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

[momchester]

I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. [Shaking her head.] Calling it a "downer" doesn't really cover it.

At least you learned something important about this place, though.

[Satan! Fun.]

[hostage]

Nah, it's okay. I mean, long as you're okay. I mean... I think it's good, talking stuff out like this.

And yeah, I'm learning.

[momchester]

[That... that honestly surprises her. No one from her world talks about jack shit. Through the surprise, though, she manages a small smile and a nod.]

Sorry to blow your mind about the devil thing... you would've found out eventually.

[hostage]

Probably won't be the craziest thing I'll find out about this place, either.

[momchester]

Yeah, not at all. You haven't heard of the Jesus lion, have you?

[Yeah, she still remembers that one. From her first week here.]

[hostage]

Jesus lion?

[momchester]

Yeah. Jesus lion. [Laughing at that because come on, how can you not?] Apparently there's this lion who's somehow Jesus in his world, or Jesus who just... takes the form of a lion. It might be completely fake, but I remember two people from my world talking about it months and months ago.

[hostage]

Yo, for real? I mean, I guess it could happen... Jesus lion, and the devil, and unicorns, and superheroes. Why not?

[momchester]

Exactly. [She sits up a little, laughing. More relaxed. Christ, it's so nice to sit down and talk about something stupid and not have to engage too many brain cells.] It's this big soup of everything you could imagine and have never heard of.

It does a little to balance out the rest of the city.

[hostage]

Yeah. Though I don't think this place is half as bad as everybody says when you get here.

[momchester]

Well... for some people, that's true. [Lip bite.] Some people find a way to be happy and make a life here.

[She isn't one of them, not yet. Not for lack of trying.]

A lot of how you live depends on luck, and that's what scares people. Whether your best friend or roommate disappears tomorrow- you can't control that. If your girlfriend or brother vanishes, they might come back three days later- from years in the future, where they're angry at you for something you haven't done yet.

But then again... there are a lot of incredibly unique chances here. Chances you might never get anywhere else, or ever again. I actually know my sons. [...] One of them was older than me, but... still.

[Weird life, man.]

[hostage]

Yeah... That's a little messed up, but it's more good than bad, right? Better than not getting a chance.

[momchester]

[She turns away a little so she's sitting and looking straight out, one elbow leaning on her knee. It's new- refreshing, really, to hear this kind of sincere optimism from a new arrival. Wasn't it just yesterday that she felt like that?]

Yeah, that's true. The Port has a way of being what you make it.

[More or less a story she tells herself.]

[hostage]

But that ain't just here, right? That's life. It's whatever you make it.

[momchester]

[She smiles vaguely and looks back over at him.]

Very true. Some people say this place was made for second chances.

[hostage]

[The way he smiles at that is rueful.]

They do say that, huh.

[failedparenting]

[Knock knock knock. Break up the party, kids, Mr Buzzkill's here to borrow shit.]

[momchester]

[Distracted as she is, she distantly glances at the door rather than getting up.]

Come in!

[Probably the landlord come to ask something, or maybe an angel finally learning the marvelous use of doors.]

[hostage]

[Jesse looks up sharply, the way he always does when he hears a knock at the door these days.]

[failedparenting]

Hey Mar, sorry to do this but I need-

[He stops in his tracks when his eyes land on Mary and Jesse. Out of the corner of his eye he sees the wine bottle on the kitchen counter.

Color him very suspicious.]

Am I...inturrupting something?

[He looks at Mary, brow furrowed. The look is half confused, half upset, and maybe a hint of pissed.]

[momchester]

[S H I T. Mary's on her feet before she realizes it, glancing sideways at Jesse, then back to John.]

No, no- just being new-neighborly. [Standing awkwardly halfway around the coffee table, looking between the two men.] Ah, this is Jesse, he's brand new. Apparently his Greeter wasn't much help, so, ah, here I am.

[Shrug. Reaching out is part of her job, John knows that.]

Jesse, this is John, my... [Mary turns a little, reaching up to touch her chin idly, a meaningless thoughtful gesture. It's her left hand, and it lingers long enough for John to see the lack of wedding ring.] ...It's complicated.

[hostage]

[From that reaction - and considering the age difference between them - Jesse assumes this guy's her father or something like it. Boss, maybe? Glancing between the two of them with his eyebrows raised, he doesn't know whether he's supposed to stand up and shake the guy's hand or keep sitting here. He opts for the latter and just nods in greeting.]

Hey, yo. Uh... Nice to meet you. Yeah, Mary was just telling me about the apartments and stuff, you know. The, uh... The decorating. 'cause she's really made this place look, uh, nice. And all.

[failedparenting]

[John's ring, on the other hand, is still very much in place. He twists it around on his finger absently as he looks from Mary to Jesse.]

Thanks for that.

[Is comes out harsher than he intended. Just, the prospect of Mary all cozy with this asshole (he has to be an asshole, look at him) and not even admitting who John is...]

No, don't get up. You keep...doing whatever the hell you're doing. I just left a few things in the bedroom.

[momchester]

[She turns slightly red at that. Yeah, okay, maybe she deserved that- but outright saying "husband" without some backstory would be kind of misleading, in her mind. Especially when Mary has separation papers she's intending to file, just as soon as she takes that citizenship test.]

John-

[Sigh. This, kids, is what we call a no-win situation.]

-Okay. I've, um, been collecting all your stuff in the bottom dresser drawer, so you don't have to go looking.

[She gestures vaguely, hoping he'll get his shit and get out. What was a perfectly fine conversation with company is now horrendously awkward, because John can't behave himself. She feels like a criminal.]

[hostage]

[Oh crap, an ex-boyfriend? Jesse's eyes just keep getting wider and wider and he shrinks awkwardly back into the couch while they talk.]