Jess & Match: Morning Walks Talk
Aug. 24th, 2023 08:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsUnable to sleep after his surprise visit with a certain purple cat, Match goes for a morning run and encounters something worse, a born and bred New Yorker in the form of Jessica Jones.
The morning had been nice, all things considered a perfect day to sleep in because he didn't have school or obligations, but Match hadn't been able to go back to sleep after Catseye had burst into his room and he'd burst into flames. So after trying to sleep, laying back on his burned pillows and sheets for close to three hours, he'd finally gotten up and out the mansion. He couldn't remember who had said there was a path around the lake, it was beautiful. He'd never placed highly in cross country running, sure, and he'd fallen behind, but running again felt amazing. He could just tune things out and run.
He'd tuned things out so much, he almost ran into the woman taking a leisurely walk. "Shit! Sorry!"
"Jesus Christ!" The woman managed to stay upright, barely, clutching a leather jacket over the matching Xavier Institute-branded t-shirt and shorts she was wearing. She eyed Match with a disfavor she reserved solely for those most annoying of New York City sidewalk-users - joggers - as she righted herself, moving slowly and deliberately now that she wasn't in danger of eating dirt. "You wanna watch where you're going? It's not like there's not enough room." One hand opened to encompass the - to her eye - vast rural landscape of the grounds.
Match raised a brow slowly, face quickly losing most of his apology as she turned out to be very obviously New Yorker. So instead, he nodded in agreement to her words. "Yeah, yeah, shoulda watched where I was goin-" He broke off as he finally got a good look at her, frown settling as he took in the bruising. "You okay? Someone do that to you? Or, you one of those people who goes around the world or whatever to handle shit?"
She snorted. "No, I am not one of those nutjobs," she said, half under her breath. She made a face. "Technically, a wall did this, I guess? I was unconscious at the time, though."
Horror flashed across his face, brows drawing together as he tried to gauge if the woman was joking. "What the fuck, dude?" The question was whispered, as pure confusion took over. "Do you, uh, need something? I probably still have some pain meds in my backpack. They're, just, like, off-brand aleve and shit, not, like, drug drugs."
"Uh - it's okay," she said, blinking dubiously at this rapid shift to concern. "They, you know, they have doctors here? Like a whole hospital?"
Again the concern left, as Match squinted at the woman. He was not going to the doctor, but at least she didn't seem like one. Probably. "I was told that, but I'm not going there, not sick." He huffed, the implied 'over my dead body,' all but said. "You there because you hit that wall?"
Maybe he was super-religious? Puzzled, she shrugged. "Uh, more or less. You know, just, um - mutant shit?" Could she get away with calling it that? Probably. This place was full of weird mutant shit and the people who took it completely for granted.
He nodded in understanding, though he knew next to nothing about her situation. "Yeah, that's why I'm here too, mutant shit." Match added after a beat, as if she wouldn't know. "And the Chicago P.D., but, like, mostly the mutant shit. "You okay now then?" He cocked his head curiously.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Jess said, too quickly for it to be completely true. "Glad you got away from the fucking cops, though."
“Okay, that’s good,” though his words were slow, doubt obvious but it wasn’t any of his business. He kept pace before stopping to grab his backpack, hidden beneath a shrub. “Oh, yeah, me too. But fuckers made it pretty hard to do, like anything, can’t get an ID, can’t get a job without that, whole fucking mess because I manifested in public. Sorry.” He muttered sarcastically.
"Fucking sucks," Jessica said - not pitying, but rather with a tired camaraderie that spoke of mutant shit in general and her own youthful interactions with the cops specifically. "So you're stuck - uh, staying here?"
Match snorted, looking up from digging in his backpack to give her a look, the kind that only a teenage boy could make that implied nothing could stop him if he wanted to do something. "Nah, I sleep here, then usually go into District X, but, this cat..." he trailed off, wondering if he should even try to explain before shaking his head. "Bad morning. Anyway, I'm not stuck here, I can leave anytime I want. I'm eighteen."
"The cat - you mean the purple one? What'd she do to you?"
"Did she get you too?!" Match flushed at the realization that he'd practically yelled, voice cracking in the process. Clearing his throat he reigned himself back in. "She got into my room and I started a very small fire. Gotta remember to lock my doors."
Still aggrieved, Jessica said, "She slept on my laundry. All of my laundry. And then licked herself, and rolled around on my bed."
"Gross," he made a face, scrunching up his nose in disgust. "Guess we both oughta lock our doors. Or else cats walk right in. I'mma go try and sleep some more, so, uh, have fun with your walk or... thoughts? Don't get thrown into walls."
