Match & Jess: The Week Before Christmas
Dec. 19th, 2023 03:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logs(slightly backdated) In the Alias office, Match asks Jess for a half day.
Match was staring at Jessica. He wasn’t even trying to hide it, brown eyes peering at the woman from under his messy hair. He’d even stopped typing to assess her, head cocking before finally — finally — opening his mouth. “So… do you, uh, could I leave early tomorrow to go look for gifts for, uh, for the other Generation X kids?”
Jessica looked up from her notepad, eyebrows creasing. "Kid," she said, "There's no store hours on the door. If you need to go shopping, you can."
"Oh," the exclamation was one of surprise, the worry on his face evaporating. He hadn't expected her response at all, nor had he even thought about the hours the office kept. "I didn't even think about that. So, uh, so you're okay if I do like a half day tomorrow?"
"Unless you're leaving because you booked another lost animal client and you don't wanna tell me." Jess's voice was flatly amused, though a forbidding edge threatened sarcasm and complaints if Match had, indeed, signed them up to find another pet.
Match’s expression blanked as he suddenly wore a thousand yard stare, neither confirming nor denying any potential pet finding job. In his jacket pocket he crumbled a piece of paper. “Nah.” He finally said with a nod. “But, uh, hey what would you get cool guys? And Sharon and Liam?”
Jessica, a keen judge of human behaviour and professional detective, did not miss this obfuscation, but she chose to let it go - it was the holidays, after all. "Cool guys?" she asked doubtfully. "Uh . . . booze?" She had better thoughts for the cats: "For the cats, catnip."
“Nah,” he shook his head, face still stuck in thought. “I don’t think they’d like that.”
After a pause he looked at Jessica, unsure. “Do you, uh, do you know anything about that beagle? Snooper?”
“We haven’t found any beagles,” Jessica said dubiously, then stopped short. Her eyebrows rose. “You - could you possibly be talking about Snoopy?”
“Yeah.” Match nodded again, not even acknowledging that he’d gotten the name wrong. “Do you know anything about him? Like, he’s on movies or whatever but I don’t think I should get Shatterstar a DVD, I don’t even know if he has a DVD player.”
Jessica stared at him for a long moment, clearly nonplussed. Then she vented a sigh out of her nose, and scribbled something down on the corner of the sheet she was writing on. Tearing it off, she held it out to him. "This place in Chinatown. They have a ton of knockoff shit for cartoons like that. And if you can't find anything you like there, there's about five other stores on that block with similar stuff, but I know this one has American cartoon shit because I spent like two days staking it out to find out who kept drawing graffiti penises on the windows - turned out it was her grandma with dementia, by the way."
He'd taken the slip offered immediately, nod already started before he understood the words she was saying. Slowly, a crooked smile started, teeth flashing for a moment before Match closed his mouth. The warmth that always clung to him grew for a moment, though gentler than the spikes that followed his anxious moments. "Thanks boss. I'll check it out."
"Uh-huh. Just make sure you get the background checks done on the Mejia case." Jessica's tone was dry, her eyes back on her notes, but she flicked a tolerant glance over to Match. "You have a friend that really likes Snoopy, huh?"
“I can do that,” Match agreed, nodding in… affirmation? It felt a little silly but he didn’t want to sour her seemingly good mood. “I think so, but, I… I don’t know how to ask so I’m just gonna get him a Snoopy. He wanted us to all watch one of the movies together, but he wasn’t around. So I thought I’d uh get him something, and then I gotta figure everyone else out.”
"Food is always good," Jessica said, a little doubtfully, trying to remember the last time she'd given a Christmas present. "Like . . . chocolate?" Not her lane, honestly.
“That makes sense, like chocolate oranges,” he mumbled. This was all a little over his head, but he could make this work. “Okay.”
A beat before he stood suddenly. “I got this, er, I mean. For tomorrow. I need to get my cash from back home before I can shop.”
This did not phase Jessica in the least; the kid wouldn't go to a doctor, it stood to reason he didn't have a bank account. "If you can deal with Mrs McConnick's shih-tzu, you can handle Christmas," she said, flipping a page in her notebook. "It's not like your friends are fancy, kid."
“Taffodil Nebbins,” he corrected, having made note of Mrs. McConnick’s shih-tzu. He hadn’t been exactly enthused to be returning her once they found her. “They superglued a red bow in her hair… for the holidays.”
“Yeah, you’re right, they’re not fancy.” Match smiled easily then, relieved. “Thanks, Jess.”
"I didn't do anything," Jess said automatically. Without looking, she reached over for her glass, and took a sip. "Don't forget about those background checks."
