own and just... taps on it for a while.]

So, Jesse, you're from 2009. Do you guys have a black President too?

[hostage]

[He catches it like a pro!!!]

Huh? Oh yeah, Obama rocks, yo.

[But that's about the extent of his political knowledge right there. He cracks open the soda too soon and ends up having to suck on it to keep it from fizzing over. Smooth.]

[momchester]

[Laughing into her soda.]

Your world must be a lot like mine.

So, have you started looking for a job yet, or are you gonna do that thing where you wait until you get your Towers eviction notice and then freak out?

[hostage]

I, uh... I got some cash on me that'll last a while. You know, while I like get a sense of the business environment.

[His soda is still fizzing threateningly, so he sips from it again.]

[momchester]

Does anyone even take American money? I know of people who were rich at home but had to start over here.

[Sipping from her soda and raising an eyebrow at his incredibly dignified drinking.]

Maybe they just had credit cards.

What did you do?

[hostage]

[Dignified is his middle name, yo.]

I, uh, I went to the bank. Exchanged it, you know?

[...No, that's not even remotely what he did. Also he misses the point.]

[momchester]

[Mary doesn't 100% believe him, but that's more about her recent upswing in suspicion of absolutely everybody around her than anything he said. To distract she takes another drink of soda.]

I mean at home. What did you do? For instance, I was an ex-monster hunter turned stay-at-home mom. [She half-smiles and raises her soda in a way that says yes, she's aware of exactly how ridiculous that sounds.] What about you?

[hostage]

[He's taking another sip of soda at that moment, and he just barely keeps from making it a spittake. Monster hunter turned MILF. That's a new one.]

I, uh... I worked at a laundry?

[momchester]

[Half-hiding an amused look. That's right, Jesse, consider your expectations defied.]

Huh. [Laundry? That sounds dreadful, honestly.] Well, I guess I can't knock it. You probably won't have the same employment opportunity here, though, unless you're okay with working for SERO or AGI.

[hostage]

It sucked, anyway. But those guys run laundries, too?

[momchester]

Industrial laundries, maybe. But anything like a laundromat will be controlled by one of the companies.

[hostage]

It was a big one. Anyway, I ain't doing anything like it again if I can help it. I'd rather deliver pizzas or something.

[momchester]

Taxi driving at night pays really well.

[She takes another sip.]

Of course, not everyone can handle facing the Darkness all the time.

[hostage]

Pssh, yeah. I'm about a negative ten outta ten when it comes to monster-hunting, so... Think I'll, uh, stay off the streets.

[momchester]

[Mary walks over and takes a seat on the couch, leaning back to look at him.]

Well, at least you're smart enough to know when you're outmatched. [Leaning forward a little conspiratorially.] You wouldn't believe how many Newcomers think they're special enough to take on the Darkness.

[hostage]

[Couch time? He's not protesting. He follows her over and sinks down right next to her.]

Says the monster-hunting mom.

[momchester]

[The way she turns gives her just a little more space than before, but he's not close enough to set off any alarm bells, especially given the few glasses of wine already in her. She laughs good-naturedly at his comment.]

Just because I have a family business doesn't mean I like to go jumping out into the night just to prove my manliness.