"Try not to set any more fires," Jess returned dryly, giving a half wave as she turned (grimly) back to her medically-mandated walk
The morning had been nice, all things considered a perfect day to sleep in because he didn't have school or obligations, but Match hadn't been able to go back to sleep after Catseye had burst into his room and he'd burst into flames. So after trying to sleep, laying back on his burned pillows and sheets for close to three hours, he'd finally gotten up and out the mansion. He couldn't remember who had said there was a path around the lake, it was beautiful. He'd never placed highly in cross country running, sure, and he'd fallen behind, but running again felt amazing. He could just tune things out and run.
He'd tuned things out so much, he almost ran into the woman taking a leisurely walk. "Shit! Sorry!"
"Jesus Christ!" The woman managed to stay upright, barely, clutching a leather jacket over the matching Xavier Institute-branded t-shirt and shorts she was wearing. She eyed Match with a disfavor she reserved solely for those most annoying of New York City sidewalk-users - joggers - as she righted herself, moving slowly and deliberately now that she wasn't in danger of eating dirt. "You wanna watch where you're going? It's not like there's not enough room." One hand opened to encompass the - to her eye - vast rural landscape of the grounds.
Match raised a brow slowly, face quickly losing most of his apology as she turned out to be very obviously New Yorker. So instead, he nodded in agreement to her words. "Yeah, yeah, shoulda watched where I was goin-" He broke off as he finally got a good look at her, frown settling as he took in the bruising. "You okay? Someone do that to you? Or, you one of those people who goes around the world or whatever to handle shit?"
She snorted. "No, I am not one of those nutjobs," she said, half under her breath. She made a face. "Technically, a wall did this, I guess? I was unconscious at the time, though."
Horror flashed across his face, brows drawing together as he tried to gauge if the woman was joking. "What the fuck, dude?" The question was whispered, as pure confusion took over. "Do you, uh, need something? I probably still have some pain meds in my backpack. They're, just, like, off-brand aleve and shit, not, like, drug drugs."
"Uh - it's okay," she said, blinking dubiously at this rapid shift to concern. "They, you know, they have doctors here? Like a whole hospital?"
Again the concern left, as Match squinted at the woman. He was not going to the doctor, but at least she didn't seem like one. Probably. "I was told that, but I'm not going there, not sick." He huffed, the implied 'over my dead body,' all but said. "You there because you hit that wall?"
Maybe he was super-religious? Puzzled, she shrugged. "Uh, more or less. You know, just, um - mutant shit?" Could she get away with calling it that? Probably. This place was full of weird mutant shit and the people who took it completely for granted.
He nodded in understanding, though he knew next to nothing about her situation. "Yeah, that's why I'm here too, mutant shit." Match added after a beat, as if she wouldn't know. "And the Chicago P.D., but, like, mostly the mutant shit. "You okay now then?" He cocked his head curiously.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Jess said, too quickly for it to be completely true. "Glad you got away from the fucking cops, though."
“Okay, that’s good,” though his words were slow, doubt obvious but it wasn’t any of his business. He kept pace before stopping to grab his backpack, hidden beneath a shrub. “Oh, yeah, me too. But fuckers made it pretty hard to do, like anything, can’t get an ID, can’t get a job without that, whole fucking mess because I manifested in public. Sorry.” He muttered sarcastically.
"Fucking sucks," Jessica said - not pitying, but rather with a tired camaraderie that spoke of mutant shit in general and her own youthful interactions with the cops specifically. "So you're stuck - uh, staying here?"
Match snorted, looking up from digging in his backpack to give her a look, the kind that only a teenage boy could make that implied nothing could stop him if he wanted to do something. "Nah, I sleep here, then usually go into District X, but, this cat..." he trailed off, wondering if he should even try to explain before shaking his head. "Bad morning. Anyway, I'm not stuck here, I can leave anytime I want. I'm eighteen."
"The cat - you mean the purple one? What'd she do to you?"
"Did she get you too?!" Match flushed at the realization that he'd practically yelled, voice cracking in the process. Clearing his throat he reigned himself back in. "She got into my room and I started a very small fire. Gotta remember to lock my doors."
Still aggrieved, Jessica said, "She slept on my laundry. All of my laundry. And then licked herself, and rolled around on my bed."
"Gross," he made a face, scrunching up his nose in disgust. "Guess we both oughta lock our doors. Or else cats walk right in. I'mma go try and sleep some more, so, uh, have fun with your walk or... thoughts? Don't get thrown into walls."
"Try not to set any more fires," Jess returned dryly, giving a half wave as she turned (grimly) back to her medically-mandated walk