Match was staring at Jessica. He wasn’t even trying to hide it, brown eyes peering at the woman from under his messy hair. He’d even stopped typing to assess her, head cocking before finally — finally — opening his mouth. “So… do you, uh, could I leave early tomorrow to go look for gifts for, uh, for the other Generation X kids?”
Jessica looked up from her notepad, eyebrows creasing. "Kid," she said, "There's no store hours on the door. If you need to go shopping, you can."
"Oh," the exclamation was one of surprise, the worry on his face evaporating. He hadn't expected her response at all, nor had he even thought about the hours the office kept. "I didn't even think about that. So, uh, so you're okay if I do like a half day tomorrow?"
"Unless you're leaving because you booked another lost animal client and you don't wanna tell me." Jess's voice was flatly amused, though a forbidding edge threatened sarcasm and complaints if Match had, indeed, signed them up to find another pet.
Match’s expression blanked as he suddenly wore a thousand yard stare, neither confirming nor denying any potential pet finding job. In his jacket pocket he crumbled a piece of paper. “Nah.” He finally said with a nod. “But, uh, hey what would you get cool guys? And Sharon and Liam?”
Jessica, a keen judge of human behaviour and professional detective, did not miss this obfuscation, but she chose to let it go - it was the holidays, after all. "Cool guys?" she asked doubtfully. "Uh . . . booze?" She had better thoughts for the cats: "For the cats, catnip."
“Nah,” he shook his head, face still stuck in thought. “I don’t think they’d like that.”
After a pause he looked at Jessica, unsure. “Do you, uh, do you know anything about that beagle? Snooper?”
“We haven’t found any beagles,” Jessica said dubiously, then stopped short. Her eyebrows rose. “You - could you possibly be talking about Snoopy?”
“Yeah.” Match nodded again, not even acknowledging that he’d gotten the name wrong. “Do you know anything about him? Like, he’s on movies or whatever but I don’t think I should get Shatterstar a DVD, I don’t even know if he has a DVD player.”
Jessica stared at him for a long moment, clearly nonplussed. Then she vented a sigh out of her nose, and scribbled something down on the corner of the sheet she was writing on. Tearing it off, she held it out to him. "This place in Chinatown. They have a ton of knockoff shit for cartoons like that. And if you can't find anything you like there, there's about five other stores on that block with similar stuff, but I know this one has American cartoon shit because I spent like two days staking it out to find out who kept drawing graffiti penises on the windows - turned out it was her grandma with dementia, by the way."
He'd taken the slip offered immediately, nod already started before he understood the words she was saying. Slowly, a crooked smile started, teeth flashing for a moment before Match closed his mouth. The warmth that always clung to him grew for a moment, though gentler than the spikes that followed his anxious moments. "Thanks boss. I'll check it out."
"Uh-huh. Just make sure you get the background checks done on the Mejia case." Jessica's tone was dry, her eyes back on her notes, but she flicked a tolerant glance over to Match. "You have a friend that really likes Snoopy, huh?"
“I can do that,” Match agreed, nodding in… affirmation? It felt a little silly but he didn’t want to sour her seemingly good mood. “I think so, but, I… I don’t know how to ask so I’m just gonna get him a Snoopy. He wanted us to all watch one of the movies together, but he wasn’t around. So I thought I’d uh get him something, and then I gotta figure everyone else out.”
"Food is always good," Jessica said, a little doubtfully, trying to remember the last time she'd given a Christmas present. "Like . . . chocolate?" Not her lane, honestly.
“That makes sense, like chocolate oranges,” he mumbled. This was all a little over his head, but he could make this work. “Okay.”
A beat before he stood suddenly. “I got this, er, I mean. For tomorrow. I need to get my cash from back home before I can shop.”
This did not phase Jessica in the least; the kid wouldn't go to a doctor, it stood to reason he didn't have a bank account. "If you can deal with Mrs McConnick's shih-tzu, you can handle Christmas," she said, flipping a page in her notebook. "It's not like your friends are fancy, kid."
“Taffodil Nebbins,” he corrected, having made note of Mrs. McConnick’s shih-tzu. He hadn’t been exactly enthused to be returning her once they found her. “They superglued a red bow in her hair… for the holidays.”
“Yeah, you’re right, they’re not fancy.” Match smiled easily then, relieved. “Thanks, Jess.”
"I didn't do anything," Jess said automatically. Without looking, she reached over for her glass, and took a sip. "Don't forget about those background checks."
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Date: 2023-12-23 03:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-12-23 04:29 am (UTC)